Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews

Telenav Scout Navigation App

There’s no shortage of navigation apps available out there, ranging in price from free to $50 or more. And while you typically get what you pay for with the free ones, Scout is an exception to the rule — at least initially, that is, since it’s only going to be free for the first 30 days of use.

The company behind the Scout iPhone app, Telenav, has been providing phone-based navigation since long before smartphones became ubiquitous, so it’s no surprise that Scout stands head and shoulders above most other nav apps that crowd the market. You start with a graphically simple and intuitive home-screen “dashboard” that doesn’t take 10 minutes to navigate, letting you get on your way. It also shows your current location and weather. Below is a large tab for Places that has quick-route options to major point of interests (POI), such as dining and gas, and another called Drive, which you can preprogram with Home and Work addresses. Tap the yellow arrow next to either of these main menu items and you get to an icon-based series of more POIs for Places, and more quick-route options for Drive, including Favorites. On the Dashboard home screen, you can also type a POI term or address into a search bar at the top.

Tabs along the bottom take you to the map screen (which offers a choice between graphic or satellite mapping, plus red-light and speed-camera locations), the Places menu, or an Extras menu where you can get local movie and theater info and real-time weather reports and forecasts. You can also personalize your drives via a Web portal that lets you add favorites and contacts.

Like many smartphone apps, Scout wants to upsell you on in-app purchases, like voice-guided turn-by-turn directions ($2.99 for 30 days or $9.99 for 1 year). And with the price of gas at an all-time high, you could easily spend that much money driving around aimlessly not knowing where you’re going.
Free (30-day trial), telenav.com