Take Her For A Spin!

Sygic Mobile Maps Australia and New Zealand (AU$79.99) is the ultimate driving companion, especially if you are prone to getting lost, or just love to go out for a Sunday drive, and need a means of getting home. This review has been based on the Australia and New Zealand version, althought everything exept the maps themselves, is the same no matter what country's version you are using. In this review I will not be comparing a GPS app to a classic street directory, nor will I be comparing it to it's various competitors, but I will be providing you, yes you, our valid readers with a comprehensive list of features, and all the little things that I found, which earn Sygic Mobile Maps a place on my home screen.

First of all, set the price aside. The GPS app market is expensive. However, Sygic's prices have been very competitive. You cannot expect to find a good quality GPS app, with all the bells and whistles for under $10. If you only need to overlay directions on a 2D map, there's already an app for that, and it came with your phone! However the hefty data charges it incurs whilst being used are more than a put off. This is where Sygic Mobile Maps begins to shine. The large file size of the app isn't without it's benefits. You are actually downloading the complete map, full of points of interest, straight to your device. I'll say this now and make it clear, Sygic Mobile Maps has absolutely no data fee's.

After thorough testing, and miles on the road, I have found a few things about Sygic Mobile Maps, that really sell it to me.

We all know that GPS signals can be slightly unreliable at times, depending on your location. This is because, to work successfully, your phone needs many satellites in it's line of sight. Simply, the more GPS satellites in sight, the stronger the signal and vice versa. Thankfullly Sygic has gifted us with numerous ways to begin tracking a route. You can elect to start from any location, or point of interest (POI), or choose to wait or a valid signal. This means that you can get going without a wait, unlike some more unreliable GPS solutions.

But the real zinger of Sygic Mobile Maps is the turn-by-turn voice navigation it provides. You can select from a multitude of voices, in many different languages, to let you know where to go without the distraction off picking up your device. My favourite voice, which I personally recommended is called "English UK (Simon)". Try getting a street directory to talk to you in the same way (not now, keep reading!). You won't be able to.

The interface also rotates depending on the orientation of your iPhone. So if it us docked (which I highly recommend for extensive use, all GPS apps drain battery like there is no tomorrow) on it's side, the view will switch to landscape mode, providing you with a much wider view of your surrounding area.

The highly configurable "dashboard" allows you to display all the information you need, and remove what you don't. Possibilities include GPS signal strength, time you began, estimated time of arrival, your current speed or direction, how many minutes you've been on the route for, and how many minutes are left before you reach your destination. You can also change the map between a 3D and flat mode to suit yourself, as well as change the colour scheme to (or automatically) change between day and night variants. The interface also tells you the current speed limit, and warns you if you have exceeded this.

Now onto the fun stuff. Planning a route is simple an quick. You can select a destination from an extensive list of POI's, 'favourited' locations, your phones contacts, or enter one manually. You can then select a starting point. Whether this is your driveway, or your current location is up to you. You can also elect detours, or add in another destination on the go, althought neither I, Sygic nor your local authority recommend operating this while driving. You can also choose to avoid toll roads, and set automatic route planning methods to the fastest, shortest or most economical route depending on your needs.

But what happens if you don't follow the exact route Sygic Mobile Maps gives you? Maybe you missed a turn, or maybe you (wrongly) think that another route is shorter. Either way, Sygic has you covered! Your route will be recalculated to get to your destination according to the settings in use.

In short, Sygic Mobile Maps is all about you. Not only is it the top grossing app, (in the Australian App Store anyway), but its highly configurable interface and route options allow you to get to your destination with ease, and hey, when you're told when you're speeding, and shown where all the speeding and red light cameras are located in the current area, as well as being provided with audible turn by turn navigation, and quick re-routing options in the case of a wrong turn, Sygic Mobile Maps is the back seat driver you've always wanted.

MyAppSource Rating: 5 Stars!

Don't Worry, Just Put It Off

Put Things Off (US$2.99), is an application which can help with time management and prioritisation. This app can be found under the Productivity umbrella on the iTunes Store and is designed by Spiffing Apps. Put Things Off is an excellent example of when keeping things simple, can pay dividends, not only financially but in effectiveness as well. Spiffing Apps put it best when they said that Put Things Off is for "busy people who don't have time to categorise, geotag, sync or generally micromanage their lives."

Put Things Off is ingenius due to its simplicity and lack of clutter. When the app is opened all you need to do is write a note or reminder about something, hit save and then choose to either file in the "Today" folder or the "Put Off" folder. The today folder is for tasks which need to be completed today, whilst the put off folder is for tasks that must be completed over a larger time frame. The default setting for the put off folder is 3 days (that is 3 days until it moves to the today folder), but it can be set from anywhere between 1 and 31 days.

The due date of a note can be altered, which means it will wait in the put off folder until it is in need of completion. When you have checked off an item or note as completed, it moves into the "Done" folder. From this folder it either can be deleted or kept as a momento of an accomplishment. This application is very quick and responsive. The application opens and is functional almost immediately and never has to load any items, which is a major time saver.

Put Things Off  is straight to the point and wastes no time on, useless bells and whistles which may sound good, but are really impractical. There is not a whole lot to write about this application and in this instance that is a good thing. This app's purpose is to make a relaxed and efficient to do list and it does that perfectly. The application is definately worth a purchase, especially if you are in need of an organisational overhaul.

MyAppSource Rating: Four Stars!

OffMaps, Maps without the cost!

OffMaps (US$2.99), is your new travel companion. OffMaps is another GPS map application, which is dominated by the big guns of the navigation industry. This clever little app was created by Felix Lamouroux (CurlyBrackets). With OffMaps, you do not need to pay top dollar for hundreds of megabytes worth of maps, but rather the very minor price of the app, and download (for free) the maps which you actually want!

You may or may not be wondering how all this actually works. I know I was. OffMaps sources its maps from OpenStreetMap (openstreetmap.org) - which dubs itself as "a free editable map of the whole world." Essentially, OpenStreetMap is the Wikipedia of maps, allowing users to freely edit it as needed. However, because of this, OpenStreetMap may not have detailed coverage of all areas, so it is important to check that the particular sections of the map which you require are covered. (Even if they aren't, the benefit of OpenStreetMap is that you can edit it yourself!)

OffMaps works in two modes, online and offline. Kind of simple, I know, but it is the offline mode that really makes this app worthwhile. In online mode, OffMaps bears strong resemblance to the built in Google Maps app. It is in offline mode however, where OffMaps (hence the name), really shines. With a bit of prior planning, maps can be downloaded for the areas which are necessary for you to reach your destination, and then some - over a wi-fi connection of course. Offline mode then allows you to re-load these maps, straight from the iPhone, without incurring a mobile data cost. This also means that the maps load quicker, due to the fact that they are coming straight from the iPhone, and not over a data network.

Overall, OffMaps is the money saving navigation buddy that you've always wanted. It provides the same basic functionality of all the big guys, minus the hefty cost, and saves you those high data download fees incurred from your mobile provider.

I would like to thank OffMaps developer, Felix Lamouroux, for his early support of MyAppSource. Without caring developers such as himself, we wouldn't be hear today.

MyAppSource Rating: Four Stars!