MotionX Turns iPhone3G Into Full-featured GPS Navigator

There are more than 800 "navigation" apps in Apple's App Store, but most are fairly narrow in scope ("find my car" and "New York Subway," etc.). Fullpower's MotionX GPS is a much more ambitious product that attempts to bring many of the features of a dedicated handheld GPS, plus a sports & fitness GPS, plus a geotagging camera into a single app exclusively for the iPhone3G. MotionX GPS was the number one paid navigation app in the App Store as of this writing, so it is attracting many users and quite a bit of buzz. I found the app to be competent, useful, and innovative, but not better than a dedicated handheld GPS.

MotionX GPS has a strong set of features for hikers, outdoor athletes, and geocachers. It can perform many of the functions of a dedicated handheld GPS. MotionX GPS presents a set of seven screens, including maps, track, logbook, waypoints, status, compass, and stopwatch. I used MotionX GPS for hikes, taking photos, and road bike rides.

For cycling and hiking, I simply opened to the stopwatch screen, touched "start" and began my workout or hike. When you've completed the workout, you have the option of naming it and saving it as a track you can call up later from the track screen. A track includes information such as time, speed, distance, max speed, any photos you may have taken along the way, and a map with your route highlighted. A nice touch, you can share the track by e-mailing it or posting it to Facebook via an included Facebook utility. An e-mailed track includes 12 stats about the track, and a link to see the track in Google Maps.

For geocaching, you must enter and manage geocache waypoints manually, and MotionX is not tied into the Geocaching.com database. iPhone3G-using geocachers will be better off with the Groundspeak geocaching app.

For those who want a GPS for backcountry hiking or backpacking, MotionX GPS can do the job, but keep in mind the limitations: The iPhone3G is not waterproof, like many dedicated handheld GPS devices. Also, you can keep a typical handheld GPS going on multi-day trips as long as you have fresh AA batteries. The iPhone charge can be supplemented by devices such as the Mophie Juicepack, but eventually you'll need to charge from a wall outlet charger.

One of the things I liked best about MotionX GPS is its photo geotagging feature, which makes it easy to share tagged images and associated tracks.

Overall, MotionX is a great value for a very modest price, as long as you understand its limitations.