4 ways to find your way ... on your mobile ... for free!
There's no need to get lost, ever. As long as you have your cellphone on you, you will always be able to find your way home ... even if you want to keep your pride intact and not call for help.
I have found 4 applications you can download to your phone, to use for directions. While most of them can be used in conjunction with GPS systems, most of us do not have this functionality on our phones, so I have decided to check how they work sans GPS in South Africa. I stay in a relatively new area, pretty far south down the Cape Peninsula, in a road that is often not found in maps so as an extra test I have checked to see which ones help me find home. I am no expert when it comes to navigation software or cellphone applications so feel free to read through my quick summaries, then pop over to the vendor's website and make up your own mind which one works for you.
Google Maps : An obvious place to start. Menu's nice and easy to follow, just a pity that finding local (South African) addresses was tough, I kept on landing in cities around the globe when searching for local streets. Manual navigation took me pretty close to home, pretty quickly, but left me high and dry 1 kilometer short.
Wayfinder Earth Beta : This application has a nice easy on the eye user interface, with a couple of cool features like local weather at a touch of a button. It was perhaps a little difficult to figure out address searches for my liking though. It had my little cul-de-sac in it's database though.
Nav4All : Now we're talking. This boykie has an extensive database, my address included and gives you directions from point A to B without too much problem. The maps load nice an quickly and being in South Africa does not mean you are counted as a lesser class world citizen. As is the case with my personal favourite ...
AmAze : Firstly the clever name means it sits at the top of my applications menu. The maps are not just easy to read but are actually pretty. My home was easy to find as were directions from home to all over the city, whats more with a click you can get to see an aerial photo/street map hybrid of your route and/or destination (with a little weather/wind indicator flashing in the top right) . Truly awesome.
Just as a point of reference, my tests were done on a Sony Ericsson K800i, using the free versions of the software.
I have found 4 applications you can download to your phone, to use for directions. While most of them can be used in conjunction with GPS systems, most of us do not have this functionality on our phones, so I have decided to check how they work sans GPS in South Africa. I stay in a relatively new area, pretty far south down the Cape Peninsula, in a road that is often not found in maps so as an extra test I have checked to see which ones help me find home. I am no expert when it comes to navigation software or cellphone applications so feel free to read through my quick summaries, then pop over to the vendor's website and make up your own mind which one works for you.
Google Maps : An obvious place to start. Menu's nice and easy to follow, just a pity that finding local (South African) addresses was tough, I kept on landing in cities around the globe when searching for local streets. Manual navigation took me pretty close to home, pretty quickly, but left me high and dry 1 kilometer short.
Wayfinder Earth Beta : This application has a nice easy on the eye user interface, with a couple of cool features like local weather at a touch of a button. It was perhaps a little difficult to figure out address searches for my liking though. It had my little cul-de-sac in it's database though.
Nav4All : Now we're talking. This boykie has an extensive database, my address included and gives you directions from point A to B without too much problem. The maps load nice an quickly and being in South Africa does not mean you are counted as a lesser class world citizen. As is the case with my personal favourite ...
AmAze : Firstly the clever name means it sits at the top of my applications menu. The maps are not just easy to read but are actually pretty. My home was easy to find as were directions from home to all over the city, whats more with a click you can get to see an aerial photo/street map hybrid of your route and/or destination (with a little weather/wind indicator flashing in the top right) . Truly awesome.
Just as a point of reference, my tests were done on a Sony Ericsson K800i, using the free versions of the software.
Labels: amaze, eish, free airtime, google maps mobile, mobile maps, nav4all, south africa, wayfinder earth beta
brother - you will have to visit me and my phone soon!
PG
Posted by
Rock in the Grass (Pete Grassow) |
November 20, 2007 at 12:16 AM
... bugger ... I meant to mention how EASY they are to install ;-)
Posted by
eishman |
November 20, 2007 at 7:28 AM
Hey Eishman - nice post and comparisons. You can get full voice guided live GPS navigation with amAze when you pair your cell with a bluetooth GPS receiver. They are available for around R500 from Yale security point stores nationwide. Thanks!
Posted by
Anonymous |
November 20, 2007 at 9:47 AM
Very cool post Eishman, and just what I was looking for. Google Maps was a cinch to install and get going.
I'm busy installing AmaZe, but so far seems a bit slow in comparison. Hope it's fast once it gets through all the installation screens.
Posted by
henkk |
December 6, 2007 at 1:16 PM