Entries Categorized as 'Navigation'
January 7, 2009
Waaaaay back at the dawn of the app store, one of the first location-aware navigation tool was ready and waiting on the App Store to the slavering masses eager to see what there was to see the moment Apple took the wraps off, was uLocate’s Where. I even posted its original press release verbatim, and followed it up with another one three days later going on about how popular it was, along with some brief commentary by me.
To be certain, I was excited at the prospect of the proliferation of location-aware applications for the iPhone. I knew it was going to be the Next Big Thing, and when I learned that the iPhone…
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November 26, 2008
App Name: MotionX GPS Lite
Version: 1.2
Developer: MotionX
Category: Navigation
Switching gears, MotionX, well known for their prior and most excellent MotionX Poker and the freebie compantion, MotionX Dice, have now released a GPS application.
MotionX GPS does not feature maps, and as such it does not require a data connection. It works entirely off of the satellite, so it can be used anywhere, even where there are no cell towers within range, making it the ideal companion for hikers, geocachers, joggers, riders, and anyone else who spends time out of doors — particularly those who like to explore unpopulated areas.
MotionX can track elapsed time, speed, distance travelled, average page, and even calculate an ETA given your current pace if you set a destination. Get your…
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November 15, 2008
App Name: GPS-R
Version: 1.1.0
Developer: NID-IS Co., Ltd.
Category: Navigtaion
Ever since I saw something like this appear on the OS 2.0 jailbreak scene I’ve been waiting for one to turn up on the App Store. The jailbreak one claimed to work, but since you had to manually program your global coordinates into it without the benefit of any built-in mapping assistance. Now, finally, we’ve got something — and it’s a good’un.
GPS-R is a location-specific alarm application. In a nutshell, it allows you to set alarms that will go off when you approach a particular destination. Ever fallen asleep on a bus or train and missed your stop? I have — more times than I care to count. On my way to work no less,…
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November 13, 2008
App Name: Zulu Time
Developer: aListsoft
Category: Navigation
Those of you who are into any of a variety of distance-based fitness activities, be it walking, running, hiking, cycling, or whathaveyou — well, you’re nuts. But I only say that because I’m a lazy sod who can’t bring himself to do much more than a brisk walk. (Truth be told right now though I couldn’t do much more anyway due to a pulled calf muscle that still hasn’t properly healed. Not that I’d be inclined to get off my ass if it were, but it’s a convenient excuse.)
Nevertheless if I were to ever get into a healthier lifestyle — and I really should … someday — I’d probably find this app pretty damn cool. Why? Let’s…
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November 10, 2008
App Name: Big Compass
Developer: Kirill Dergachev
Category: Navigation
A large-font GPS-based compass that displays one of the 8 main cardinal directions based on your current heading just like a real compass but without the finer granularity. Because it uses GPS you must be moving in order for it to get a lock on your position.
You may be asking, as I did at first, “But … why wouldn’t you just use Google Maps or something?” Because Google Maps requires a data connection, and you might find yourself in an area with no cell towers, and therefore no data access. Since this is purely GPS-based, it works pretty much anywhere you can get a GPS lock (which is generally out in the open somewhere).
You may also…
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November 9, 2008
App Name: Beacon
Developer: Meow Fishies Ltd.
Category: Navigation
I hereby proclaim Meow Fishies to be the BEST. COMPANY NAME. EVAR. That ruling is legally binding until such time as an even better company comes along, so get used to it. But let me get one thing straight with Adam. Or Seth. Whichever one wrote the description: We are not adorable. We’re impossibly cool, ridiculously stylin’, smart, charming, and above all, we have the best beer in North America. (Micro-breweries notwithstanding.)
So let’s talk about the app. Beacon is designed to help you find your way back from anywhere — in a general sort of way. Simply load up the app and drop a beacon. From that point on, wherever you may roam, you’ll be…
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October 28, 2008
App Name: Google Earth
Developer: Google
Category: Navigation
Yes, you’re reading that right. Google has finally and officially brought Google Earth to the iPhone in all most some a bit of its glory. Some of you may recall my coverage of Earthscape for the iPhone in Frapstr XVIII (and an early pre-App Store preview last May) as being a contender designed to fill the Google Earth Gap, but it ended up really being more of an entertainment app for its low resolution satellite imagery outside the US, its lack of street names, POIs, or anything other than geotagged photos.
Now that the real, official Google Earth is here, does it pimp slap Earthscape and tell it to get into the kitchen and make it a sammich? Yes! Well, no, actually, but it…
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October 24, 2008
App Name: SitOrSquat
Developer: Densebrain
Category: Navigation
SitOrSquat will direct you to the nearest toilet.
I wish I were joking, but no. This will, in fact, locate the loos nearest to your present location using GPS and a user-contributed list of bogs. I shouldn’t poke fun — let’s face it, when you’re tooling around the city and that Taco Bell you had for lunch suddenly starts making serious demands for safe passage or the boxers get it, you don’t want to bugger around looking aimlessly for a john or a port-a-potty to make a hasty deposit. Thus, SitOrSquat serves a useful — perhaps even essential purpose for weary travellers to find cold porcelain relief as quickly as possible. And lest you think participation in the submission process may…
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October 16, 2008
App Name: MarcoPolo
Developer: AC Ideas Corporation
Category: Social Networking
A little app that lets you effectively geotag yourself and publish your whereabouts to your Facebook page for all to see. In that regard it’s pretty much just like Fire Fone, but with less Fire Eagle, more Facebook, and your choice of tranny bars. It does feature the ability to see who else is in your vicinity, assuming they have both an iPhone with MarcoPolo installed and a Facebook account, with embedded Google Maps to see where everyone is, or at least were the last time they updated.
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October 15, 2008
App Name: iPayAtThePump
Developer: John Haselden
Category: Navigation
A relatively simple app for UK residents that provides a list of petrol stations that offer Pay at the Pump service, using Location Services to locate the nearest one to your current position. It provides embedded mapping with drop pins identifying the various stations in your reigon. Currently, iPayAtThePump leans heavily toward Shell stations, but John is working on adding more ASDA and Tesco stations for the next version.
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October 13, 2008
App Name: FirePin Trip Tracker
Developer: Jtribe Holdings Pty Ltd
Category: Navigation
FirePin is a trip tracker that will monitor your current trip via GPS coordinates and store them online. No account registration is required for storage however, which is nice, and you can choose to share your trip with someone so they can monitor your progress in real time. You can view your own trip once it is completed; FirePin will dump you into Google Maps with your trip laid out as a series of drop pins.
Obviously this is something you’re going to want to use in conjunction with a mobile power source such as a power inverter or portable mobile charger. FirePin does not disable the iPhone’s auto-sleep function however, so you will either…
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October 12, 2008
App Name: POIfriend
Developer: 360mind
Category: Navigation
An iPhone front-end for POIfriend, the user-contributed points of interest website. You’ll need a free account for this one. Once signed up though you can find and create points of interest around you, as well as comment on and rate other POIs. If you find a POI you’re interested you can have it drop you into Google Maps to get directions. It uses location services to automatically set your default location to whever you and your iPhone happen to be at that moment, so POIs will always be displayed in and around your immediate location.
It’s an interesting little app, and certainly a great companion when you’re travelling and want to know what’s interesting in your current area from a…
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