MapQuest Mobile 4 on iPhone Gives Us Free Turn by Turn Nav with Voice
With the release of AOL's MapQuest Mobile 4 the iPhone gets free turn by turn navigation with voice prompts, something we've all been waiting for. The only problem, AOL gave it to us in the buggiest app I have ever used, and I have used a lot of apps on my iPhone
Seriously, I can't even remember all the things I did that made this app crash there were so many, but I'll highlight a few big ones. Turning on sound navigation prompts (the default is voice prompts) made it crash. Adding multiple stops in the directions screen made it crash. Once it crashed when I changed the route options (turning on "avoid highways") but it did work later. It also crashed once when I plugged in the FM transmitter/car charger while the app was running but it did work one other time.
It also has it's little quirks. For example, when you do get the settings to change you need to restart the app for them to take affect. Also, when you go "off route" a nice little button comes up to ask if you want to reroute. If you press no or don't press anything for a period of time it goes into the "off route" mode where it will not recalculate or start directions again unless you get back on course.
So my vote? It's a keeper! Surprised? Well, it is free, the directions it gave me were correct, and, as long as you keep the settings set to the defaults and enter only one destination it works great! Also, the prompts are dead one and not disruptive. There are two warnings and a "turn now" and the turn now cue is right at the correct time. A friend's GPS prompts you at every exit on the highway to "stay straight on route blah blah blah".
My only other issue, WTF Google? You let AOL beat you to the iPhone with a free voice guided, GPS enabled mapping app? The maps on MapQuest are kinda crappy and even if Google released a Google maps iPhone update with the same features and all the bugs I would switch to it just for the better maps. I'm a little embarrassed for you Google.
So go get this app before AOL smartens up and starts charging for it.
Ask the Aardvark, He Has the Answers.
I have been using Aardvark for the last few days now and I have to say I like it! I think it showed up my radar when the iPhone app floated up the "popular" and "free" app list on appshopper.com or some site like that. Anyway, I have used the app, the website, and the IM integration and it's pretty cool. Basically you ask a question and someone gives an answer. If you don't like the answer or want another answer, you can resubmit the question. The cool thing is you get an answer in minutes (typically).
When I initially saw the iPhone app I grabbed it thinking it was a company from this year's TechCrunch50, however, after looking at the list I am guessing I confused it with "Hark", a different application that I'll likely try out soon. It was cool to be able to ask a question on the iPhone then get a push notification when someone answered, however, the iPhone isn't great for answering questions. I'd love to say I have all the answers in my head, but the truth is Google is my friend. When answering on the iPhone it isn't easy to switch to Google, do some research, then cut and paste it back to the Aardvark app. So I left the app there for when I have a question to ask rather then answer.
Next I tried out the web site. I could invite people, see how many people were on ready to answer questions for the most popular topics, and tweak my profile. Typical stuff. The things I thought were missing were a real time feed of questions to answer or a web page to even see questions and a place to "browse" people online and invite them as friends. Having used the service for a bit now I can see why these features were not a focus.
The last part was the instant message integration. This is your typical IM bot that responds to commands and such, however, it is very well done. Typing "help" provides you will all the info you need. You can ask a question and Aardvark will reply via IM when someone answers or you can answer questions via IM. You can ask Aardvark for a question or, occasionally, Aardvark will IM you with a question based on your profile. It's even smart enough to not bother you if you are "busy".
So far I have asked a few questions and received correct replies within minutes. You can even exchange messages with the person who answers your question for additional clarification, all anonymously, and Aardvark keeps a "log" of it all for future reference. I think I'll be using Aardvark as my "second" Google from now on. If I can't find an answer in 10 minutes on Google, then off to Aardvark to get the answer. I'll do my best not to be lazy and go to Aardvark first.
If you want to check out Aardvark you can use this link to join: http://vark.com/s/7ivF
(Full disclosure: I am getting nothing for this review nor for you using the link above to join. Therefore this review is unbiased. I do occasionally get "perks" for mentioning services and products but I will always disclose that to keeps things honest.)
Getting the facts on the U.S. Congress
Sparing the (long) back story, I worked on a project once that I thought was a waste of time. I said “no one will want this service!” Then I was presented with a chart showing demand for the service generated from data collected from a voluntary survey. I was amazed. I thought, “Wow, I was wrong, it appears people do want this.” A coworker said, “Do you have access to the raw numbers?” I did. He suggested I skew the charts by modifying the groupings by 1 unit. So a bar showing 1 to 9 now showed 1 to 10, while the bar showing 10 to 19 did not include the “10’s” anymore. The chart almost reversed, showing little interest in the service!
This was when I discovered, “if you want to know the truth, evaluate the raw data yourself”, and I live by that today. I am constantly picking apart articles and news reports for potential skewing of the data. (Whenever they show “deaths caused by (big bad) guns” I ask, what is the number of deaths by guns used in a legal manner per year? Good luck finding it.)
Anyway, stripping away the BS is the point and that is why I like this site: http://www.govtrack.us/
It tracks the votes of our U.S. Congress and it’s open source! Sure there are summaries that are skewed a little (but not much), still you can get to the raw data. That actual text of a bill, not a summary. Who voted how or who didn’t vote. You can see what is really going on. It gives a good picture of what the democrats are supporting, what the republicans are supporting, and what votes are really bi-partisan. (Sorry Nancy, getting 5 republicans to support your crazy idea is not “bi-partisan support”.) It has RSS feeds too so you can track changes with ease. I suggest everyone go check it out, you deserve to know what is really going on.
Like Rock Music? Looking for motivation music?
I thought I would share my "Angry Rock" Pandora station with all my visitors. I don't think I have blogged about pandora yet, but I should have. I use this site almost daily, usually more than once daily. It basically replaces the need for radio in my life. It streams free music to your computer, but the thing I really like is it streams music to my iPod and smart phone too!! I just dock my iPod into my speakers downstairs, call up the Pandora app and select my station. Free music. Check out the site, create your own station then, if you have an iPod touch or iPhone, load their app. This site gets 5 stars!
If you want to listen to what I listen to while working, exercising, or shoveling snow (yes, my WiFi to iPod works outside too!) then check out my "Angry Rock" station.
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh44148192251893788
(As always this is my personal opinion and not a paid post, but if someone wants to pay me I am open to negotiation.)
Alter Ego
- Me @ BzzAgent
- Me @ del.icio.us
- Me @ Digg.com
- Me @ Gather.com
- Me @ LinkedIn
- Me @ RockBand.com
- Me @ StumbleUpon
- Me @ Tabblo
- Me @ Wikipedia
- Me @ Yelp!
Check Daily
Check Often
Friends
Links Worth Visiting
Podcasts
- Buzz Out Loud (RSS)
- Diggnation (RSS) (WMV)
- The Instance: World of Warcraft (RSS)
- This Week in Tech (RSS)
- Wicked Good Podcast (RSS)
Software
Me @ Twitter : Live Feed
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.