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.
