App of the Week: Scout by Telenav

Telenav

Price: Free ( Scout Plus begins at $2.99)

Available Platforms: iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Andriod

What does this app do?   With the buzz surrounding Google Maps and Apple Maps for iOS 6.0 this week, it’s hard to believe there’s even more noise out there regarding navigation apps, but there is! Telenav, a Sunnyvale, Calif. based company that focuses on navigation services released its Scout app for Android this week.

Scout offers a customizable dashboard for commuters and pedestrians to help you plan, navigate or alter your commute.

The start screen functions as a mobile dashboard divided by a map, a tab labeled “Places” with icon shortcuts for categories such as coffee, gas, ATMs, and nightlife,  and a tab labeled “Drive.”

Tap on the drive option, punch in your destination and Scout will list a few different route suggestions with mileage and drive times at the top of the screen. You also get turn-by-turn navigation and a route tab below lets you check the real-time traffic conditions. You can re-route if you need to by selecting “Avoid Segment.”

At the bottom of the screen, there are icons for your dashboard, maps, places, and customizable extras, such as restaurants you marked as a favorite. The app provides a voice recognition feature, too. Tell it to “Find Donuts”  and you will not only see the places near you that sell those calorie packed circles of tasty goodness, but also reviews and relevant deals. Once you select the location, and the app will scout the route for you.

Is it easy to set up?  Getting started requires a few steps.  Once you download Scout, you are prompted to log in with your email and create an account with scout.me if you do not already have one. You are then presented with an option to upgrade to a few different premium accounts. You can skip this and move ahead to the free app’s feature set.

Should I try it?   Overall, this is app offers some well-executed features such as its voice activation, turn-by-turn navigation as well reviews of restaurants or other destinations you choose to go.  However, you will find the same functionality in Google Maps and Apple Maps. There isn’t much to draw away users who are already entrenched in Google or Apple Maps, but if you are new to mobile navigation apps and want to give it a try, you will find Scout useful.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com