UltimateAddons putting the very best apps on the map!

There’s a reason why we spend so much time developing our ever-increasing range of waterproof mobile phone cases at UltimateAddons… 

…To put it bluntly, it’s because you’ll only ever need your iPhone or Android when you’re out on the road. With our mountable cases, your smartphone can take pride of place on your handlebars, charging away efficiently as you ride. 

One common myth we are constantly debunking is the one about having to have a sat-nav system to know where you’re going. You don’t. Your phone can do it. 

Or the one about having to have an internet connection to get your mobile apps to work? You don’t need that either. 

Put it this way: Why pay circa £299 for a motorcycle dedicated sat-nav system when you could mount your phone in one of our waterproof cases? (which are premium, perfectly formed bits of kit, we’d hasten to add!). 

Why not save that £299 and put it towards better use? Just download an app and buy some more fuel for a more memorable journey. You’ll still need deep pockets on your leathers to bring home the surplus cash after you’ve done that, come to think of it. 

If we sounded a bit prescriptive there then we apologise. But if you now appreciate that your phone really is your flexible friend when you’re out on the road, then you’re halfway towards some memorable journeys with UltimateAddons. 

All you need to know now is which app you should download in order to make the most of our green and pleasant land. 

Before we list our top-three sat-nav mobile phone apps, a quick recap: Many motorcyclists still think they need a mobile phone signal to use GPRS to download map data as they ride.  That was true back in the day - and still is true if you plan on using Google Maps and some other apps - but things have moved on a fair bit since then.  

In what we’ll call the ‘olden days’, TomTom and Copilot saw the advantages of running their apps on mobile devices.  Some people were using iPhone maps or Google Maps but both were reliant on a mobile phone signal, which is of absolutely no use when you’re in the middle of nowhere.   Most of the other companies including Navman and Garmin were more interested in pushing their dedicated devices designed for in-car use.  TomTom and Garmin then released dedicated waterproof motorcycle GPS devices. 

Bringing us back up to the present day, there are a lot of Smartphone apps that are suitable for using as GPS on your motorcycle. 

And with this point in mind, we are only too happy to be able to list our top-three apps, which cost a pittance in comparison to most sat-nav systems, if anything at all in some cases.

• Please note that we’re talking about on-road apps here. If you’re looking at off-roading or greenlining, then we highly recommend View Ranger. It’s a cracking app which we’ll review in greater depth at a later date.

Our top three sat-nav apps for you and your bike are: 
 

Waze 

For a start, it’s free! Ok, so it’s a bit basic, but it works well and you can set it to avoid toll roads, long dirt roads and motorways. There are two possible routes to choose too: The fastest and the one with the least mileage.

It goes without saying that it works without internet, as this is a prerequisite in our three endorsed products. As long as your phone’s GPS works then the map will work too, just without functions such as road block notifications.

One thing to note is that there is no ‘scenic route’ option, but we can see past this and appreciate what we think is a solid, all-round performer. 

Key Features

1. Waze is free! It is a community-driven traffic and navigation app, which means that the people on the same roads as you create the data.
2. It syncs your calendar events to plan your routes. 
3. It finds you petrol stations. Tap the ‘navigate’map icon, tap the petrol icon at the lower left, and a list of petrol stations near you will pop up, including prices.
4. Icons pop up when other riders note that there are traffic jams, speed cams, police, or road hazards ahead.
5. It’s frustrating when a navigation system zooms in or out when it’s not supposed to, but Waze gives you the ability to control the zooming.

Copilot

We really can’t knock Copilot. It’s a nice name and an even nicer app, which does look impressive on your phone - when mounted on an UltimateAddons case, naturally! 

It is packed with features and offers navigation comparable to a high-end, standalone sat nav for a fraction of the price. We were looking at around £20, give or take the odd pound and shilling. 

The voice instructions were clear and we liked the app repeating street names, not to mention the TomTom-style right-hand bar that shows any potential delays, as well as the distance to the destination.

And the route planner feature is a thing of beauty too, allowing you to add destinations between your starting destination and end point.

It’s a big thumbs-up from us!

Key Features

1. The maps are clear and concise, with speed camera notifications and live traffic alerts, offering up alternative routes immediately.
2. Any destination can be added to My Places with a poke of a favourites button and the interface is clear and intuitive. You can back up your favourites and recent destinations to the cloud, in case you lose your phone. You can even find destinations directly through a geotagged photo in your library.
3. You can open up My Places, browse points of interest or delve straight into your phone's contacts to pull addresses out.
4. The ‘My Route’ feature allows you to add waypoints or stops directly from the ‘Map’ or ‘Plan’ views, which is a great point of difference, as most apps can only take you from ‘A to B.’
5. As the maps are downloaded directly to your mobile's memory, you don't need a mobile connection, so this is not going to eat up your data allowance

TomTom Go

Maybe the TomTom reference back there was a bit of a giveaway, but we just can’t find any fault with the TomTom Go app. It really is a thing of beauty.

It has the best map interface bar none, and just looks and feels way more intuitive than any other app we came across. In short, it is as good as the real thing, with 3D maps and user-friendly nature. A right-hand side bar shows key waypoints like fuel stations, plus potential traffic and delays.

It’s difficult to quantify, but we just felt an added sense of reassurance knowing that TomTom was on board with us. For around £15 per-year, it can only be seen as money well spent and we really can’t recommend this app highly enough, coming with customary accuracy and repeat voice guidance.

Key Features

It basically bears all the hallmarks of a premium TomTom device but at a fraction of the cost.

1. We like the lane guidance feature, which is a handy picture of the junction you're approaching with idiot proof arrows
2. Lifetime maps with up to four updates a year.
3. ‘Events’ will pluck appointments straight from your work calendar or Facebook events, ‘Photo’ will direct you to any geo-tagged image from your library and People’ will scour your contacts list for friends.
4. Choose a destination and it throws it on screen alongside time to destination which counts down the distance to it and expected time of arrival. We like this a lot.

We’re sold!

All that is left to do is to partner your newly empowered phone with the very best mobile phone case, which are made to measure, to fit handsets and bikes of all shapes and sizes.

 Ultimateaddons’ products can be purchased from www.ultimateaddons.com with next day shipping available on all products.

ENDS

For more information about this press release, please contact Ben Smallman: ben@smallmanmedia.com or 01902 587001 / 07833 463195