A few weeks back we took a look at some of our favorite, or most anticipated apps for BlackBerry 10 and Melanie M. mentioned that she can’t wait to get BlackBerry Travel on her new BlackBerry Z10. Good news for her (and everybody else who’s picked one up) BlackBerry Travel is now available for BlackBerry 10.

If you’ve been using previous generations of BlackBerry Travel, you’ll know that it is definitely a must have for travelers. I’ve written a few times in the past about how the app makes your life easier while on the go. You can plan, book, manage, and share their travel arrangements with friends, colleagues and on social and professional networks while on the go.

BlackBerry Travel for BlackBerry 10 includes all of the great features that make travel simple for BlackBerry customers including: Automatic Trip Scanning, Travel Notification in BlackBerry Hub, Hotel and Car Rental Booking, Itinerary Management, Social Sharing, Search Flights, and Time-Saving Tools. On top of that there are also some new features added as well.

Check them out here:

• Trip Status Sharing – It’s now even easier to post your trip updates on BBM, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. With Trip Status Sharing, you can keep your friends and colleagues up-to-date on your travel adventures immediately as they unfold.
• Flight Status Sharing – BlackBerry Travel has always kept you up-to-date with real-time flight statuses and with BlackBerry Travel for BlackBerry 10, you can share this information with your colleagues, friends and social networks. If your flight is delayed, cancelled or changed terminals, you can easily and quickly inform others and make sure they know when and where to pick you up from the airport.
• Price Alerts, Change Offers and Upgrades – The new Price Alert service with BlackBerry Travel for BlackBerry 10 helps ensure you’re always getting the best hotel deal. It will put your mind at ease and automatically notify you if there’s a better price for the hotel room you booked, a comparable hotel for a cheaper price, or if there’s a much better hotel for slightly more. In many cases, you can cancel your original booking without penalty and re-book the better deal through BlackBerry Travel.
• BlackBerry ID – With BlackBerry ID, you’ll never have to login to BlackBerry Travel again. You’ll have instant access to all of its features as soon as you launch the app. Even on your first time using BlackBerry Travel, BlackBerry ID will automatically fill in the registration form for you.

If that’s got you excited, you’re not alone – and better yet it’s available as a free download on the BlackBerry World storefront. Planning any trips in the near future? Be sure to share the excitement with us in the comments, and if you’ve got any tips for using BlackBerry Travel, we’d love to hear your story.

Please note the app may take up to 24 hours to appear in the BlackBerry World Storefront.

I have the pleasure of occasionally heading out to cover events and meet with our amazing partners and customers. During these trips, I like to test out the variety of apps available on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront that help with all aspects of this process. With the BlackBerry Travel app, BlackBerry Traffic, and the BlackBerry 7.1 OS update to BlackBerry Maps you get three essential apps for surviving out there in the harsh wilderness of business travel. Let’s take a look at the updates and how they can help you too.

BlackBerry Travel

A long-time favorite of the BlackBerry community (and us employees too), the BlackBerry Travel app is designed to allow you to plan, book, manage, and share your trips. The BlackBerry Travel app includes features to help keep your travel plans in sync. Automatic trip scanning can scan your Messages application automatically, and exports all supported travel email messages to the BlackBerry Travel app.

For example, let’s say that the airport you’re departing from gets overtaken by wild bears and your flight gets delayed. Don’t fret – BlackBerry Travel will notify you of delays or cancellations for your flights as they occur, and help you find alternate routes and book a new flight. You’ll also be able to make a limo reservation ahead of time to take you to your final destination right from the app. Keep in mind you’ll need a data plan that includes browsing for this app – then head over to BlackBerry App World to grab it!

BlackBerry Traffic

You know that point when you’re caught in traffic on a foreign highway and you’re deeply regretting renting a car? This is where BlackBerry Traffic saves the day. Beyond calculating your estimated time of arrival based on current traffic conditions – and suggesting alternate routes to avoid traffic tie ups – the app now provides turn-by-turn voice navigation through your smartphone’s speaker, or a Bluetooth®-enabled hands-free device or car system. Not only are you less likely to get lost with this app, but now you’ll also have friendly guidance to get you where you need to go all while keeping your hands on the steering wheel. The voice navigation also helps ensure a safer journey, allowing you to focus entirely on the road. By the way, BlackBerry Traffic works just as well on your daily commute back at home.

BlackBerry Maps

You’ll be more confident in your travels with BlackBerry Maps at your side. Displaying your route, distance and estimated travel time are only a few of the features of this app. My personal favorites are the ability to share maps through email or BBM™, bookmarking favorite or common destinations, and contextual search (e.g. “Pizza”).

With the updates in BlackBerry 7.1 OS, you’ll now be able to discover special offers, deals, and coupons from nearby vendors. This is particularly good for managing that expense account smartly during a business trip.

Updates to BlackBerry Travel app and BlackBerry Traffic, as well as the BlackBerry 7.1 OS update of BlackBerry Maps, are designed to make life easier for business users while on the go. Others features of the BlackBerry 7.1 OS update that can help business users include Mobile Hotspot, Universal Search, BlackBerry® Tag, Wi-Fi® Calling (where available), FM Radio, and BBM™ 6.1. Check out the blog post on the Inside BlackBerry Blog for more details or head over to the BlackBerry 7.1 OS web site.

Of the three apps highlighted (BlackBerry Travel, BlackBerry Traffic, BlackBerry Maps), which do you use most often? Share in the comments.