The 3rd app of Christmas that dcolbert gave to you is FlightTrack by Mobiata.

In the spirit of the holidays, we thought we’d create a
smartphone series based on a popular Christmas song. The 12 Days of
Christmas starts on Christmas Day, but our 12 Apps of Christmas begins
today, and we’ll continue to post one app per day, leading all the way
up to the holiday. However you celebrate this season, and whatever
device you own (or platform that it runs on), we hope
that you find some gems over the next 12 days — as these are the apps
that the TechRepublic’s editorial staff and bloggers actually use and feel
passionate enough to write about. Here’s what Donovan Colbert (aka dcolbert) had to say about one of his favorite apps called FlightTrack.

If you travel by air a lot or coordinate with family,
friends, or business associates who do, FlightTrack by Mobiata for Android and iOS smart
devices is an essential app to add to your library.

With FlightTrack, you simply enter the airline and flight
number you’re interested in, and you’ll be provided a nearly live stream of
all the pertinent data you might desire on any given flight.

I use this app most often to track my wife when she flies on
business, because I’m a nervous flyer, even when I’m not the one in the air.
The real time flight info shows altitude, airspeed, and even if the plane is
encountering inclement weather or diverting around storms.

On a recent flight with Wi-Fi, I was able to connect and track
my flight’s position in the air. I find comfort in knowing where I’m at rather than looking out of a window and guessing what state I’m
seeing below (Figure A).

Figure A

 

 

FlightTrack allows you to see the location of the plane.

It also takes a lot of the guesswork out of being ready to meet
an expected traveler on arrival at the airport. Although the FCC supposedly
delays the feeds by as much as 15 minutes, I’ve found that when I see a plane
land on my device, my wife generally calls me almost immediately to let me know that she’s arrived. I spend far less time in “Cell Phone Parking Lots,” waiting in
the dark for an expected arrival to land and call me to pick them up.

Additional features of FlightTrack include a menu that allows you to find
alternative flights (Figure B), call your booking airline, and log a journal of your
experiences on the flight. You can save frequent flights and have them ready to
view as soon as you launch the app. 

Figure B

 

 

FlightTrack features.

FlightTrack is by no means the only app in this crowded field — and Mobiata
includes a Pro version with even more features — so, I’d encourage you to
experiment to find the app in this category that works best for you. Personally, I’ve been
very happy with the performance and features of FlightTrack. 

Do you use FlightTrack or another travel app? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.

TechRepublic’s 12 Apps of Christmas