Best Sat Nav Apps

More and more people are using their smartphones for navigation these days and although new cars are coming equipped with factory fitted navigation and standalone sat nav devices are still widely available, there are many accessible smartphone apps which can help enhance your sense of direction.

So, if you are looking to make your journey to the airport as pain-free as possible or you need directions whilst you are on holiday; I Love meet and greet has been looking at the various sat nav apps currently available.

Free Sav Nav Apps

Google maps (iOS, Android and Windows)

Google maps is probably the most well-known sat nav app and is an excellent app for guidance giving you turn by turn instructions. It offers a clear and simple layout and you get access to approx. 220 countries. Live traffic info with coloured lines providing advice on the severity of the traffic situation is also a great feature. When you get to your destination the screen automatically switches to street view. Using the app whilst aboard is stress-free but it does require constant data connection which can be costly if you are on a limited data plan.

Navmii (iOS, Android and Windows)

Navmii provides voice guided navigation so you can keep your eyes on the road. Directions are clear and takes real-time traffic into consideration. The updates from other users of the app to mark bad traffic situations is a great advantage of this app. You can pay a little extra to get the advert free version. If you are travelling abroad, Navmii’s facility to download the Europe and Worldwide version is definitely worthwhile; some of these are free.

Waze (iOS, Android and Windows)

This sat nav app is a little different to some of others on the market in that it is a community driven app; the routes are created by Waze users. Time to destination and traffic data are all submitted by other drivers. Waze also lets you navigate to the cheapest petrol station, all powered by community-shared fuel prices.

Best Sat Nav Apps to Buy

TomTom Go Mobile (iOS and Android)

The Tom Tom Go Mobile app is a combination of the latest TomTom car navigation technology and world class traffic information. You can choose the best route available based on accurate, real time traffic information with maps being stored on your device. The app covers more than 150 countries. You receive free navigation for 50 miles a month, every month. After you have used your 50 miles you will have to subscribe.

Garmin Navigon Europe for iOS, Android and Windows

The interface and mapping of this Garmin app will be familiar to anyone who has used a Garmin sat nav device in the past. This app features reliable and accurate maps stored on board to ensure no additional costs with frequent map updates and turn by turn directions.

CoPilot Premium Europe HD for iOS, Android and Windows

CoPilot’s Premium Europe HD app’s major advantage is the ability to download offline maps over your home wi-fi to use when you are driving which is essential if you don’t want the app eating your phone’s data if you are driving in areas with poor network coverage or travelling overseas.

There are so many reasons why smartphone based sat navs make sense; your mobile phone is almost always with you and ready to go and most will boast a big screen and high definition graphics. However, always ensure you are using a phone car mount when using your device as a sat nav, as you need to comply with the tougher penalties for using your phone while, issued by the Department of Transport earlier this year.


By Sarah Anglim at 13 Jun 2017

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