OpenTable,Tripit and FourSquare Now Live In The Official Glassware Directory

With new features integrated, Google Glass just got some extra experience points in traveling industry. Now, thanks to its connected headset, you can use official applications for websites like OpenTable, TripIT and even Foursquare.

Along with Google’s proprietary Field Trip and Word Lens (recently updated), the new apps can offer a complete series of travel software for Google’s head mounted computer. By using them, users can better discover their proximities, find hotels and make reservations, receive notifications for the planned journeys or even translate menus and signs; everything without using the smartphone.

Even though Glass apps are not by far as complete as their smartphone versions, they’re still very useful; for instance, the Foursquare app allows the user to see close by venues, check them out and in order to access any of it, he’d just have to say: ‘Ok Glass, check me into… ‘ Swipe up and down to browse around, and tap once when you want to check in.

At the moment, you cannot add a photo when you check in, but we believe this feature will also be integrated in the upcoming versions of the app.

Foursquare is planning to put discovery and check-ins into two different sections, by launching Swarm in the next couple of months. This made us believe that the Forsquare app for Glass is being worked on for a while now, maybe even before the announcement of Swarm. Considering that the lens on Glass can only be used in simple displaying, Foursquare might go for two Glass apps or rebrand the current one after Swarm’s official release.

By using TripIt, new information and trip updates such as flight status, gate and departure time will be added to the Google Now cards you already created on your Glass. Thus, you will be able to easily access a single card with this information. So, if you’re a fan of Google Now and you like saving your trips in the Google calendar, you will definitely love TripIt, which saves about the same updates on your Glass.

As for Open Table, the app also has its own Glass command. By saying ‘Okay Glass, make a reservation’, the app will provide a selection of close by restaurants from which to choose the one that fits you best. After choosing the restaurant, you have to complete the reservation, which is also as easy as pie: every time you complete the required info, the app will save them for next time; all you’ll have to do next is modify the info that no longer applies.

Until April this year, when a new update was released, Field Trip from Google was sending you information on all the points of interest in your area; but now, with the update, you can specifically ask what’s in your area of interest. So, you can select the locations by categories such as Food, Museums and Art, or go for general recommendations. If you tap again, you’ll also be able to see the list of venues around you.

And we finally got to Word Lens, the app that will make the traveling package complete. We believe that this app and its augmented reality function do a great translating job on Glass since November last year, when it officially appeared. In order to receive the translation of a text, all you have to do is look at it through Glass’s camera until the text is framed by a rectangle and the words will change to the language you have set on Glass; from French to English per say. If you like this feature on your smartphone, wait till you see it done on Glass: it will blow your mind.

We can definitely say that this set of apps covers traveling information necessities pretty well; and of course, having it on Glass makes it even better. Being far from home, in a country where the language sounds like nothing familiar and you don’t know much about, having access to immediate information about that specific country or area is crucial. And with Glass, you have fast and hands-free access to everything you might need. So, enjoy!