Google really wants to take you there

New York

FLIGHT-delay predictions, mobile trip-planning, automatic itinerary management, language translation through Bluetooth earbuds and a smartphone that enables users to learn about landmarks by tapping on icons and aiming the phone at them - these are among the travel innovations Google has been introducing in recent days and weeks.

A Google Pixel 2 smartphone costs upward of US$650, but the company's latest tools are free. In fact, they may already be on your phone, nudging Google closer to being a one-stop destination for on-the-go vacation planning.