Summary. The MotionX-GPS and MotionX-GPS Lite iPhone Applications makes it possible to use GPS navigation on the iPhone and keep history of travels as well as share “tracks” (routes) to Facebook, Twitter, and by email. Links below in this document may open up iTunes as needed. After reading this review, you’ll agree that at a cost of about $3, the paid version is well worth the price. The free version offers most of the features available in the paid version. A comparison chart can be found at the bottom of this review.
Best Seller. At the time of this report, MotionX-GPS is the #1 position top ranked paid navigation application in the Apple iTunes iPhone Application Store. The free version of the program, MotionX-GPS Lite, is the 3rd top ranked free navigation application.
Support. The MotionX-GPS website offers iPhone accessories, a Frequently Asked Questions help page, a newsfeed for the latest information on the application, a product overview page, a product photo gallery, a comprehensive resources page, a user manual, and video tutorials.
Features and Benefits. The MotionX-GPS iPhone Navigation Application offers some unique features, such as the ability to immediately share track information with friends using email, Facebook, and Twitter. A MotionX-GPS online community is coming soon. Unlike other products, MotionX-GPS consolidates all travels regardless of the activity. This makes sense since a single outing can include car, bicycle, walking, running, and hiking.
Drawbacks. Below are a few of the current drawbacks that will likely be taken care of in upcoming product update releases.
- Sharing EMail BCC Option Missing. When sharing track information via email with a group of people (up to 5) there is no BCC option. This means that private and secure email addresses for posting to websites will be visible and accessible to all recipients. A reply to all may inadvertently send a message back to an RSS feed or live website. This is a security flaw.
- Slow Startup Time. It takes about 10 seconds for the software to load. This appears to be a totally unnecessary delay and only serves to display the product and website advertisement as well as a indemnity disclaimer. Once viewed and agreed to, the user should have the option to skip this opening screen, particularly for the paid version of this application.
Comparison. There are two other GPS Navigation and Mapping iPhone Applications available that are similar to MotionX-GPS.
- MapMyWhatever. The iMapMyFitness ($5 or Free), iMapMyHike (Free), iMapMyRide ($5 or Free), iMapMyRun ($5 or Free), and iMapMyWalk (Free) iPhone GPS navigation and mapping applications are unfortunately tied to poorly designed websites that are confusing to use, difficult to navigate, and burdened down with unnecessarily and excessive advertising which explains why none of these applicaitons are in the top 20 among navigation or health Apple iPhone applications. Having six different applications, and six different websites, for six different activity types, seems unnecessary. It seems that the primary interest of the developer is to generate revenue rather than create a simple, economical, and unified solution.
- Trailguru. The Trailguru iPhone GPS Application is free at the iTunes store and the Trailguru website has very limited advertising (only a top of page banner). Unfortunately, the Trailguru website has had some technical difficulties and outages. Because the Trailguru application and website are supported primarily by one guy (Tim Parks), updates and user support is limited. If you’re looking for a free solution with many features that has limited advertising, you may want to consider Trailguru. With Trailguru, tracks (travels) are consolidated into a single simple website (unlike the MapMy… applications). It’s also possible to filter the online history of tracks.
Resources. Below are links to additional resources.
- MotionX-GPS iPhone Application Full Version at the Apple iTunes Store for $3
- MotionX-GPS iPhone Application Lite Version at the Apple iTunes Store for Free
Comparison Between Free and Paid Versions. Below is a chart comparing the features of the free and paid versions of the MobileX-GPS applications.
