iOS App of the Day: MapQuest 4 Mobile
If you are looking for a basic navigation app that sports all of the essential features, an easy to use interface, and doesn’t cost any money, then look no further than MapQuest 4 Mobile for iOS. This app provides spoken turn-by-turn directions which is such a great feature for a free navigation app, and has yet to disappoint me. The app’s up-to-date information on routes, points of interest, and current traffic conditions is enough to get me where I need to go without having to shell out a lot of money on an alternative GPS device for my car.
Pros:
- Free
- Intuitive interface, easy to swipe through POIs (Point of Interest) icons
- Easy to search for restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, gas stations, coffee shops and post offices
- Can choose one or more POI category
- Includes live traffic- updated every 5 minutes
- Has energy saving option
- Can save search history
- Voice-guided, Turn-by-Turn Directions – Like a GPS, your phone speaks to you
- Multi-task – Make a call or listen to music while MapQuest continues to tell you where to go
- Walking & Driving Directions available
Start by making sure that the location service for your device is set to on before you open up the app. Once you open up the app you can either run a direction search by entering the business name or address into the search bar at the top of the app. You can also tap on anyone of the related icons on the bottom of the app to search for whatever it is you are looking for. Available icons include: traffic, hotel, restaurants, shopping centers, gas, coffee shops, post offices, parking garages, grocery stores, schools. movie theaters, ice cream parlors, banks, hospitals, pharmacies, lube and oil places, and rest areas. You can choose one icon or any combination of icons depending on what you are searching for. Basically anything you could possibly need to find out on the road, MapQuest 4 Mobile has a category for it. From there, directions are displayed on how to get from point A to point B. If it is a location that you want to save, you have the option of saving the search to “My Places” to go back to it anytime. In order to save your My Places history you do need to set up an account using MapQuest, AIM or AOL.
Another nice bonus that I enjoyed was the traffic setting, which automatically re-routes your directions based on current traffic conditions. In order to optimize the traffic feature just tap the traffic POI icon, and current conditions are overlaid on the map.
Conclusion: If you are a fan of the desktop version of MapQuest then MapQuest 4 Mobile is a great app to take with you on your travels. The user interface is extremely easy to navigate through and with one tap of an icon you can search for restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, gas stations, coffee shops, post offices, and much more. This app absolutely fits the bill of providing basic navigation needs for a free iOS app.
MapQuest 4 Mobile is available for free in the iTunes Store. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later iTunes Link
