Anquet has released Anquet Maps Mac and Anquet Maps iPhones applications which allow Apple and iPhone users to take advantage of the same digital mapping features as the long-established Anquet mapping software for Windows.
Anquet For iPhone
In the case of iPhone, that means there are now several applications out there allowing users to take advantage of the built-in GPS to plan routes and navigate with Ordnance Survey mapping stored on the phone – others include MemoryMap, ViewRanger and RouteBuddy.
We're about to start using an evaluation copy of the iPhone app, but judging from the screenshots and details over at software developers Virtual Programming – see www.vpmaps.com – the features available are comprehensive and include on screen route planning, compass navigation, on phone place search and much more.
It looks like it should be serious competition for our current favourite, ViewRanger and we'll be looking to run a comparison test between the major apps soon. Anquet for iPhone costs £19.99 from the apple app store, which includes some free digital maps, but you'll need to choose and download OS 1:50,000 or 1:25,000 direct from your iPhone within the app.
One fly in the ointment is that at the moment, the iPhone app isn't compatible with OS mapping purchased for the PC. Available now from the Apple app store.
Anquet For Mac
At the same time, Anquet has launched its software for Macintosh, though it's only compatible with Intel-chipped Macs running OS X 10.5.8 – only new Macs in other words.
That makes Anquet only the second Mac-native OS-mapping software and the first, RouteBuddy is very basic. We've yet to use the full production version, but we have had an extended play with the development software.
It's actually very capable software, the one issue we had is that the interface isn't always particularly 'Mac-like'. It's actually quite difficult to work out how to start plotting a route on your OS map and the tutorial on the VP site underlines this:
'Creating accurate routes could not be any simpler. Simply locate the area on the map where you wish to make your route. Right-click with your mouse and from the pop up menu select 'Start Route'.'
All of which sounds quite straightforward, until you consider that generally Mac mouses only have one button, so you need to 'Control click' to bring up the menu. Second nature to PC users maybe, but not so obvious to Mac users.
The good news is that you can check out the application for yourself for free and try it for size at www.vpmaps.com/downloads/anquetmac. More about Anquet at www.anquet.com.
