Here (for iPhone) - Review 2022

Here Maps is a free GPS app endemic by Nokia and preloaded on most Windows phones, though versions are at present available for Android and iOS devices as well. Where Here has an border, at least for now, is that in improver to navigation and traffic, information technology offers offline maps. You also get pedestrian and transit navigation, but I found errors in my tests while on foot and missing data for public transit. Here is a fine supplement to Google Maps (which is slowly rolling out offline maps, starting with Android), only non a replacement.

Interface and Points of Interest
I tested the iOS verison of Here. When y'all commencement outset up the app, information technology asks to send notifications about updates, badges, and other information; you lot can opt out. And so yous have to create an business relationship by providing your name, date of nascence, e-mail, and creating a countersign. You can besides choose to login via Facebook. Once logged in, Hither goes through a quick walkthrough of the app, which is helpful. Settings are available in the main menu, where you can turn voice guidance on and off, download alternate voices, and enable speed alerts, amongst other options.

Here inline

Searching is easy; you can just input the address or business name in the search box, rather than specifying the urban center upwardly front. Like with Google Maps, y'all can search the whole map from one place, rather than visiting different databases or browsing categories. Hither was able to find nearly destinations I looked for, including local grocery stores, restaurants, and museums. As well like Google, you can view different map overlays, including satellite, transit, and traffic.

Auto Navigation
In my driving tests, Here got me to Fairway Marketplace in Harlem accurately, unlike Apple Maps and TomTom, both of which sent me sailing past the shop on a nearby highway. On one road, the app started recalculating even though I fabricated the right plow, only navigation was otherwise solid. When I did brand a wrong plough, recalculation was fast and easy to understand.

I like that when yous search for a destination, the app brings upward all available options, so y'all can decide whether yous want to drive, walk, or take public transit. I adopt this rather than having to dig into the settings to get anything other than driving directions.

The real selling betoken of this app is that you can access maps and turn-by-turn navigation even when you're offline. Depending on how long you've been offline, you lot won't have access to updates or transit schedules, but you can still get around. This characteristic worked well in my tests. You simply have to download the maps and enable it before y'all become offline. Here (for iPhone)

Transit and Pedestrian Navigation
Transit navigation is nice to come across, though Hither is missing a few details when it comes to New York City and New Bailiwick of jersey Transit. For instance, when I navigated to Fort Lee, which is accessible by passenger vehicle, Hither found only driving routes. It also didn't know that yous can walk beyond the span, something that Apple Maps and CoPilot also missed. In addition, when I searched for a theater on Staten Island, I was also only able to go driving directions, fifty-fifty though you can take a ferry from downtown Manhattan. On the other hand, I was able to get accurate transit directions to a café and a grocery store, both a few miles away, and to locations on Long Island.

On human foot, I ran into some problems. As with CoPilot, when I navigated to a eatery in Harlem, I was directed to a road that somewhen loses its sidewalk and strands you on a decorated street with no crosswalks. I've actually walked this way before, but there's no way I would send someone unfamiliar with the area in that direction. Plus, as far as I can tell, information technology'south just as fast to take a unlike route that'due south completely pedestrian-friendly.

Hither and Now
Here Maps has a overnice clean interface and keeps affair simple. When driving, navigation is reliable and accurate, and the ability to admission offline maps is a cardinal feature, at least until Google Maps offers it as well. However, if y'all demand to travel past transit or on foot, y'all may find yourself going out of your way, or on less-than-friendly stretches of road. For those occasions, I'd stick with Google.