Leaving Tracks

There are so many map and GPS-based apps that it would be impractical to catalog them all or even rank them, particularly with the list growing every day.

Following are some discussions of few that I like or appreciate. I find I particularly like the ones that are meant to be used on a device like the iPhone (not the iPod) or the DROID. Fortunately, many of these apps are available on both devices.

My Tracks has to be very high on my list. After determining your position, you can click to turn on position recording as you drive, walk, bike, or otherwise move around. I use it out both curiousity and practicality to figure out how far my morning walk truly is, or a round trip biking to the farmers' market. I then save the ones I like the best and upload them to my personal Google map.

I find that Google Earth isn't quite as compelling on the small form factor of the DROID but the Sky Map, broken out separately is fascinating and beautiful although I find it a bit disorienting to use, as I only recognize a few commonly known features learned way back in Girl Scouts.

There are many apps that are great in combining maps and positioning with finding out what services or restaurants are in the vicinity (I like Urbanspoon and Yelp but there are others). I'm also rather fond of Glympse (recommended by my friend Janis, who works with the developers), which has the ability to send your current position to another user. Very handy for letting people where my office is or meeting up.

Next Up: Geocaching