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Where To? for iPhone updated with more reviews, pictures, and now videos
One of my favorite navigation apps for the iPhone, Where To?, has been updated to include more pictures, more reviews, and some videos of selected destinations. Reviews and media are sourced from users and Google. The app features 700 categories of destinations, and more than 2,400 brands (e.g. In-N-Out Burger or Trader Joe's). The app features augmented reality as a US$0.99 option, which uses the camera to superimpose directions over local scenery. The app has added direct links to GPS navigation systems Sygic, Waze, Navmii, Navfree and NAVIGON Urban (German App Store only). The app also supports TomTom, Navigon, MotionX and of course, Google Maps. This latest version has added support for state National Parks in the US, Canada and Australia. The app itself operates in 10 languages, so it's going to be helpful for users around the globe. I did a drive-around test and found it worked reliably and smoothly. I sent a couple of destinations to my Navigon app, and that worked flawlessly. I think the app is useful in your home town, but really comes into its own when traveling and looking for that special restaurant, hotel, or even the nearest pharmacy or hardware store. Where To? version 4.1 is a free update for anyone who has version 2 or higher. Owners of version 1.0 will have to buy this latest version if they want the upgrade. The app is $2.99 and the augmented reality feature is another $0.99. Where To? 4.1 requires iOS 4.0 or greater. I've included some screen shots of Where To? in action. %Gallery-146625%
Where To? adds augmented reality
I've looked at Where To? in the past, and found it a well thought out way to find points of interest in your vicinity. Another plus is that it integrates with the Navigon and TomTom apps so that you can send information for precise navigation. Now the app has added a new wrinkle: augmented reality. Basically that means, in either portrait or landscape mode, your camera will activate, and points of interest in categories that you select can be seen layered over the real-time image. The closer the location, the bigger the marker. Generally, I think augmented reality is overblown and not all that helpful, but the developers of Where To? have overcome some of the hazards of the feature and made it easier to use. When lots of labels appear very close together, you can zoom in and move them apart. Improvements have also been made to eliminate compass lag, which has affected more than a few AR apps. If you liked Where To? before, you'll like the improvements. The augmented reality feature is an additional $0.99 cents over the US$2.99 purchase price of the app, and you can try the feature free for 30 days. I think this implementation of AR works well, and it has clearly been thought out. There are plenty of free apps that will give you the same information, like Around Me or Google Places. If you don't opt for the AR feature, you'll get maps of your destinations or a list view with the closest locations at the top. All the apps draw from the same database, but I like the integration of Navigon and TomTom, and I think the AR is actually useful rather than a gimmick. I do think it should have just been included in the basic purchase price, but on the other hand, I think it is worth the extra dollar. Where To? runs on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It requires iOS 3.0 or greater. %Gallery-115751%
Why Apple's patents might show screens from third-party apps
This is a weird one. FutureTap was surprised to recognize one of their app's screens in a strange place: a recent Apple patent outlining how a possible travel application could work. The company wasn't quite sure what to do next -- as you can see above, it's a straightforward copy of the Where To? screen. Without any contact from Apple on the issue, FutureTap was puzzled -- the company calls Apple its "primary business partner." Having your app show up in an Apple patent filing Not that Apple is above cherry-picking UI and functionality from third-party apps -- the iBooks interface was more or less borrowed whole from apps like Delicious Library and Classics, and further back there was the homage of Karelia Software's Watson reinterpreted as Apple's revision to Sherlock. In those cases, both developers just sort of shrugged, felt flattered, and let it go. That's not the situation here -- these screenshots probably aren't illustrations of a product Apple wants to make, they're explanations of how the patent would work. As Engadget's Nilay Patel clarifies for us (so nice to have an attorney around), not only is this merely a patent application (which could possibly still be denied), but Apple isn't trying to lay claim to the actual screenshot; rather the company is using an example application which illustrates the to-be-patented functionality (in the case of Where To?, the ability of an iPhone to auto-detect when a user has been traveling). As Nilay puts it: ...the only operative parts of a patent are the claims -- not the drawings, and not the description, which are technically known as the "specification." (We've now repeated this basic axiom of patent interpretation so many times we're considering making T-shirts.) The only reason the drawings and description are there is to explain the claimed invention in sufficient detail so that someone else can make it. Remember, patents are a trade: in order to get protection, you have to give up the full details of how your invention works. (The other option is to keep your invention a trade secret, but then you can't prevent anyone else from figuring it out and using it if it gets out.) Bottom line? If it's not in the claims, it's not in the patent. We'll have to see what FutureTap does -- the company might request that Apple remove the Where To? screenshot from the patent application, but at this point it's not clear that Apple wants to lay claim to that particular app. What is clear is that Apple could have avoided a lot of hassle and furor if it had simply sent FutureTap an email asking to use a screenshot in a patent filing. In the meantime, FutureTap execs are huddled with their lawyers, trying to make sure they understand what's going on.
Where To? updated with Navigon integration
In what appears to be a happy marriage, Where To? for the iPhone [iTunes link] now talks to the Navigon GPS app. You can select a category or search for a business and then transfer that information directly to the Navigon app for turn-by-turn directions. If you don't have Navigon, you get Google Maps directions instead. This is a nice update because the Navigon POI (points of interest) database is contained on the app, while Where To? relies on Google information. This way you get the best of both worlds, with up to date POI info that can easily be picked up the the Navigon app for a pretty seamless experience. While checking the app on a drive around town I found it quick and easy to find some specific places to shop. Restaurants are broken down into categories, including things like cuisine categories or other criteria like "all you can eat." The Navigon link worked perfectly, and in real world use turned out to be handy. The new version also adds contacts integration, and customization and deletion of categories. I liked Where To? when i first reviewed it earlier this year, and the Navigon integration is a welcome addition. Where To? is U.S. $2.99. If you don't want to spend the money, I'd suggest a look at Around Me [iTunes link] which uses the same Google data but doesn't link to any nav apps.
Where To? tells you 'where to'
Where To? [iTunes link] is a nice destination finder for the iPhone. The latest version is on sale on the App Store through today for US$0.99. Note: The iTunes store says it works on an iPod touch, but some people are reporting it won't install. It cleverly integrates maps, a web browser, and a tracking mode to show new points of interest as you move. You can share destinations that you find with email, SMS and the clipboard.You can also search any one of 600 categories or ask the app to surprise you with, for example, a restaurant recommendation.The app supports English, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.How did it work? Pretty well. It's nice to have all the tools you need in one app, although one of my favorite apps, AroundMe [iTunes link] integrates maps, but has no browser. AroundMe is free.It would be nice to get some integration into the new nav apps that are proliferating, because Where To? has a far larger POI database then say Navigon or TomTom. I did save a POI from Where To? in my contacts, then opened that contact in Navigon and that worked fine, but it's a little fiddly.There are a few glitches in Where To? While searching for some nearby lakes, the app found some businesses with "lake" in the name. I think the app is focusing too much on the business name, and not whatever category meta-data it is using.All in all, this app was worth the original $3.00 asking price, and today at $0.99 I'd give it a whirl for sure.Here are some screen grabs:%Gallery-70766%
