Gamevice securely clamps onto the sides of your iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 6 or 6 Plus to make it feel like a portable console (Credit: Will Shanklin/Gizmag).
We don't review many mobile game controller accessories, but Gamevice's iOS gamepads are doing what we wished all mobile controllers had been doing for years: latching onto the sides to transform your iDevice into something along the lines of a PS Vita. Read on for our review of Gamevice for iPhone.
The new Gamevice for iPhone has that one simple job, and it does it well. There's a switch on the back of the accessory that adjusts the back straps to swap between a 4.7-inch iPhone 6/6s and 5.5-inch 6 Plus/6s Plus. Take one of those handsets, slide it into the accessory's Lightning port, clamp the sides in, lock the slider so your phone is safely in place and enjoy a unified controller experience that, in our book, trumps other current options.
It isn't clear to us why so many controller manufacturers think propping the phone or tablet awkwardly above the controls is the way to go. It's not that these setups don't get the job done, but they often feel clunky and off-balance, with heavy-ish mobile device clamped above a lighter, plastic controller. Gamevice unifies phone and accessory, giving you what feels like a portable gaming console that happens to run iOS.
The controller feels good in hand, with all the standard inputs: four triggers, four action buttons, D-Pad and two sticks. They're all a bit on the small-ish side, as you'd expect from the smartphone form factor – and it's all plastic, don't expect any stainless steel sticks here.
The Plus iPhones' larger screens naturally make for the better portable consoles, but the iPhone 6s we used it with still made for a good experience – one we'd love to pass time with on a flight or train commute. The important thing is that we quickly forget that we're using a smartphone, and get caught up in the game like we're jamming out with the device that the PS Vita never had the support to become.
About our only caveat about Gamevice is aimed at Apple early adopters: there's a pretty good chance Apple's next models (presumably the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus) will be sized differently and may not fit this accessory. If you upgrade every year at launch, then this purchase could potentially only serve you until next September. It would have been ideal to see this accessory launching about a year ago, giving buyers two years' worth of compatibility with the latest models.
Though the App Store has built up a decent collection of full console game type of content, we still wish it was populated with more of the types of games that would be at home on something like a Vita, 3DS or PSP. Highlights like the Grand Theft Auto III trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath alone can give you many hours of gameplay, though, and Gamevice conveniently highlights compatible games in its companion app
If you're shopping for an iOS gaming accessory this holiday season, we recommend Gamevice – which also has a version for the iPad mini – as your top choice (iPad Air version is coming soon). You can find MFi controllers for cheaper (sometimes by a wide margin) that will still fit the bill, but we haven't seen any that give you that pure handheld console feel of Gamevice.
The new Gamevice for iPhone is available today from Apple (online and in-store) and coming soon to other online retailers. It costs US$100.
These disruptive technologies will affect how you work, play and communicate when you're mobile.
Most of us take it for granted that we can check e-mail with our mobile phones. But not long ago, this was a truly disruptive technology that changed how we did business and stayed in touch when we were away from home and the office.
Which begs the question: What new mobile technologies will emerge in the next few years that will change our lives?
That question was posed to a group of industry analysts, futurists and executives for key vendors, a group grounded in reality, not fantasy. Yet, they still suggested 13 technologies that will provide dramatically better mobile access, better devices and better applications. Some of these life-changing technologies are just around the corner while others years away.
These aren't isolated technologies. Rather, for the most part, they build on each other so that one won't be possible until another is widely available. But they all, in their own way, will significantly improve how individuals and business users are mobile.
Let's see what the future holds.
Better access
Advanced applications and devices require fast, easily affordable access, but today's 3G cellular data service remains expensive and, with typical speeds between 400Kbit/sec. and 700Kbit/sec., slow. That's about to change, however, and the pace of change will remain rapid into the foreseeable future.
Disruption 1: Mobile WiMax
Sprint Nextel Corp. said it will launch its mobile Xohm WiMax network commercially in a handful of cities next spring with more cities added throughout the year and 2009. It has the potential to be a game-changer, some experts say.
"If you're looking to 2009 or 2010, WiMax will be somewhat revolutionary in terms of wireless broadband," said Brian Clark, a partner with M/C Venture Partners in Boston. "It starts to offer a DSL-level of [wireless] service."
Sprint claims that Xohm's typical (as opposed to peak) speeds will be in the 2Mbit/sec. to 4Mbit/sec. range. And while Sprint hasn't yet provided pricing details, it has said its WiMax offering will be priced similarly to DSL and cable access, which is significantly cheaper than 3G. Even more radically, at least for a company best known as a cellular operator, Sprint won't demand long-term contracts but, rather, will use a subscription model.
Verizon Wireless said it will deploy a competing technology called LTE (long-term evolution), which will have similar speeds to Sprint's Xohm network. However, most observers believe that LTE and similar technologies deployed by other carriers won't start to be available until at least 2011. By that time, proponents claim second-generation mobile WiMax will offer speeds potentially as high as 1Gbit/sec.
Why it's important: Most of the other disruptive technologies discussed here require fast, affordable wireless access.
What could hold it back: Some of Sprint's shareholders want to throttle back its WiMax plans and put more energy into the company's faltering cellular efforts, a sentiment that led to the firing of Sprint CEO Gary Forsee. If that trend accelerates, mobile WiMax may be delayed or may not be given the resources to succeed.
Disruption 2: Multihop relay networks
"The network will find the best route and the best transmission mode," said Wen Tong, director of Nortel Networks' wireless technology laboratory. "I see initial deployment in three years."Some researchers and futurists believe that multihop relay networks will eventually supplant technologies such as WiMax and LTE. With these networks, wireless signals will route themselves through a series of access points. Like the Internet itself, the route that the data takes is variable, depending on conditions.
A variant of the multihop relay network called ad hoc networks could come even later. With this technology, data would be relayed through, among other things, devices themselves. In other words, your phone will also be a movable access point.
"The defining quality of the ad hoc network is that it has no infrastructure," said Anthony Ephremides, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland. "I'd guess it'll be [ready] in a five-to-10-year time frame."
Why it's important: These networks will extend network access to where none exists without building a lot of infrastructure. Because there is little infrastructure, the networks can withstand catastrophe. That is why, Ephremides said, the military is sponsoring a lot of research into ad hoc networks.
What could hold it back: This technology is still very much in the research phase, particularly ad hoc networks. A variety of issues, not the least of which is security, have yet to be resolved.
Disruptions 3 and 4: Femtocells and fixed-mobile convergence
Both these technologies enable you to have one phone and one phone number with which you can communicate from virtually anywhere.
Sprint has started offering femtocells on a trial basis. A femtocell looks a bit like a Wi-Fi router but performs the same function in the home or office as cellular base stations that sit in brick buildings at the base of cell towers. That is, they communicate directly with your cell phone and carry the signal to the larger network via a broadband line such as DSL or cable.
"Carriers will offer femtocells the way cable operators offer cable modems," said Paul Callahan, vice president of business development at femtocell vendor Airvana Inc. "They'll give you five bars in your home."
That means you'll be able to ditch your landline and use your cell phone everywhere. Sprint is offering femtocells, on a trial basis, to customers inDenver and Indianapolis and is charging $15 a month for individuals or $30 for a family. Subscribers can then make as many local and national calls as they want.
T-Mobile USA launched its fixed-mobile convergence Hotspot@homeprogram last June, which requires a cell phone that supports both Wi-Fi and regular cellular access. Built into the phone is software that enables you, for example, to walk into your home or office while talking on the cellular network and have the call seamlessly switch to voice-over-IP on the Wi-Fi network. You also need a compliant Wi-Fi router.
As with femtocells, fixed-mobile convergence allows you to lose your landline. T-Mobile is charging about $30 a month for unlimited local and national calls. The program has met with generally good reviews.
Why it's important: Having a single phone and a single phone number will be a great convenience and money saver. Also, some of the disruptive applications discussed later depend on the ability to track your availability no matter where you are. Using only a cell phone makes this more possible.
What could hold it back: To some extent, these technologies will duke it out against each other. That will take time to sort out.
Better devices
With faster, more ubiquitous access, devices can start to radically change.
"Imagine a Bluetooth headset in your ear but that's the phone," said Dan Burrus, CEO of Burrus Research Inc. and author of the book Technotrends. "And it will continue to get smaller from there until it's implanted in your ear. You ask for whatever you need [with your voice] and it will tell you the answers."
However, smaller, more powerful phones themselves will be the end result of several enabling disruptions, Burrus and the other experts agree. These disruptions may seem relatively minor but, added together, they will result in the phones and applications of tomorrow.
Disruption 5: Miniscule, less power-hungry mobile chips
Chip vendors have been talking about smaller, more powerful and less power-hungry chips for a long time. Now, development of such chips is likely to accelerate.
"Companies like Intel have focused on putting more transistors on a chip and making their products more powerful," said Anthony Townsend, research director at Institute for the Future. "It takes a while to turn a ship like that around." The rapid growth of all things mobile is accelerating that trend, Townsend said.
Why it's important:Smaller, more powerful chips mean smaller, more powerful mobile devices and applications. Combined with faster, ubiquitous wireless broadband, that means devices can be sewn into clothing, placed unobtrusively into ears or evenimplanted in your teeth.Besides being smaller and significantly more power efficient, tomorrow's mobile chip sets will also combine multiple radios, such as Wi-Fi, 3G and WiMax, on a single chip, according to the experts.
What could hold it back: Do people really want devices that small?
Disruption 6: Wireless USB and ultrawideband
These short-range, wireless cable replacement technologies are starting to be available. Admittedly, they lack the gee-whiz factor, but they eventually will make life much easier for mobile users.
Why it's important: At the very least, it will be nice to synchronize data between devices and desktops wirelessly. Short-range wireless cord replacements will also be useful for entertainment applications such as streaming video throughout the home. But the real benefit will be using these technologies with tiny mobile devices, according to Derek Kerton, principal of the Kerton Group, a telecommunications consulting firm.
"If we get miniscule phones, they could use wireless USB or UWB to connect to a full-sized keyboard," Kerton said. "Or we could have tiny devices that [use these technologies to] project usable keyboards on desks or images on walls."
Disruption 7: Nearly flawless speech recognitionWhat could hold it back: Not much. These technologies are already well established and should become widely used in the next couple of years.
Another mobile input application on the horizon is better speech recognition, which will be enabled by more powerful mobile chips.
"Speech recognition got bogged down because it was only 98% or 99% accurate," Burrus said. "Even at that accuracy, many of us found it was faster to type. A lot of the problem had to do with processing power -- speech recognition needs a lot of horsepower."
More powerful mobile processors will solve that problem, Burrus predicted. And speech playback will become more natural-sounding, he added. In other words, everything you do with your keyboard at your desk, you'll be able to do with speech while you're mobile.
Why it's important: If you have a teensy mobile device that is, say, tucked in your ear, better speech recognition and playback means you don't need a keyboard or display. You'll be able to perform complex functions such as Web searches or buying things using your voice.
What could hold it back: Users could be reticent about letting others in public places hear their business. They may prefer to combine better speech recognition with other methods of input.
Disruption 8: Foldable displays and e-paper
Vendors such as Philips and Fujitsu Computer Systems Corp. have been publicly showing foldable and e-paper displays for mobile devices. Both will enable tiny devices to display data clearly on easily stowed screens.
E-paper uses a mylar-like screen, said Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product marketing at Fujitsu.
Fujitsu Computer Systems is showing e-paper for mobile devices and other uses. "You can maintain the image with no power at all," he said. "So I take a small tube [of e-paper] out of my pocket, unfold it and there's the New York Times. I can use the same e-paper for tomorrow's paper."
E-paper will have a dramatic effect on laptops, Moore predicted. That's because, when it is improved enough that it can support constantly changing images and not just static ones, it can replace laptop LCDs. That will dramatically cut both laptop weight and power consumption, Moore said.
In addition, Japan's NTT DoCoMo is experimenting with e-paper to replace keys and icons on phones. With e-paper, those keys and icons can change as you change applications from, say, being in voice mode to being in media playback mode.
Why it's important: Foldable screens and e-paper mean we can easily have big displays with our miniscule mobile devices.
What could hold it back: The technology still must be perfected. Also unknown is how much such displays will cost.
Disruption 9: Centralized storage
Fast, ubiquitous wireless access will enable centralized storage on remote servers, which will have a series of important ripple effects, according to Burrus.
"You don't need a lot of bulk [on a device] if you offload storage and other functions to a [centralized] server," Burrus said.
Kerton agrees. "How much sense does it make to store a specific jazz album on your device and everybody else is storing it on their device, too?" Kerton asked. "We're doing massive edge storage and that doesn't make sense."
Why it's important: After faster, more powerful but smaller mobile chips, ubiquitous wireless connections and better input-output methods, centralized storage is the final step toward completely untethering mobile devices and those of us who use them.
What could hold it back: So far, Internet-based storage has not proved popular. It's hard to break old habits of local storage.
Better applications
So what do we do with these powerful, tiny, highly connected devices with satisfying input and output? The answer, of course, is new, innovative applications.
We can't hope to cover all the potentially disruptive applications of the future, but we can describe why a few will change your life. We'd love to hear your choices in the comments section of this story.
Disruption 10: Unified communications
Huge technology players such as Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are pushing for the ability to tie together all forms of communications, including landlines and the various types of wireless. It's a compelling vision that is a stew comprised of many ingredients.
One futuristic ingredient in unified communications is sometimes called "superpresence," which is like a supercharged version of the instant messaging feature that lets you know if a buddy is online. In this case, superpresence could also provide information such as the best method at any given moment to communicate with a person or an estimate of when that they'll arrive at a destination. Users will create rules that say, for example, they can be interrupted by a spouse and boss, but not by others.
Another part of this stew includes technologies already mentioned, such as fixed-mobile convergence and femtocells, because they make it easier to locate and communicate with people Two more ingredients are the ability to transparently route communications to an individual via disparate networks and the ability to share applications in real time via those disparate networks.
Why it's important: One word describes why this is important: productivity. For instance, far-flung project teams will be much more efficient interacting with each other and exchanging ideas and other mission-critical information.
What could hold it back: At some point, employees may tire of being available 24/7, and unified communications will make it even harder than is currently the case to escape from work.
Disruption 11: Mobile commerce
In Japan, cell phone users are increasingly using built-in near-field communications technology to swipe their phones near special point-of-sale terminals to buy things.
An NTT DoCoMo customer uses her cell phone to pay for items at a convenience store in Japan.That's coming to the West, too, and credit card companies and cell phone vendors are running trials. Proponents claim this technology has other functions. For instance, you'll swipe your phone near a concert poster to download more information about the performer and to buy tickets. Or swipe your phone near an in-store kiosk to get digital cents-off coupons.
Why it's important: Utter simplicity. No more fumbling around for your credit card or struggling to keep track of your purchases. And you can easily share the information with your desktop financial manager.
What could hold it back: Cellular operators, phone vendors and credit card companies are keen to get this off the ground. However, it would require merchants to buy new point-of-sale terminals, which could be a hard sell.
Disruption 12: Mobile security
Of course, security is needed for mobile commerce and many other next-generation applications. Burrus said not only will future phones be secure, but they'll be used in other contexts to ensure security.
"We'll have new levels of biometrics," he noted. "If your phone is in your ear, everybody's inner ear canal is different and the phone can tell. That's one form of biometrics. Similarly, everybody's voice is different. Or maybe the phone will discern blood vessel patterns in my ear." Then, there's fingerprint scanning, already common with laptops. Best of all, this security could be performed automatically, making secure transactions easier and faster.
What could hold it back:Advanced biometrics will be attractive to corporations, but it surely will add to the price of devices, which could lead to resistance, at least among consumers.Why it's important: Besides protecting your transactions and data, you'll be able to use your mobile devices to gain admittance to secure areas at work or maybe even at the airport.
Disruption 13: Augmented reality
Imagine looking at something in the real world -- say a building -- through your mobile device, then putting a virtual overlay over it. Sounds like a game, but it potentially has some very real-world applications, according to Townsend.
"It will help anything that can benefit from simulation," he said. "An architect working at a construction site, or a firefighter finding a way out of a burning building or a UPS driver visualizing the next 10 steps of his delivery route." Another possibility: A surgeon performing a complicated procedure.
Why it's important: Augmented reality can help us understand the unknown in real time. That will lead to greater safety, more flexibility and better health care.
What could hold it back: This still remains the subject of a lot of research before it becomes practical and affordable.
David Haskin is a contributing editor specializing in mobile and wireless issues.
iOS 7 arrived, so now it’s time to start filling up your iOS device with all the latest and greatest apps on the iOS App Store. Here our favourite 10 Best iOS 7 Apps, that both look and work great on iOS 7.
10 Best iOS 7 Apps you should Install on your device.
10. Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts is the best way to listen to podcasts. It is a great, full featured, simple to use app that works on iPhone and iPad. Version 4.0 was designed to look great on iOS 7, and we love the aesthetic and playback controls. Simply add your favorite podcasts, and you’ll be able to download or stream new episodes as they are broadcast. Pocket Casts is a great option for anyone who isn’t in love with Apple’s Podcasts app, and wants more features, the ability to sync with other devices (including Android) and frequent feature updates.
9. Camera Noir
Camera Noir features a monochrome filter with three carefully-tuned settings that let you see the world in a classic way. The app always had an iOS 7 friendly aesthetic, but the design is now tweaked to be perfectly at home. If you love black-and-white photography, Camera Noir is one of the best apps you can use to get great shots.
8. About.me
About.me helps you bridge the gap between stranger and friend! Now, the mobile app is not only styled to look at home on iOS 7, it’s also focused on helping the user get more personalized and relevant information about themselves. Rather than just aggregating other content streams, About.me is now starting to contextualize that content in its own ecosystem.
7. GetGlue
GetGlue is great second-screen free app for TV & Movies. Discover what to watch now, keep up with your favorite shows and connect with fans.The company updated its iPhone app in preparation for iOS 7, and made some final changes to make the app fully at home on the new OS.
6. Cobook Contacts
Cobook brings together contact info from your address book and social networks and makes contact management enjoyable. If you’ve ever had a hard time keeping your Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Apple contacts synced and without duplicates, Cobook Contacts is a great solution. You can use it by itself, but it’s best paired with its excellent Mac companion.
5. Twitterrific
Twitterrific is the award-winning, elegant Twitter client that’s easy to understand and a delight to use. The original Twitter client updated for iOS 7, and is now better than ever. The UI is updated for iOS 7, and has a new dark theme straight out of Tron: Legacy.
4. Camera+
It’s all about one thing… great photos! Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or someone who’s barely touched a camera, Camera+ will make you love taking photos. Camera+ is easily one of the best camera apps in the App Store. More than 10 million copies have been sold, and the latest version includes an updated interface for iOS 7. There are also some great new share modes, including Dropbox and Instagram.
3. Clear
Clear is designed with simplicity and flexibility in mind and works great with any list you throw at it. If you want a simple to-do list with finesse and iCloud support, Clear is even better now. It was one of hottest iPhone apps of 2012. This year, it has a more refined iOS 7 design, and it supports the iPad.
2. SPG: Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Starwood — home of such brands as Sheraton Hotels, W Hotels and St. Regis Hotels — updated its SPG app to support the iPad, giving users a great way to do one-click bookings, and to find restaurants and activities after a trip begins. Beyond just adding iPad support, Starwood went all in on iOS 7, making use of AirDrop, parallax backgrounds and many of the new APIs offered by the latest OS.
1. Perfect Weather
Even if you do not suppose you need another weather app, provide Perfect Weather from Contrast a glance. Unlike several different weather apps, Perfect Weather offers a minimalist expertise, 7 day forecast and radar data. The maps are animated, and the app looks perfectly at home on iOS 7.
Phone is a major requirement of our daily lives. Mobile phone or even has the prices vary widely ranging from the cheapest phones in the world up to the most expensive mobile phone in the world. In today’s society, there aren’t many things that people are more attached to than their mobile phones. A person’s cell phone is his gateway into everything that goes on in his life. With the recent advances in technology, it now seems as if your cell phone can do everything that your computer can do. It then comes as no surprise that your cell phone could cost as much as it does. If you’re in the market for a phone that will do nearly everything, then you should expect to pay a lot of money. Here is a list of world’s top 10 most expensive mobile phones.
These are 10 Most Expensive Mobile Phones in the World.
10. Vertu Signature Diamond
Exclusive luxury phones from Vertu. Vertu is very famous for its luxury mobile phone products, including mobile phones Vertu Signature Diamond is included in order to-10 list of the world’s most expensive mobile phones. This phone is made of platinum and claimed the best assembly process is done by hand, not machines. Phone decorated with a pretty fancy diamonds produced only 200 pieces. The price of this phone is $ 88,000.
9. iPhone Princess Plus
iPhone Princess Plus has a feature that is not much different from other Apple iPhone mobile phone, which makes this into the top 10 most expensive mobile phones in the world. This iPhone is designed by famous designer Austria, Peter Aloisson. Beside the gold, this special iPhone flavour comes with no less than 138 princess cut and 180 brilliant cut diamonds with a weight of 16.50 – 17.75. And according to Peter Aloisson, the diamonds have the best quality, so owning such a device is quite a remarkable thing. It’s price is $ 176.400.
8. BlackDiamond VIPN Smartphone
At no. 8 in the world’s most expensive mobile phone is Sony Ericsson’s Black Diamond. Jaren Goh created this stylish concept for Sony. It features mirror detailing, polycarbonate mirror and an organic LED technology. Of course, when it comes to Sony, nobody can challenge the screen results. It is decorated with two diamonds, one on the navigation buttons and the other in the back of the phone. The price of this phone is $300,000.
7. Vertu Signature Cobra
Vertu Signature Cobra ranks seven of the world’s most expensive mobile phone. The designs are quite exclusive with the existence of forms such as the Cobra snake on the phone side. Designed by French jeweller, Boucheron, the ritzy phone features one pear-cut diamond, one round white diamond, two emerald eyes, and 439 rubies.
6. Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot
This phone comes from a traditional purveyor of a luxury handsets – Gresso, and is called Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot. This phone was established in Switzerland in2005. It is made of solid gold weighing 180 grams. The back panel is made up of African backwoods that is more than 200 years old. That wood is the most expensive wood in the world. Its keys are made of sapphire crystal. And it costs a cool $1 million.
5. Diamond Crypto Smartphone
Based on Windows CE, this smart phone was designed by luxury accessories maker Peter Aloisson. This unique object de art is priced at a crisp $1.3 million and is tagged as the costliest in the world. This one features a cover adorned with 50 diamonds, 10 of which are the rare blue ones. Apart from this, it also features s few sections made in rose gold as well. It also gives protection against kidnapping and technological blackmail.
4. GoldVish Le Million
Goldvish “Le million” is designed by renowned designer Emmanuel Gueit, who designed lots of luxury watches and jewellery. The most luxurious and expensive mobile phone, “Le Million” Piece Unique, had launched in Switzerland. This phone awarded by Guinness World Records as the world’s most expensive mobile phones sold in the Millionaire Fair in Cannes, France in September 2006. Often referred to as the world’s most expensive phone at $1.3 million, this designer phone is bejewelled with 18k white gold and 20 carats of VVS1 diamonds.
3. iPhone 3G King’s Button
For the third most expensive mobile phone in the world is still occupied by a variant of the iPhone, named King’s Button iPhone 3G. The renowned jeweler from Austria Peter Aloisson is the creater of this phone. 138 diamonds are installed on this phone that makes it worth $2.4 million. The beautiful white diamon of 6.6 carats serves as the home screen button which enhances the beauty of this phone.
2. Supreme Goldstriker iPhone 3G 32GB
For the second most expensive mobile phone in the world, a variant of the iPhone from Apple, the Supreme iPhone 3G is priced at $ 3,200,000. The iPhone 3GS Supreme features a casing made from 271 grams of solid 22k gold and a screen trimmed with fifty-three 1-carat diamonds. The home button is covered with a single rare 7.1-carat diamond. That’s not all, though—the iPhone 3GS Supreme comes in a chest carved from a single block of granite and sports Kashmir gold and an interior lining made with nubuck top-grain leather.
1. Diamond Rose iPhone 4 32GB
The world’s most expensive iPhone to date is the 32 GB iPhone 4 Diamond Rose by Stuart Hughes. With a price of about $8 million the phone’s bezel is made of rose and approximately 500 individual flawless diamonds that total over 100ct. The back is also rose gold and features the Apple logo all decked out with 53 additional diamonds, while the front navigation button is platinum with interchangeable single cut 7.4ct pink or rare 8ct Flawless diamonds in the center.
Of all the apps out there in the Android world, GPS and navigations apps are arguably the most useful, as anyone who's ever been lost will attest to. This is backed up by the sheer number of such apps that are available for Android, some great, some not so great. To find out which ones you can rely on, read on for our pick of the best Android GPS and navigation apps.
Waze is a free Navigation app that relies on its community for its traffic information, so it's just as well that it's one of the most popular apps of its kind on the Play Store. As a member of the Waze community, you can report accidents, police traps and road closures, which then get cross-referenced with other users' input and broadcast for other users. It also has a very nice interface and a few other nifty features, such as showing you the cheapest gas stations en route, and a points-based system, where being an active member of the community sees you climb the Waze ranks.
Maps.Me was well worth the US$4.99 price tag it used to have on the Play Store, so imagine our delight when the app was made absolutely free. If you haven't picked this one up already, we highly recommend it, because not only is it one of the best Android map apps available – with a clear and simple UI – but it also works offline and includes points of interest such as subway stations, ATMs, petrol stations, and so on.
The app formerly known as Navfree features offline search, voice navigation, and a neat interface that takes cues from Android (complete with the iconic hamburger menu). It integrates with Google Street View and Foursquare, and provides great-looking HD maps for more than 30 countries. It also includes community map reports, real-time traffic information, and OSM maps, which can be used offline.
Sygic is one of the most popular offline navigation apps on Android, and with good reason. The TomTom-powered app offers high-definition maps for most countries in the world, and recently received an update that brings it more in line with Android Lollipop (i.e. it's easier to use than ever). It's recently gone down the freemium route, offering many maps for free, but providing extra features such as live traffic information, regular updates and extra navigation voices at a price.
CoPilot GPS offers offline maps for pretty much the entire planet. Cleverly, CoPilot can sync with social network accounts like Facebook and Twitter, and set turn-by-turn directions to events you're scheduled to attend. The first map is free (you can choose from a specialized list), and then CoPilot functions in license form. If you buy the premium version, you get 12 months traffic information for free, too.
MapFactor uses OpenStreetMaps (OSM) map data, which gets installed on your device so you don't need an internet connection when using it. MapFactor offers all the usual bells and whistles of SatNav, with turn-by-turn directions, voice navigation in several languages, and the option to change your route depending on whether you're driving a car, a truck, or just walking. It also includes audible noise warnings when you approach speed cameras – not that you would ever dream of breaking the speed limit, would you now?
This free version of OsmAnd offers everything you need for easy offline navigation. The app uses OSM data, and is updated regularly to take into account new roads, traffic lights, and so on. The paid version (US$5.99) provides information from Wikipedia to show you points of interest along your route (great for freewheeling road trips). It's a great app for hikers and cyclists too, with a special display mode showing bike routes, walking paths, and contours to indicate steepness.
The physical SatNav is all but dead, but the legendary TomTom lives on in Android form. The maps are updated for a lifetime, there are also multiple navigation options, all of which are available offline. A new version recently came out to make it better suited to Android Lollipop, and it offers real-time traffic information, 3D landmarks and buildings, and camera alerts. The paid versions are quite expensive, but offer detailed maps for all the regions in question. if you bought the old TomTom app, you can update it to the new one by following the instructions on TomTom's support page.
