An iPad or other tablet is one of the best travel companions you can have. Given the expansive storage capacity packed into the tiny body, tablets are ideal gadgets for storing itineraries and confirmation numbers, organizing travel photos, and pulling up maps.
Frommer's, one of the most well known travel book brands, recently partnered with e-reading iPad app Inkling to launch seven new titles as e-books for the iPad. (I've written about Inkling's foray into ebooks beyond textbooks, before.) It's a shame the finished products are called "e-books," because that name doesn't really capture the fact that they are little works of art (see ), an enticing blend of information and design that inspires exploration and curiosity.
At launch, Frommer's has seven destinations covered: Alaska, California, Costa Rica, France, Great Britain, Japan, and Spain.
I checked out two of the digital travel guides, California and Japan, and came away very impressed (and with an insatiable desire to start packing my bags). Inkling not only ports book content to iPad form, but also works with the content creators on how to further enhance and optimize their materials for the interactive touch platform.
For example, you can zoom anywhere on a map (not just the tourist hotspots, although the maps don't have nearly the same detail as, say, Google Maps) and search the entire book with just a few taps. You can type notes and attach them to the sections you read, which I much prefer over marking up a paper book with my ugly handwriting.
The Inkling app, where the books are stored, also helps you manage the amount of space the book eats up on your iPad. When you buy a title, you have the option of downloading content chapter-by-chapter. So you can buy the entire book Frommer's California Day by Day, but only download the chapters on Wine Country and The North if that's where you're headed. And you still have the ability to download other chapters, like "The Central Coast" and "Monterey Peninsula & Big Sur," whenever the time is right.
Frommer's digital line, priced from $9.99 to $14.99, is also much cheaper than even soft-cover travel guides; good ones typically list for $20 or more. More importantly, the digital versions don't take up any extra room in your bag.
For more on travel planning and advice, see the Connected Traveler section on PCMag.com.
