G-Map U.S. – Finally a GPS for the iPhone. | TapCritic - Honest iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch App Reviews

G-Map U.S. – Finally a GPS for the iPhone.

gmap_hdr gmap_icon About five months ago my Mio DigiWalker GPS died, right before we were heading out on a family vacation. I love having a GPS on road trips, because you never know when you need to detour a major highway or to get out of a sticky situation when you’re lost. When the Mio died, I was sort of in a dilemma. Should I buy a new GPS or wait for one to show up on the iTunes store? I gambled and I decided to wait. I’m glad I did.

[Video Review by Mr. Pence]

ENTER G-MAP.

G-Map from XRoad is the only turn-by-turn app on the iTunes store. XRoad sells two different map sets, G-Map U.S. East and G-Map U.S. West. Since the map data is included with the apps, the size of these apps are pretty big. I’m reviewing G-Map East and it clocks in around 829mb. So don’t freak out like I did, when you synch this app to your phone. The install took about 20 minutes, and believe me, it’s well-worth the wait.

SOFTWARE DESIGN.

The interface is well designed and easy to navigate.

G-Map is not voice activated, but a arrow icon directs your next turn. The menus are laid-out well and everything is real easy to find. The map views are nice and you can choose from north up, heading up or 3D view. The 3D view is my favorite and it updates nicely.

I really thought that this app would be lacking some features, boy was I wrong, everything that I need is here. You can search for a location by POI, telephone number, address, coordinate or something bookmarked in your favorites. G-Map allows you add as many waypoints as you want, automatic re-routing and reverse route search. Pretty awesome stuff for a $20 app.

One really cool feature that I like is the AI route. This feature allows G-Map to learn your driving habits and formulates future routing based on routes that you would normally take. High tech stuff right?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The 3D view is my favorite.

I’ve been using G-Map for over a week and I’m impressed with it’s operation. To get the most reliable GPS data you want to get this as close to your windshield as possible. My dash works really well. The middle of my console? Not so much. I highly recommend getting a windshield mount for the best results. G-Map is easy to use and has ALWAYS got me where I needed to be. However, I did notice the speed readout would sometimes fluctuate 2-10 mph when I was on cruise-control. Also on interstate driving, G-Map sometimes would hiccup on exits and overpasses. I think these are minor quirks and can be easily addressed in future updates.

THINGS I’D LOVE TO SEE.

I think it would be VERY cool to have the ability to route from your contacts. I don’t know if this is forbidden by Apple, but It would be cool. The other thing that would be nice is some kind of audible noise when it’s time to make a turn. Once again, I don’t know Apple’s stance on this.

IS G-MAP WORTH BUYING?

The real 3D junction view is a nice addition to this app.

I would say most definitely yes. G-Map is absolutely a great value. Like I stated earlier, there are some minor quirks, but I feel future FREE updates will take care of these. There’s no monthly fee and the map data is from Navteq. For you non-GPS’ers out there, GPS enthusiasts feel Navteq has better mapping data than it’s competitors. One more thing is that the map data is stored locally, so you’re not using cell service to retrieve map data. You’ll thank yourself for buying this app, the first time you’re on the road with spotty cell service.

You can find more demo operation HERE.

Purchase G-Map U.S. East or G-Map U.S. West on the iTunes Store.

Like It, Share It: