Review: ViewRanger v2

When ViewRanger launched it made an instant impact, picking up awards from magazines and the mobile industry. As the only GPS software for S60 phones licensed to use full Ordnance Survey, its position was already assured, but the company has continued to develop the application.

As you’d expect with a mature GPS application, all the usual features are here, along with a few extras that make the program unique. Using either an external Bluetooth or integrated internal GPS receiver, the application delivers quick and accurate positioning, highlighting both your location and direction of travel clearly on 1:25k or 1:50k OS maps.

The unique 360° panoramic view enables the user to see and identify natural features from hills to lakes and villages, complete with interactive tags. Using a data connection to the company’s servers, the name tags can display further information on each of the features, and link to shared information from other users. It’s the interactive features that really set ViewRanger apart from the competition, and the area where most of the new developments have been made.

Mapping starts at £25 with the 1:50,000 scale UK National Parks pack, and is available with full GB coverage at both 1:25000 and 1:50,000 scales. Although the software is solely phone based, the import/export function allows POI, waypoint, route and track data to be shared with other popular mapping platforms such as Memory Map.

In addition to uploading photos to the shared server, and linking with your routes and POIs, the new version has a ViewRanger for Facebook application that allows you to instantly publish your photographs to your Facebook account. Taking the idea a step further, ViewRanger v2 introduces the option to show your location data to selected friends, called Buddies, enabling them to see your exact, live, position on-screen on their ViewRanger-equipped phones.

If you prefer, you can display your location data on a website through ViewRanger, enabling live tracking by friends without them needing the software. The information appears as time-stamped icons displayed on the Buddy Beacon Portal, and can be used to follow your progress in a similar way to the much heralded SPOT emergency device, but without the expensive annual subscription.

Overall, the new features, along with worldwide GPS location in data format and an ever-expanding map, would make this an application of interest to any smartphone user; but as the sole S60-based application compatible with a high proportion of the most popular mobiles, it becomes almost essential for the outdoor user. And besides its serious uses, the interactive and shared features make ViewRanger fun at the same time.

Operating system: Symbian S60
Map coverage: UK – select regions
Price: from £25
Web: www.viewranger.com

Performance: 9
Design: 8
Features: 9
Value: 9

Overall verdict: 9

Review originally published in Smartphone & PDA Essentials magazine. Words by Dave Mycroft.

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