:: ALMOSTTransit is arguably one of the best apps for making your public transportation experience less hectic, and the app has support for most of the world's largest metropolitan areas. There's really no reason not to have this app if you ever need to ride a train or catch the bus. But recently, Transit received a huge update that not only brings its user interface design up to date, but adds a bulk of new features as well.
The update features an "all Routes mode," which lets users explore route and stops in their region, train and subway stations listed in auto-complete while searching, the ability to "search locations using stop codes," an improved offline mode, and more. Of course on top of all these goodies the newly updated app features a beautiful newly designed interface to flatten it up and make it more iOS 7-y.
You can get Transit on the App Store for free.
[caption id="attachment_39674" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Next Stop\'s Countdown Timer"]
The app adds a wrapper and some nifty features around the MTA's little known subway schedule. Users of the app enter their subway line and their departure point and are shown a countdown timer. Touching the train's time displays the subway's expected stop time at stations further down the line. The app includes other common features like a favorites system and tools to find nearby subway systems.
NextStop is, at its core, an easy and pretty way to access subway schedules. iTrans NYC, one of the more popular subway apps, includes subway schedules as well. Yet iTrans is built around a variety of other tools and costs $3.99. NextStop is free and is the perfect companion for any NYC traveler.
If you are coming to Macworld, you will be in the heart of San Francisco. Whether you have been here before or not, there are some essential apps you should load on your iPhone for worry-free navigation of the Expo and the city.
Without question, the #1 app you should have is iMacworld. The latest update adds Session info and detailed maps of the Halls, plus an easy to search directory of vendors and products. My only wish is that this app had been around for previous Expos.
For you elbow-rubbing and social networking types, download a copy of Handshake. Handshake will allow you to easily exchange your contact info with other iPhone users without worrying about loosing those pesky business cards that fall to the bottom of your goodie bags.
There are a TON of Starbucks in San Francisco. To log on to get your free iPhone wifi connection from AT&T, download Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T. It costs $0.99, but it is totally worth it for speeding up your connection to hotspots to check your voluminous email, or to download one of the apps you just read about in this article.
If you are combining your Expo trip with your vacation plans, or hope to explore the city a bit, Routesy can provide you with all the local MUNI transit information and schedules. If you don't want to spend the $2.99 for Routesy, there are also two Web 2.0 apps available that you can use with Safari for free.
NextBus (www.nextmuni.com)
MUNI Time (sf.munitime.com)
If you are flying into the San Francisco or Oakland airports, and don't plan on renting a car, you will need to take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). To get BART schedules and maps of stops, download iBART. There is a BART train that goes directly from SFO to downtown, just blocks from Moscone. Trips from the Oakland airport require a short $3 shuttlebus trip to the BART station before continuing to San Francisco.
The mobile version of Yelp is great at helping to find eateries and night spots in the city during your Macworld stay. The only problem might be that there are too many great spots to visit making it hard to choose. Yelp is especially handy since there aren't a lot of places right around Moscone, and the ones that are will probably be packed with Expo-goers. Wear some comfortable shoes and hike to some of the more out of the way spots.
Finally, if you are looking for something to do outside of the Expo venue, try twiddlerSF which is a great app that can randomly choose a place to go in the city or an event, based on your "mood" and how far you want to travel. It also had a cool spinner interface.
