It’s hard to keep up with all the apps that are out there and buying all the latest bells and whistles can get a bit pricey. So here are ten free applications that you should find pretty helpful on the road.

OpenTable This is essentially a miniaturize version of OpenTable’s online service that lets you make reservations at more than 13,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, as well as abroad. It indicates what reservation times are available and you can check diner reviews and view menus, very helpful when away from home.
Where What can Where tell you? A movie theater and what’s showing. Local gas prices and the station with the lowest. The location of the nearest source for coffee. Where can be your local-area search engine, making it a prime tool when you’re just getting to know a new town – as long as it’s in the USA.

Yelp is a user-review site. No, it’s the user-review site for eateries in major U.S. cities, just an excellent tool for finding someplace to eat. It can also help locate museums, pharmacies, stylists, dentists, almost anything. Although the Yelp app is only available for BlackBerry and iPhone, those carrying other phones can use their browser to go to m.yelp.com.

Urbanspoon This is the app for venturesome diners and for those who don’t know where to find what they want to eat (as long as they have an iPhone or Android). Just tell Urbanspoon where you are and how much you want to spend for dinner and shake your phone like a Magic 8-Ball. Up comes a recommendation that’s way more reliable than the black orb. Again all restaurants are rated by Urbanspoon users.

MetrO There are plenty of public transportation apps for cities around the world, but MetrO has information for about 400 cities. Though some others are somewhat more comprehensive, this one will serve most travelers well. You download MetrO, then add the cities you need. It shows your location on a map and plots routes to where you want to go, as well as giving info on what’s nearby.
Google Maps Able to tell you where you are, where what you’re looking for is, and how to get from here to there, Google Maps is probably the most useful travel app available on just about any smartphone (not to mention many non-smartphones). Get it.

TripIt A lot of travel manager programs can help keep track of confirmation numbers for your flight, hotel, and so forth. But TripIt does a great job parsing those confirmation emails from hotels and airlines. It’s available on Android, BlackBerry and iPhone. Even the simplest phone can access your data from m.tripit.com.
WeatherBug Some of the many mobile weather apps are better on some phones than others, but WeatherBug performs excellently on most, including Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Nokia. Beyond basic weather. It has features besides giving basic weather info; for example you can tap on a map to find out what the weather is where you’re headed.

SitOrSquat This is a crowdsourced bathroom locator that provides more choices than gas stations, fast food restaurants and hotel lobbies in most US cities. It’s available for BlackBerry and iPhone.

Google SMS If you’ve been reading this thinking, “Gee, I wish I could afford a smartphone” here’s a tip for you. If you text message certain search terms to 46645 – that’s “GOOGL” – you get Google search results back in texts! Also handy when you’re someplace your data plan doesn’t work.

In-flight Wi-Fi is not yet commonly available, but many U.S. airlines are upgrading their fleets to provide the service. At present, almost one-third of their approximately 2,800 planes have been equipped with Wi-Fi, according to Aircell, which has equipped most such aircraft in the U.S.

Lufthansa is generally acknowledged as the first airline operating in the United States to offer Wi-Fi, which it did through Boeing’s Connexion service, starting in 2003, although that service shut down in 2006, Aircell’s Gogo service is used by all domestic U.S. carriers, with the exception of a single Southwest Airlines plane using a new Wi-Fi competitor, Row 44.

The connection process is fast and relatively simple, no matter what device or which service is used, connecting to the Internet follows the same process: log on, open an account and type in your credit card numbers. This involves a lot of typing, so a laptop was far more convenient than using a smartphone. But Aircell indicates that they are streamlining the process to save time for non-laptop users.

The general rule is that passengers can connect at 10,000 feet, or about 20 minutes into the flight. Slow downloads or lost connections are rarely reported. Both Gogo and Row 44 services provide comparable speed and stability; both companies enable airlines to block pornographic sites and all do. The service automatically shuts down during descent.

That said, Gogo, users downloading huge amounts of high-definition video have their connection cycle off after a certain period, depending on the number of users online. That’s Gogo’s way of keeping the network performing smoothly for everyone on the plane. Row 44 puts no such constraints on passengers.

You can save some expense with a Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device like the iPhone or Droid. Airlines will charge lower fees for such devices than a smartphone or laptop without Wi-Fi. Row 44 has not yet set prices, but airlines using Gogo all charge the same fees. Passengers with laptops, iPads and netbooks pay $5 for 90 minutes, $10 for three hours, and $13 for more than three hours. Those using Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices pay the same $5 for under 90 minutes, but only $8 for anything beyond that. A one-day pass is $13, no matter what device you have, and a one-month pass is $15 for Wi-Fi users with mobile devices, and $40 for laptops. If you don’t have your own device, airlines are not yet providing one.

Delta is the domestic carrier with the greatest number of Wi-Fi-enabled planes, nearly all its 500 planes offering the service. More than half of the American fleet has Gogo installed, including 150 MD-80 aircraft and 15 of its 767-200s. AirTran’s entire fleet is Wi-Fi-enabled, as are the craft used for longer flights on US Airways. On United, Gogo is available on 13 planes flying between New York and San Francisco and between New York and Los Angeles. Virgin America’s entire fleet of 28 planes has the service, and Alaska Airways will follow suit by the end of the year.

Since Connexion shut down in 2006, Wi-Fi service has been pretty much nonexistent. Oman Air offers in-flight Wi-Fi, charging based on data transmitted. Air Canada offers Gogo wireless service on just two flights. Lufthansa plans to restart its Wi-Fi service but has offered no details.

Figuring out whether your domestic flight offers the service may involve some digging. Of course, Virgin America and AirTran offer Wi-Fi on every plane. American posts a “Wi-Fi” icon with the online flight information 24 hours before a flight. US Airways and United use similar symbols at the time of booking. Delta has no such notification methods.

Southwest sends an e-mail message to passengers if they draw aircraft No. 910, the fleet’s only Wi-Fi-enabled plane. The company will establish a more standard notification method when more Wi-Fi-equipped planes join the fleet this summer.

One thing that won’t vary among airlines with Wi-Fi is their policies about using Skype. While other countries are permissive regarding cellphone chatter on airplanes, carriers in the United States don’t think other passengers will accept such chatter at high altitude and block such technologies.

Do some research.
While planning where you’ll go and where you’ll stay, visit official websites for your destination and browse others’ blogs that mention your destination to figure out some “must have” shots. Look at photos others have taken on sites like flickr. Decide what photos you like and why you like them.

Continue your research when you arrive by checking out postcards of the area. You won’t want to copy them exactly, but they’ll give you an idea of local landmarks and scenery associated with the locale. Then decide how to put your own spin on the subject.

Get in close.
Most photos, especially vacation photos, lack impact because they try to capture too much. Pisa’s Leaning Tower is probably better memorialized with a postcard if you just want to see the entire landmark. Even adding family members standing in front of it isn’t very memorable. But you can foreground your family’s faces with the tower as part of the background and have a real memento of your trip to Italy.

Detail work – a close-up of a monument’s stonework or ironwork, an iron-studded door, a grotesque statue tucked away in a cathedral, a shop window or sign – can provide a unique treasure to share on your return and prompt many memories of where and how you came across it.

Take a new look.
Don’t get in a rut by always shooting your subject straight on and centered from eye level. Mix it up!

Frame a child’s face as she tastes her first Parisian pastry. Instead of the typical group shot, get a close up of each member of your group standing on a treetop platform before your Costa Rican zipline adventure. Shoot from a low angle to frame your wife against the sunset sky with just the tops of the palm trees over her shoulder. And put your husband on the left or right side of the frame rather than dead center, as he stands in front of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Shoot a lot – Edit later.
With digital cameras you don’t have to lug a lot of film or pay a fortune to see your results, so take lots of photos of the things and people you want to remember. It greatly increases your chance of getting great pictures. You can also use your photo editor software to enhance or improve shots that weren’t that great.

And when you get home, take the time to cull through your shots and delete the ones that don’t make an impact. That makes it easier to find just the image you want for your album or slide show.

Ideas for this article came from Nichole Robertson on Orbitz Blog and from acreative at How to Improve Your Vacation Photos | eHow.com

Not all peak travel times are created equal. The sweet spot when tickets are cheapest can vary by weeks, according to travel data analyzed by Expedia for The Associated Press. Based on an analysis of ticket prices over the last four years, Expedia has found that the best time to book for the Fourth of July was between one and two months in advance.

As for Labor Day, the rules change dramatically. Those looking to travel that weekend, based on trends, can get the best deal buying 3 or 4 weeks in advance. Prices jump 10 percent from their lowest points if you wait 1 to 2 weeks out. They’re 30 percent higher, on average, if you book less than a week before summer’s last hurrah.

But how can two holiday weekends so close together have such different rules for snagging cheap fares? Expedia analyst Daniel Kissin said it’s all in the timing. Fourth of July, although it’s more of a popular driving holiday, still gets loads of people in the skies every year. Labor Day, on the other hand, isn’t as popular because it usually coincides with back to school.

Following the old fashioned rule of supply and demand, it makes sense to book early for the most popular travel holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day. At other times of the year, though, it’s better to gamble and hold out for that cheaper fare closer to your travel date.

The rules of low fares are evolving quickly as airlines recover from the recession. Last year, procrastination was the name of the game. Because travel demand was sluggish, airlines discounted seats or launched fare sales close to flight time. But this year, travel demand is inching up and airlines have slimmed their fleets. That means fewer seats with more demand — the perfect equation for higher fares.

Even though airlines are trying to raise fares across the board, it’s clearly not all working out. On less-traveled weekends, consumers with an eye for bargains still have a leg up. Certain destinations also have different rules. Procrastinators with island dreams, listen up: That flight to Hawaii will be cheaper the more you wait.

The reason? Kissin said because Hawaii is a more expensive destination, travelers tend to book earlier. The airlines know that. And if flights aren’t full within a couple weeks of departure, discounts are bound to pop up. The same could be said about flights overseas to Europe, Asia or other hot spots — so keep a steady hand. A cheaper fare might be a few days away.

When you’re ready to book that flight, don’t forget to book the hotel, too. Expedia spokesman Adam Anderson says booking separately is one of the biggest money-losing mistakes people make. Reserving everything together online could save you hundreds of dollars depending on the price of your trip.

Years of financial hardship, have finally taught the embattled industry that the key to survival is fewer seats and higher fares. Monthly data from U.S. airlines for May show load factors, which measure how full an airplane is, are above 80 percent for most carriers.

Delta Air Lines had a load factor of 83.9 percent, up 1.6 percentage points from a year ago. United Airlines had a load factor of 84 percent, up 3.8 percentage points. American Airlines said its May load factor was 82.8 percent, up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier.

For years, the airline industry has been hit with one crisis after another. A 2008 spike in fuel prices to record highs was followed by a global economic recession that drained travel demand. Airlines survived these back-to-back assaults by slashing capacity in a bid to cut operational costs and charge more for seats.

As demand returns, flights are fuller than ever, and airlines expect to show profits this year.
“Capacity discipline is clearly key to improving the economics of our business,” according to Kathryn Mikells, UAL’s chief financial officer. Carriers are proud of their capacity cuts and they say they intend to remain disciplined.

“Over the last two years on both the mainline and consolidated basis we’re actually down about 5 percent,” in capacity, Rowe said. “And as we look to this year we continue the trend on the mainline domestic portion of the network where we’ve come to expect our capacity to be down to 0.5 percent to 1.5 percentage points.”

Scott Kirby, president of US Airways Group, said he believes airlines have learned a valuable lesson about over-aggressive expansion. “The industry by and large is led by CEOs who have a different view of the industry than the CEO’s of yesterday,” said Kirby, “Today’s crop of CEOs are former CFOs or general counsel. I don’t think that rapid capacity growth is going to become the problem for the industry, at least for the foreseeable future.”

Meanwhile, airlines are ratcheting up the fees they charge for items and services that once were included in the price of a ticket. Fees for baggage checking and priority seating are generating new airline revenue but leave passengers feeling fleeced. Such aggressive business strategy may not win many fans among the traveling public who are used to last summer’s domestic fares. Since then, fares have risen roughly 15-20 percent.

So the message to air travel customers is: Pay more. Get less. Get used to it.