MapQuest 4 Mobile

-A GPS on your iPhone-

Most people these days have a GPS in their cars to help them get around these days, but if you're one of the few people who don't have a GPS yet but have an iPhone, you're in luck. MapQuest's new app, MapQuest 4 Mobile, is pretty much a very basic GPS system that works right off of your iPhone.

The app gives the user a map and directions from wherever they are currently to wherever they are looking to go, and also contains some of the other features a GPS would have. You can have the iPhone talk to you and tell you where to turn, get off-route assistance and rerouting, map zoom, and distance and estimated time of arrival estimates. The best part about this app? Unlike a real GPS, it's completely free.

There are some issues with the app, however. One of the biggest complaints that can be gathered from the official iTunes page is the fact that you need to physically push a button on your screen if you go off course to reroute you, as opposed to a real GPS which will reroute you automatically. Users claim this can be a potential safety hazard, and I can totally understand that. However, I feel like this will be fixed in a later version of the app, seeing as how it seems to be a very common complaint. Another issue with the app that people are talking about is the fact that it doesn't seem to give you the shortest route on occasion, which could just be a problem with MapQuest's service and not the app itself.

I think it's fantastic that we are able to turn our smart phones into GPS systems now, especially in such an easy matter. Even though this app has some flaws, it's a great solution to the "don't have a GPS" problem that appears to work fairly well otherwise. The fact that it's free is probably the biggest plus, seeing as how free is quite a bit cheaper than a $100+ GPS. All in all, this seems like a pretty good placeholder in your life for a real GPS if you don't have the money to get one or you rarely go to new places.

You can check out the official iTunes site for MapQuest 4 Mobile here.