Slash Lane
One tap search
Among the highlights of the free application (App Store), called MapQuest 4 Mobile, is a "place carousel" that makes it easy for users to conduct one-tap category searches from any location on a map.
Similar to the Dashboard feature of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, the carousel features icons, called 'place widgets,' that represent categories such as hotels, movie theaters, post offices, shopping centers, parking garages, schools, bars, pharmacies, gas stations and restaurants.
iPhone users can customize their place carousel with any of the 20 or so place widgets available simply by dragging and dropping them to and from the carousel. There are also place widget icons for leading brands, such as, Walmart, Autozone, Holiday Inn and Best Western, with more promised for future releases.
Driving directions
Unlike with Google Maps for iPhone, users of the MapQuest software can plan and save maps and driving routes on their computer using MapQuest.com and then retrieve them on the iPhone by logging into their My Places account. Some users may even find this interaction essential given that MapQuest for iPhone cannot access addresses stored in an iPhone's Address Book the way Google Maps can.
Asked about a lack of Address Book address, a spokesperson for MapQuest said the company is looking into adding the capability in a future release of MapQuest 4 Mobile for iPhone.
For trips that include more than one stop, the software offers multi-point routing and draggable re-ordering capabilities. Driving directions can be seen in standard map or list view, but are also available in a third view called "Max Maneuver" that kicks in when the iPhone is held in landscape mode. Under this view, each maneuver instruction fills the entire screen and users can progresses to the next or previous maneuver simply by "swiping" the screen to the right or left.
Other features
Some other features of the MapQuest iPhone app include smooth panning maps, live traffic, free-form search, GPS to identify a user's current location, and a search history.
Users can also customize the icon that represents their location on the map, either with a stock "My Position" icon that is chosen from a list of options or by using any phone available in an iPhone's photo album.
For those interested, MapQuest has also posted a silent walk-through video of the new software.
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70 Comments
I used to use MapQuest... until Google Maps started letting me find what the places I was looking for by typing in an address that wasn't perfectly formatted, or just the place name. MapQuest sucks in comparison since their maps are no better than Google's in my estimation, and their search feature sucks worse too.
mapquest got me lost in the middle of kentucky once. That was fun, especially since me and my girlfriend were freaking out so much over the directions we failed to notice we needed to get gas. We puttered into an exxon at 4am and miraculously it took credit cards.
Screw mapquest.
As a law enforcement officer of 13 years, I can attest that over the last 10 years I've come to easily spot vehicles on the side of the road or driving erratically with the driver holding some papers in his/her hands as Mapquest users. I hate use the term profile, but they all have the same confused, desperate look about them. 98% of the time I would pull up beside some confused looking driver and ask "Let me guess, Mapquest?" and they would all say yes. They would proceed to tell me about trying to find some highway that didn't even exist in my state, much less my county. I've grown to down right hate Mapquest over the years just for the aggravation they put everybody through.
I wonder if anybody has ever gotten some BS government funding to conduct a study about the carbon footprint of using Mapquest? Has to be at least a few hundred thousand miles in America that have been wasted with this crappy service.
I used to use MapQuest... until Google Maps started letting me find what the places I was looking for by typing in an address that wasn't perfectly formatted, or just the place name. MapQuest sucks in comparison since their maps are no better than Google's in my estimation, and their search feature sucks worse too.
I just clicked the link in the article to go to the app in the store and it says it's not available in the US app store.
I just clicked the link in the article to go to the app in the store and it says it's not available in the US app store.
Just search for it and it comes right up. The link is broken.