Your bags are packed, your boarding pass is printed, but you don't know one word of the language of the country where your passport will get its next stamp.
Travelers with no time to buy guides are the people Fodor's had in mind when it developed a mobile version of Travel Phrases, with 400 essential phrases for 22 languages. The company began selling individual language apps for $1.99 on iTunes last week (oct.1) (including French, useful in Paris, above). It is also expanding its stable of free City Guides apps, adding Montreal, Chicago and others, this year.
Fodor's migration of content to mobile devices comes after Google's announcement in August that it was acquiring Frommer's.
Still, Amanda D'Acierno, Fodor's vice president and publisher, said the company will continue to print 75 to 85 guidebooks each year. “It's a nonlinear experience,†she said of flipping through a guidebook, “and it's hard to bro wse on an app.â€
She added: “There's also the reality of batteries dying and not being able to hook up your device. A guidebook is like a security blanket when you go away.â€
