T+L's Top Travel Apps 2010

Trip Planning

Find a flight, hotel, or car rental

With its stripped-down interface, Kayak is easy to use, making it our favorite way to look up airfares, as well as hotel rooms and rental cars. For flights, you can sort your results by price, trip length, and even departure and arrival times using Kayak’s signature sliders. One hitch: you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro version to get first- and business-class fare quotes.

Cost: Free; $1.99 for the Pro version.

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows Mobile.

Runners-up: TripAssist by Expedia (free; iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch), Travelocity (free; Android, iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch).

Manage your vacation right from your phone

Forward all your travel confirmations to Worldmate and it automatically updates an online profile, keeps track of flight delays and gate changes, and even reminds you to check in on time. You also get weather forecasts, a currency converter, a tip calculator, world clocks, local restaurant and shopping listings (with directions), and the ability to make hotel and flight reservations.

Cost: Free; $14.99 for the Gold version, which gives you faster updates.

Runs On: BlackBerry, iPhone/iPod Touch, Symbian, Windows Mobile.

Stay on top of your trip

The mobile version of the website TripIt, by far the most useful travel planning and management service online, accesses flight, hotel, restaurant, and any other information you’ve entered into the “My Trips” section of the site. It also offers one-touch calling to airlines and hotels, as well as links to Google Maps.

Cost: Free.

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch.

Prep your suitcase

Packing Pro allows you to choose from a selection of templates (male, female, family, business, etc.) that include ideas for clothing, gadgets, and toiletries, plus helpful to-do lists (recharge batteries; photocopy documents). Or you can create your own custom list and use it as a template for future trips.

Cost: $0.99; $2.99 for the version with the most packing categories.

Runs On: iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch.

Hands-free advice

Instead of spending your time sifting through online search results to find the hot new play to see or the perfect romantic restaurant, you can hand off the work to Siri, a voice-activated virtual personal assistant that will perform online tasks for you. Just speak (or type) into your iPhone at the prompt, and Siri does the rest—even going so far as to buy theater tickets or make dinner reservations.

Cost: Free.

Runs On: iPhone/iPod Touch.

Runner-up: BlackBerry and Windows Mobile users can try Tellme (free), which offers similar functionality.