Best iPhone Apps

OK, Mister Fancy Cosmopolitan Jetsetter, would you know how to call the cops in Tangiers? This simple and elegant little app tells you the emergency numbers in whatever country you might find yourself

Ordering off a foreign-language menu? Not sure what might arrive on your plate? Snap a photo of the menu, and Babelshot tells you what’s for dinner. The app works its magic on signs, menus, even newspapers, translating photographed text to and from 48 languages.

Afraid to fly? If you can dig your nails out of the armrest long enough to tap the screen, this app just might help. It provides a slew of soothing audio tracks targeting specific fears, along with reassuring info about the causes of bumps and sounds on flights.

The AAA auto club offers more than just an occasional tow. Members can cash in on discounts at 100,000 business in the US and Canada, and this app shows you where to go, mapping the closest participating businesses.

The built-in Maps app is swell until you travel abroad or otherwise roam beyond a network connection. In that case, you're unceremoniously dumped into uncharted (or at least undownloadable) territory. OffMaps saves you from being marooned by grabbing maps ahead of time.

With up to 250,000 entries, Ultralingua's iPhone tomes are comprehensive resources for translating words back and forth from other languages, with word definitions, verb conjugations, and helpfully, a numbers translator. Dictionary apps are available for six languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin.

When you’re on the road, Dopplr lets you know when you might cross paths with one of your pals. Dopplr.com is a social networking site where frequent travelers share travel plans and advice. The app surfaces travel coincidences, telling you when trips bring you to the same city as a friend.

HearPlanet is an audio guide that adapts to wherever you go, giving audio commentary on buildings and landmarks around you. The effect is like having a knowledgeable companion whispering in your ear as you explore a new place.

Caught without cash? ATM Hunter shows you the closest place to make a withdrawal.

When you travel abroad, it helps to have a few crumbs of the local language. The Talking Phrasebooks series can get you through with seven apps for as many languages.

An efficient interface and thoughtfully flexible entry options make JetSet the best way for iPhone-toting road warriors to track expenses.

Create tidy, detailed itineraries with TripIt, a hyper-efficient personal travel assistant.

Your iPhone's Google-powered Maps app is trusty and reliable, but it's got nothin' on its big brother, Google Earth.

Lonely Planet is the most prolific and inventive of all travel guidebooks in adapting print material for iPhone.

FlightTrack does exactly what you'd expect, showing the status of any commercial flight around the world.