The best GPS Applications for your mobile
If you’ve read my guide to GPS on Mobile Phones you’ll know that GPS isn’t all about Satellite Navigation and turn-by-turn directions. Using a Bluetooth GPS receiver with your mobile phone will open it up to a whole range of applications that will allow you to do things you may not even realise were possible on a mobile phone.
This guide will run through some of the free and paid apps for Symbian, Java, Windows & BlackBerry phones for each of the 5 types of application:
Sat Nav
This is the main reason that most people will want to use GPS on their phone. Stand alone Sat Nav devices are great, but by adding this functionality to your phone you won’t have to find somewhere in the car to hide your sat nav and you won’t have to carry it round with you all day either.
amAze GPS works on almost any phone
amAze GPS | Free | All Phones that support Java, Windows Mobile & BlackBerry
amAze GPS is probably the best free Sat Nav application available. While it’s not quite as pretty to look at, the feautres of this amazing free app really make up for it. It has detailed maps of Europe, North America and Australia, and unlike most applications that store all this map data on your phone, taking up valuable space, it downloads the maps as and when you need them. amAze will automatically rotate the map in the direction that you’re driving, and will even overlay your route with a satellite image of where you’re driving. Weather updates are included at no cost. If you want to reduce the amount of data being used, you can also switch to a simple mode that will just display an arrow pointing the way instead of downloading the detailed maps. Speed Camera alerts aren’t available just yet, but are coming soon. amAze GPS is easy to download and install.
The application is free, but as it relies on an internet connection and downloading very small amounts of data, we’d recommend adding an internet bundle to your account to prevent any nasty surprises on your bill.
nav4all | Free | All Phones that support Java, Windows Mobile & Android
Nav4all is another universal Sat Nav application that can be used on almost any handset. Graphically it is quite basic, but it still shows you everything you need to know about your journey. It can show you a map of your journey, but navigation is done using simple arrows with distance warnings to tell you where to go. Nav4all doesn’t store the maps or points of interest on the phone, it downloads them when they’re needed, so a data allowance is recommended.
we-travel | Free | All Phones that support Java, Windows Mobile & BlackBerry
Although their website isn’t quite as user friendly as some of the others listed here, as it’s a little bit technical, we-travel is one of the few free applications that stores map data on your handset. This makes navigating and route planning quite a bit quicker, although it does mean a slightly longer installation process.
Sat Nav Applications by Co-Pilot, Garmin and TomTom
Route66 Mobile 8 | From 35 | Windows Mobile & Symbian S60
Route66 is similar to use to TomTom Navigator. You can plan your routes in advance on your computer and then synchronise them with the application on your phone. You can also subscribe to traffic and weather updates at an extra cost.
TomTom Navigator 7 | From 55 | Windows Mobile & iPhone (coming soon)
TomTom are probably the biggest name in portable navigation devices. They have the biggest user base of all sat nav systems, so this means they have the ability to add a few extra features to their mapping software. TomTom has an interface very similar to that on their portable devices, and has advanced features such as Map Share – this is where you can make corrections to the map and then share these changes with other users, as well as receive updates to your maps from others. It integrates well with your phone and will allow you to call nearby points of interest without leaving the application. TomTom Navigator 6 is available now, Navigator 7 is coming soon to Mobile Fun.
Garmin Mobile XT| From 60 | Windows Mobile, Windows XP & Symbian S60
Garmin XT are another leading manufacturer of stand alone GPS units. The Mobile XT software has a few unique features – the ability to search online for photo’s of where you are, check local fuel prices and use Google local search to look for hotels, restaurants etc.
Co-Pilot Live 7 | From 70 | Windows Mobile, Windows XP & Android
Co-Pilot works best on touch screen devices running Windows Mobile or Android, and has a separate version available if you want to be able to use it on your laptop or netbook. It gives you a choice of either 2D or 3D maps and can let you plan a journey with up to ten addresses in one trip. As with most other paid Sat Nav applications, you can subscribe to additional services such as traffic alerts, and can also be tracked live through the Co-Pilot website.
Nokia Maps | From 44 | Nokia Symbian S60 & Some Symbian S40
Nokia Maps is pre-installed on most Symbian S60 and S40 handsets as standard – even those without built in GPS receivers. The application itself is free to use to plan routes and serach nearby for hotels, cashpoints, bars etc, but for full turn-by-turn voice navigation you will need to buy a license. Licenses can be bought on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. The cheapest option is the 12 month license which is currently around 45.
Head over to Page 2 for a run down on Tracking Apps
Mobile Applications, Mobile Content | Dean | 
September 3, 2008 11:22 am
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