New apps keep you safe while traveling

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Smartphones are always with us, used for communication and entertainment, but they can now be lifesavers too. A new set of apps help to keep you safe while traveling.

iTriage allows you to look up symptoms and medical conditions on the go.

But say you didn't have iTriage and the worst happens -- you collapse while traveling, who would know your existing medical conditions?

ICE 4 TRAVEL stores your emergency contact information as wallpaper on your phone in seven different languages. It works even when your phone is in sleep mode.

Ping4 is an app that can keep you safe from emergency situations while traveling by sending public safety alerts to your smartphone.

"This is the future of crisis management; getting important information into your hands, right now," Ping4 spokesperson Jim Bender said.

Bender says it was made for situations like the tsunami in Japan. He says with Ping4, emergency workers could warn you in a matter of seconds.

"The police in Japan could have clicked and dragged a box around the coastline of Japan and said, 'There is an earthquake in the Pacific and we expect giant 100 foot waves within the hour you must immediately get inland and to higher ground,'" Bender said.

You tell the app which alerts you're interested in and you only receive those.

The apps are all free.

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smartphones, apps, travel, 7 on your side, michael finney

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