Why the world isn't ready for the travel app revolution

I'm not exaggerating -- these are no small changes.

We've gone from the days when instant language translation was an idea that existed only in the realms of lab research or science fiction, to an era when free and low-cost apps that do such translation are available to everyone with a smartphone.

The tools available for organizing and discovering travel resources and opportunities -- which now leverage artificial intelligence and social input -- are nothing less than astounding.

But while hundreds of nimble, innovative startups are transforming travel, their ideas and products remain hostage to a dysfunctional mobile market where wireless data access systems are antiquated and massively overpriced.

In the real world, you can't really use any of the revolutionary travel technologies unless you're willing to pay a fortune for data connectivity.