Best for Modern-Day Explorer: The Cartographer iPhone (£2.39)
Kid yourself that you're exploring uncharted trails with this vintage-themed travelogue app. Plan your journey with Google Maps, then download the antique-style maps to your iPhone so you don't need an internet connection to explore and annotate them while you're on the road.
Best for stargazers: Star Walk iPhone (59p), iPad (£2.99)
Hold your mobile to the sky and this app will name any star it's pointed at. It'll even overlay constellations with the shapes that inspired their names and play an ambient soundtrack for added mystical effect.
Best for blue-sky thinking: British Airways Android, BlackBerry, iPhone (free)
Keep track of your flight with the official British Airways app. Access your flight information, live arrival and departure times and mobile Check-in. Executive Club members can also use their phone as a virtual boarding pass on many routes.
Best for the great outdoors: Boiling Frog Android, iPhone, Nokia, BlackBerry (£1.79)
Gives advice on everything from avoiding minefields to dealing with snakebites. Just as useful is the repository for your travel information, which includes places to store vital contact numbers.
Best for knowing what's going on: Google TranslateAndroid (free), iPhone (free)
A fully-functional interpreter, it will listen to your voice, recognise your words, translate them into one of 15 languages and speak the translated phrase back to you. The app will also translate text - with impressive accuracy - between 57 languages.
Best wow factor: Word Lens iPhone (free, language packs £5.99)
This translates Spanish text into English in the most jaw-dropping way. Hold your iPhone camera in front of a Spanish sign. You'll see a video feed from the camera and, within seconds, the words will rearrange themselves into English. And it replicates the fonts and colours of the original sign.
Best for writing home: Postman iPhone (£1.79)
This app makes it easy to create and send e-postcards using your own snapshots. It uses Google Maps to identify your location and can even show weather conditions.
Best for sightseeing: HearPlanet Android (£1.83), iPhone (£2.39)
Featuring over half a million voice files that give information about historic sites and points of interest. While the majority of HearPlanet's audio is US-focused, it will also read Wikipedia articles to you. But you'll need an internet connection.
Best for checking in: TripAdvisor Android, iPhone, iPad, Nokia, Palm (free)
The best way to find a great hotel is by recommendation - and with more than 45 million reviews and opinions from fellow travellers, you can be sure to find a great place to stay, whatever your budget and wherever you are in the world.
Best for cyclists: BikeRoute Android (free)
Uses bike-specific route information to provide cycle-friendly journey information with spoken directions. If you decide to dismount and explore on foot, it will even guide you back to your bicycle.
