Yesterday, I was at the office of Google Singapore for the “Travel with Google” media event and I picked up a few interesting insights and tips about using Google’s products. As there are quite a number of Google products to be mentioned, I will just be highlighting a couple that I feel would be a great help for your travel needs.

Obviously, every IT-savvy individual knows what Google is and as far as I know, we have been Googling about almost anything under the sun. Now, if you’re an iPhone user, does that mean you can’t enjoy Google’s products? Absolutely not! Most of Google’s products are available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Some products from Google that we will be highlighting in this blog post are; Google Now, Google+, Google Play, Google Map, and Google Translate.

Staffs from Google Singapore explaining to us about Google Cultural Institute.

While we won’t be explaining much about the Google Cultural Institute in this blog post, you must absolutely check it out because it is a really cool microsite by Google and I instantly fell in love with it! There’s just so much interesting facts, history, and cultural information that’s available on Google Cultural Institute!

With mobile technology advancing so rapidly and society becoming more affluent, almost everyone has access to a Smartphone and trust me, your Smartphone can be your best travel companion. Remember those days in the past when you have to pack tons of gear into your luggage whenever you travel? Gears like maps, camera, foreign language phrasebooks, and even thick guidebooks? Yes, travelling was quite a cumbersome affair; especially if you’re on a free and easy trip! However, thanks to mobile technology, you can now cut down on those unnecessary weight and go on a mega shopping spree without worrying about excess baggage.

Staffs from Google Singapore were conducting a hands-on demonstration for us.

Here are some tips on how Google can help you be a better world traveller.

Google Now

Google Now gets you just the right information at just the right time. This is useful for everyday life, but especially useful when traveling because Google Now can get you information about your new surroundings.

For instance, Google Now can help you uncover some great activities, by showing you events happening around you, suggesting websites for you to explore as you research things to do, and nearby photo spots to visit. You will also see other cards designed for travel, like the currency conversion, translation, and flight status cards.

Google Maps

Remember when you had to figure out if you were in quadrant A5 of page 67 in whatever book of maps you were using? Those days are long gone, thanks to Google Maps on your mobile device.
You can get indoor views of many malls, shops, and restaurants to scoop out that perfect shopping and dining location.

Google Translate

Google Translate allows you [and your interlocutor] to speak into the app, or handwrite, or even take a picture to input the language that you want to be translated. If you were ever stumped on what to order at a Japanese countertop sushi restaurant, fear no more; you can just snap a photo of the menu text, brush your finger over the bit you want translated, and voila, you now know what to order!

Google+

With Google+ you can automatically upload photos and videos as you take them using Auto Backup. With Auto Backup enabled, photos and videos taken with your smartphone are automatically uploaded to a private album on Google+. No more wrestling with cables! Once uploaded, you can easily share them later from your phone or on the web, and if you’re worried about incurring excessive data charges, you can also have the option of backing up your photos when you’re connected to free WiFi-hotspots.

Books on Google Play

Stuck on a train with nothing to do? Google Play comes to the rescue! Home to the world’s largest selection of e-books, you can read them anywhere you like; on a tablet, phone, or e-reader. The best part is, your bookmarked page stays in sync across all your devices!

These are just some of the products from Google that I find really essential and helpful for frequent travellers; but of course, there are other products that are equally useful such as Google Trends, Google Hangout, and Google Drive. For now, here are just some products for you to start exploring with!

Should you find this blog post helpful, do share it with your friends and do stay tuned to us because we will be sharing about the other products from Google that are not listed here.

Happy Googling!