Perhaps Apple dumped Google's Maps app in favor of its own creation a little too soon. iOS 6 users are complaining about everything from Maps' lack of transit directions and misplaced landmarks to misspelled towns and Dali-esque 3D images. The default app for the iPhone 5 has also given us directions to the wrong location.
Apple quickly responded to the outcry, saying "We're just getting started," but that's not going to cut it for a lot of folks. To help make your navigation experience a little easier, we've put together this list of Maps alternatives. They should help get you by until Google's rumored iOS 6-compatible Maps app comes through.
TeleNav's GPS is one of the best free apps you can download if you need help getting around. It includes turn-by-turn directions, points-of-interest, gas prices and traffic. Best of all, the app's maps are constantly being updated. If you're looking for slightly more functionality, you can pay $2.99 per month to get access to GPS's premium services including voice navigation, voice commands, premium traffic and more.
Before Google's Maps became the world's default navigation software, there was MapQuest. The MapQuest app, available for free for iOS 6, offers users many of the features found in Google Maps including voice navigation, turn-by-turn directions, nearby gas prices, live traffic updated every five minutes, walking and driving directions, landscape view and automatic re-routing if you take a wrong turn.
Beat the Traffic's newly redesigned app offers users real-time driving information including average speeds, traffic accidents and roadwork. You can also save your three most frequently accessed addresses and set up traffic alerts for your favorite routes. Best of all, Beat the Traffic gives you access to traffic camera images for more than 34 cities.
Waze is a different kind of map and navigation app that pools information from its community to provide users with real-time traffic, traffic hazards and police traps. Wave features voice navigation, automatic re-routing, live maps and even lets you share your current location or destination with your friends. Need to stop for gas on your journey? Waze provides users with the cheapest gas prices along your route, so you can save a buck or two.
One of the biggest complaints lodged against Apple's Maps app is its lack of public transportation directions. Fortunately, there are options out there like HopStop. Covering more than 62 cities in the U.S. and abroad, Hopstop provides users with detailed public transit, taxi, biking and walking directions. The app also provides access to transit schedules, shows nearby bus and subway stops and lets you save recent searches. There are even wheelchair accessible and stroller-friendly routing options.
One of the biggest names in navigation, Garmin's StreetPilot app for iPhone and iPad features Google's excellent Street View in addition to standard navigation and turn-by-turn direction functionality. Garmin also offers its Urban Guidance, for public transit directions, and Panorama View 3D, for terrain height data, via in-app purchase. ($39.99)
There may not be a Google Maps app available for iOS 6 yet, but that doesn't mean you can't access it via Safari. In fact, you can even save a shortcut to the Google Maps home page directly to your iPhone or iPad's home screen. To do this, navigate to the Google Maps via Safari and tap the share button. Tap save to home screen, name the shortcut, and voilà, you've got your Google Maps back.
Microsoft's Bing isn't just another search engine app. In addition to local deals and social media updates, Bing also includes a built-in mapping feature that offers walking, transit and driving directions, as well as current traffic conditions and maps.
Magellan RoadMate USA is a top flight navigation app that goes the extra mile (no pun intended) with Yelp integration, Google Local Search and Address Book Integration. Voice navigation, safety alerts that point out speed and red light cameras and Junction View, which provides you with a snap shot of complex highway interchanges, round out this excellent app. ($49.99)
Like Google, Nokia Maps, includes a satellite view, public transportation directions, live traffic updates and more. Unfortunately, like Google Maps, you'll have to Nokia Maps as an app shortcut on your iPhone or iPad's home screen. Still, with accident and construction alerts, Nokia Maps is worth it.
