“A lot has been said about the new Maps application on the iPhone 5 and the latest iPhone operating system,” David Thomas reports for Cars.com. “But the one function drivers covet the most about the app — turn-by-turn directions — worked exceptionally well for nearly two weeks of testing.”
“I tested my iPhone 5 for one full week of regular commutes and errand runs. I also pitted it against a GMC Terrain’s optional navigation system for a trip to an automaker event about 20 miles from my home,” Thomas reports. “Then, on a 15-mile round trip in Chicago, I tested the iPhone against the Google Maps Navigation app on a Samsung Galaxy Note running Android 4.0.”
“The iPhone 5 offers three route choices with every destination, much like Google Maps did on the old iPhone,” Thomas reports. “Plug the iPhone 5 into your car’s USB port, and not only will it use your car’s speakers to read you directions, it will also lower the volume of the stereo regardless if you’re listening to the car stereo or your iPhone-based tunes. This mimics car-based systems to a T. Unfortunately, I tested the Samsung in only one car with USB, and the phone was not compatible with the car’s multimedia system, so I couldn’t test if the Android device has the same level of integration. Voice prompts came from the Samsung’s speaker, and the voice was definitely more robotic-sounding than the iPhone’s.
Thomas reports, “During my tests over a few hundred miles and dozens of destinations, the iPhone 5 missed only one location. It happened to be a cow pasture in the far suburbs. The Terrain missed it, too, but the iPhone put me just 50 feet away from the farm’s highly visible road sign, while the GMC had me ‘arriving’ a half-mile earlier. The Samsung made a mistake, too. It kept getting confused about the location of my office in downtown Chicago. It had me going farther on a one-way street than I needed to go, and when I was feet from the door, it thought we were still blocks away… The iPhone 5 nailed the location… The iPhone’s maps certainly are far from perfect, but the turn-by-turn navigation functions are as good as any I’ve seen.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Nicholas C.” for the heads up.]
