Elk Everywhere: The 1.3 Update

We’re planning a trip to Japan later this year. One of the nice things about travelling to Japan is to take the Shinkansen, the bullet train.

They’re quite costly, though. Depending on how far you travel, it can cost more than our flight tickets.

Thankfully, rail passes are available for tourists, which can make traveling on the Shinkansen a lot more affordable.

While researching on which rail passes we should be buying, we found them all in Japanese Yen. It’s hard to get an idea of how much ¥19,000 actually costs.

Of course, it’s not just rail passes. It’s also accommodation, food, admission fees.

In the past, to use Elk to convert these prices that we’ve found in Safari, we’d first have to return to Home Screen, search for Elk among your apps, launch it, convert, then return back to Safari.

With today’s update, you’ll be able to use Elk from any app that you’re currently using — without having to leave the app.

Elk 1.3 adds a nifty widget to your Today View. It miniaturizes the iPhone app into a compact yet dynamic reference list.

To access the widget, you’d bring down the Notification Center by swiping down from the top of your screen, then swipe left to Today View.

Similar to the iPhone app, you drill down the widget as far as you need to obtain the kind of precision that you need.

If you’re into ballpark figures, then you’d be happy knowing that ¥20,000 is US$181.

If you want more precision, another tap gives you the more precise amount of dollars for ¥19,000, which is US$172.

The beauty of the widget is that it also works from your Lock Screen.

That means you’ll no longer have to unlock your phone, look for Elk, launch it, before being able to convert currencies.

We hope the widget will make converting currencies on your trips even more pleasant.