4 YouTube Services You May Not Be Aware Of

You may be using the best videos sharing website YouTube for years, but you may miss some nice features, offered by the site which are not obvious. Here are some tricks and recommendations on how to enhance your YouTube experience.

Disco

YouTube can be used as Internet Video/Radio station, providing endless playlist, filled with the music you love. Enter the name of your favorite band, artist, or even genre, and it will be created automatically at Disco channel.  It’s a great way of getting free music and just leaving it playing in the background.

Website: http://www.youtube.com/disco

Charts

If you are interesting in getting on the top of the viewing trends and get instantly the best and the most viewed videos on YouTube, you can go through the Charts option that shows videos depending on the amount of views, ratings, comments etc. You can choose to view it by day, week, month, or by all time. It’s a great way of finding all the latest content with the crowd doing all the hard work to filter though the billions of videos for you.

Website: http://www.youtube.com/charts

Create

If you are not just a YouTube consumer, but also a content creator, you may find interesting the built-in YouTube options to make fresh animated videos without needing cameras, having to upload files or do any editing. The online free services and self explanatory and you can have a decent video made in less than 10 minutes.

Website: http://www.youtube.com/create

Editor

Ever got a video, where the view is rotated 90 degrees, or is shaky and unstable? With YouTube Editor, you do not need to edit and enhance your videos offline and then upload them. You can simply edit all your content online adding effects, transitions and cropping your videos as needed. You can even choose from YouTube’s library of approved songs to add to your video legally.

Website: http://www.youtube.com/editor

Cutting your Phone Bills with Jaxtr

When global economy turns South, or just your family budget gets tighter, you start looking for the opportunity to cut your bills: here and there. Cutting your phone bills is one of the first easy-to-use options to consider.

While there are multiple ways doing that, and some of them we have discussed already, I would like to present a descent way of following this path. Using the Jaxtr service, you can definitely save money for your communication services, especially if you talk and SMS a lot, and your plans are far from being unlimited.

With Jaxtr, you get free unlimited calls to about 50 countries around the World, and discounted rates for other locations. Rates are indeed low and competitive to the similar phone services, but in this post, I will focus exclusively on free calls.

List of Supported Countries

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Bahrain
5. Belgium
6. Brazil
7. Bulgaria
8. Canada
9. Chile
10. China
11. Croatia
12. Republic of Cyprus
13. Czech Republic
14. Denmark
15. El Salvador
16. Estonia
17. Finland
18. France
19. Germany
20. Greece
21. Hong Kong
22. Hungary
23. Ireland
24. Israel
25. Italy
26. Japan
27. Latvia
28. Lithuania
29. Luxembourg
30. Malta
31. Mexico
32. Netherlands
33. New Zealand
34. Norway
35. Panama
36. Peru
37. Poland
38. Romania
39. Singapore
40. Slovakia
41. Slovenia
42. South Africa
43. Spain
44. Sweden
45. Switzerland
46. Thailand
47. United Kingdom
48. United States

How to Start?

1. Navigate to the page: https://www.jaxtr.com/
2. Enter your number to get local jaxtr number.
3. Call the jaxtr number on your phone.
4. Dial your destination number after the prompt and talk

Note that there is no need to download special software and the call may be initiated through the browser window.

Talking for Free

1. If you call a friend who is in a FreeConnect supported country, your friend receives an SMS notification with a local number to call and get connected to you.
2. If you are a registered member, use the FreeConnect option by pressing "0" and then "2" after you hear the voice prompt when you call. If you are not a registered member, FreeConnect is automatically chosen for you.
3. Stay on the phone and wait for your friend to call in.
4. Once your friend calls in, you can talk for as long as you want at no charge from jaxtr. Note that your phone company regular charges still apply for the call to the jaxtr number.

Note that if your friend does not receive jaxtr's SMS notification, then you will need to inform your friend by other means (such as email, IM, or a direct call) of the local number to call to get connected to you. Jaxtr will not charge for this service, but your phone company's normal charges still apply. You always have the option to bypass the notification and get connected immediately at jaxtr's low rates by pressing "1" while you are holding.

The service is available for Windows, Android, iOS, and Blackberry platforms.

Website: https://www.jaxtr.com/

File Convoy – Free Large Files Exchange Service

In line with modern software development, the HDD size in the home computers is steadily increasing. It is also understandable that the size of the individual files, you might need to transfer remotely, is growing up. While there are many free services on the market, offering you assistance in transferring and sharing large files, there are always size limitations. Most large file transfer websites allow you to send 100 to 300 MB max for free. Few offer support for free sharing of the files up to 2 GB in size.

Today, we are going to present File Convoy, free online service, allowing sharing large files up to 2 GB each with no need to register or download software on your computer through your browser. The following browsers are supported:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 and above
• Gecko-based browsers like Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, SeaMonkey, Epiphany, Galeon and Netscape version 7.1 and above
• Browsers implementing the KHTML API version 3.2 and above, including Konqueror version 3.2 and above, and Apple Safari version 1.2 and above
• Opera browsers version 8.0 and above, including Opera Mobile Browser version 8.0 and above

The service is pretty simple to use. Select your files and click on the button "Upload". When the upload is finished, URL links will be displayed. These links will be use by the recipients to retrieve the files you sent. Copy them and send them to the recipients.

Optionally, you can use the e-mail notifications. In this case, the recipients will be notified by e-mail that you sent them some files. This e-mail will include the links required to retrieve them. You will receive e-mails to confirm your upload and the fact that the recipients have downloaded the files.

You can also setup the time limit, the data should be stored on the server – from 2 hours up to 7 days.

Website: http://www.fileconvoy.com/

Züm – regret-free video walkie-talkie for iPhone

Divide Nine, a Los Angeles based entertainment technology studio, released the first no-regrets social video messaging application for iPhone and iPad – Züm. This free utility allows users to send an unlimited amount of short video messages to their friends with one very important feature, worth to mention and highlight – the video message immediately self-destructs after being viewed.

Functioning much like a video walkie-talkie, yet leaving no trace, Züm gives users the freedom to send quick “züms” back and forth without leaving a trail. This new technology opens doors to a more casual and guilt-free form of video communication. The fast, simple, five-second videos connect friends in real-time in an addictive game-like way.

You want to amaze your friends, but you do not want them having ability to misuse the video you send them – use Züm. You want to show off, but do not want to regret later - use Züm. You want to have more fun - use Züm. It is free, even thou developers hint that it is temporary free. So what? Who knows how long the temporary term will last – maybe, forever?

Screenshots:

iTines page: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zum-zum/id536708511?mt=8

Developers’ website: http://www.successzum.com/

Invoice Journal – Free Collecting Money Tool for Small and Very Small Businesses

If you need to charge your customers for your services or products, but you do not want to spend on professional services, or even for invoicing software, you can use an excellent free online service, which will not cost you a dime. Invoice Journal incorporates all of the features that commercial products and services offer and wraps them in an easy to use complete online service that is free to use.

Invoice Journal is one of those rare programs that exist only in a free flavor; no commercial upgrade is available. The application is still in active development, but is quite powerful already.

Main Features:

• Add/edit client profile any time
• Unlimited invoices and clients
• Create, manage and send invoice online                                                                    
• Fast search and sort of invoices                                                                                      
• Auto suggest of values to reduce typing!                                                                   
• Print invoice                                                                                                                            
• Branding options                                                                                                                   
• Add/edit description to items                                                                                          
• Payment history                                                                                                                    
• Receive feedback from customers                                                                                
• Paypal integration                                                                                                                 
• Discount a line item                                                                                                              
• Auto fill of information to reduce typing!                                                                   
• Automated payment reminders for your customers                                                       
• View all invoice process reports                                                                                      
• Custom tax fields                                                                                                                  
• Real-time dashboards.                                                                                                        
• Automatic email notifications                                                                                          
• Customizable invoice template editor built-in                                                          
• Track email history                                                                                                                
• Support multiple accounts with single user-id                                                          
• Amazon integration                                                                                                             
• Recurring invoices                                                                                                                 
• Send estimates to clients                                                                                                   
• Add expenses types                                                                                                            
• Add credit notes                                                                                                                    
• Multiple currencies
• E-mail support (send invoices directly to clients)

Invoice Journal distinctive feature is that while it is rich in features, it still keeps everything simple and user-friendly. The generated invoices are both neat and practical. You are able to access your invoices from anywhere in the world, which might be quite especially for the cases when the escalation requires instant investigation, while you are out of the home or out of the office for business or personal travel.

Developers’ website: http://www.invoicejournal.com

******************

Update 02-05-13:

Today, we have tested the service functionality for personal purposes. It took us about 40 minutes to figure out all the necessary features and capabilities, and produce the professionally looking receipt, built with needed customization and company logo. Service is highly recommended!

Measuring your Beauty Score at Anaface

Not all the free services, presented on this blog, are practically useful for your daily life. But, having some fun is also extremely important part of our life. So, today we would like to present totally useful, but still funny online service for your entertainment.

Anaface is a simple online graphic evaluation service, willing to give you detailed analysis on your face features. Thus, you are getting brief evaluation on your face with remarks of how your features fit the algorithm, compiled by developers. You also get a facial beauty score, computed based on the geometry of your face.

Operation is simple and straightforward. It does not require account creation or login, so your evaluation will remain strictly anonymous. You can load the picture from your computer or from online link, and then follow instruction on marking the 17 facial points one-by-one. As you done, the assessment is shown similar to one presented below:

To get the best outcomes, be sure to choose a full-face photo, avoiding even slight turns left and right. And if you get score, you do not like, do not get distressed over. This is all for fun, but have nothing to do with real beauty perception by real people.

And the most important is, you are beautiful, and you should feel beautiful, and only then other people will see you are beautiful.

Website for fun: http://www.anaface.com/

How to Access Blocked Website Easily?

As any great invention, Internet use has its own perceived drawbacks. Employers do not like much when their employees spent time on activities unrelated to the direct work responsibilities, and Internet gives so many opportunities to waste valuable time. Therefore many companies block their workers from accessing social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, Myspace etc. Employees are definitely very resourceful to find ways and methods to bypass the imposed restrictions, and more innovative the networking administrators are, more innovative the applied approaches.

The most popular methods to access blocked websites are using Proxies or Anonymizer websites. But both these methods may be complicated to use, and quite unreliable, with loopholes eventually closed by experienced admins.

Today, we would like to propose a different way to resolve the block through Screen Resolution Checker. Screen Resolution Checker is a free service, which has actually been developed for entirely unrelated reason. It was designed for webmasters to help them check how their website looks in different screen resolutions. But, smart users found a different application for it. Note that it may work only on Internet Explorer browser, offering an alternative way to access blocked sites. You can click on the internal links and navigate normally through the desired website with no difficulties.

The drawback is that the screen size for the embedded restricted website is smaller than your monitor screen, so it might be not so convenient to review and create new content.

Website access: http://www.screen-resolution.com/

Is your neighbor a sex offender?

All parents are in their rights to be worried for the potential sex offenders living in the neighborhood. While there are voices that being able to search for the sex offenders in the area constitutes a clear privacy violation for these individuals, the safety for your kids should be of the highest priority.

 

Megan’s Law

Because of Megan's law, introduced in the 1990's after seven year old Megan Kanka was sexually molested and murdered by a convicted sex offender living across the street, convicted sex offenders are required to register with local police so police can track their activity. The offender in Megan's case invited the young girl into his home to play with a new puppy before attacking her. Megan's parents later said they never would have let their daughter outside alone had they known there was a twice convicted sex offender across the street.

It is important to know that all convicted offenders are required to register and make their whereabouts publicly known. However, not all sexual offenders will be included in the registry; only convicted offenders are required to register. If a person was a minor when he/she committed the crime, he/she will not have to register. Also, if an accused sex assault criminal has accepted a plea deal after being charged with a crime, the plea may include the defendant accepting a lesser charge that does not require him or her register with the local police. Just because someone is not on the registry does not mean that your children and family are safe; educate yourselves and your family for any potential signs of troubles.

While your concern as a parent is understandable, you should be reasonable in your protective actions as well. Sex offenders cannot legally be forced to leave a neighborhood because concerned parents and citizens do not feel comfortable with them living in the area. Antagonizing registered offenders will only create more problems. Feeling as though they are being attacked or harassed may make a former offender act out, or they may leave the neighborhood and not register in the next place they live. This leaves future neighborhoods vulnerable to unknown sex offenders.

As long as sex offenders are not breaking any laws and follow the rules set forth by their probation or parole officer, they have a right to reside without harassment in a neighborhood.

Note that percentage of sex offenders, who is listed in the system, also depends on the state you are living in: in Oregon, for example, it is just 5%, in Washington state it is 30%, in California – 70%, and in Idaho – 100% (even those with the lowest level of offenses).

 

Safety Education

While checking the neighborhood for potential troublemakers is always good idea, you should understand that the received information is never complete, therefore the preventive measures and your kids’ education should play most important role in averting the crime. Here what you can do:

• Teach children the importance of not talking to strangers. Think about what you will say before talking with your child.
• You don’t want to terrify your children. 
• You want to give your kids factual information and skills to keep themselves safe.
• Educate children about the charming approaches where strangers or occasionally more or less familiar neighbors may try to tempt them with candy, pets, toys, or seeking their goodwill to help find a lost puppy or child. Children need to know it is not safe to go with a stranger and they should find their parent or other caregiver, such as a baby-sitter or sibling, and tell them what happened.

 

• Have children who walk to school or a friend’s house plan a route to take which allows them to walk only on sidewalks. Do not let them walk in the road and educate them never cut through someone's lawn or driveway to save time.
• Know where your kids are at all times. Don't let them play unsupervised in a public area — including around your neighborhood or even your front yard, for that matter — for even a second. A sex offender often needs just a small window of opportunity to lure children away from sight and kidnap them. Children should come home at a certain time that is well before the sun goes down. Children should also know where they can go if there is trouble such as a friend’s house or a police station.
• Don't drop your kids off without supervision in places where kids congregate, like the mall, outdoor parks, school playgrounds or video arcades. Child molesters know where kids like to hang out; molesters tend to flock to those places too.
• Make sure your children know that there are certain things adults should never be allowed to do. Explain to them that they have the right not to be touched inappropriately by anyone, and give them instructions on what to do in risky situations. Teach your kids that they have the right to say NO to any unwelcome, uncomfortable, or confusing touch or actions by others. Teach them to tell you immediately if this happens. Reassure them that you are there to help and it is okay to tell you anything.
• Children should learn to dial 911 in case they need help from police. It is important that children only dial 911 in a true emergency and not for fun. Knowing how to reach help can save their life if used properly.
• Have children memorize their home address and phone number in case they need to tell an adult such as a police officer where they live. Smaller children should have their home information written inside clothing and secured in backpacks and suitcases.
• Listen to your children. Pay attention if they tell you that they do not want to be with someone or go somewhere. This may be an indication of more than a personality conflict or lack of interest in the activity or event.
• If you are concerned about an adult who may act suspicious or be involved in illegal activities, call the appropriate authorities. If this person is employed by the school system, call the principal of the school. If this person is a neighbor, then call the police or department of corrections if you know they are under supervision by a parole or probation officer.
• Also remember that in the vast majority of cases (up to 90%), children are molested by someone they know. Your efforts at keeping your child safe must be informed by this fact and not focused exclusively on the danger that strangers may present.

 

Where to Check?

There are several websites, giving you opportunity to check your area for residing convicted sex offenders. Among them:

• The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between jurisdictions hosting public sex offender registries (“Jurisdictions”) and the federal government and is offered free of charge to the public. These Jurisdictions include the 50 states, U.S. Territories, the District of Columbia, and participating tribes. The Website provides an advanced search tool that allows a user to submit a single national query to obtain information about sex offenders; a listing of public registry Web sites by state, territory, and tribe; and information on sexual abuse education and prevention. Website: http://www.nsopw.gov/
• CriminalCheck.com is a free National Sex Offender database site on the web that searches all states (and the District of Columbia) with one-click. Performing a name search a last name is all that is required to search the CriminalCheck.com National Sex Offender database. You can refine of narrow your search by adding a first or first & middle name. Zip Code search allows you to place your zip code in the box to the left and click search. CriminalCheck.com will search the National Sex Offender database for offenders registered in this zip code. Zip code search is a very powerful tool because many sex offenders now move away from the state where they were convicted. The offender will register their new address in the conviction state but many states don't require out-of-state offenders to register locally. Not all states provide offender addresses (for privacy reasons): Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont. Website: http://www.criminalcheck.com/
• Family Watchdog is a free service to help locate registered sex offenders in your area. The numeric risk level indicates the level of risk a sex offender poses to the community. A numeric risk level is assigned to each sex offender when the offender is released from a penal institution or placed on community supervision or juvenile probation. It is determined by using the sex offender screening tool adopted by the Risk Assessment Review Committee. There are three different risk levels:
• Level one (low): indicates that the person poses a low danger to the community and will not likely engage in criminal sexual conduct.
• Level two (moderate): indicates that the person poses a moderate danger to the community and may continue to engage in criminal sexual conduct.
• Level three (high): indicates that the person poses a serious danger to the community and will continue to engage in criminal sexual conduct.

Website: http://www.familywatchdog.us/

 

Sources and Additional Information:

http://voices.yahoo.com/keeping-neighborhood-safe-sex-offender-123496.html

http://www.katu.com/news/specialreports/Online-search-wont-display-every-sex-offender-in-your-neighborhood-138599154.html

http://www.familysafetyreport.com/child-safety.aspx

http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/child_safety_tips.html

VoxOx – Google Voice and Skype Competitor

No, I am not giving up with my Google Voice and Skype yet in favor of VoxOx, but for some people, VoxOx may offer a good answer to their needs.

VoxOx is a free consumer software and service that enables you to make free or super cheap calls anywhere in the world, as well as text, chat, fax, share files and so much more.

VoxOx is marketed as “universal communicator” service that helps you manage all of your conversations and contacts in one place. VoxOx reaches across different communication channels and networks to help you get in touch with family, friends and colleagues. VoxOx also gives you powerful calling features that enable you to manage and screen your calls and to be reached on any device.

Main Features

1. VoxOx gives you a free personal phone number so that you can receive inbound phone calls, text messages, and faxes from anyone for free.
2. You can make unlimited free calls when you contact other VoxOx members, including VoxOx-to-VoxOx video calls.
3. You can use the on-call features to conference in up to 20 people, record and transfer calls on-the-fly.
4. Your VoxOx number is loaded with free voicemail service, accessible from any phone, with email and SMS notifications and many cool features.
5. You can chat with your friends from other communication platforms, like Facebook, Yahoo Messenger, and AOL, as you are on the same network with them.
6. You have Advanced calls management features. For example, VoxOx may answer your call and tell you who is calling. You can even listen to their voicemail before picking up the call.
7. You can custom block unwanted callers with the Dead End feature. You can set certain contacts to always get a busy signal, disconnected message, or even a recording you’ve uploaded specifically for that person
8. VoxOx will also is able “find you” on any phone you want – desktop, home, office, etc.
9. You get a list of global access numbers in multiple countries. Dubbed “iNum” (for “international number”), this free VoxOx offering enables those who live outside of the U.S. to call your VoxOx number at their local rates.
10. You may even entertain your friends with custom ringback tones. Upload music files or your own recordings that play for callers instead of ringing.
11. You also may enjoy free VoxOx Universal Translator to have a real-time, translated conversation across 2-way chat, SMS, email and Twitter @replies.
12. Send massive files up to 100MB with anyone across any chat, SMS or email.
13. Software is available for Windows, Mac, and iPhones.

Outbound Calls Rates

When it comes to placing international calls, VoxOx offers incredibly low calling rates for mere pennies per minute for calls and faxes, including:

• $0.01 per minute in 20+ countries/territories… (U.S., Canada, U.K., Spain, Singapore, China)
• $0.02 per minute in 30+ countries/territories … (Greece, Argentina, Italy, South Korea, Japan)
• $0.02 to $0.05 per minute in 50+ countries/territories … (India, Russia, South Africa, Chile, Indonesia)

And the rates for sending text messages are super cheap too. Just $0.01 per text in the U.S. and Canada and just $0.02 per text elsewhere worldwide.

Drawbacks

1. The user base is much smaller than Skype has, so unless you convince your friends to join this service as well, you may not be able to enjoy unlimited free VoxOx-to-VoxOx phone calls.
2. Unlike Google Voice, all outbound calls and messages (in the USA as well) will also cost you money. They are quite cheap, but still…
3. Unlike Google Voice and Skype, this service does not have app for Android platform, which is a big limitation for me personally.

Summary

In spite on the brought limitations, VoxOx service looks really promising, especially if you are looking for additional free US phone number. Yes, if you want a free US incoming phone number, Voxox is an easy service to use. In the sign-up process you are asked to provide a mobile number, and Voxox sends activation code on that. However, it supports lot of countries, so you do not need to have a US mobile number to get a Voxox number.

Website: http://www.voxox.com/

How to Use Google Voice as a Calling Card?

This inquiry came from one of the readers, asking if the Google Voice account can be used from any phone, including the pay phone.

The brief answer is Yes, easy. In more details, there are several steps to follow through:

1. If you are using payphone, deposit minimum amount of coins into.
2. Call your Google Voice Number, wait for the voicemail initialization, and press the start key "*", while your voice mail greeting is playing.
3. Enter you Google Voice pin and press “2” to call a desirable number. For international calls, dial “011” at the beginning.
4. At the end of your call press “**” to return to the Google Voice main menu.
5. If you need to dial the next number, you can press “2” again.
6. BTW, as you are in the menu, you can also check your voicemail as well. 

AllMyApps – An Easy Way to Update and Reinstall your Apps

Over the course of your computer life, you develop certain attractions to the particular software utilities, you use more or less regularly for all aspects of your computer life. Therefore, computers’ reinstallations, upgrades, and transition to the new gadgets occasionally require significant amount of time and efforts in order to restore the familiar software environment.

Free online cloud service AllMyApps makes any transition smooth and easy. It just a central database covering all utilities, installed on your computer, allowing to tap to this information anywhere and anytime. The service keeps detailed records on every app you installed and let you reinstall them in a few clicks when you need it. No need to save your setup files or to remember where you downloaded your apps from: Allmyapps automatically remembers each app you install on your PC. Next time you need them, they will be at your hands, waiting to be installed in their latest most secured versions. The same is relevant if you need to duplicate the applications you use on one computer for other desktop and mobile devices.

Yes, that is true, the service not only remembered what has been installed on your computer, but also notifies you on the ongoing changes and updates, improving security and reliability. Therefore, Allmyapps App Manager notifies you as soon as your apps can be updated. A single click is all you need to keep all your apps up-to-date. Of course, you can also choose to only update certain apps and if you want to stick with a specific version of an app, you can even ask Allmyapps to never update it.

More than that, if you are looking for particular new utility, Allmyapps App search engine will help you to find the apps right from the comfort of your desktop. Currently, it is more than 15.000 PC and web apps already in their fully categorized catalog, so you will always find the app you are looking for. You need to choose the one you prefer between two compatible apps?  The informative decision can be achieved easier as you see provided screenshots, descriptions, users’ reviews and ratings.

Developers’ website: http://allmyapps.com/

Amiando – Arrange Free and Paid Parties and Events with Ease

Amiando is a very popular, especially in Europe, online event management application. The website looks very professional and has a lot of unique features, helping to organized free and paid events. The service is user-friendly and there are plenty of online tutorials to assist in making the most from the offered features and options.

The application is very popular and has some very big customers such as BMW and O2 that shows just how useful this tool is to manage and control events.

It is also easy to create, maintain, and track new events through the fairly customizable forms with attractive interface.

Main Features:

• Create a website for your event in just a few clicks
• Marketing tools
• Flexible payment tools
• Produce professional tickets
• Customer relations features
• Analysis tools

Costs:

• If you are arranging a free/private event, there are no associated fees.
• If you are planning the paid/commercial event or party, the following fees will be charged per participant: $0.99 flat fee + 5.9% of the ticket costs. For these fees, Amiando will process the funds through all convenient for participants’ means: you will be able to offer your customers various payment methods such as credit card, wire transfer, prepayment, PayPal and invoice. Amiando handles the complete payment process. Shipping of tickets, confirmations and bills is automated.

• Those who have websites, are able easily integrate the tickets shopping module there via iframe or popup, so you can sell tickets to your visitors without them leaving your site.

Screenshots:

Website: http://www.amiando.com/

3 Free applications for voice assisted navigation on Android smartphones

Migrating to Android smartphones has virtually changed my life in many aspects. One of them is complete abandonment of my Garmin GPS. Why bother having multiple gadgets in your car, when you have one, capable to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Today, we will discuss the free applications on Droid platform, which are available on Google Play market to fill the need not to get lost.

Google Maps Navigation

Google Maps Navigation is an internet-connected GPS navigation system with voice guidance, which is installed by default on all modern Android phones. For a long time, it was my first choice. Actually, it was the only choice, since it worked smoothly, and there was no reason to look for alternatives.

Main Features

• Search in plain English. No need to know the address. You can type a business name or even a kind of a business, just like you would on Google.
• Search by voice. Speak your destination instead of typing (English only): "Navigate to the de Young Museum in San Francisco".
• Traffic view. An indicator glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic along your route. Touch it to see traffic ahead of you.
• Search along route. Search for any kind of business along your route, or turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants, or parking.
• Satellite view. View your route overlaid on 3D satellite views with Google's high-resolution aerial imagery.
• Street View. Visualize turns with Street View imagery. Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination.
• Car dock mode. Car dock mode makes it easy to use your device at arm's length (Android 2.0 devices or higher).
• Navigation shortcut. Select the Navigation icon from the launcher to start quickly; pick a destination by search (speak or type), contacts, starred items, or recent destinations.
• Walking Navigation (Beta). Get voice-guided navigation for walking directions. Device vibrates for turn notifications.
• Transit Navigation (Beta). Get navigation for public transit directions in 400 cities around the globe. Device shows location along transit route and provides alerts for when to stay on or exit public transit.
• Offline reliability. Get continuous guidance and automatic rerouting, even if you lose your network connection after you’ve begun a route.

Screenshots:

Developers’ website: http://www.google.com/mobile/navigation/

PROs:

• Integrated Google Maps are highly reliable and have relatively few errors.
• Google Street View is useful to recognize the target destination.

CONs:

• Navigation is still dependent on your data connection as opposed to being preloaded (though it does cache your route), which is translated to inability to start navigation from the point where there is no connection.
• Live traffic is not exactly live, and the data occasionally outdated.
• GPS voice is kind of too robotic.
• Estimated arrival is on the bottom of the screen (subjective drawback due to my phone location on the car dashboard).

MapQuest

The free mobile navigation utility developed by the company, which is on the Navigation business for long, and there are many Internet users, who are familiar with the main features from the Desktop application. Deeming the standard Google Navigation as reference point, we will provide the features, which look slightly different. So, we will not mention the matching features, like turn-to-turn navigation.

• Place Map Toolbar. Look for restaurants, coffee shops, gas stations, etc. with one 1-click.
• Auto Re-route. If you take a wrong turn, it will your route will be automatically adjusted your route to get you to your destination.
• Live Traffic Flow/Incidents. Extensive coverage that’s updated every 5 minutes, to help – to keep you on time.
• Save any location as a Favorite from the Details screen for easy access later.
• Touch-points. Long-press anywhere on the map to get a point you can route to.
• OpenStreetMap (OSM) Map Setting. User-sourced maps can provide unique local perspective and detail.
• Bug Logging for OSM. Standing in front of a new building? Report it to the community and they’ll fill in the missing pieces.

I just started to use the application, and it seems to be quality built, fast, and accurate. Some users report that it loads faster and works better, than Google Navigation, and other claim the opposite. Try it and decide for yourself.

Screenshot:

Google Play site: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapquest.android.ace&hl=en

Waze

Waze is not strictly a navigation program; it is more than a navigation program. It represents a combination of the voice navigated turn-to-turn navigation with mobile social network. You can plug into the driving community in your area, joining forces with other drivers nearby to outsmart traffic, save time & gas $, and improve everyone's daily commute.

• Real-time traffic. Community generated real-time traffic and road alerts including accidents, hazards, police traps, and more.
• Auto Re-route. Automatic re-routing as conditions on the road change.
• Self-learning. Learns your frequent destinations, commuting hours and preferred routes.
• Warnings. Convenient warnings on the police speed traps, accidents, traffic jams, and hazards, generated by fellow ahead of you on the road.
• Find the cheapest gas station on your route.
• Redeem Wazer-only gas specials at participating gas stations. (currently in the US only)
• Meet-up! Share your location/destination and ETA to easily meet up with friends.
• Join or create groups to share info about your commute.
• Earn points and move up the ranks in your community as you contribute road info.

PROs:

• Life traffic update depends on the route popularity. If there are many Waze members in the area you drive, the instructions might be more accurate than Google Navigation.
• Police, red light cameras, and traffic hazards warnings are quite handy.
• It is like a fun game, you see your fellows Wazers nearby on the road.

CONs:

• Maps are not so accurate as in Google Navigation.
• Some people around trying to chat may be distracting to the driver.

Screenshots

Lately, in more occasions, I personally prefer using Waze over the Google Navigation, so if you never tried it, it is recommended at least to try.

Google Play Website: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waze&hl=en

There are obviously more utilities for GPS navigation on the market, but we will limit our review by these three. Each one of them can be considered as really good and useful. Enjoy!