Reviews

ForeverMap iOS App Review

The ForeverMap app by Skobbler has been available for a while now, but has now been updated. It has proved to be very popular, mainly because of its facility to allow for offline browsing. Read our comprehensive review here to see how this app can really point you in the right direction.

Introduction

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ForeverMap is available for both the iPhone and the iPad by way of a universal app, so with one download this app will work on both devices. It looks great on the iPhone, no question but it is gorgeous to use on the iPad with the mult-touch support and is such a good price at £0.59 in the UK app store. Unfortunately, this app is not available in the US as yet, so the maps available will not cover you across the pond but the 48 European country maps are extensive so should suffice for most of your travels.

The latest version of this app is version 2.0 and was updated in December 2010. This update included a significant innovation allowing you to install and uninstall individual country maps, giving you more flexibility. There was also a speed jump, allowing you to reload and zoom in at 70% faster as well as the route calculation now representing a 50% speed increase.

Settings

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As soon as you go into ForeverMap it will plot your current location. You can zoom out to literally find your position on a country map and zoom in to the current road you are located in. There are various Settings you can select depending on your personal profile set up. So, if you prefer to view distances in Miles over Km, as we do tend to in the UK, then just select that option within the Settings menu. There are other options too, such as turning on Turnable Map, Standby, Showing Buildings and Scale, all these are accessible from the Settings menu.

My Maps

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From the Options menu, select My Maps – from this location you can download any of the 48 European country maps currently available. You need to have wi-fi connection to do this, but once you have downloaded them you can then view these maps offline, saving a small fortune in data roaming costs. So for example, if you are planning to travel from the UK, through France down to the South of Spain, just download the UK, French and Spanish maps and you will be able to plot your route offline thereafter.

Not only that, perhaps one of the most significant options with the ForeverMap app is that you can also select from the Layers menu, again found within the Settings menu, various options such as gastronomy, nightlife, shopping, accommodation and more. You can choose whatever specific layers you want to see when you search the maps. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay the night, then specifically you may choose accommodation, for example.

 

OpenStreetMap

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This app utilizes the outstanding mapping data provided by OpenStreetMap. ForeverMap 2.0 allows for very comprehensive offline searches including, location finder; route calculation; and information on places of interest, providing users with a fully interactive, offline map solution that can be used anywhere, anytime and without limitations. There is the facility to search by city, street, points of interest and keywords.

Wikipedia

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ForeverMap 2.0. also includes extensive Wikipedia references such as history and information about landmarks, significant buildings and much more, converting the app into an intuitive electronic tour guide, again another great feature.

There is also the option for selecting either pedestrian or car routes, very much like GoogleMaps and to calculate the distance and travelling time.

IdeaLog

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There is one particular aspect of this app that I think is particularly useful and also demonstrates the importance that Skobbler place on customer feedback and improvements. IdeaLog is found within the Options menu and allows users to suggest improvements and comment on other users recommendations.

In the example above a user commented that they would like to be able to download smaller parts of specific regions. Beneath that you can see three comments from other users as well as a thumbs up or thumbs down rating facility.

You do need internet connection to access this section of the app but it is great to have this menu within the app – it is like an ‘in app feedback’ section and helps to keep the developer on their toes with what users want and allows users to provide feedback in realtime.

Conclusion

ForeverMap is a very comprehensive navigational map. The big advantage it has over many other similar apps is the facility to view maps and plan your routes off line. We’ve all been caught out with huge data roaming charges whilst traveling and it is seriously unpleasant. It is also a very good price, unbelievable in fact for what it offers, 59p is really too cheap. One thing I would really like to see and I have it on good authority that it is coming soon, is for US maps. Our US cousins spend a significant amount of time traveling around and this is one app that I feel they will love.

Good on you Skobbler, this is a great app, keep them coming.

Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: joanne@theappwhisperer.com

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