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Anchor Pointer is a great app for finding your car or that great fishing spot
One of the downsides of using geolocation pins with standard GPS apps is that they're designed with driving and roads in mind. For those of us who walk more than we drive, these routes aren't always ideal. After all, your feet aren't confined to streets and the fastest route between two points is still a straight line. That's why I've enjoyed using Anchor Pointer as my go-to navigation tool when I'm trying to find my way back to locations I've discovered while walking around or when I'm trying to find where I parked my car. Anchor Pointer gives you a compass that directs you to locations you've already been to. It's designed for saving locations rather than finding them via discovery, which makes it ideal for hikers and urban explorers, or just to find your car at the mall. The way it works is simple: when you find a location you want to save you, tap "Add Anchor" to save the location. You can add an icon and a name to represent the location. If you're just looking to save the location of your car in a parking lot, that functionality is listed on the main app screen as "Park Car." Once you select a location, Anchor Pointer provides a compass that directs you back to where you once where. It doesn't matter if you've never used a compass before -- simply follow the arrow and you'll find your way back. The parking feature has proven indispensable when looking for my vehicle in parts of town I might not already be familiar with and in large mall parking lots. However, the real charm of Anchor Pointer ls as a way to rediscover places you've been to once and want to revisit. Find a cool coffee shop while walking around your neighborhood? Drop an anchor. Discover a mural on the side of the road you want to remember? Drop an anchor. Maybe you're a fisherman and you've found an ideal spot where they're always biting. No problem, you can even drop an anchor over water and have the compass navigate you back to that spot. Anchor Pointer also has a "Meet Friend" feature allowing friends to share their location with you. I haven't been able to use this feature yet as no friends of mine use the app, but given how well everything else works, the tool could be very useful for meeting up with friends in the park or at a concert. I could see this feature being very attractive for parents trying to meet up with their kids at a crowded location. Anchor Pointer includes a handy automatic Night Mode that adjusts the brightness of the app based on the time of day, making it ideal for using at night in the woods without suddenly being blinded by your phone. You can also turn off the auto brightness function if you wish. Whether you're an adventurer looking to find your way back to your discoveries or just someone who is sick of losing your car in mall parking lots, Anchor Pointer is a delightfully useful app. My only complaint is that you currently can't drop an anchor unless you're physically at a location. It would be nice to use the handy compass feature to find my way to a place I know the address or coordinates of, even if I haven't already been there. Hopefully that shortcoming will be fixed in a future update. Even without that ability, Anchor Point is a handy tool for adventures and travelers. Currently the app is only $1.99 in the iTunes Store. That's a small price to pay for such a useful exploration tool.
IRL: HTC One S, Columbia GPS Pal and the Eton Rukus Solar
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week in IRL, Jon Fingas takes what could be an unpopular stance, making a case for the HTC One S over the bigger, more lavishly specced One X. Meanwhile, Darren and Dan test some summer-appropriate tech, including a GPS app for outdoor sports and a solar-powered speaker dock.
Navigon boosts iPhone app to version 2.1, discounts purchases through July 16th
Navigon's hitting those holiday roads a day early, releasing version 2.1 of its iPhone app. The free update adds Google Street View, which pops up as you approach a destination, along with a Cockpit display, which includes G-force, speed and compass information for an additional $6. There's also a new Manual Route Blocking feature, enabling you to force the app to offer an alternate path after identifying a section of road that you'd prefer to skip, along with improved start-up and map rendering performance, and Retina iPad compatibility. The USA version of the app is available for $30 (a $20 discount), while the North America version is also 20 bucks off, at $40, and regional flavors will be available for $20 ($10 off). In-app purchases are also discounted, including FreshMaps USA for $15 (normally $40), FreshMaps North America for $10 (down from $20), FreshMaps MyRegion for $20 (instead of $50) and the aforementioned Cockpit for $4 (regularly $6). All of the discounts run through July 16th, so hit up the App Store and get your download on now.
Navigation app sales and Verizon friendliness
There's a flurry of GPS related news today, so let's get right on with it. First, one of our favorite nav apps, Navigon, is having a pretty big sale to celebrate its milestone of 2 million sales worldwide. If you've been lusting after a Navigon app, there's a 4-day, 50% off sale beginning today. Regional versions for the US are $14.99. The US-Canada app is $29.99. The USA-only version is $24.99. Current users can take advantage of the promotion as well, with prices for in-app purchases of Traffic Live, Panorama View 3D and Zagat Survey for MobileNavigator iPhone at 25 percent off. On the TomTom front, that excellent nav solution is on sale for $34.99 for the US version. The US-Canada app is $39.99. The sale has no end date. TomTom also notes that new iPhone users on Verizon will be seeing a "connect to GPS" warning when they start up. TomTom advises users to just hit continue, and all will be well. The glitch doesn't affect your navigation and will be fixed ASAP.
Hitting the road with iPhone GPS apps: A holiday buyers' guide
We're about to hit the big holiday travel peak, and it's a great time to survey what we've seen this year for iPhone GPS apps. GPS navigation by satellite has been around a long time, but it's never been this inexpensive or desirable. There's an explosion of choices, with competitive features and falling prices. For many of our readers, facing long trips to see family and friends, getting the right GPS app is a priority. A few words about this guide: I haven't seen or tested everything on the market, and the choices are constantly changing and updating. I've done my best to keep up and get some time on the road with each of the apps listed here. If I haven't talked about your favorite app, it's not because I don't like it, but because I can't vouch for it. Like all of you, I have some criteria by which I judge a GPS app. My list contains the things I think are really, really, important. Your list could be different. Such is life. Read on for my (long) list of must-haves, and for the rundown of the GPS apps themselves.
