With 64 languages available for written and spoken translation, Google Translate is comprehensive, easy to use, and, best of all, free. The app now offers downloadable language packs for Android users that can be accessed offline.
Need to brush up on your Spanish before your next business trip? The best new way to learn a language is also completely free: so far, 5 million-plus users have signed up for Duolingo’s quick, effective lesson plans in six languages.
This user-friendly app for finding last-minute hotel rooms at steep discounts—sometimes more than 80 percent off—has been a big hit since it launched in 2011. Its quick rundown of available hotels (with perhaps just one or two rooms left for the night) gives you the exact distance from your current GPS location and quick, real-world impressions such as Basic, Charming or Luxe. The latest upgrades have added more locations—from Costa Rica to Madison, Wis.—and you can now book the night as early as 9 a.m. on any given day, up from noon.