According to the official RouteBuddy website, this is the most advanced mapping application currently available for Mac OS X. The majority of user reviews tend to support this bold claim from the developers. Personally, after experiencing the shall we say, limited demo of the software, I was very impressed and if I ever found myself wanting such software, this would certainly be my first port of call.
The first real thing that impressed me, before I ever downloaded the software, was its great compatibility with a wide range of devices. Clearly, I do not own endless supplies of GPS devices so could not put it to the test, but it worked extremely well with my iPhone none the less. According to the official site, the application works with many other devices from Garmin, TomTom and several more from less well known brands as well as GPS enabled mobile phones. It certainly is a comprehensive list.
So, I was initially impressed which held the software in good stead as we all know, first impressions are everything, yes even with software. However, it did not stop there. Almost everything I encountered with this application was needless to say, somewhat impressive. Even the download was relatively fast and I was up and running in almost the blink of an eye, as with many, if not all applications on Mac OS X.
In terms of features, RouteBuddy is not in short supply. Not only can it be used upon GPS devices as mentioned before, you can also keep it as a desktop application where it can be used efficiently for route planning and general mapping of destinations. You can then transfer your routes and information between your Mac and your GPS device quickly and easily depending on the capability of your GPS device.
With this being primarily a desktop application, it possesses a great deal more capability than the usual GPS software that you find as default on the majority of standard devices. Firstly, you can use the application for management of your maps and routes. Analysing your routes and plotting faster or alternative routes if necessary. This proves almost essential, particularly when planning long or unfamiliar journeys as you can map it in advance before quickly transferring to your GPS device when you feel you have calculated the fastest journey.
Other features include a useful search facility where you can filter road maps via postal codes or addresses. You can create a library of common addresses and filter these using the search facility in all manner of ways.
Once you have planned your route, you can track the route as you go and save it to your library. Overall, there are so many features that you couldn’t possibly ask for more from mapping and GPS software. In truth, there are most likely more than you will ever use, as there is with all good software packages in my opinion. Lastly, you can also link your map data to Google Earth and Google Maps. This allows you to share your routes and library with other users of RouteBuddy and Google Maps.
In terms of quality, the maps that are delivered through this software are of high quality graphically and are wholly accurate when compared to other maps. Unfortunately, the demo version of the software only includes two zones; Santa Fe, New Mexico and Yosemite Valley, California. Two contrasting places which offer almost entirely different maps.
All in all, it is a great mapping application that will satisfy every user, almost guaranteed. Unfortunately for most, this software is not available on Windows, therefore does not apply to the vast majority of PC users. In terms of compatibility, you must be running Mac OS X 10.4 or later, which most Mac users will be.
You can download the demo from http://www.routebuddy.com/routebuddy/download/index.html as well as look to invest in the full version of the software. You can purchase the software for as much as $99.50 which is not a bad price, all things considered. As they say, you get what you pay for. There is an online store at store.routebuddy.com/, from which you can download additional road maps for the software for around $16.99.
I would highly recommend this software to anyone looking for such software as it provides an extremely high quality, all round GPS and mapping package.
