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Finding the right GPS App for the iPhone can be a hassle. There are a lot of competing products available right now and finding the correct one for you can require a lot of research and money if you don’t get it right the first time. GPS Apps are some of the more expensive Apps on the App Store so finding the right one the first time can be more compelling.
I have a few that I have used on my iPhone but there is one that I turn to most often when I need GPS assistance.
Here are my requirements for a good iPhone GPS App.
- Must be stable, and fast loading.
- Must have locally installed maps.
- Must have a horizontal view.
- Is better if it allows music play back during routing.
- That’s it.
As you can see I am not real demanding when it comes to GPS Apps. The key to me is STABLE and FAST LOADING. It is the stable and fast loading where a lot of GPS apps falter.
One such example is Navigon…It is the best looking gps app that I have, it has the most features of any gps app that I have but it is the slowest loading App I have tested. By the time it loads on my iPhone 3G I have lost interest in going where I was headed. I have also run in to periodic stability issues so I don’t always trust it to get me to my destination.
Two Apps that I would like to test or are waiting to test are Tom Tom for iPhone and N-Drive for iPhone. These apps look very promissing but I have not tested them at the time of this writing.
My favorite GPS app to date is one of the first GPS Apps but also one of the lesser known. It is G-Map for iPhone. G-Map offers regional maps for around $19 or you can purchase US and Canada for $49. It is the fastest loading app I have, it has been very stable in my testing and it just gets the job done.
I do most of my GPS navigation on my motorcycle, so having an easy to read screen is nice. I also allows the creation of Routes which is a nice feature for motorcyclists because you can plan a nice scenic motorcycle ride with the app. I wish the app allowed you to lock the perspective because riding around it will often rotate the perspective in a corner which is annoying. But, for the cost it is the best App going that I know of for the iPhone.
You can find more info here along with screen shots. If you want to take my word for it and buy the App you can find G-Map in the App Store here.
Look for a review of N-Drive after it is released in the US markets.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
i really like this application
I’m sorry to be critical, but you have missed some fundamental elements of a GPS program. for example, how can you not include features such as the ability to direct you, turn by turn to your destination? Re-routing and detours? Toll avoidance? The currency of the maps? The ease of use – how many taps to enter a destination?
Please, if you are going to write an article on the best GPS app, you might consider the features required a bit more carefully.
In my experience I’m using both TOM TOM and Co-Pilot and both have features that I like and don’t like.
TOM TOM is great at mapping, the interface is smooth and all important information such as current speed, limit monitoring, compass heading, road names, POI’s etc. Are all visible or can be configured to be visible on the screen. It has a great horizontal (landscape) screen display. However, if you tap the screen when in the map display this opens the options panel, where I would prefer to be able to pan and zoom on the map as displayed. This is where co-pilot takes the lead in that once on the map display you can tap and drag around the map to set a destination point or get information about POI’s. Additionally, the speed limit is displayed in a more meaningful signpost display and it has the ability to switch to cycling, or walking mode as may be required. Where it tends to sit down for me, is in the ease of destination input. Tom Tom uses the native iPhone keyboard (Qwerty) where-as co-Pilot uses it’s own (Abcde) keyboard. This is simply a matter of preference however, and I find that both applications are very good.
Cheerio
Howard
Thanks for the comments Howard. I guess a better title for my post would have been: “The Best GPS App for the iPhone that I have Tested”
Since I don’t have experience with the Apps you mentioned I will accept your expert opinion.
My needs for an App are fairly simple, since I ride a motorcycle and most of my use for a gps is while on 2 wheels. It seems to me that the more fetures that are added the more sluggish the application responds on my iPhone 3G. Your needs and the needs of most other readers may diiferent.
Thanks again for the feedback, I would love to test the Tom Tom app as well.
The gps apps are great load fast on 3gs. I had the 3g before and when you load this apps it’s kinda lagging due to 3g has a slow processor and it lags a lot meaning sometimes you already made the turn and the gps is like at the back of your car, that’s why I did upgrade to 3gs because of this issue, in my opinion you need to sell your 3g now and upgrade, until it has a bit of a price, be ware apple will have the new iPhone hybrid q3 next year, mush smaller but same speed as the 3gs, but downside of the hybrid is it has a smaller screen same as mytouch, and it’s gonna be an issue if you type a lot like email, SMS and such, I had the mytouch it’s like a very little smaller size than the iPhone 3gs which 0.5 in smaller if I’m not wrong, I sold it in a week because it’s really frustrating when you hit different letter kinda going back and forth, and don’t tell me that because the mytouch is not multitouch! I did install the hack cyanogen firmware to made it multitouch but still I hate it. You’ll know what I mean if you try one android phone, so conclusion: you decide 3g still (outdated) or 3gs(updated) I speak for myself for me updated, you live once in a lifetime why not get the best IF again IF you can. have a good one chill
Hey Jahy,
Thanks for the insight…My wife has a 3Gs, maybe she will let me borrow it to run some more tests.
Thanks Kevin & Howard for the info on best gps app. I am thinking either buying a separate Garmin. Or buy a GPS app for my iphone. That way I can perhaps buy another ipod touch for my kids so they won't bug me wanting to play with my iphone. I 'll have to calculate the prices to get the max possible benefits and most value for money. A separate GPS doesn't do much good when I rarely travel far and only got trouble finding direction at the downtown area.
Thanks for the review as it was very useful. After the launch of NexusOne I was really confused to keep iPhone or not as I am impressed by Google maps navigation.
Rohit
http://rohitprabhakar.com
Ndrive is a very good gps. It has tons of features
voice turning, you can listen to music while using it
and it’s poi’s are detailed. I just noticed also that it gives phone numbers for surrounding stores and gives you the option to call or navagate to them. Definely better than tomtom and motion x
by far 8.5/10. Only downfall is that the gps is about 8 ft behind where you actually are. It needs a stand with another gps chip in it like tomtom does. So it can be killer accurate.
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