Summer is here in the northern hemisphere and many probably already have their vacation plans set for a short getaway to enjoy the weather. But if you haven't made any plans yet, I've gathered up some highly rated apps to help you get out of town.

This week's collection of apps will help you plan the perfect trip. The first is a popular app that checks for the best flights to your chosen destination and looks for the best deals. The second will help you find the best food in your location once you get there. The third is a mapping and guide app that lets you download the information so you'll never get lost -- even when you have no connection on your iPhone.

Sort by Agony to make sure you don't end up with several layovers and late-night flights.

Hipmunk (Free) takes some of the hassle out of finding the best flight by showing you several possible flights on a timeline, then letting you sort by various criteria to find the best flight for you. Like any good travel app, Hipmunk offers buttons to quickly select your departure and destination airports and the dates you want to travel, and then you can select the number of travelers. Then you hit the Search for Flights button to get the... [Read more]

(Credit: Foursquare)

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Foursquare has added a new feature to its app and Web site called Connected Apps. Basically, it's a showcase of apps that got a head-start on using the Foursquare API. In the choices you'll see apps such as: The Weather Channel, Instagram, and Eat This, Not That!

When you check in to a location, you'll see the Connected Apps information right below Foursquare tips from other users. Ready to add some to your Foursquare and check them out? Here's how:

Mobile apps (Android and iOS):

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

Step 1: Open the Foursquare app and head to the Me tab. Here you'll want to press on the My Settings button.

[Read more]

On the fifth anniversary for the iPhone and as we draw closer to the release of iOS 6 this fall (read our First Take from WWDC here), I can't help but think of how far Apple's iOS has come since the day the first iPhone was unveiled.

If you remember, that first iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs and Apple on January 9, 2007, and was more about the touch-screen interface than any extras, but it wasn't until June of that year the iPhone was released to the public. That first iOS wasn't even called iOS (Apple said the phone was running a version of OS X), and was simply the iPhone OS. This early operating system just had what we know today as the core apps -- basics such as Safari, E-mail, Maps, Notes, and a few others. It's hard to believe with how important the App Store is today, but it wasn't until iPhone OS 2.0 that the iTunes App Store was even introduced and still took a while to really get off the ground as app developers experimented with the new device.

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Searching on a popular search engine nowadays does not guarantee an anonymous state. When you click on a search result, your computer automatically sends information such as search terms, IP addresses, and the date and time that you landed on a site. But when this information is paired with additional account information, your odds of being uniquely identifiable increase tremendously.

For this week's Freeware Friday, check out some of our favorite tools to boost the privacy of your online experience and reduce leakage of sensitive information.

Disconnect (Firefox, Chrome) Disconnect is a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that stops tracking from sites like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. It aims to reduce the clutter and tracking that slows down your browsing experience and take control of your shared data.

BetterPrivacy (Firefox) BetterPrivacy is a Firefox extension that prevents Flash cookies from being stored in system folders. Once installed, BetterPrivacy will sweep out all Flash cookies stored on your system after exiting the browser.

NoScript (... [Read more]

Google's homepage.

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There are many customizations you can make to Google products on the Web. Unfortunately, the omnipresent navigation bar doesn't fall into that category (as easily).

You may not even use some of the services that are linked in the navigation bar; or worse, ones you use are swept off into the drop-down menu. With a Chrome extension, Big G Black Bar Sorter, you can order the products any way you like -- putting the stuff you use just one click away. Here's how:

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET) Step 1: Install Big G Black Bar Sorter for Chrome.

Step 2: Drag and drop the items you want to remove from the bar to another area on the page.

Google's navigation bar before an... [Read more]

Google announced at its annual developer conference Thursday that it's bringing Google Drive to iOS devices. Google Drive was released soon after the announcement. It's a free and universal app, designed for both the iPhone and iPad.

I've been waiting for Google Drive (and Google Docs before that) to come to the iPhone for a while now. Many times when I'm in the grocery store, I wish I could quickly access one of the many recipes I keep in Google Drive. While Google Drive for iOS fulfills this need of quickly accessing a document to view, I was shocked to discover that the app forces me out to Safari in order to edit. But I'm getting ahead of myself; let's take a look at the app from the start.

After launching the app for the first time and logging in with your Google credentials, you'll arrive at the home screen, which features five items: My Drive, Shared with me, Starred, Recent, and Offline. Two buttons sit in the bottom corners: Refresh and Settings.

Tap on My Drive and you'll see your folders. Tap on a folder to see the documents inside, or tap the arrow button along the right edge to see the Details page, where you can make a document available offline and see who has access to it. Although there is an on/off switch to make folders available offline, all were grayed out for me; I cou... [Read more]

The end is very, very near for Adobe's Flash Player on mobile devices.

Adobe Systems announced in a blog post yesterday that its Flash Player will not be "certified for use" with Google's upcoming update to its mobile operating system, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). The company said that users might still be able to access the Flash Player on their Jelly Bean devices if they had previously run the service on Android 4.0, though it could "exhibit unpredictable behavior."

"Future updates to Flash Player will not work [on Jelly Bean]," Adobe wrote on its blog. "We recommend uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1."

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Google's new Chrome browser for Apple's iOS seems to be a hit.

Released on Tuesday but available only since yesterday, the new mobile version is the top free app in both the iPhone and iPad categories. Google created dedicated versions for both devices, so iPad users running the browser can take advantage of the tablet's ample 9.7-inch screen.

Chrome now joins Opera, Dolphin, and other browsers as yet another alternative to mobile Safari for iOS users. The Chrome app has also made its splash in the Android world, officially out of beta mode and available through Google Play.

Mobile Chrome offers some of the same features as its larger desktop cousin, including an integrated address and search box, tabbed browsing, and the ability to switch the position of tabs. An Incognito feature lets you browse securely without having your history tracked.

Chrome for iOS also lets you view your open tabs, bookmarks, and passwords from other computers and devices running the browser. And you can send Web pages from your PC to you... [Read more]