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I've got to go for a long journey soon and was looking at my current Sat Nav app (Here) and I'm not impressed.
I've tried Hera a few times just to try it out and I've found the lack of ability to alter the route and lack of lane assist when in towns and cities to be a bit of a pain. Also on routes I know it was offering mileading information such as turn left at the next junction when it was just a corner and the road continued.
What apps do you guys use or would recommend?
I've got offline maps for Google but having not used it offline (will be in a different country) before I don't want to rely on it. Has anyone used it offline?
NavFree is very good, I used it extensively in the US and Europe. Its better if you have a data connection to find an address (If you don't have an exact address) but it is designed to be used offline and only uses the data connection, if you want it to, to pinpoint an address. The offline search was good when I was using it however and I'm sure its improved since.
I would highly recommend Google Maps or Waze however, if you are going anywhere near a city and traffic, they can significantly shorten your journey as they update based on traffic conditions.
I used a couple of offline GPS apps when driving in UK. But the software was so bad compared to google maps now I just set up data roaming before I go.
Gave Google Maps (Offline) a go and TBH it is not any better than Here.
Here has a few other nice features such as a speed limit indication which can be muted (flashes) or unmuted. I've only found once where it was inaccurate - a short stretch of road that has been recently restricted. It also has a few more various display options for distances and times etc - nothing interesting though.
I didn't find either of them to being easily modified. With Here I had to go back out of the route in order to add a petrol station. Google was slightly easier, but not by much, but neither were anything you could do on the move. I don't think that either of them could be safely set to inform you of a petrol station as you drove. Google seemed to have the ability to add a petrol station to the route though. With Here you have to create two routes - one to the station and then from the station to your destination.
Neither seemed to offer me the ability to alter the route to suit my preference - i.e. to add certain landmarks, towns, or roads as part of the route - like Google map permits on my computer. Nor did either of them have lane assistance.
Both (and especially Here) gave confusing instructions at times. For example, whilst on a motorway with a sliproad to take you off, the instruction was to 'Stay in the left hand lane' (or something similar) instead of something like 'Leave the motorway at the next exit -Junction 5'. It was obvious from the map, but the directions at times appeared to be confusing/contrdicting to the map display.
However, in saying that, these were free apps on my phone. I'd like to think that these missing features would be available on any paid apps. I'm suspecting that TomTom and the likes will have an app which have these for a small premium.
As a free sat nav app both are excellent for what they are. But if you are looking for the bells and whistles, then you'll have to break out the wallet.
I'll probably stick with Here as it is what I'm used to and I'll refresh my maps before leaving.
