With the boom in recent technology showing no signs of slowing down, it is estimated that by 2019 there will be over 2.5 billion people using smart phones and as many as 5 billion people using mobile phones full stop. For many of us, our smart phones have become an extension of our every day and we use them for more than just making phone calls and sending messages and this includes making use of them whilst we are travelling as well.
There are a number of ways in which you can use your smart phone to get the most out of your travelling experience, especially when heading to a busy and exciting city like London:-
Entertainment
You can use your smart phone to listen to music, watch a TV show or movies or download apps which allow you to listen to audio books, all whilst on the go. If you are travelling to London by train or plane and need an easy way to keep yourself entertained then your smart phone has probably got the answer. You can also play games on your smart phone as well. Many airlines now allow passengers to use their smart phones providing they have a flight safety mode which has been switched on so you needn’t worry about what to do during your flight either.
Keep Your Travel Info Handy
If you have lots of reservations or booking references which you will need to use during your trip, perhaps to check into one of the luxury hotels in London then your can use your smart phone to help keep everything right at your fingertips. Smart phones now have lots of features to help keep you organised, both in your every day life and when travelling as well. You can use your phones to remind you when a bill needs paying as easily as you can use it to remind you what your flight number was.
Plan Your Adventures
Whether you are looking for the best deals for attractions online or you want some more advice on the best places to go when in London, you can find all this and more using your smart phone. Hopping online is so straightforward and easy you will soon be able to pull up all kinds of information relevant to your trip from restaurants which are favoured by local residents to the best deal on tickets for the Tower of London.
Get Around London
There are a number of apps which exist to help you navigate your way around cities, even if you aren’t familiar with them. Some of these apps can be downloaded ahead of time and used offline so international visitors needn’t worry about larger data charges either. When you want to get somewhere in London you simply enter your starting point, such as The Montcalm London Marble Arch Hotel and your destination and the app does all the calculation for you, even showing you the best method of public transportation to use. This can be an invaluable tool if you are new to London and are unfamiliar with the layout of the city. However we would suggest being aware of others around you and not walking with your smart phone held in your hand, even if you are following a map. London is generally a very safe city but it is always better to be cautious and not mark yourself out as someone who is unfamiliar with the city, or someone who is carrying an expensive piece of technology around with them.
To Keep in Touch
Many of the best hotels in London offer some kind of complimentary wireless internet so if you are far from home, and don’t want to have to worry about a huge phone bill at the end of your trip thanks to data roaming charges, then you can still use your phone to keep in touch with people back home and update them on the amazing time you are having in London.
Capture Memories
If you have a newer model of smart phone then you will no doubt already have experience of the camera and video camera setting and will appreciate that the quality of these photos can sometimes be as good as using a generic point and shoot camera. If you don’t want to have to lug about another camera then it is entirely possible to capture the memories of your visit to London, either in photo or video form, using your smart phone. These can then be uploaded directly to social media networks to share with family or friends or can be saved on your phone until a later date.
For International Visitors
If you want to use your phone whilst you are on the go then there are a number of ways in which you can do this affordably. You don’t need to buy a SIM card before you arrive and providing that your phone uses GSM technology then it should also work in the UK. It is probably most cost-effective to purchase a ‘pay as you go’ SIM from a shop when you arrive in London; these are generally free providing you ‘top up’ with a certain amount of credit once you have obtained the SIM card. There are a number of major phone networks in the UK which all offer this type of SIM card and have shops on the high streets in London which should be fairly easy to find. These include networks such as O2, EE, T-Mobile and the Carphone Warehouse. Alternatively, you may prefer to get in touch with your own network before arriving in the UK to find out whether they are offering any data roaming packages which can be applied to your account whilst you are in London. These are usually capped and allow you to use a certain amount of data before being charged again but it varies with each network, as does the cost.