Android App Review - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit

Android App Review - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit

 

Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit app. A very interesting app, one that has two aims. The first is to help commuters get to their destinations using public transportation, buses and trains in particular. The second is using real time data from commuters who travel among the various public transportation lines to update real time information such as arrival times.

As Moovit ads more places to its growing databases of cities, it is a becoming an invaluable tool for the public transportation commuter.

The app itself is fairly simple and has features for searching transportation lines for various destinations, shows estimated times of arrival and displays alternate routes for reaching desired destinations. In addition, the app displays walking segments, if any, that are neccessary for reaching our destinations and shows final destination times.  

One of the most interesting and useful things the app shows is the time the next bus or train reaches the stations, something which is also useful and also relaxing, int its way, since you know how much more time you have to wait. The routes the app displays are on detailed maps, along with lists of stops and schedules.

 Our testers liked this app a lot. Finding out how to reach a destination from a certain starting point in a busy and complex metropolitan is a heavy task in itself, a task Moovit handles well, and the fact the app shows the bus or train arrival times in their stations makes the whole commuting experience much nicer.  

There are a few problems, though. Terminology is not compatible with all countries, for now, though we're sure it will be fixed soon. A few rare freezes also happened. Very few testers thought the interface was a bit complicated but they were really a minority.

However, what we would have liked is an option that when commuting, the app would turn on and off the GPS automatically every few minutes to save battery life instead of leaving it on to drain the smartphone's power ...

Don't get us wrong, though. We really think this is a great that does something very important - makes life easier for us.

• Score: A strong 4.5 out of 5. It's almost perfect, but some little issues took out half a star.
• Description: A public transportation navigation app with real time arrival updates. With the Moovit app, one can find public transportation routes from any source to any destination in the supported metropolitans (check Google Play for the complete list) and receive real time updates about buses and trains arrival time at their respective stops.
• Good Points: It takes care of a commuter public transportation needs completely - from discovering what buses go where and even planning walking segments, if they exist. It has real time updates of arrival times of buses and trains, which makes planning easier and waiting more bearable.
• Bad Points: A few of the testers reported a very few instanced where the walking segments proved too long, though we suspect this was a user error and not a bug in the app. In addition, some people thought the interface was a little too complicated - maybe putting in more explanations and help may help solve things. Finally, we really think that if a mechanism can be found where the app turns on the GPS for a few seconds once every few minutes to conserve the smartphone's battery - then the real time updates will be more numerous since more people would leave the app running and not afraid it will drain their batteries.
• Experience: All the testers (who commute by public transportation, that is) thought the idea behind the app was great. A few experienced some problems who mostly disappeared after a period of use.
• Longevity:For testers who commute by public transportation - excellent. All those testers said they will keep the app to find the most convenient public transportation route if not the real time arrival time estimates.
• Google Play Link - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit
• Google Play Score: 4.2

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Android App Review - Dr. Driving by SUD

Android App Review - LINE camera by LINE Corporation

Android App Review -  Dr. Driving by SUD. An upgrade of Dr. Parking, this is a very good game with great physics which lets you do one thing - drive! You get to complete missions in very realistically looking city scenes, earn money and then you can buy more expensive and fancy cars. The game is so good it can be used as an aid for car driving lessons but even the more experienced drivers among our testers loved this game. SUD tried and made a very good job in simulating real cars movements - from stops, to accelerations to turning to breaking. 

It did have some very minor annoyances, such as forcing you to link your Google+ and Facebook accounts and the fact money is not so easy to come by so you have to put in a long time to earn enough to buy the better cars (just like in real life!) but still, our testers all loved this game.
Another small annoyance some of our more hard headed testers came up with was rear mirrors and side collisions. The game doesn't have either, so you can make any turns with impunity, which somehow diminishes from the game's fun, at least according to those testers.

• Score: A very solid and deserving 4.5 out of 5. Just a few small things missing to give this driving game a 5 out of 5.
• Description: A driving game that sends the user to drive one of a collection of cars through a city in missions to reach a certain place and park there, naturally. The cars behave in a very realistic way and the graphics are great. The game would have been perfect if it was easier to get the new cars and if rear mirrors existed, along with a way to see cars coming from other lanes when you turn.
• Good Points: Great graphics, at least on a smartphone. Very realistic car behavior, from accelerations to breaks to parking to crashes ... Very addictive and with a simple interface which leaves the focus on the main thing - driving the cars through the city!
• Bad Points: Okay, just a few minor points in a great game. You cannot look right and left when making a turn which is very unrealistic. What a driver earns in the missions is not enough to buy a newer and fancier car fast - you have to spend a lot of time for it ... There were some issues with the game forcing you to log on to your Facebook and Google+ accounts - which is a behavior we do not like on an app. Very few crashes and bugs - a very stable app. 
• Experience: Our testers all installed and ran this app quickly. The game has a smooth learning curve and even our teen testers got to finish the mission quickly, in some cases faster than some of the older testers with a driving license ... All in all, if you have a relatively new smartphone with updated hardware this game will run smoothly.
• Longevity: In a relatively rare show of loyalty, all of our testers elected to have the app installed for good. Some are playing it more often than others, but several months after testing begun, none have uninstalled it yet.
• Google Play Link - Dr. Driving by SUD
• Google Play Score: 4.6

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Android App Review - Google Maps

Android App Review - Google Maps

Android App Review -  Google Maps. Probably the most popular navigation app in the world, and not only because it comes with every Android smartphone and tablet. Every navigation app knows how to get you to your destination but all strive to bring the user something new. Waze tried to make driving a social experience, by sharing traffic information from all the other drivers using Waze on the roads. What makes Google Map special is its comprehensive database of businesses, establishments and points of interest along the road.

Google Maps has really everything in it, every kind of hotel, restaurant, pub and almost everything else you would want. Google leverages its huge database and the result is actually having the whole internet available to you via navigation with Google Maps.

Of course, Google Map comes rich with features, such as navigating and directions for walking or public transportation in addition to driving, like we mentioned before searching for almost anything be it close or far away, getting several courses and picking the best one for you, using Street View to actually see pictures of any place you're getting at. Of course, there is the ability to download maps at the start of the drive (when you're in WiFi range) and then use them for you navigation. The list features goes on and on, including voice activation and navigation.

Even though some of our testers didn't like the new update (while others simply adored it), there have been some crashes of the app while navigating and some features have been hidden away in the new update. Other than that, this is one of the best and most useful navigating app for Android right now.

• Score: We gave it 4.5 out of 5, an almost perfect score because some of our testers had problems with the new update, mainly with crashes and losing save data and waypoints, not to mention hidden features.
• Description: A navigation app with incredibly rich features, from voice activation to free text locale searching to picture available of virtually any place to offline maps to more and more features ... This is a app worthy of the giant that is Google.
• Good Points: Free text searching for locales is very important and useful, such as looking for the nearest convenience store. Street View is also very useful as it allows you to see what your destination looks before you reach it.
• Bad Points: Some of our testers disliked the new app update, claiming the old interface and maps were better. There are reported crashes here and there, common to most navigation apps.
• Experience: Our testers used the app extensively, some using the walking and public transportation routes the app gives. All were quite enthusiastic about the more special features like Street View and Google's extensive database (find a nearby pizza, will you?!?)
• Longevity: Of course, it is installed on every Android machine, but most of our testers still continue to use the app, though most not exclusively.
• Google Play Link - Business Calendar Free by Appgenix Software
• Google Play Score: 4.5

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Android Apps - Navigation, GPS & Traffic

Android App Review - Google Maps.

An incredible feature rich navigation and GPS traffic app by the internet giant, Google.

Android App Review - Waze Social GPS Maps & Traffic
A unique GPS and navigation app which takes social to the next level, where traffic and dangers on the road are updated by the community of drivers as a whole.

Android App Review - Moovit- Real-time Transit Info by Moovit
A public transportation navigation and route finding app that not only finds routes to your destination, it also shows you real time arrival data.

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