NAVER Map, Navigation 5.26.2.3

Physical maps were the norm for many years as travelers used them to explore various countries. Native people used to rely on the locals to get from one place to another and you would have to rely on your own memory too. However, technology has helped greatly with travel and one of its major contributions has been the availability of digital maps and good navigation tools. Google Maps has basically taken a lead in this regard with almost every user now using the software giant's excellent app to travel places, find close by restaurants and gas stations etc. However, Google Maps works great in countries where there aren't any local navigation apps and all users present their data to Google. If you are traveling in South Korea, you would find that Google Maps comes short in terms of traffic coverage as well as in pointing the right routes etc. This is because there is an even more impressive and data-rich map app available in South Korea – NAVER Map. The app has a very similar layout as Google and provides accurate and up-to date information to its users.

The South Korean map app has four main tabs namely Nearby, Transit, Navigation and MY. The app also has a variety of other options including multiple map viewing options. The nearby section is used primarily for exploring the map and for searching anything you want. The app shows you categories at the top like Supermarket, Gas Station, Restaurant, Screening Clinics, Café, and Banks etc. You can also search for anything you want from the search bar. The app then shows you the results with the main consideration provided to distance from your current location. The Transit section is for users who travel frequently and want to know bus and subway routes so that they can easily commute. You can provide your home and work location or simply provide your starting point and your destination and the app would give you a route and tell you how much you would need to walk and the places from where you will catch the bus/subway. The navigation section is useful if you are in the car and want a route for driving from one place to another. The navigation then shows you your current speed and also directs you on the routes to take to reach your destination.

The map app comes with a number of excellent features. It includes bus routes, subway timings and routes and other terrain information with the fantastic availability of data certainly very impressive. You get three types of map options – default, satellite and terrain. This is great as you can explore the city or region greatly directly from the map. Furthermore, there is also a very detailed and very well-updated street view camera too that can help you visually see every place.

The map app also offers traffic navigation to its users so that you can get a better idea of how much time it would take for you to reach a particular destination. You can also see the CCTVs on the route while there is also an option to ask the map to provide you navigation for bikes.

The app has a great Settings section as well where you can manage settings from lock menu, language, map text size, navigation (traffic conditions, road markings, 3D/2D map, night mode etc).

Features:

• Excellent navigation that works for both cars and bikes
• Impressive transit navigation that provides up-to date bus and subway routes
• Great traffic updates that accurately predict travel time
• Fantastic street view camera that provides up-to date pictorial information about any place

Conclusion:

NAVER Map is a fantastic and data-rich map app. With excellent navigation, great bus and subway route calculations and a lovely user interface, this is the best app for general traveling in South Korea.