Lately, my husband and I have been taking a lot of road trips. Navigation has become a lot more interactive since we have gotten our iPhones, and we are constantly trying out new apps to use when we travel.
AllStay’s iExit (link opens iTunes) is one of those apps that renders others redundant. On my iPhone, I have a page reserved for apps that are helpful for when I travel—trip planner-slash-flight tracker, Metro line info (used this yesterday), restaurant finder, etc. While I do keep a couple of specialized apps on that page (such as the Starbucks finder), for the most part, I like for an app to be sophisticated enough to do several things.
iExit (a steal at $2.99) does just that, by combining food finders with gas station info and so on, but I find that the organization by exit makes so much sense. It takes advantage of the GPS features of our phones, and it has proved to be an excellent tool when we’re on the road. We’re usually the kind of travelers who appreciate very short on/off pit stops, so a huge benefit for us is when an app quickly and accurately lets us know not only what’s available off that exit, but how far it is. All locations off of an exit feature mile distance and directional data in a list or a map view. (We like to pick places under .5 miles!)
The image icons are crisp and clear, and the layout makes the information very easy to manage. Perhaps more importantly, though, the main reason this app is so nice is that along with being extremely fast, it lays information out in such a way that you can view all upcoming exits and the businesses off of them in a list. When a highway splits, you will see the directional options listed inline as well. For example, I was traveling on I-89S in Vermont, and about 30 minutes prior to the White River Junction split of 89/91, I could continue viewing my trip with exits available on I-91S.
However, there are some features that iExit is missing. Notably, there is no way to star or ‘favorite’ a particular exit. It’s great to be able to remember an exit for future use—you know, that the ramp was an easy on/off and that it had three of your favorite places in one location. Plus, a notes section would be nice to use for when you want to remember why it was so nice. Maybe the bathrooms were especially nice or that it’s the best way to take a scenic shortcut.
I brought these suggestions to the attention of the developer in an email I sent, and to my surprise, he responded back to me within five minutes… not with a canned response, but with a thoughtful, comprehensive email thanking me for my input and adding some insight to the development he’s currently working on. (Yes, those features are already in progress!) I was very impressed that this was not a huge developer that may or may not ever ‘hear’ me or even update the app consistently.
It’s a work in progress, and so far, even with about 85% rating of usefulness in my mind, it was worth ditching three separate apps in favor of iExit. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some travel plans to get back to…