UpNext Maps for iPhone is beautiful. It's the smoothest, fastest map I've ever used. It renders 3D buildings for virtual exploration of certain cities. Its look and functionality are distinctive. It's free. And both Google and Apple want to build these features themselves. Is this a kamikaze mission for UpNext? "We've been hobbyists in maps since 2004," says UpNext co-founder Raj Advani. "At the time, I was fond of coding video games, and the gulf in interactivity between the video game experience and the digital mapping experience was striking. A video game world is animated, alive, interactive; things can change. There are weather patterns, sunsets, noise and immersion. In the digital mapping world back then, there were just roads - and ugly, static roads at that." UpNext's goal from the outset was to write a vector-based mapping engine. Traditional mapping systems, including Google, Bing and OpenStreetMap, are tile-based. They download whole pieces Read More

  So you got a new iPhone? It's time to dig deeper into Apple's native Maps app to uncover some of the amazing functions right at your finger tips. iPhone Maps can be utilized for much more than simply finding directions. While Siri can perform many of these same searches with iPhone 4S, I'm going to focus on the seek and find method to include other models. Before launching the app you'll need to ensure that Locations Services is set to (ON). Do this by selecting your Settings App > Locations Services > ensure Location Services is (ON) > then turn Maps (ON). Close app. To enable Traffic Conditions, launch the Maps app, then tap the icon on the bottom right which will reveal options. Select Show Traffic. Your map routes should light up almost instantly, although it may take a bit longer when using a 3G connection. The color codes identify traffic conditions and become even more visible when Read More