Once you have selected your starting point
and destination, the app speedily provides you with a suggested route to your
destination and even warns you if there are tolls along the way. If you are
dissatisfied with the app’s suggestions, you can call up two additional
alternative routes. You can even choose to avoid highways or tolls. Handily, it
also makes use of Google’s Live Traffic information to let you know what kind
of traffic conditions to expect.
Actual navigation using Google Maps is
pretty basic as there are no navigational aids such as lane assist or junction
view. However, there is turn-by-turn voice navigation to guide you and that
works well enough, although you will need to consult the display at more
confusing sections of the road.
Handily,
it also makes use of Google’s Live Traffic information to let you know what
kind of traffic conditions to expect.
We found that Google Maps on iOS was
difficult to use in landscape mode. This is because of the wide header and
footer, which restricts how much of the road ahead you can see. Using the app
in portrait mode on an iPhone makes more sense.
All in all, the navigation features of the
Google Maps app are decidedly basic. But where it really excels is its powerful
search function. Much like the omni box in Google’s Chrome browser, the search
bar can look up addresses, postal codes, places of interest, popular
restaurants and so on all at once. It is dead simple and very effective.
What’s more, once Google Maps locates your
destination, there is even the option to quickly bring up Google Street View to
survey the surroundings of your destination. And if you are looking up popular
places such as restaurants, the app can even show you reviews from Google Plus,
as well as other relevant information such as opening hours and contact
details.
Google Maps for Android allows you to save
areas of the map so that you can still refer to them even if you are offline.
This is very useful for travelers who do not wish to purchase a data plan at
their travel destination or incur data roaming charges.
Plus,
as well as other relevant information such as opening hours and contact
details.
All in all, Google Maps (for Android) is a
well thought-out and competent navigational app that we think will be the
mainstay for most drivers with an Android smartphone. For iOS users, Google
Maps is a good alternative to the default Apple Maps app.
·
Developer: Google
·
Version: 6.14.2 (Android) / 1.0 (Ios)
·
Size: 7.0mb
·
Platform: Android / iOS
·
Price: Free
Nokia Drive+ Beta
Nokia has always placed a strong emphasis
on maps and navigation. In 2007, Nokia acquired NAVTEQ, a provider of digital
maps, to strengthen its mapping services. Now, with Nokia backing Microsoft’s
Windows Phone OS, Nokia has also released a new mapping app called Nokia Drive+
Beta to complement its Windows Phone-powered Lumia smartphones.
Targeted at drivers, Nokia Drive+ Beta is
as the name suggests, still in beta, but it shows lots of promise. First of
all, Nokia Drive+ is quite unlike any of the other free-to-use GPS apps that
we’ve covered here. While Apple’s and Google’s Map apps require a live data
connection to work properly, users can download entire maps with Nokia Drive+
and use it offline, much like a standalone GPS device. Even better, Nokia makes
maps from over 116 countries available to download at your convenience.
Targeted
at drivers, Nokia Drive+ Beta is as the name suggests, still in beta, but it
shows lots of promise.
Nokia Drive+ itself is a 6MB download and
additional maps will vary in size. Singapore, for instance, was a 47MB
download. Naturally, larger countries will require more memory; Malaysia
requires 114MB, while the map of Thailand takes up 206MB of space.
Nokia Drive+ provides turn-by-turn voice
navigation too, and this is enabled by downloading additional voice packs. The
app has support for over 50 languages as well.
Once you’ve downloaded your desired map and
voice pack, the app is ready to use. The interface is straightforward enough,
but a little clumsy as it takes few “clicks” before you can actually search for
your destination. Thankfully, Nokia Drive+ search’s function is fairly powerful
and intelligent since it can automatically search addresses, postal codes and
even places of interest. What’s more, it’s pretty fast.
Once
you’ve downloaded your desired map and voice pack, the app is ready to use.
Navigation performance is decent even if it
like Apple’s and Google’s apps, lacks modern GPS features such as lane assists
and junction view. However, Nokia Drive+ makes up for that by including 3D
models of prominent buildings in its maps. Another feature which sets the Nokia
Drive+ app apart from Apple and Google Maps is that it shows your traveling
speed and can alert you if the speed limit is exceeded. Lastly, we found voice
instructions to be clearly delivered and succinct.
