Groundspeak's Geocaching app turns 3.0
When it's warmer than the current 12°F here in Denver or I'm on a trip somewhere, I love to go geocaching. If you're not familiar with the pastime, geocaching involves using a GPS receiver to find hidden caches that can contain logbooks, "prizes," or even clues to other caches. To find out where a cache is hidden, you need to have an account with Geocaching.com and then search by city or location to see what's near you. The rest is up to your ability to find the cache based on the latitude and longitude provided, as well as clues that may have been supplied by the person who hid the cache, or by other people who have found the cache before you.
The company that popularized geocaching is Groundspeak, and they've just released version 3.0 of their self-named Geocaching app [US$9.99, iTunes Link]. Like a fine wine, this app is definitely getting better with age. Groundspeak added a pile of new features to the app, including the ability to view geocache photo galleries, rotate maps to match your heading (iPhone 3GS only), and view geocaching.com web pages without leaving the app.
One feature I like is the ability to save maps and photos for offline use. Sometimes when I'm geocaching in areas that don't have good cell phone service, I've felt that it would be nice to just shut the phone feature off. Now I can do that by searching for sites near a location, and then saving the information on my iPhone for future reference.
For geocachers who purchased earlier versions of the app, Geocaching 3.0 is a free upgrade. I highly recommend getting the update, and remember to restart your iPhone after installing the app.
