Go Gadgets

IT SEEMS the iPad was the pressie du jourthis Christmas.Something of a get-out-of-jail-free gadget, one gift fitted all,with everyone from teen to grandparent apparently happy to be on thereceiving end. And given that, incomprehensibly, Amazon's Kindlereader went out of stock in Ireland and the UK a couple of weeksbefore the big day, Apple's tablet had all those to-be-filledstockings to itself.

The iPad is made to travel, of course and thanks to the everincreasing range of apps, is made for travel too. Here is just atiny sample of useful ones:

Wi-Fi Finder

You're only on half-pad if you can't access the internet on yourtravels. But given the punitive mobile data rates and roamingcharges around, it makes sense to uncover your nearest Wi-Fihotspot. This is one of the best tools.

Wi-Fi Finder locates free or paid for Wi-Fi hotspots in over 140countries, at almost 300,000 free and paid-for sites. Thanks to theiPad's GPS, it'll tell you precisely where the closest hotspot isand how to get there. Forget those pesky museums and funky cafes,where's my wi-fi? There's lots of other functionality besides, suchas saving favourites, adding hotspots you find and sharing via e-mail or social networks. (You are networked socially, aren't you?You wouldn't want to keep anything to yourself.)

Cost Wi-Fi Finder app - free.

AllSubway HD

It's the ultimate graphic design challenge perhaps: a city'sunderground or subway map. As anyone who has tried to decode a cross-city trip on an unfamiliar metro can testify, not many have theclarity of Harry Beck's classic London Tube map. This is a usefullittle app for the regular city traveller. AllSubway hascomprehensive metro and light rail maps for more than 100 citiesaround the globe, including London, New York, Barcelona, Sao Paulo,Moscow, even Tokyo. New cities are being added all the time; Oslo'stramway is one of the more recent, although the Luas and Darthaven't made the cut yet. Perhaps they're waiting for our MetroNorth to be completed.

You can zoom in and out and view your maps in portrait orlandscape format and you don't need to be online to access them.

Cost AllSubway HD app [euro]0.79.

XE Currency Conversion

I've had the XE site bookmarked as a favourite in my desktopbrowser for years - it's great for online shopping comparisons - andit was one of the first apps that I downloaded to my iPhone. TheiPad version is more of the same - a simple to use, yet incrediblycomprehensive currency converter. You just put in the currencyamount, what you want to convert to and click. You can set up thecurrencies you check often, shake to reset or even convert toobsolete currencies.

Cost XE Currency app - free.

The World Clock

Without having used it, the fact that this frequently appears intop travel app lists might seem a little peculiar: how much timeinfo does one need? (Indeed, check how many under-25s you know whodon't wear watches at all anymore and you could believe knowing thetime is so last century.)

But The World Clock gives such an all-encompassing expression oftime, from its database of over 230 countries to its engaginginterface, that it's much more than just a glorified clock. Ofcourse, there are all sorts of alarms and alerts, but it's how itgives you the time of day as much as the info itself, I think, thatusers rate.

Of course, you might just use its multi-timezone clock display tosuggest your daily world straddles the globe. Ego? There's an appfor that.

Cost The World Clock app [euro]0.79.

All these iPad apps are available from the App Store in iTunesand many work on your iPhone, Blackberry or Android too.