The smartphone has become an integral part of our lives. He wakes us up in the morning, entertains us when bored, takes pictures of important moments and helps to communicate with family and friends. Some phone options are not used every day, but sometimes they significantly help in unexpected situations.
For example, you came to an unfamiliar city to work or study, or maybe just to see new places. And so, something went wrong: you got on the wrong tram, the minibus took you to another area. You are standing in the middle of a street in a strange city and do not know what to do next.
Definitely your smartphone will come to your aid. This time you will need to know the rating of navigators for âAndroidâ, in order to install it on your device before the trip and use it in such force majeure situations.
Device
What is a GPS navigator? You probably at least heard about this device, and some may have used it for their own purposes. It works with a global positioning system signal. The device is needed in order to determine its location on Earth. This is done using data on latitude and longitude, and sometimes even the height of the object.
Few people know, but there is a separate GPS device. It is similar to any measuring equipment such as a wattmeter, etc. The chip is hidden in a compact case, and information is displayed on the screen.
But most users recall their mobile devices when it comes to the rating of navigators for Android.
Smartphone Navigator
A similar feature is in almost all modern smartphones. It works only when connected to the Internet and performs the functions of the same equipment. The advantage of the telephone version is that such a device works on the basis of a world map, it has many useful and not so options that can be useful in different situations.
Many mobile navigators help to explore the area, find the best route, find the necessary coordinates and learn about pedestrian and road routes. To make a rating of navigators for Android, you need to try the most popular application options. Someone may like one or the other option. Some pay attention to the interface, others to speed and ease of use. However, the most popular smartphone apps are also the most downloaded on Google Play.
Rating
Of course, it would be more logical to turn to a survey of users who installed similar programs on their smartphones. They just would have helped to make an objective rating of navigators for Android. But the easiest way to find out which is better, or at least popular, is to look at the Play Market for the number of installations of a particular program.
- Maps: Navigation and Public Transport from Google ranks first in the ranking because the app has been downloaded 1 billion times.
- Waze is a social navigator from the developer of the same name. The program has been downloaded 100 million times.
- âYandex. Navigator - traffic jams and GPS navigation âfrom Yandex has been installed 50 million times, so it takes third place, but shares it with another program.
- â2GIS: Reference and Navigatorâ is a program from DoubleGIS LLC, which shares 3-5 lines of rating with Yandex and Maps.Me. It has also been installed 50 million times.
- Maps.Me - offline maps of My.com BV have been installed 50 million times.
- âNavitel GPS and Maps Navigatorâ was developed by Navitel. The application has been installed 10 million times.
- HERE WeGo - offline maps developed by HERE Apps LLC. The program, like Navitel, was downloaded 10 million times.
- âMaps and GPS Navigation - OsmAndâ by OsmAnd. The program has been downloaded 5 million times.
- Seven Roads is Navikeyâs navigator. Users have downloaded it 1 million times.
Of course, a dozen more programs could get into the review of navigators for Android, but the above-described applications are the most popular and simple. They got a lot of reviews and a good average score.
âMaps: Navigation and Public Transportâ
This is the most popular program from the list, which proves this not only by the number of downloads, but also by attendance at 65 million times a month. The navigator is based on a free mapping service. GPS technology was worked on by Google. The service first appeared in 2005.
Google Maps is available on both a smartphone and a computer. First of all, it is a service that has all the maps of the world, displays the user's location, his usual routes, and also makes it possible to use a voice navigator.
The program includes a map and satellite images of the planet Earth. Some regions received aerial photographs that were captured from a height of 250-500 meters. The service also offers maps of the moon and Mars.
Google Maps navigation for Android allows you to use a business directory and a road map that applies to individual countries: the USA, Canada, Ireland, the UK, etc.
Google Maps Features
As mentioned earlier, thanks to the service, you can search for streets, objects and areas of your city or others. It is possible to get directions. The service activates the geodata function on the smartphone, determines the location of the user, asks you to specify the destination and paves the route. Next, you can enable the navigator option, which will accompany you all the way with voice messages. Therefore, this option is often used in cars.
You can view streets in Google Maps. The Google Street View feature helps you discover where you need to go. For example, you are going on a business trip to another city, you want to rent an apartment, but you donât know the area. You can turn on the street view and see what is nearby and what surprises can await you on the spot.
Although initially the program was not offline, in one version the ability to save a map of a certain city was added so that it was possible at any time to open it and find a way. But in this case, geodata does not work, and accordingly, you will have to focus on the streets and other objects around you.
Waze
The second most popular navigator, which has been downloaded 100 million times. This is a free application that works with navigation, tracks the situation on the roads, helps you get directions, studies the location of speed radars, and collects information about traffic situations.
The programâs cards are the work of the users themselves. It has been used since 2008. It was founded by Uri Levin, Ehud Shabtai and Amir Sheinar from Israel. By the end of 2011, the company had a staff of 80 people. But in 2013, the app was bought for $ 1.1 billion by Google.
Waze Features
Waze-navigator for Android, which can be installed from Google Play for free. It has a very convenient and intuitive interface. Somewhat different than the one suggested on Google Maps.
Often the application is called social, and this is not just. The fact is that in many ways it works thanks to other users. For example, if there are any problems on the road, a driver or a pedestrian will report this to the program so that others do not get into an unpleasant situation.
Of course, this does not mean that one person can fool all Waze users. Usually, a service collects information from several eyewitnesses, and also independently checks information from its database.
Navigator for Android Waze is a program that takes care of its users. If you built a route, but the phone disconnected or closed the program, Waze will save all the data and after restarting you will see the current movement data.
Waze also has flaws. These include the lack of regular updates that would cope with bugs and errors. Unfortunately, the program may fail. But such cases are very rare, so the advantages of the application and its work make you close your eyes to problems.
âYandex. Navigator - traffic jams and GPS navigation Âť
In the ranking of navigators, 3-5 applications took three places at once. The program from Yandex in this case is perhaps the most popular thanks to its developer. Considering that the service has been downloaded 50 million times, but it is used mainly only in Russia, this proves its excellent work.
Before Yandex was blocked in Ukraine, many drivers also preferred to use this service, as it provides accurate data and works quickly.
âYandex. Navigator âforâ Android âwas first released in 2012. This navigation application is also available on iOS and Windows Phone. The developer is Yandex. You can install it from Google Play for free. The peculiarity of the application is that it takes up little space on the smartphone, performs all the functions of the navigator and works without failures.
Functions âYandex. Navigator - traffic jams and GPS navigation Âť
âYandex. Navigator âforâ Android âworks taking into account traffic jams and laying a minibus. As in the case of Google Maps, here you can use voice messages that will notify the user not only about where and when to turn, but also about the presence of traffic jams and other problems on the road.
In the application, you can see all traffic incidents, house plans and other objects, switching at the same time in three-dimensional or two-dimensional mode. If you connect the navigator in a car, it will measure the approximate speed of movement and indicate the time it takes you to reach your destination. On the way, all popular objects will be displayed: cafes, shops, cinemas, pharmacies, etc.
The program can be used online or offline, but in the latter case, you need to save in advance on your smartphone a map of your city or region where you are going.
Yandex is trying to attract users to its product; therefore, it uses a lot of interesting âtricksâ. For example, on August 31, 2018, the voice of Vera Brezhneva was added to the application, which may turn out to be your companion. There are also voices of Basta, Kharlamov, Utkin, Mashkov.
"2GIS: reference and navigator"
This is another navigator for Android in Russian. He along with Yandex. Navigator âand Maps.Me shares 3-5 lines of rating, as it has 50 million downloads in the Play Market. You can install the program for free.
The advantage of the service is that it has been working for almost 20 years, since 1999. The founders were father and son Alexander and Dmitry Sysoev. In 2011, the project was rebranded, after which DublGIS turned into 2GIS.
The headquarters of the developers is located in Novosibirsk. Moreover, it has directories for many regions of Russia, as well as other countries: Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, the Czech Republic, etc.
The service is popular, proof of this is 40 million users per month in July 2018. The service is active in 350 cities, and its estimated cost is $ 211 million.
Functions "2GIS: reference and navigator"
â2GISâ for âAndroidâ is a good navigator that copes with all tasks. You can work with cartographic and reference content, use information about organizations, search for directions on public and personal transport. The application displays traffic jams, helps to measure the distance and time to the destination.
Maps.me
3-5th place is also located this application, which has been downloaded 50 million times. Previously, the program was called MapsWithMe. It is free and can be installed on a smartphone from Google Play. The program is based on OpenStreetMap maps and can very well be used as a tourist GPS-navigator for Android. It was first released in 2010, and in 2014 acquired a new owner - Mail.Ru Group.
Maps.me Functions
After the first launch, the program downloads a map of the city or country where the user is located, and with it the main objects. Thus, even without an Internet connection, you can use the navigator.
The application works with GPS, helps you set up a route for different types of vehicles. In it, you can find the necessary object, display and enter data. The navigator has voice messages and gives information about popular places in the area.
âNavitel GPS Navigator and Mapsâ
All of the above programs were free, but this option is paid. It works with satellite navigation. Manages the project of Center for Navigation Technologies JSC. The program is known in the CIS countries, Europe, Asia, Latin America.
The developer of Navitel offers a wide variety of free services that work with maps. For example, âNavitel. Events âmakes it possible to mark or see various events on the map of your city: accidents, road works, etc.
Functions âNavitel GPS Navigator and Mapsâ
Navitel is GPS-maps for Android, so the application copes with all the popular functions that have already been described previously. Allows you to search by address or object on the map, displays the number of storeys of buildings, collects data on maneuvers.
In the program, you can see the lane of the roads, calculate the route and configure visual cues. The installation of an additional tool helps to use radars, stationary cameras, and to report poor road surface.
HERE WeGo
This program is a Google Play recommendation. The navigator is not bad, although it used to be the property of Nokia. It was developed in 2013 and offered as cards for Nokia models. A year later, the application was released on Google Play, and then in the App Store.
HERE WeGo Features
If you donât know which navigator to install on Android, you can take a closer look at this option. The application has a simple and intuitive interface. In it you can change the viewing angle. There is an auto switch of night and day modes.
An interesting option is to select an item that you can save to the collection. To do this, select a point and click on it with your finger. Items around that appear can be selected and saved. You can also route this way and send data to one of the social networks or instant messengers.
The navigator allows you to use several modes that indicate traffic jams, public transport or satellite views. Trams from the metro can be distinguished by color. By clicking on any building, you can get information about which organizations are located there, their phones and websites.
âMaps and GPS Navigation - OsmAndâ
OsmAnd Offline Navigator for Android is open source software. He uses OpenStreetMap maps, as well as many raster maps. The program first became known in 2010, and Autoshift became its author.
OsmAnd Functions
The main feature of the application is offline navigation. But besides this, the program also works with an Internet connection. It caches data from the Internet, allows you to view and edit POIs, record a route, and modify existing saves.
The program has voice prompts in several languages, automatic zooming and rotation of the map. You can use various plugins for sea-skiing ski tracks, parking spaces, creating audio or video notes.
"Seven Roads"
Closes the rating of navigation programs navigator "Seven Roads." Its developer was the Krasnoyarsk company Navikey. The application first appeared in 2012. The authors are actively working on it, regularly releasing updates and improving it.
The program copes with manual scaling, has indicators of the battery and satellites. You can collect mileage data, select several operating modes and search for objects.
Unfortunately, at the moment, you can find some object only by address or coordinates. The program does not work voice input or universal search as in Google Maps.
Having laid a route, you can save it or load a new one, simulate driving along the way or display it in its entirety. You can use tracks. When working with minibuses, you can use the car mode. Today there is no way to use the construction of a pedestrian, freight or public route.