Post by tanjm348 on Nov 1, 2010 9:54:59 GMT 8
www.asiaone.com/Motoring/Drivers/Story/A1Story20101020-243228.html
4 must-have driving apps for your iPhone
By Tony Ng, Candice Cai & Chew Hui Min
FOR Mr Benjamin Lau, the smartphone app Google Maps has taken the burden of navigation off him.
Mr Lau, a civil servant, told AsiaOne: "With apps such as gothere.sg and Google Maps, gone are the days when I have to flip through the street directory to find my way around."
The ubiquity of smartphones and mobile apps means that driving is getting easier these days.
Before getting into your car, you might already have a planned route in mind, thanks to your recently purchased navigational app.
Such is the technology available to drivers that, for many, the only thing that needs to be done is to depress the accelerator or brake, and steer the car.
The mobile apps and sites also display other essential information for motorists.
For instance, mobile site mytransport.sg displays carpark rates and shows the number of parking spaces available in selected carparks, while Traffi- Cam displays road conditions by streaming images from the Land Transport Authority's traffic cameras around the island.
But a word of warning - technology does not come without its problems.
Experts have cautioned against drivers depending too much on global positioning system (GPS) devices, which can be fallible during inclement weather.
In Hualien County in Taiwan, for example, a vehicle was carried away last Saturday by floodwaters into a creek, after a man drove his family into a flooded path following GPS directions.
Eventually, the man, his wife and son were rescued, but his daughter could not be found.
Useful applications for drivers
Parking apps: When it comes to carpark locators, it was a toss up between Carpark@SG and Park-a-lot lite.
Both are free and have decent, though not comprehensive, lists of carparks in Singapore.
Park-a-lot allows you to browse for carparks nearby, while Carpark@SG shows the availability of parking spaces.
Show Nearby: Show Nearby locates amenities, including convenience stores, movie theatres and hospitals, in your vicinity.
While not a carpark app, Show Nearby gives a rather comprehensive listing of carparks in less central parts of Singapore.
But, as its name suggests, it is useful only when you are "nearby", and it is hard to search for a specific location in advance.
Park Alert: Check in your location when you have parked your car and you can receive alerts, or warn others, when a parking warden comes by.
Motor-insurance apps: AXA and NTUC Income both have motor-insurance apps. AXA's is for the use of its policyholders, while NTUC Income's has a number of useful functions for motorists, including an accident toolkit.
Basic Theory Test: Helps driving learners practise for the Basic Theory Test using mock tests.
iRoadmate SG (Free)
AVAILABLE only as a Web application, it is compatible with the iPhone, as well as Windows Mobile and Symbian phones.
Besides displaying the latest traffic news, the map function provided by Google displays the petrol kiosks, carparks, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries, and bus services at your designated location or other nearby places.
Pros: It has an attractive interface, with all prices and charges clearly displayed. It also provides detailed information.
Cons: At first glance, it is not very intuitive to use. You will need to search more than once to expand the search area. There are also no push notifications, as it is not really a phone app.
mytransport.sg (Free)
Launched this year by the Land Transport Authority, mytransport.sg is packed with tools for the driver and the commuter.
Applications for motorists include a parking guide, views from traffic cameras, a parkand- ride locator, and live COE bidding results. It is compatible with the iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android smartphones.
Pros: Its parking guide, which displays the number of parking spaces at carparks in shopping districts, is a boon.
Cons: Its font is too tiny, as is its display area. Using it to search for ERP rates at specific gantries is a tedious process, as it suffers from poor search categorisation.
gothere.sg (US$2.99)
gothere.sg provides directions to any location in Singapore, whether you are driving, taking a bus, the MRT or a taxi.
It also provides the estimated time and cost of travel, including ERP and carpark rates for drivers.
Originally a Web application, most of its best-liked features have been neatly adapted to a mobile interface. It is currently available only on the iPhone.
Pros: The app is highly customised for use in Singapore, and all the transport options are displayed clearly at the same time.
Cons: It does not provide information on real-time traffic conditions.
TraffiCam (Free)
Want to know which roads to avoid? With just two taps on your smartphone's screen, this app will give you an overview of the traffic on major roads in Singapore.
It covers hotspots like the Causeway and expressways, and the images are updated every five to 10 minutes.
Pros: It is good when all you need is a quick update on traffic conditions. It is also easier to use than the traffic-camera module in mytransport.sg. Plus, it allows you to save your favourite locations for easier access.
Cons: It would be a lot better if it were integrated with a traffic-news function.
4 must-have driving apps for your iPhone
By Tony Ng, Candice Cai & Chew Hui Min
FOR Mr Benjamin Lau, the smartphone app Google Maps has taken the burden of navigation off him.
Mr Lau, a civil servant, told AsiaOne: "With apps such as gothere.sg and Google Maps, gone are the days when I have to flip through the street directory to find my way around."
The ubiquity of smartphones and mobile apps means that driving is getting easier these days.
Before getting into your car, you might already have a planned route in mind, thanks to your recently purchased navigational app.
Such is the technology available to drivers that, for many, the only thing that needs to be done is to depress the accelerator or brake, and steer the car.
The mobile apps and sites also display other essential information for motorists.
For instance, mobile site mytransport.sg displays carpark rates and shows the number of parking spaces available in selected carparks, while Traffi- Cam displays road conditions by streaming images from the Land Transport Authority's traffic cameras around the island.
But a word of warning - technology does not come without its problems.
Experts have cautioned against drivers depending too much on global positioning system (GPS) devices, which can be fallible during inclement weather.
In Hualien County in Taiwan, for example, a vehicle was carried away last Saturday by floodwaters into a creek, after a man drove his family into a flooded path following GPS directions.
Eventually, the man, his wife and son were rescued, but his daughter could not be found.
Useful applications for drivers
Parking apps: When it comes to carpark locators, it was a toss up between Carpark@SG and Park-a-lot lite.
Both are free and have decent, though not comprehensive, lists of carparks in Singapore.
Park-a-lot allows you to browse for carparks nearby, while Carpark@SG shows the availability of parking spaces.
Show Nearby: Show Nearby locates amenities, including convenience stores, movie theatres and hospitals, in your vicinity.
While not a carpark app, Show Nearby gives a rather comprehensive listing of carparks in less central parts of Singapore.
But, as its name suggests, it is useful only when you are "nearby", and it is hard to search for a specific location in advance.
Park Alert: Check in your location when you have parked your car and you can receive alerts, or warn others, when a parking warden comes by.
Motor-insurance apps: AXA and NTUC Income both have motor-insurance apps. AXA's is for the use of its policyholders, while NTUC Income's has a number of useful functions for motorists, including an accident toolkit.
Basic Theory Test: Helps driving learners practise for the Basic Theory Test using mock tests.
iRoadmate SG (Free)
AVAILABLE only as a Web application, it is compatible with the iPhone, as well as Windows Mobile and Symbian phones.
Besides displaying the latest traffic news, the map function provided by Google displays the petrol kiosks, carparks, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries, and bus services at your designated location or other nearby places.
Pros: It has an attractive interface, with all prices and charges clearly displayed. It also provides detailed information.
Cons: At first glance, it is not very intuitive to use. You will need to search more than once to expand the search area. There are also no push notifications, as it is not really a phone app.
mytransport.sg (Free)
Launched this year by the Land Transport Authority, mytransport.sg is packed with tools for the driver and the commuter.
Applications for motorists include a parking guide, views from traffic cameras, a parkand- ride locator, and live COE bidding results. It is compatible with the iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android smartphones.
Pros: Its parking guide, which displays the number of parking spaces at carparks in shopping districts, is a boon.
Cons: Its font is too tiny, as is its display area. Using it to search for ERP rates at specific gantries is a tedious process, as it suffers from poor search categorisation.
gothere.sg (US$2.99)
gothere.sg provides directions to any location in Singapore, whether you are driving, taking a bus, the MRT or a taxi.
It also provides the estimated time and cost of travel, including ERP and carpark rates for drivers.
Originally a Web application, most of its best-liked features have been neatly adapted to a mobile interface. It is currently available only on the iPhone.
Pros: The app is highly customised for use in Singapore, and all the transport options are displayed clearly at the same time.
Cons: It does not provide information on real-time traffic conditions.
TraffiCam (Free)
Want to know which roads to avoid? With just two taps on your smartphone's screen, this app will give you an overview of the traffic on major roads in Singapore.
It covers hotspots like the Causeway and expressways, and the images are updated every five to 10 minutes.
Pros: It is good when all you need is a quick update on traffic conditions. It is also easier to use than the traffic-camera module in mytransport.sg. Plus, it allows you to save your favourite locations for easier access.
Cons: It would be a lot better if it were integrated with a traffic-news function.