The tablet should be a revolution for independent travel. We’re not quite there yet. Here’s my checklist of the necessary functionality, along with my experience during a recent trip to Spain.

• Self-geolocation. I used downloaded OpenStreetMap (OSM) maps on Osmand (for Android). GPS worked great and I never got lost.
• Map search, to find destinations quickly. Basically impossible except with Google Maps and a data connection. So at this point we are using two separate maps.
• Plan the itinerary on the go. I used a Rough Guide on Kindle, which was good for quality information, but there was a major problem – I could not plot the itinerary on my map. Not directly (no map coordinates API in Kindle), and not even manually in the Google Maps app (no feature to do it).
• Book accommodation and transport on the go. I didn’t attempt transport, but the Booking.com app was good for hotels – except the usual problem. Impossible to plot locations on my own offline map, except manually after laboriously cross-referencing from Booking.com’s map! Where’s the API?
• Protect private data against theft of the tablet. Since access to an email account opens the door to an online identity, this is a major consideration. I had two-factor protection: a screen lock, and a remote wiping service which works if you or the thief haven’t disconnected data. The combination seems quite secure.

Ubiquitous affordable high-speed data would make things easier for travellers, and OSM data still has to beat Google Maps in terms of usability. But one fix needs to happen now. That is an open API for map coordinates, to share location data between apps and maps. A decent proposal exists already! Let’s use it.