Tuesday, February 22, 2011

MapQuest Android app with turn-by-turn directions now available


[Full disclosure: AOL is the parent company of both MapQuest and Download Squad]

MapQuest for iPhone has been highly successful, and now Android users can take the app for a test drive, too. MapQuest had reported more than 1.4 million Android users visiting its mobile website every month, and those users will definitely enjoy the native MapQuest app for Android.

Fire it up, and MapQuest shows you your current location. As you can with any good nav app, you can type in a place name to get directions or use Android's built-in voice search. Visiting a friend in a another city and not sure how to get to his house? Just tap the bookmark icon in the search box to flip through your contacts and tap a name to use the stored address as your destination. MapQuest offers detailed turn-by-turn directions, which you can either watch and listen as the little purple car drives along the charted course, or read them in a clean, text-only list.

A number of point of interest (POI) choices are listed on the map screen, ranging from gas stations and restaurants, to shopping malls, post offices, parking, and hospitals. All can be displayed or hidden with a tap. Traffic display is also available, as long as you're in a supported location -- sadly, north of the 53rd parallel in Manitoba doesn't get invited to the party, so I was unable to test.

Heading to a restaurant? Pop it in as your destination, and tap to call for a reservation from the MapQuest place card.

While MapQuest lacks some of the more advanced features Google Maps for Android provides, it's still a very nice navigation app and one which at least 1.4 million people might want to install and test -- it's a very nice upgrade from the mobile Web version.

MapQuest Android app with turn-by-turn directions now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/16/mapquest-android-app-with-turn-by-turn-directions-now-available/

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