Of the four star-chart apps currently available, Starmap has the most features and can produce the most aesthetically pleasing images.

For many years I used the Star Pilot suite on my Palm OS handhelds before I switched to iPhone, and I was hoping that the advent of the App Store would bring me a replacement for that. Starmap is that, and more! At present there appear to be four star chart applications available here: Starmap, iAstronomica, Uranus, and GoSkyWatch. Starmap has by far the most detailed and informative website, and it seems to have more features than the other apps, too (I haven't played with them). In addition to the basic map, it can lead you to a selected object with arrows pointing which way to look in the sky. With an iPhone 3G, it uses GPS and the accelerometer to change the sky view to show what you're looking at as you turn (azimuth) and look up and down (elevation); on my original iPhone you must change azimuth manually in the view, though the accelerometer will change elevation for you if you turn it on in the prefs (by default it's off, and you have to move the view manually). Starmap also has a built-in "flashlight" with white or red light at variable brightness, saving you the trouble of switching to one of the free-or-cheap flashlight apps out there (as long as you don't want blue light, say). Stars to 10th magnitude are included (same as some of the competitors, more than others), which is useful if you zoom in to find a dim planet or deep-sky object as you would in a telescope, and they turn on and off automatically as you zoom in and out, so a wide-angle view doesn't get too crowded. You'll also find all the ephemeris information (location and rise/set times for planets, Sun and Moon) that you'd expect, though I'd have liked to see a numerical indication of moon phase under the image ("20%", "6 days after new", or something like that) instead of just a label ("Waxing Crescent").

I’ve got star charts for the Northern and Southern hemispheres, but they are peanuts to Starmap. One, they don’t fit in my pocket. Two, they’ve got to be swiveled around in multiple places to the correct time, and if you drop one, you’ve got to do it all over again in the dark. Three, they don’t illuminate, so you also have to carry a flashlight. I’ve also got a computer application that does what Starmap does, but again, it’s a bit difficult to fit my Windows XP tower (no Mac version!), monitor, keyboard, mouse, and power source in my pocket.

Performance was a bit slower than I expected/hoped for. Some bugs in the list views that should have been easily found with a small amount of testing. UI was not particularly intuitive.

Looks beautiful. Difficult to read names (in teal) against the blue background.

The interface is brilliant, but on my ipod the movement is rather chunky. I hope this can be fixed, or that it turns out to be a consequence of something I'm doing rather than the limits of the hardware. In any case, I look forward to putting this app to extensive use!

When I saw this app, I thought the description was too good to be true--and I was right. The advertised use of the accelerometer is not what the description in the App store might lead you to believe. It's an adequate little tool to identify stars, but you must orient yourself and move the view manually.

A nice idea - I really wanted something like this and purchased it right away. It is sluggish and has hung on me twice requiring a reboot of the iPhone. Not something I would run if I was worried about having things like calls come through.

Since this app's release, its author, Frederic Descamps, has been very responsive to comments and suggestions and is preparing a revision which should address most of the complaints. It will still probably be a bit slow, but I now understand why speed was sacrificed for display clarity. With the soon-to-be-released upgrade (including full night vision mode!), this app will become an indispensible part of every observing session. Very solid, worth 5 stars and the money I spent on it, especially given the outstanding support from the author.

What more can I say - the app keeps crashing. Move the star field a little and crash - restart the app, move the field a little more and crash. Restart the app and move the star field again and crash... Total bummer! This could have been a cool app. I'm a seasoned Palm user who's accustomed to a "try before you buy" routine. I wont buy another app from iTunes until a "try before you buy" routine is implemented.

Not the same app as the one in the pic, there is no screen or option for meteors or anything except Stars, Planets, Deep field and Constellations. Which is fine. But I actually bought it thinking I'd get what was displayed. Tough to read, but otherwise good use of hardward. Add the meteors and update your sales image.

Accelerometer never seemed to work, does not have Dallas or Seattle (!!) as cities in database, unbearably slow, non-intuitive controls, unbearably slow (did I say that?), clunky. I quickly got tired of fighting the application. This application requires significant re-work to be the application of choice for people seriously interested in the night sky.

I found it great fun and easy to use. I love being able to adjust lighting conditions to match my location. It also gives you meteor shower info and defines where in the sky to look. Very nice.

Definately the best Astronomy app I have seen for the iPhone.

This is a great app and well worth the 12 bucks. As someone with a Master's degree in astronomy and a lifelong observer with a telescope I can say this with some authority. The graphics are both beautiful and precise. Yes the map updates a little slowly but this is because the display is so wonderfully precise. Plus the idea is to find an area and stay there for a while. Stargazing is meditative. No need to hurry. There's lots and lots of well thought out features. The screen shot here doesn't do it justice. Go to the web site before you buy for a tutorial. Also visiting the web site you will be impressed by the level of support and planned improvements. I have a 2G iPhone (no GPS) and it found my location just fine when I hit the locator button. The only thing I would like would be for the map to optionally update/rotate at the earth rate - but this is a nitpick - the earth doesn't rotate that quickly and it's easy to update the time of day manually if desired. Oh yeah, the accelerometer feature is very cool. For example, for me tonight Saggitarius was close to the horizon due South. So I centered Saggitarius on the map and held it at arm's length, pointing to saggitarius in the sky. Then, with the accelerometer option turned on (this is configurable) I SLOWLY raised the iPhone above my head and there, both in the sky and on the iPhone, was the constellation Lyra. Neat!

Too slow! But its nice for what it is. Its definitely an educational program and not really professional. Why are star programs like this so resource intensive? Equinox 6 runs pretty slow on my new iMac when I drag the sky in a direction too.

I really like this app, it's much better than any others I've seen / tried in the same category. The only issue I have with it is the crashing. It's crashed 4 times in the past 8 minutes just messing with settings and zooming in / out. I'd give it five stars if the stability was there. I think instead of moving off to the PRO version you should spend a little extra time and make this one rock solid. I'd be happy to recommend it if it could stay open longer than a few minutes.

This app is awesome.

My 4 year old boy and I love this. A great bonding momunt, combined with learning, makes for a top knotch app!

I have to say, I am just amazed by how rich this applications is and how good it looks. You might not realise that the bottom memu rotates to reveal 3 more menu bars. There is a help section to get you to know every feature. There is even a build in flashlight.

It has a large database, easy to use, and it has so many options (like red light to save your night vision). The screen even rotates between portrait and landscape views. It's really not that slow and should be fast enough for even an avid stargazer. Depending on available cell tower signal strength, it even can roughly tell where you are to adjust the location for the night sky map. I'm very happy with this app.

Updated review based upon updated app - this rocks! The graphics acceleration is really fantastic - great job. This app continues to be one of my all time favorites!! To the reviewers who have trouble finding things - be sure to check under all the lists: ex. Pleades is M45 under Deep Field. I haven't noticed anything missing from this app :-) I'm using this app on my iTouch and it works very well. I do scroll around, zoom in/out, and look up info with it and response time is fine. (Note: I don't try running it while other process are going on.) I really enjoy the innovative menu bar and the many display options available. I've spent numerous hours playing with this app - so glad I bought it!

Although this is a great application, I've been waiting for an update that addresses the issues that many people complain about. It's still very very slow when scrolling the maps, and it could have better use of the accelerometer. Also, I was a bit surprised that Houston was not on the list of cities.

My boss has a MS in Astronomy and used to work for NASA. He loved the program. ...And, it is not just for telescope use. It is fun to just stargaze and know what you are looking at...

The application was pretty good for me. However now the application does not run.

A really great planetarium program with beautiful graphics that perform as smooth as butter! Additional features I'd love to see include zooming out to see the whole sky, as well as tracking satellite and Iridium flare visibility. Also true previews of deep field objects as well as Jupiter's moons right in the sky view would be great additions. UPDATE: I downgraded my rating from 4 stars to 2 because I'm upset Starmap Pro was released with no upgrade path. For $12 I expected that I was 'investing' in future development and I'm disappointed to be missing out on features. I'm also concerned this version won't receive any further updates in lieu of the developer focusing on the Pro version.

I must say, while it lasted, great app! I give it two stars because while this app isn't cheap, it is worth the money BUT after releasing a pro version with no upgrade option (in app maybe) I'm sure he upset lots of customers. It seems to be a trend for good apps to be forcing their costomers to pay twice over if they want continued support, and the few things that are different. If I spend the 19$ on the pro, I've wasted 12 here!!!! It says in this description "tools for the professional astronomer" yet he has a seperate pro app. Tell me, what's going to stop this developer from adding another feature to make starmap elite! Bad business model, support your loyal first customers!!!!