Nowadays, the beloved Tuttocittà that everyone used to carry in their side door pocket is an antique, for the younger ones even a museum piece, however there are many who don't even know how it works. Nowadays everyone has a GPS navigator app on their smartphone, which can also work offline, but which are the best in this magnum sea? How to choose a navigator for Android that does not make us go around the city to reach our destination that perhaps was around the corner?
especially when we are in an unfamiliar city or abroad is essential to have a guide to our steps, then we go on the Play Store and find an infinite number of apps to download, paid or free, social or not, but what are the best navigators for Android? Let's unravel the mystery: among the best offline navigators for Android are Google Maps - probably the best known and most used - Here Maps, Waze - whose social side and graphical interface is much appreciated - and TomTom Go. Let's see them together.
Navigators for Android: Google Maps
The Google Maps navigator is certainly the most famous and often the most appreciated by users for the high reliability developed over time and for the great attention to detail. Another plus point? It is completely free. Often it is already pre-installed in the Android devices that we buy and use it is very simple: just click on your destination, if you do not remember it there are many points of interest indicated from which to choose.
The greediest and most discerning palates will be pleased to know that special attention is given to the part relating to the restaurant and the places where we could go, with the addition of reviews and photos of users, to which we can obviously give our contribution. What makes Google Maps among the best gps navigators for Android is also the accuracy of the directions to the destination, whether by car, public transport or on foot.
A plus of this app is the perfect integration with Google Now and the synchronization with the web version through our account. The downside is that there isn't much information regarding the road speed limit and - despite the latest updates - not all speed cameras are indicated.
Using Google Maps offline
Not everyone knows that this gps navigator app works great offline too: the feature is crucial especially if we can't be connected all the time. This makes Google Maps one of the best offline navigators available. For example, if we are on a vacation or business trip abroad, can't stay connected all the time or don't have Wi-Fi available, we can use the offline navigator.
How? You need to download Google Maps before you leave, or when we are sure of our connection. Before venturing out and downloading every available offline map, you should know that there are some limitations: you can't get the map of a whole city, but we have to choose only a portion of it - generally not necessary anyway - and the same goes for the maps of a Region or a Country. So the advice is to download the maps of the area or areas you will definitely need and always keep a paper map with you so you can always geolocate.
Navigators for Android: Here WeGo
Among the most popular Android navigators there is also Here WeGo, characterized by a very linear and clean interface, which has at the same time many useful functions. One of them is the "Near" button, which shows us various services around where we are, such as car rentals, cabs, pharmacies, parking lots, restaurants or other points of interest. If we type in our destination, we'll be able to get directions to get there by car, public transport, rental car, cab, bike or on foot.
Unlike Google Maps, on Here WeGo we have precise information about speed limits and we can set sound alerts to warn us when we exceed them, although the app isn't very precise: the real speed differs slightly from the one perceived by the navigator. Obviously Here WeGo is absolutely free and can be downloaded from the Play Store.
Using HereWeGo offline
There's no doubt about it, Here WeGo is one of the best free offline navigators for Android: if we don't want to download data or don't have network availability, we can decide to download offline maps of a specific region. Of course, in this case we'll lose the traffic info, the update on vehicles and cabs in real time, but if we're abroad the offline function of the navigator is essential.
Navigators for Android: Waze
Surely interesting is the social version of this navigator for Android, but unfortunately it only works online. The peculiarity of this gps navigator app is that all reports are made by users: so if, during our journey, we encounter an accident, a speed camera or a roadblock, it is our moral duty - in the spirit of Waze users - to report everything through the appropriate function.
It is then possible to share updates on your journey, with reports called ETA. ETA - for those of you who are less computer literate - stands for Estimated Time of Arrival, and therefore indicates the time needed to complete a task, in this case the travel time. Thanks to the community behind the app, information on the shortest routes can be calculated on the basis of real-time traffic.
Other interesting functions are the one that allows you to report petrol prices and the possibility of connecting Facebook to the application: in short, everything in Waze is in the name of social. In addition, there is no shortage of information on public transportation and, by selecting a group of friends, it is also possible here to indicate the ETA. Of course, Waze can also be downloaded from the Play Store absolutely free of charge.
Navigators for Android: Sygic
Among the best navigators for Android we find Sygic, but it's not completely free: the free version only allows you to consult the updated maps and the various viable routes, while for the guided navigation function - the one that tells us which route to take in real time - with voice directions, speed limits, fuel prices and more, we'll have to spend 20 euros for all of Europe, 24 if we also want to have traffic information.
Obviously, prices would go up if we wanted to use maps of other continents. It must be said, however, that the navigation is really reliable, because the maps used are those of TomTom, a name, a guarantee. In this GPS navigation app we also get audible alerts if we exceed the speed limit and when a speed camera is reported, obviously only in the premium version. Very interesting and useful is the SOS function, which allows us to make emergency calls or get info on nearby hospitals and police.
Using Sygic offline
Sygic Android navigator always works offline, obviously we won't have real-time traffic information. You don't need to download maps of portions or the entire city, they will always be available to you.
Navigators for Android: TomTom Go
In the list of the best navigator apps for Android you can't miss TomTom Go. In terms of graphical interface it's the least pretty - it could learn from Waze - but there's no doubt that the reliability of the maps and navigation is top notch. TomTom Go isn't exactly free: it is up to 75km per month, keeping all the functions available, but if we cover more kilometers we'll have to pay 20 euros per year or 45 euros for 3 years, which is quite a significant cost.
Thanks to this navigator for Android we can report the presence of mobile speed cameras, while the fixed ones are almost all present, we can search for parking lots, gas stations, get real time traffic info - not to mention that they are extremely accurate - and we can synchronize everything with a cloud service between the various devices we use.
Every time we select a destination we are provided with all the surrounding points of interest, but we will only have directions by car, there is no info on public transportation and other means of transport. There's no doubt about it: TomTom Go is definitely one of the best navigation apps for Android, you just have to evaluate whether the price is worth it.
Use TomTom Go offline
Not to mention that we can also use this Android navigator offline: we'll just have to choose the maps we want to download. We can choose individual countries or larger areas - if we use it to move around a certain city, we'll only have to download one map to get the whole country - but the download is almost always hundreds of MB, so you need plenty of space on your smartphone, a charged battery and possibly a Wi-Fi connection so you don't use up all the data traffic on your plan.