a2b
by Android Tapp
Mar 19, 2009 1:28 PM –
Install
GPS with a brain! Have you ever lost your car in the parking lot? How about getting lost in the woods, on campus, or even on the lake? a2b provides an intuitive solution for navigating from point A to point B. GPS with a directional arrow, picture, notes, and voice recordings to get you back to where you need to be!
Price: $2.99
AndroidTapp.com Android App Review:
Our biggest gripe with this app is the functionality, ease of use and usefulness doesn’t justify the $3 cost. Here’s why:
In many of our attempts in evaluating a2b Android App failed practical use cases. In most common cases; it’s best to use a2b at big box stores, supermarkets or shopping mall parking lots to help remember where you parked your car. More commonly, if you’ve forgotten where you parked your car, then it’s more likely you forgot to whip out your G1 or Android powered phone to store your starting location in a2b beforehand. In reverse, when you conscienciously remember to launch a2b and store your start location, you’re more likely to remember it, without the need of the app.
In one field case scenario the app went from bad to worse. I visited the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago and parked in a complex parking garage. Great opportunity to test a2b Android App, right…
After remembering to launch the app, I was greeted with a message to turn on GPS. a2b Android App doesn’t automatically Enable/Disable GPS (such as other GPS-enabled Android apps), which is inconvenient and bad for an already taxed battery life for the T-Mobile G1. Now that the GPS was manually enabled, instead of automatically recording my starting location when tapping “Store Location” button, you’re sent to the “Location” tab showing the map, where you must tapp the “SAVE MY a2b LOCATION” button (which lags in saving).
I wanted to take a picture of the surrounding location under “Take Photo” tab. The camera feature lags and takes 3-7 seconds to load. This feature unjustly inherits the slow load, slow shutter, painfully blurry pictures as the regular Camera app. Most mobile users are impatient and assume the feature doesn’t work.
After sitting in the hospital for a few hours it was time to take the post-surgery patient I came to see home. So I went to get the car while discharge paperwork was being filled out. Great opportunity to test a2b Android App, right… WRONG!
I was unaware the GPS was still on in setting my starting location with a2b, thus killed the battery on my G1 because the app does not automatically disable the GPS when the app is not in use. I didn’t find this out until I reached the parking garage and whipped the phone out. Not only was it dead but I actually couldn’t find my car even though I remembered the level it was on. I literally spent 10 minutes searching the whole level finding it the old fashion way (you know… key remote in hand pressing buttons hoping to hear some horns beep).
Where a2b could offer worth is in outdoor settings such as camping/hiking; provided you remembered to store your starting point location and you have enough battery juice when trying to find your ending location.