iGo My Way iPhone GPS Software

Posted on 17. Feb, 2010 by Toad in Apple

I recently received a copy of the iGo My Way GPS software for the iPhone. I have long been a fan of my TomTom stand alone GPS device but I wanted to take a look at some of the offerings available on the iPhone. This will be my first in a series of reviews of iPhone GPS software.

I will start off by giving a little bit of information on how I use a GPS. I am typically very good with directions, i don’t need a GPS to tell em where I am going all of the time. I do of course use them a lot when I am traveling in areas I am not familiar with but as far as day to day usage for me it is as much a trip calculator and a yellow pages as anything else. I often use the time to destination option on a GPS to make sure I get places on time. I also use the built in Points of Interest a lot when looking for restaurants and other locations in my general area. For me those are my two more common uses for a GPS.

When looking at GPS software on an iPhone, one of the most important features is ease of Navigation. You dont want to have to sit in a parking lot stumbling through an endless row of buttons to find the option you want. You also want to buttions to be large enough to see from a slight distance in the event that you want to use it with a dash mount. iGO addresses both of these with their software. The initial screen presents you with four options allowing you to view the map, select a destination, view your current route, or More to access the settings and musc player controls. The interface is in no way cluttered and makes using it quick and simple.

The points of interest seem to be very complete. I have tried using it several time looking for restaurants or gas stations in areas where I would know what to expect and it does an excellent job of picking up everything. You can easily search for a ay point of interest by using the built in categories or simply searching by name. When completing text entry such as searching for a POI you are presented with a full QWERTY keyboard which makes entry as easy as it is when sending a text message. The software also supports landscape operation for even greater ease of use.

keyboard

When selecting a point to navigate to you can enter an address, select the point on the map, use a POI, or use of of you pre entered favorites, or select a location from your existing iPhone contacts. Address entry is simple and quick while the option to select an existing contact makes it easy to navigate to anyone in your existing database of adresses. It also keeps a history of recent destinations for quick access.

iGo is using NAVTEQ maps so the completeness of the maps is on par with the vast majority of other mapping applications. While navigating You of course receive voice prompts as well as an excellent array of on screen navigation helpers. At this price point I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with features like lane navigation and speed warnings. The 3D view is a lot better than some of the lower quality ioptions I have seen available and the map movement seemed smooth and very precise. You are also able to do multipoint navigation.

At the existing price point of $54.99 and with features like FREE quarterly map update and lane navigation the iGo My way software is a fantstic product a an exceptional price

iGo My Way on iTunes