Now that Google maps is available once again on the iPhone which now has turn-by-turn voice navigation I thought it would be worth comparing it to the other free navigation apps I am also currently using with turn-by-turn navigation. In this blog I will Focus on the iPhone since mostly used on these device, but all work on the iPad as well.
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Google maps is the undisputed king of mapping at this time,
and with the turn-by-turn driving it offers now with iPhone you need to
download this app. However Waze offers a
crowd sourcing option where you contribute to improving mapping, identifying
traffic conditions and police presence which outdoes Google in my opinion and
is a must to download. NavFree is awesome
since it pre-downloads all the maps for you so there is no data usage at all as
you drive even if you are in another country!
Another must download.
So here are the
advantages of each app with a download link and why you should be downloading
all three of them. Just remember that no
matter what app you use there will be some navigation errors to drive
carefully.
 |
| WAZE |
Uses Crowd sourcing to maintain map accuracy through help of
fellow "Wazzers".
Traffic updates are added as well by others are you, but
people make some mistakes saying there is traffic when they are just stopped at
a light for example. This is really
great because the application will redirect you to a different route if there
is an ongoing traffic congestion on the current route.
People also identify Red Light Cameras, Speed Cameras and
where there were police visible for potential speed traps. Not that you should be speeding or running
red light anyways!
Has a recent history of places so you do not have to search
for your frequent locations over and over again.
When you close the app it remains open in the background
with voice navigation so you can manage your music playing.
Social options to let your friends know where you are.
Google provide the bus/metro routes in many cities now
around the world. I have used this is Canada
and Barcelona and Paris
for example.
No recent places history but you can save locations you
frequent regularly. Also the saved
locations you have using Google Maps on your computer will be available in your
iPhone app if you have a Google profile account.
There is a traffic option that seem to be based on peoples
speeds using the application at that moment.
If someone has parked on the street and no one else on the road is using
the app it would likely result in a false reading of a traffic situation.
When you close the app it remains open in the background
with voice navigation so you can manage your music playing.
 |
| NavFree |
NavFree has very good maps although I would hesitate to say they are as good as Google
and Waze which are updated online, but those ones use data. Beauty is offline data maps use no data! So if you are Canadian for example and you
travel to the U.S.
you can download the NavFree for the U.S.
and download the maps for the states you intend to visit on that driving
trip. You can now drive into the U.S.
with your data roaming turned off and still be able to use GPS driving with
turn by turn instructions. Amazing!
Even if your data roaming is turned off the iPhone uses GPS
combined with triangulation between cell site to determine your location with
amazing accuracy without using data. You
need data to search places though so if you want to not use data at all Search
them and save them before you leave or with WiFi at some establishment while
you are out.
Many countries are available for download offline so you can
use this frequently as you travel around the world with no data usage.
When you close the app it does not work in the background,
but there is a music player integrated. Need to search using data
beforehand.
Thanks Jason! This is super helpful!
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