Do you scoff at the high prices of the big name iPhone navigation apps that cost an arm and a leg?
We have found an iPhone app that costs absolutely nothing but still offers turn-by-turn voice navigation for FREE!
Skobbler is a free street level voice turn by turn navigation iPhone app. The caveat – the maps are created by users. It uses the OpenStreetMap (OSM) mapping system – which is an open source mapping system created by over quarter million consumers.
OpenStreetMap has gained a lot of traction in cities and bigger towns but not so much in sparsely populated rural areas.
I used it here in Lansing MI and found it to be accurate in the places I drove around.
Besides that fact, the app acts just like any other navigation apps like 2.5D bird’s eye view or 2D map display. The voice controls came on at the right time and the map also had visual turn guidance to make it easy.
It has the iPod control integration for easy playback during navigation as well as a night and day map display modes.
If you get an incoming call while navigation, it continues automatically after the call. It even has a dedicated pedestrian navigation and take me home functionality.
Overall, if spending a lot of money just for voice navigation isn’t your cup of tea, you can save that money for many cups of tea and get Skobbler instead.
If you find any navigation wrong, you can also submit map corrections right from the app to the OpenStreetMap community and feel like a good Samaritan.
Remember that Skobbler downloads maps for each use and doesn’t come preloaded like some iPhone GPS apps in the meantime saving you space for music and apps.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Availability: App Store
Price: FREE
Reviewed at version: 3.0
