Sherman's Travel

These days, a smartphone is expected to do more than just field calls and text messages. Increasingly, users are ditching paper maps in favor of handheld screens, and if you’re the owner of a shiny new Windows Phone 8, you’re holding one of the most potent navigational tools on the market today. Unbeknownst to many, Nokia has been producing world-class maps for years, and the company’s recent ties to Microsoft has brought a lot of that expertise to the Windows phone’s platform. If you’re ever in rural places with weak mobile coverage, or in foreign countries where you’d rather not run up a high roaming bill just to navigate, it’s worth it to understand your offline options. Read more

Regardless of whether your own personal Santa gifted you with a new iPhone over the holidays, or you’re just looking to refresh your collection, we’re here to help.

Since we published last quarter’s app roundup, Google Maps has returned to the iPhone platform. Sort of. While Apple’s own Maps app – which relies on data from TomTom and Yelp – is still the default guidance program, Google has since produced its own standalone Maps app for iOS. You’ll need to visit the App Store to download the free program, but for the most part, it brings back everything you used to love about Maps on iPhone. You’ll find mass transit and walking directions, as well as voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, but you won’t have access to offline mapping just yet. However, Google seems dead-set on improving this product. Nothing would make Google happier than to have more iPhone users relying on Google Maps than Apple Maps. Read more

If you recently picked up an iPhone 5, you may be looking for a new spate of travel apps to fill that extra row of icon space there at the bottom. But, even if you’re still using an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, Apple’s new iOS 6 operating system has given app developers a new incentive to polish up their programs and issue updates in support of the latest and greatest. Despite Apple leaving city dwellers who rely on mass transit out in the cold with the new Maps application, third-party developers have been working hard to help the travelers who feel left out.

If the new TomTom-based Maps application in iOS 6 just isn’t passing muster, Navigon North America is a worthwhile purchase. Yes, it’s $50, but it’s well worth it for avid travelers. The backend uses Garmin maps, which have historically been superior to those offered by TomTom. The app has already been updated to take advantage of the iPhone 5′s larger display and the new code in iOS 6. Best of all, the company has included public transportation routing as a $2.99 in-app upgrade (which Apple’s own Maps app lacks entirely), and it features onboard maps that allow route calculations even in areas where cell coverage fades. Additional premium features include comprehensive lane guidance, speed limit and safety camera warnings, exit services, parking info, a trip planner, and multi-route display. It genuinely feels like a full-featured navigation device, but right on a phone that you’re already carrying. Plus, all future map updates are free once you buy the app once. (It’s worth noting that Navigon offers other routing apps that cover many regions of the globe for those who aren’t located in North America.) Read more

Great news! There’s a new iPhone coming out, and better yet, the operating system that will ship on it can also be downloaded for free to those who presently own an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, or iPhone 4S. For travelers, you may be wondering about that new Maps application that Apple has been talking up. If you haven’t heard, the Maps program in iOS 6 has been engineered by Apple (instead of Google, as it previously was). It relies on routing data from Yelp and TomTom, two respectable companies in the travel app universe.

The new Maps application looks better. It’s prettier, and zooming is snappier. Also, Siri can now be used to ask for turn-by-turn directions to points of interests or addresses. But there’s a secret that won’t please urban dwellers: the new Maps app has done away with mass transit routing.

While automotive routing and walking directions are included, Apple has not included routing instructions for buses, trains, or other forms of public transportation. There’s still an icon there, but tapping it will only point you to the App Store, where it will recommend third-party mass transit apps to (hopefully) guide you.

Making matters worse, Google has yet to unveil a standalone Maps app for users to download in the event that they want to use something more akin to what they’re used to. In all likelihood, Google’s holding out just so people who update to iOS 6 realize how good they had it. Or, how good they could have it if they switched the iPhone out for an Android device, which has the most unadulterated, travel-friendly version of Google Maps anywhere on a mobile platform.

When will Apple right this terrible wrong? It’s not saying, but those who rely very heavily on their iPhone to get them places via mass transit should hold off on the iOS 6 update for now. Once you update, you’ll be getting the hamstrung maps, like it or not.

Even with newfangled GPS gadgetry out there in increasing numbers, a good, old-fashioned map remains a staple for any self-respecting adventure traveler.

To that end, the National Geographic Society, the gold-standard source for maps for nearly a century, recently announced plans to expand its AdventureMaps line. The expansion will bring travelers a slew of new options for finding their way in increasingly popular adventure destinations such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Thailand. Countries and cities in Africa, the Middle East, South America, Asia, and Europe are also on deck for a total of 60 new destinations by the end of 2012, and 30 more by summer of next year.

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