A completely free turn-by-turn navigation app, skobbler, has just been released for the iPhone. skobbler is powered and continually updated by CloudMade which uses User made maps to keep you from getting lost.
What makes this app exciting, other than the fact that it is free, is that the maps provided by CloudMade are completely user made. Users are urged by the company to make maps of their own neighborhood, which joins the OpenStreetMap community. Users using the map can (if they find a mistake), send a report to the community stating that something is amiss or they can fix it themselves; these updates take only 24 hours to be implemented. The more updates, the better the map and resulting navigation.
“Users who add new map content or edit OpenStreetMap are helping to build a market-changing navigation solution,” says skobbler co-founder Marcus Theilking. “Although we know we’re not quite ready to challenge the expensive premium navigation solutions, we’ll quickly get there.”The app topped the sales charts in the Apple’s App store within 24 hours after its release and has stayed on top of the navigation category ever since, but this is not the first time this app has been released; the app has been a premium paid app in Germany, costing $6. Luckily, North Americans get it for free. Source: skobbler
