Windows Phone Central App Roundup: Navigation Apps

Windows Phone Central's Navigation App Roundup

WPCentral's Roundup of Navigation Apps

One of the many ways your Windows Phone can exist useful is to assist u.s.a. detect our fashion. Whether it's finding the local pizza joint or finding yous fashion to your vacation spot, there are plenty of navigational apps bachelor at the Windows Telephone Store. These apps are more than capable of being your co-pilot equally y'all brand your rounds on the highways and motorways.

Nokia Lumia Windows Telephone owners take the benefit of Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive to assistance get them effectually simply what about apps for other Windows Phones? Nosotros have pulled the top five paid navigation apps from the Windows Phone Store for this week's roundup.

Each of these apps take trial versions that will let you lot try things out before buying and they embrace a wide range of pricing. Should yous're favorite navigation app autumn outside the top five, feel complimentary to share your choice in the comments below.

gMaps Pro

gMaps Pro ($i.99): gMaps Pro is a Windows Telephone customer for Google Maps (no official affiliation). gMaps Pro's features include keyword searches, a observe option to observe local businesses, a healthy corporeality of map layers, also as turn by turn directions.

gMaps Pro is actually well laid out with the map existence the centerpiece. Layer controls rest on the right upper corner and include compass, traffic, mass transit, bicycle routes, conditions, a Google Breadth layer. The weather layer but adds a conditions symbols to the screen with an current conditions icon and temp. It volition besides add cloud cover and radar imagery to the mix.

Add Street View, contact integration (pull upwardly a contact and generate directions to their address), and the power to share maps and routes into the mix and gMaps Pro isn't looking also shabby.

The Achilles Heel with gMaps Pro, equally with other apps in the roundup, is that you are dependent on a data connection for your maps. If yous ofttimes travel in areas with weak signals, yous may want to look at some of the alternatives with on-board mapping.

There is a free, advertising supported version of gMaps Pro (simply titledgMaps) and at that place is a trial version of gMaps Pro to let yous try things out before ownership. The full version of gMaps Pro is currently running $1.99 and you can find information technology here at the Windows Phone Store.

Garmin Streetpilot

Garmin StreetPilot ($29.99): Garmin isn't new to the navigation business organisation with their stand alone GPS units. Garmin StreetPilot brings their navigation software to your Windows Phone.

The layout of Garmin StreetPilot presents you with a series of principal pages that is highlighted with the Where To? folio that is a series of tiles to get y'all where you need to go. The Where To? page has options to look upwards an accost, go to your home address, behave a Google search, view your recently found addresses, check in through Foursquare, find local businesses, view your favorites, pull up contact locations, admission a trip planner, check on flight status, search for a urban center map and search for a specific intersection. Tons of options.

Two additional primary pages exist that covers My Locations (favorites) and Traffic. Settings and access to the map itself are accessed through ii push button controls that line the bottom of the main pages.

The map view is very similar to what yous would see on a Garmin Nuvi dashboard GPS unit. Location information (pulled upward by searches or tapping on the screen) volition item the address, longitude/latitude, whatever concern information (contact number, email, website, etc.) and the current conditions conditions with extended forecast.

Oh... and you as well get turn by turn directions with vocalism navigation. Once yous programme a route, an additional folio will be generated on the primary pages to cover your directions. Likewise, as you lot use StreetPilot a Suggestions page will be generated to listing places nearby that you might be interested in visiting. The listing is generated based on your use of StreetPilot.

The only affair missing with StreetPilot is onboard maps. Add that feature and Garmin StreetPilot may very well be the all-time navigation app for your Windows Phone. All the same, as is, Garmin StreetPilot is a feature rich, capable navigation app for your Windows Phone that's hard to crush.

There is a trial version to let you try things out simply is restricted to basic navigation and does non have vocalisation navigation. The full version of Garmin StreetPilot is currently running $29.99 and you can discover it here at the Windows Phone Shop.

Turn by Turn Navigation

Turn past Plow Navigation ($iv.99): Turn by Plough Navigation may not have as many bells and whistles every bit Garmin's StreetPilot, it does a decent chore of things. Navigation centers things around the map view with a signal of interest/keyword search feature to help discover your destination. Navigation will as well tap into your Windows Phone contacts to guide y'all their addresses also.

Search results (or just tapping on the map) will generate a location flag that will highlight the address. Tap on the flag and you'll pull up boosted information including business information (website, phone number, etc) and a "Get" push button to generate a road to that point. You can too tag an accost as a favorite for future reference.

Driving directions are non only offered in turn by plough style only also with voice commands. Navigation does rely on online maps but you can salvage a portion of the map on your Windows Phone to reduce the dependency on online maps. Data is but needed for routing when using the saved maps. Yous merely demand to be careful and not stray from the saved area.

Turn by Turn Navigation does have a trial version to let yous effort things out before buying. The full version will run you $4.99 and you lot tin grab information technology here at the Windows Phone Shop.

Note: GPS Tuner, Navigation's programmer, does offer a version with offline/onboard maps for a wide assortment of Countries. Pricing ranges from $33.99 and up. Plow by Plough USA+Canada is in the top 10 for paid navigation apps for your Windows Phone.

Besides, GPS Tuner offers Outdoor Navigation that is a mapping app oriented towards hiking and a very squeamish app in its own right. Outdoor Navigation sits at number four on the top paid navigation app's listing. However, seeing that the roundup is dealing with roadway navigation apps, Outdoor Navigation wasn't included merely deserved a mention.

GPS Voice Navigation

GPS Vocalism Navigation ($six.99): GPS Voice Navigation falls in line with Plow by Turn Navigation by being a scaled back but very handy navigation app for our Windows Phone. I'd be tempted to describe these styled navigation apps as bones only they are very capable in their own right.

GPS Vocalisation Navigation gives you the choice of four online map providers, Google, Bing, MapQuest and Nokia. Keyword searches tin can be done past street address, place or hotel. As with other navigation apps, when you pull upwardly information on a specific concern GPS Voice Navigation will display the address, any website links, telephone numbers and the ability to generate directions to the accost. You lot can also book reservations to many of the hotels and restaurants via booking.com.

GPS Vocalization Navigation has an odd style to tap and place a point on the map that some may not find too appealing. You line the cross-hair up on the map betoken you want to observe and tap the Lookup button located at the bottom of the screen. A flag volition pop up on the map with the points address and in tapping on the flag, you can pull upwardly more detailed information.

While GPS Vocalisation Navigation has spoken driving instructions (app title should requite that characteristic away), it lacks integration with your Windows Phone contacts. Which may or may not be a big deal. The other weakness is the utilise of online maps which makes GPS Voice Navigation information dependent.

At that place is a trial version available for GPS Vocalism Navigation to permit you try things out. The full version will run y'all $6.99. You can find GPS Vocalism Navigation here at the Windows Phone Store.

Radar

Radar ($1.99): Radar may sound similar the odd man out in this week'due south roundup. It is a navigation app to help get you lot back to a starting signal (east.g. where you parked your machine) and is within the superlative five apps (discounting Outdoor Navigation). So nosotros figured why not.

Radar is a track-back app for your Windows Phone that uses your location services to marking a betoken and guide you dorsum when the time is fix. For case, vacation shopping is correct effectually the corner and mall parking lots will exist more congested. With Radar you tin mark where yous parked your car and apply the app to guide you back after a long day of shopping.

Radar is laid out simple with Radar and Target pages. You lot have five targets with icons (Custom, Auto, Hotel, Bicycle, and Campsite) that will appear on the Radar Page when set. You can also take a picture show of the location to help identify things a little ameliorate and eliminates the demand for a description.

There is a free trial version for Radar that is limited in the number of targets you desire to track. The full version is currently running $one.99 and you can find Radar here at the Windows Phone Shop.

WP Central's Navigation App Roundup

We would exist remised if we didn't extend an honorable mention to one navigation app that is bachelor in the Windows Phone Store, NAVIGON. It's not in the top five simply does sit nicely inside the top l paid navigation apps.

What sets NAVIGON apart from most navigation apps is the use of offline maps. NAVIGON will rival Garmin StreetPilot for features but has the advantage of not depending on data to get you around. This may non be an important feature to some, just I travel areas where a data connection is non-existent and then offline maps can really come in handy.NAVIGON is the more than pricey of the navigation apps and that might be what'due south holding it back in the rankings. NAVIGON U.s.a. is running $49.99 and has maps for all fifty States bachelor for download. NAVIGON Europe is running $99.99 and has maps for twoscore European Countries.

So in that location you take information technology. The top 5 (plus a few more thrown in for good measure) paid navigation apps from the Windows Phone Store. If you take a favorite navigation app that falls outside the roundup, feel gratis to share in the comments beneath.

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