FLIGHT delay predictions, mobile trip-planning, automatic itinerary management, language translation via Bluetooth earbuds and a smartphone that enables users to learn about landmarks by tapping an icon and aiming the phone at them: These are among the travel innovations Google has been introducing in recent days and weeks.
While a Google Pixel 2 smartphone costs upward of US$650 (RM2,530), the company’s latest tools are free. In fact, they may already be on your phone, nudging Google closer to being a one-stop destination for on-the-go vacation planning.
Searching Google for a hotel or flight was once two separate activities. You could run a search for a flight across multiple airlines, or search a city for hotels.
Now, however, when you use an Android or iOS smartphone to search Google for a flight, a hotel or destination, you will find a blue navigation bar. It appears on your screen when you tap your Google search result, be it “Rome flights”, “Rome hotels” or simply “Rome”.
There are separate tabs for flights and hotels (like you see on sites such as Priceline), as well as an “explore” tab to check out the destination’s top sights and best times to visit, and a “your trips” tab where Gmail users can see their future and past travel reservations, and email those reservations to others. Travellers can also edit their itineraries and see them offline if they use the Google Trips app, which allows users to check out things to do and places to eat, review transportation options, see emergency numbers and find out about local currency and free Wi-Fi locations.
With the blue navigation bar, users can easily move between flight and hotel options. The feature is being rolled out on mobile phones in the United States.
A spokesman for Google said there were plans to expand globally in the coming months.
Google has also added new features to Google Flights — its online airfare search and comparison tool. Now users can see what is included (or not) with new fare types, like basic economy. For instance, you can find out whether a particular fare on Delta or United allows you to choose your seat or store a bag in an overhead bin. Users may also be able to find out why their flights are delayed (to check your status, just search your flight number on Google).
These days, it is also possible to book flights through Google, as opposed to clicking a link and purchasing the flight on the airline’s website or that of a third party, like Expedia.
While these digital tools are free, they are not the only additions that may be of interest to travellers. Google Pixel Buds (US$159), Bluetooth earbuds that work with Google Translate on the company’s Pixel 2 phone, offer translation in 40 languages, including Italian, Hindi, Chinese and Spanish.
For example, let’s say you are in a cafe in Provence, France. You begin by gently pressing the right earbud touch pad and saying, “Google, help me speak French”.
“Sure”, the Google assistant virtual helper will say, “opening Google Translate”, (the app must be installed on a Google Pixel phone for this to work).
When the waiter comes by, you can touch the right earbud again and say: “May I have a coffee with milk and a glass of water, please?”
Google Assistant will then speak aloud on the phone in French what you just said in English. When the waiter replies in French, you will hear his words translated into English in your ear. Throughout the exchange, the phone will transcribe the conversation in English and French, enabling both parties to read on the screen the words being spoken.
I have been testing the buds for language translation in controlled environments, and the performance has been impressive.
Of course, out in the real world, where there is noise and rapid talkers, who are not necessarily interested in playing along, results may be different. I will be road testing these in other countries soon. Stay tuned.
The buds can be used for other travel-related tasks as well. By touching the right earbud, you can ask for the location of the nearest museum, gas station or McDonald’s. Request directions to a restaurant, and you will be shown a map and suggested route on your smartphone.
The Google Pixel 2 (starting at US$649; the Pixel 2 XL starts at US$849) comes with a widely praised smartphone camera.
It also has Google Lens technology, which enables users to tap a Lens icon and then point the phone at things such as a landmark, an artwork or a movie poster to learn more. Lens would not necessarily identify lesser-known objects, but Google said it is working on expanding its range. NYT