iOS 6
Maps Navigation for the car – it is free and a delight to use.
Google HQ to Apple HQ
using iOS 6 Maps
All devices – iPhone, iPad’s – running Apple’s iOS 6 get the
Maps app for free. Navigation with the Maps app is an absolute delight to use.
The Maps-app speaks turn-by-turn directions in real-time (as
you are driving) to guide you to your destination. It is fast, accurate,
uncluttered and has one of the best ui’s for a navigation app.
And, it is free.
Check a few screenshots included here of Maps-app navigation
from 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California to 1 Infinite Loop,
Cupertino, California (driving directions from Google HQ to Apple HQ).
Expect Apple to improve the navigation UI and maps-data
further to make the Maps-app one of the best navigation devices for the car.
Do I Need to Buy In-Car GPS Navigation Option?
When you buy your next car, refuse the expensive in-car GPS
navigation which becomes outdated *
the day you buy the car. Instead, use the free Maps-app in your iOS 6
device - iPhone, iPad or iPad Mini.
You may want to get an iPhone Mount for Car or a similar
iPad Mount.
* The car manufacturers, of course, are busy trying to sell
you a $200 upgrade every year for newer maps-data. But, even that data gets
refreshed only once a year.
iOS 6 Maps Improvement Needed
1) If you use Maps on your iPhone, the screen is small - not
a good idea to watch the screen as you are driving (unless you have mounted the
iPhone in the right location). But, the excellent spoken directions in the
Maps-app more than make up for it.
iPad or iPad Mini have larger screens and Maps there has no
such limitations.
2) The Maps synthetic-voice although good could be improved
further. Navigation devices have used recorded human voice with great success.
Similarly, Apple should consider adding recorded-voice to Maps (and to Siri …
but that is another topic).
3) Maps-data – There have been many complaints about wrong
or missing data in the current version of Maps-app.
This is the first version of the app and Apple will surely
keep improving the maps-data (the same steps that Google went through with
their maps app). For many locales, the data in Maps-app is already quite good -
you can immediately make full use of the Maps-app.
The free iOS 6 Maps app is a great replacement for your
in-car GPS navigation. If you have an iPhone or iPad with iOS 6, make full use
of the excellent Maps app.
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