Google wants you out and about in Glass, adds new travel apps to make it happen

By Andy Boxall May 15, 2014

google glass — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Three new travel-related apps have been announced for Google Glass, making the smart specs more helpful for those of us on the move. The apps in question are Foursquare, OpenTable, and TripIt. Starting with TripIt, the handy travel planner integrates itself with Google Now, so details of your flight, its status, departure gate, and takeoff time are all right in front of your eyes. While this does emulate some of Google Now’s functionality, TripIt is a very popular app with business travelers, making its inclusion on Glass welcome.

OpenTable is an app for helping you find and book restaurants. Using it on Glass is a matter of asking it to make a reservation, and you’re presented with a list of nearby possibilities. A tap completes the booking, and OpenTable remembers your previous settings, so unless you alter them prior to making the reservation, it’ll go ahead and use them again.

OpenTable Google Glass — 1. Make reservations using Google Glass and the OpenTable app.
2. Get all your flight details using TripIt for Glass.
3. Foursquare for Google Glass lets you check-in without using your phone.

TripIt Google Glass Screen — 1. Make reservations using Google Glass and the OpenTable app.
2. Get all your flight details using TripIt for Glass.
3. Foursquare for Google Glass lets you check-in without using your phone.

Finally, there’s Foursquare. The Glass version of the app contains the two most often used features, location check-in and local search. Interestingly, if you tell Glass to check you in, it’ll also show you all the spots nearby, something like the Pebble app, essentially incorporating search into the check-in feature. We’d expect the app to change in the near future, as Foursquare is set to split into two separate apps. At the very least, the name will most likely change to Swarm.

The introduction of three apps which make life a little easier for those out and about with Glass is timely. Earlier this week, Google ended the invitation system for Glass, and made the sci-fi eyewear an “open beta” and available to anyone living in the U.S. with $1500 to spend. By adding apps which will be familiar to smartphone users already, Google is helping newcomers see its potential.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

Mobile

Motorola is selling unlocked smartphones for just $150 today

Someone holding the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

Have you been looking for phone deals but don’t want to spend a ton of money on flagship devices from Apple and Samsung? Have you ever considered investing in an unlocked Motorola? For a limited time, the company is offering a $100 markdown on the Motorola Moto G 5G. It can be yours for just $150, and your days and nights of phone-shopping will finally be over!

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G 5G
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ 5G CPU and 4GB of RAM, the Moto G delivers exceptional performance across the board. From UI navigation to apps, games, and camera functions, you can expect fast load times, next to no buffering, and smooth animations. You’ll also get up to 128GB of internal storage that you’ll be able to use for photos, videos, music, and any other mobile content you can store locally.

Mobile

The Nokia 3210 is the worst phone I’ve used in 2024

A person holding the Nokia 3210, showing the screen.

Where do I even start with the Nokia 3210? Not the original, which was one of the coolest phones to own back in a time when Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace wasn’t even a thing, but the latest 2024 reissue that has come along to save us all from digital overload, the horror of social media, and the endless distraction that is the modern smartphone.

Except behind this facade of marketing-friendly do-goodery hides a weapon of torture, a device so foul that I’d rather sit through multiple showings of Jar Jar Binks and the gang hopelessly trying to bring back the magic of A New Hope than use it.
The Nokia 3210 really is that bad