POI
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iExit gets new features and is now free
I liked iExit when I reviewed it a couple of years ago at US$0.99. Now I like it even more. Added features, a nicer GUI, and it's free. Unlike most navigation and POI-based apps, iExit highlights what's just beyond highway exit ramps. If you are looking for food, gas, coffee, hospitals, rest stops, you name it, iExit will point it out. The app has a new iOS 7 look, and 25 preset searches, but you can search for anything by typing in any description you like. Search results include a list of destinations, a one-touch call button, relevant web links, a Google Street View image and a directions button which lets you choose Apple Maps or Google Maps (via either the app or a browser). If you are nowhere near an interstate exit, the app will tell you that, and give you distances to the nearest exits, and then a single click tells you what businesses and services are at that exit. You also get a small map to tell you where the destination is in relation to the exit. I used the old version quite a bit on road trips, and this new version is slicker, has an updated database, and the Google Street View feature is potentially helpful. In using the app, I found that sometimes the Street View photo was facing the wrong direction. I'm not sure if that is a flaw in the Google software hooks or iExit, but sometimes that feature was less than helpful. iExit needs iOS 6 or later. It's a universal app and it is optimized for the iPhone 5. If you travel by car at all I think iExit is worth putting in your Travel or Navigation folder.
The Repopulation knocks out another stretch goal
The Repopulation has met another Kickstarter stretch goal. Adversarial camps will now make it into the finished sci-fi sandbox title, and more importantly the way is clear for the next stretch goal: Points of Intrigue. These points are an extension of the game's engagement system. The PvE versions of PoI will pop up randomly throughout the game world and they'll require anywhere from a few players to multiple groups. The PvP versions of PoI will involve capture points and Nation-based rewards. The ultimate goal of the entire system is "to provide an ever-changing list of opportunities which encourage players to work together under a common goal."
Road Mate 012 combines GPS with practical driving info
In-car navigation systems are certainly quite handy, but most of them don't give you the real-world, practical information that's invaluable to the modern lead foot driver: local speed limits, where the cops like to hang out, or that the hairpin turn you're about to hit is a frequent wipeout spot for drunk high school students. Enter the Road Mate 012 from South Korea, a GameBoy Advance-looking gadget that contains over 50,000 useful tidbits of knowledge that are spoken aloud where applicable; now granted, there's no SiRF Star III chipset in here or anything, but the 12-channel receiver should prove plenty accurate for this type of application. Even better, the database is updated on a regular basis -- apparently over a pager network -- so when that bridge you take to work everyday unexpectedly collapses, you'll be able to plan another route instead of driving into the river. Combined with a radar detector and a regular nav unit loaded up with speed camera locations, the 012 should help ensure that the 5-0 will never be using you to meet their monthly ticket quotas.[Via Navigadget]
Navman iCN 750 GPS navigator with NavPix reviewed
Remember those new Navman GPS units launched back in March featuring integrated digital cameras for the new NavPix system? Well, PocketNow got their hand on the top-end iCN 750 in-car navigation system to see just how useful downloading location-mapped pictures can be. The unit's "pretty GUI" was up and running right out of the box thanks to the US maps coming pre-loaded on the 4GB internal hard drive. Nice, right? Only thing is, data stored on that relatively slow disk drive (instead of flash memory) resulted in "sluggish" screen-to-screen transitions. Still, the highly touted NavPix feature was so useful for navigation that the reviewer claims it will be emulated "much like the iPod clickwheel" soon enough. High praise indeed. In fact, we should expect Navman to start offering guided city tours whereby you can download an itinerary of coordinate-tagged photos for your destination city -- just tap the picture and hit "go" to navigate to a point-of-interest. The iCN 750 would have pulled more than the 4/5 overall rating had it included 4GB of flash memory to speed things along, a non-reflective coating to help out in direct sunlight, and a battery indicator right up front on the main menu. All in all, a pretty sweet setup for the $700 beans required to take this high-end navigator home.
