WhereTo
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Where To? updated with loads of new features
Where To? (currently on sale for US$1.99) has always been one of my favorite points of interest (POI) apps. The older version I fell in love with has now been put to rest and a completely rewritten version has hit the App Store with many desirable features. While the old app still runs on iOS 8 beta, it won't continue to be supported as the new Where To? version 7 has taken its place. The graphics are updated and are very iOS 7-8 friendly. The app starts at a graphical wheel, where you select the type of destination you are looking for -- shopping, medical, food, leisure, etc. Within those broad categories are hundreds of sub-categories, like Greek food or electronic stores. You can also search by name. Enter "Ace Hardware", for example, and you'll see a list of the closest stores in that chain in distance order. Select your favorite, and you'll get an option to transfer that destination to Apple or Google Maps, and most third party navigation apps that Where To? finds on your iPhone. On my iPhone, the app recognized Google Earth, Navigon, and Waze in addition to the Maps apps. The app sources reviews, photos and menus where available. There are also some nice new features that directly send your destination to your car navigation system. Currently this works with BMW, Audi and Mercedes. An update is coming soon that will send driving directions to your Pebble Watch. As with the previous version, Where To? is simple to use. Enter a category or a specific destination, and a screen comes up with phone numbers, addresses, and hours of operation. Click the navigate icon and you are on your way using your favorite turn-by-turn app. Where To? can also get addresses from your address book and direct you to them via whatever navigation app you choose. I tried the app with BMW Connected Drive, selecting a destination and tapping the send to car feature. Within about 10 seconds the destination appeared and I could navigate directly with my on-board navigation system. Where To? 7.0 is a solid upgrade to an already popular app. Current owners and new buyers can get the app for $1.99 for a few days before it reverts to the usual $2.99. Where To? requires iOS 7 or later, works fine under iOS 8 and is optimized for the iPhone 5. Highly recommended.
My 5 favorite apps for holiday travel
Yes, it's that time of year again. Travel by car, plane and train. New places to visit, with lots of places to locate, for shopping, dining, sightseeing and (I hope not) emergency facilities. In this post, I'll describe my favorite travel apps. My first choice for turn-by-turn navigation is Navigon. (Navigon USA is US$32.99.) Navigon stores maps locally, so travel between cities guarantees me good data. Google local search is available for complete destination information, and Google Street View shows what my destination will actually look like. I added the 3D Panorama view as an extra add-on because I like to see the mountains, and I added live traffic and USA speed cameras. I do think Apple Maps has improved greatly, and I love that I can ask for a destination with Siri, but Navigon is still my favorite for finding a distant or a local destination. Navigon also integrates Glympse. More about Glympse later. When I've arrived at my destination, and want to find out what is worth visiting, I'm very happy with Where To? This $2.99 app has an extensive database of points of interest, and includes crowdsourced ratings. Locations can be saved to your contacts, and shared via email, Twitter or Facebook. The app also knows what navigation apps you have, so you can send your destination to Navigon, Apple Maps, Google Maps and several other similar apps. That's a great idea. Ok, now to talk about Glympse. Glympse (free) sends alerts to those awaiting your arrival as you travel. They can view a real-time map that shows your location and estimates when you will arrive. It beats constant calling or sending texts. A Glympse can be sent to a smartphone or a computer. Lately, the Glympse GUI has regressed in ease of use with click and slide actions, which are frustrating some people, but Glympse does what it does very well, and I use it almost weekly. Even when I am meeting someone for lunch or dinner, it's great to let them know when I'll get there. Travel by air is surely not as fun as it used to be, but it's made easier by using Flight+ ($3.99). I can track any flight in the world, easily search for flights a variety of ways, see detailed gate and time information and see seat maps of any plane I'm going on. Flights can be traced via a detailed map, and there is detailed weather information for my destinations. Flight+ provides alerts for time changes, as well as gate and terminal changes. It also gives me Departure and Arrival reminders, which is handy if I am picking someone up at the airport. Finally, I frequently use Gate Guru. This free app also contains flight notifications, but is most useful at the airport when looking for a specific restaurant or service. The app contains 35,000 reviews of airport food, and TSA security wait time estimates. It also contains weather, and you can book a rental car at the last minute if you need to. I don't do any travel by train, so I have no favorites, but people who do are impressed with Roadify Transit. It covers buses, subways, trains, bikes and ferries. The app offers walking directions, real-time service advisories, and it covers public transportation in many US cities. The app is free. Holiday travel can be a challenge, and sometimes frustrating. These apps are my favorites for reducing holiday travel stress. Have a safe trip, and don't forget to keep checking TUAW when you are on the road.
Where To? for iOS adds a bunch of features holiday travelers will like
With so many of us hitting the road for the holidays, travelers need all the help they can get. An update released today for Where To? fills the bill nicely. The US$2.99 app has an extensive points-of-interest database, links to reviews and can transfer directions to Apple Maps and third-party apps. I found the POI lists far better than what is built into Apple Maps, and the reviews are also more extensive. It also will provide driving directions from its internal database. In addition to car directions, the app now features walking and public transit directions. One feature added that I really like is the ability to send turn-by-turn directions to someone. You also can choose any destination and add it to your contacts. There are plenty of free apps such as Around Me which I think highly of, but the polish and depth of Where To? makes it a worthwhile investment, and it's sure to find places a lot of other apps miss. %Gallery-173803%
Where To? will make you feel better about Apple Maps
Apple's Maps app has been a bit of a mess, as we all know. One of the biggest complaints is the lack of solid local search. There are plenty of alternative apps (including Google+ Local, the updated version of Google Places); one of the classics, Where To?, has just been updated. Where To? now offers a link to Apple Maps once you have found your destination using the app's local search. The Google-powered search data is far more complete than what Apple Maps offers through Yelp, so this is a good solution. This latest version of Where To? also works well with iOS 6, and doesn't 'letterbox' on an iPhone 5. When you find a location you'll get reviews, links to websites and business hours. One other nice feature is that Where To? can be launched from Apple Maps, to get a more complete idea of what is around your chosen destination. In my testing around town the app worked well. It did have a lot more local options when I searched for things like restaurants, hospitals and hardware stores. The switch to Maps is easy enough. When you find your destination click on a button, and you can go to Maps or any other navigation program it can talk to. In my case I have Navigon, Waze and Telenav on my phone and they all would accept the destination from Where To? without trouble. It also supports TomTom, Motion X, Sygic and Navfree. Where To? is US$2.99 and works in most overseas locations. The app can't cure all the issues with Apple Maps, but it certainly dramatically expands local search. Since I find Apple Maps to be a solid navigator in my part of Arizona, Where To? and Apple Maps are a good marriage. Where To? requires iOS 5.1 or greater, and is not a universal app. Check the galleries for some screen shots. %Gallery-167095%
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? gets a barrel of new features for your navigation pleasure
I've looked at Where To? before and found it to be a handy, easy to use local guide when I'm looking for anything from Art Galleries to the Zoo. It has info on nearby food, shopping, health care and attractions. The latest version of this app has added improvements to the animations in augmented reality mode, a new direction indicator, and support for Google Earth. It has connectivity to the Motion X GPS program for directions in addition to the existing TomTom and Navigon apps. Where To? also adds store hours when provided by a business. I found that many entries had that information. There's no shortage of these local info apps, and I've always liked Around Me which has some similar capabilities but without the links to nav apps. I like the improvements in this version of the Where To? app. It is an 11 MB download, works in 10 different languages and requires iOS 3.0 or later. I think it's a worthwhile addition to your basket of travel and information apps. Check the gallery for some screen shots. Where To? is available for US$2.99 from the App Store, but is on sale for $0.99 until Sunday August 21. %Gallery-130559%
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.
