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Five must-have iPhone apps for your next trip

I'm winging my way to San Francisco in a couple weeks, so I've been rounding up apps that'll make my trip easier and more enjoyable.

Obviously I'll stock up on e-books and movies for the flight (Wondershare's DVD Ripper Platinum is proving a great choice for copying my DVDs to my iPhone), and I've already got old standbys like Urbanspoon and Yelp for finding local grub and businesses.

But there's more to a trip than just food and in-flight movies. Here's a list of the iPhone apps I've decided to pack:

HazelMail Postcards Sure, you can always e-mail photos of your trip, but doesn't grandma deserve a good old-fashioned postcard? HazelMail turns any iPhone snapshot into the real deal, then mails it (along with your custom wish-you-were-here message) to any address. First one's free; after that, each card costs $1.50 (or get 12 for $12). TravelTracker Pro A bit more robust than competitors SplashTravel and Travel Assistant, TravelTracker Pro helps you keep tabs on every aspect of your trip: flights, car/hotel reservations, weather, and even currency exchange rates. Plus, it integrates with the excellent TripIt service to automatically import/update your travel plans, and provides live flight tracking via FlightStats. Only gripe: It's a little pricey at $12.99. GadgetTrak A stolen iPhone could put a major damper on your trip. Free app GadgetTrak aims to help you get it back, and while it's not quite as effective as MobileMe, it can't hurt to install it before leaving.… Read more

Business material designer

Small Business Publisher promises to help entrepreneurs avoid having their materials professionally designed and printed. While it does its best to help even those with no artistic ability, the program takes some getting used to.

This download does a great job of covering the bases for users who are either ready to jump right in and design (thanks to its three-step startup menu), or those who need a little coaching (thanks to its Help file and two online tutorials). However, the actual design screen will take some exploring no matter how you get started. For example, the design tools change … Read more

Get paid to be a digital tour guide

An early leader in the "name soon-to-be a verb a la Google and TiVo" category here at Demo '07 is Yodio, an audio-publishing system to produce and send audio with digital photos.

After three and a half years of development, the Seattle-based Yodio (short for "your audio") is being unveiled in the next hour here at Demo 07. It works like this: take a digital photo, call Yodio's toll-free number, and record a message (but keep it under two minutes). Yodio syncs the MP3 file with your photo, which then can be sent to anyone … Read more