Need a free sat nav app? Try Navmii

Just about everyone with a smartphone will appreciate just how essential they can be when it comes to finding directions and getting around. Not that long ago, sat nav software was mainly limited to hardware solutions from the likes of TomTom and Garmin, but today there a plethora of apps that do the job just as well, if not better.

One of the apps that’s recently been getting great reviews is Navmii – a free sat nav app that has also just been updated with lots of new features.

Navmii: free sat nav app gets even better

Navmii (formerly known as NavFree) has a history of firsts: it was the first turn-by-turn satnav app to provide offline maps that allowed users to use them without a data connection. They were also the first to use OpenStreetMap – the crowd-sources mapping system. Within 3 months of launch on the iPhone in 2010 they already had a million users, which then led to Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile versions.

Today Navmii is a comprehensive satnav app for iPhone and Android that is used by more than 23 million people. With all the functionality (and more) that you would expect from a dedicated navigation device, the app works with smartphones and tablets, and is free to download and use.

Users can log every single mile they drive, recording the lengths of journeys, driving duration and average speed. Navmii then allocates a driver score that rewards good driving with an improved ranking, enabling drivers to compete for a place on the best driver leaderboard. Adding these kind of interactive elements and almost game-like features is a unique twist on the satnav genre, and helps the app stand out in a crowded market.

Some of the other new features added to Navmii recently include:

• An improved user interface that makes it even easier to navigate to destinations
• Free real time traffic data, road hazards and events such as accidents or closures
• Smarter search with Google, Foursquare and 17 million new Points of Interest

Navmii is available in 87 countries (that includes the USA and Canada, the UK, Eastern and Western Europe, and Australian), and will add more countries in the next few months.

These new features will drive the next 23 million users and beyond to Navmii. We have delivered an in app experience that matches or exceeds every other free and paid for navigation device or app on the market – Peter Atalla, Navmii CEO.

Peter continues: “Navigation and location is one of the hottest areas in mobile technology currently, with global giants like Google and Apple competing to deliver relevant services. More than 23 million users globally already trust Navmii to get them to their destinations and, with this update, we are in a position to help drivers get further, quicker and safer”.

Navmii simplifies addresses, integrates what3words

Mobile Industry Review highlighted a fantastic and original concept called what3words, in our “startups to watch in 2015” feature. Navmii obviously recognises the enormous benefits offered by what3words, as the company now integrates the system directly into the app.

So what is what3words? The idea is that the world is split into a grid of 57 trillion three-by-three metre squares. Each square, which is based on an exact latitude and longitude, has a unique three word address that can be communicated quickly, easily and with no ambiguity. So instead of remembering street names and addresses, or even GPS co-ordinates, you only have to remember three simple words to refer to any location on earth.

Only around 5% of the properties in the world have accurate latitude and longitude coordinates associated to them, the rest is mostly guesswork. Furthermore, four billion people around the world have no address at all. Even in highly developed cities, address ambiguity can cause frustration for those travelling to a specific location. For example, there are eight different Lonsdale Roads around London.

Peter Atalla highlights the benefits of what3words thus: “Postcodes and addresses only go so far. For example if I want to meet someone at Wembley Stadium, which entrance will they be at? Navmii’s what3words integration enables users to share a unique three word address and navigate to that precise destination. For example mostly.scared.swing is one of the entrances on the south west side of Wembley stadium”.

No more location ambiguity

Location ambiguity becomes even more frustrating when travelling abroad, as the addressing can be difficult to understand. The what3words system is fixed, so users can be certain that all instances of the system running everywhere in the world will provide the same three word address for the same location.

Peter goes on to say that: “The Navmii app delivers an in app experience that matches every other free and paid for navigation device or app on the market. With what3words integration, this experience now exceeds that other navigation devices, providing Navmii users with complete accuracy of location, even in parts of the world that suffers from inconsistent or incomplete addressing systems”.

If you’ve not used Navmii, download it and give it a try – it’s certainly one of the best satnav apps out there, with some innovative features that make the whole experience that much more useful. The integration with what3words is another highlight of the app, and something that makes it stand out from the crowd.

Navmii is available for both iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.

Mobile Industry Review would like to thank Navmii. We would also like to thank Chris Bignell, Director of XL Communications for providing us with additional information about Navmii.