Electric cars may be awesome.  Driving one, however, is hardly a dream, given how difficult it will be to "fill up" when that limited battery charge begins trickling down while you're in transit.  A new app for the iPhone called PlugShare might be able to help.

Developed by Xatori, Inc., the app is intended to give EV drivers a chance to help each other out by marking available charging points across a map.  It's not just dedicated to public plug-in stations, either -- some helpful fellow with an outlet in his driveway can help out fellow EV users by marking his location, too.

PlugShare uses a Google Map overlaid with icons that show places where you can charge.  The map display is simple and straightforward, with different icons used for varying types of charging spots: standard household plugs, privately owned J1772 stations, and public and commercial charging points.   You can navigate using the map, as well as  search by zip code or address.

Tapping on an icon shows the listing for it, which displays the address and station type.  From there, you can simply tap on a button to get on-map directions from where you currently.  There's no facility for adding pictures of the place, though, which could have been helpful.

I don't drive electric, so PlugShare isn't of much use for me.  If I did, though, this app will be a definite addition to my iPhone, since it does the job as required.  Plus, it's free, making for a really solid value proposition.

[iTunes]

Billed as a "social data-powered GPS tool," Localscope is not the kind of thing you'll immediately figure out at first glance.  Once you get the hang of it, though, the data-aggregating AR app is an extremely useful tool for getting acquainted with the area around you.

The app draws from a variety of data sources, combining inputs from your iPhone's GPS, along with information from maps, social media websites and search engines.   Combining all those parameters, it allows you to get a clearer picture of the establishments in your surrounding area -- all easily accessible with a quick search on the app.

During first launch, Localscope gives you a searchbox and a list of common categories (e.g. Banks, Hotels, Restaurants…).   Tapping on a list item or typing a search term will take you to a screen that displays nearby results.  This can either be shown as a list, on a map or an augmented reality display (for the latter, you put the phone up and markers will be shown around what the viewfinder captures).  While viewing the results, multiple icons appear at the bottom of the screen, allowing you to view results for that specific category or search term from a variety of web services (namely Google, Bing, Foursquare, Twitter and Wikimapia).

The actual app is sufficiently polished, with plenty of little touches that make interacting with it feel natural and very intuitive.  There's also a pin option, so you can mark locations in the map (helpful if you don't like having to search all over again).

Overall, Localscope feels like a proper AR tool for finding locations and establishments within your vicinity.   While it's not all that unique (you've probably tried some apps that do offer similar features), it's plenty useful for the 99-cent download price.

[Cynapse]

Can't stand constantly circling the block trying to find an open parking space?  If you're an Android user, Google's Open Spot app offers a quick way to discover available street parking in your vicinity.

The app uses your smartphone's GPS positioning function to detect your position.  Once it does, a Google Map display of the surrounding area then appears, with markers for reported available parking spaces.  The markers are color coded to indicate how long since it's been reported open (red for the last 5 minutes, yellow for 20 minutes and orange for those in between).

Of course, the only way Open Spot can learn of available parking spaces is if you report them, so you can send goodwill to fellow users by tapping on a street parking that you're leaving behind. Available spots will be marked open on the map for up to 20 minutes, unless somebody claims it.

Since it's new, don't expect to find it particularly useful yet (very few people are marking parking spaces yet, if any).  The app is solid, though, and works as advertised, so we doubt it will take too long to find users.  If you live in a big city, there's a good chance you'll find this turn into an extremely valuable tool within the next few weeks.  Google also rewards Karma Points for users who report open parking spots, though we're not really sure what they're for.

Going forward, we'd like to see Open Spot integrated into Google Maps Navigation, since having to launch a separate app for an essentially related function isn't exactly the most logical way to use it.  Despite that, we think this is a terrific utility.  Hopefully, you'll have enough folks in your area thinking the same thing to actually make this useful.

It's available as a free download from the Android Market.

[Open Spot]

This is something that could turn out big. A new iphone app called Dreamwalk provides users with a geocaching game that raises the ante a little by getting local businesses involved. Users can use the software to seek out "treasures," just like any similar game. Except, in this case, participating companies get to hide their own prizes for players to pursue, allowing them to get new prospects through the door in the process.

When you launch the app, it shows you a map that details where prizes are hidden. There are three ways to collect bounty - Instant Prizes, Collector's Stamps and Treasure Hunts - all of which require going out into the real world. For Instant Prizes, you simply have to go to the marked location on the map to get the reward added to your onscreen prize bag. Tap that and get instructions on how to redeem. Do note that these are usually simple stuff, like free fries at a local restaurant or cheap tickets to a show.

Collector's Stamps, on the other hand, require you to travel to different locations, gaining letter stamps at each one that spell out the words to the final destination. Treasure Hunts work similarly, except you gain clues instead of stamps. Since they're harder, the prizes for these two are usually bigger (e.g. videocams and gaming consoles).

Because they've only just launched, there are only a few thousand hidden treasures across the US, most of them concentrated in large metro areas (think New York, LA and Washington DC). However, developers at Dreamwalk Pty Ltd are negotiating for new businesses to come in and, potentially, make the loot more lucrative for avid treasure hunters across the country. Participating merchants, by the way, can easily upload new prizes via Dreamwalk's website, which will then turn up on gamers' maps.

Dreamwalk's beauty is that it is a win-win for all parties involved. Businesses get very hip marketing and users get a chance to win loads of free stuff around their area. An excellent concept that's totally worth the free App Store download.

[Dreamwalk Mobile]

Like to leave your impressions of places you've been to for the world to hear?  Then you'll love Voice Mark, which lets you create geotagged audio recordings of any spot on the map, as well as listen to those made by others.

GeoGraffiti calls each recording a "voice mark," which is essentially a short phone message that's geotagged to a specific location and piled away into the system's database.  You can either create the recording and send it over your data connection, or you can ask GeoGraffiti to call you so you can leave a voice mail.  The latter, by the way, is a considerably faster option.

Now, say you're a user who's driving in an unfamiliar part of the city and you spot a diner that looks good.  Is it a good idea  to eat there?  You can get help by launching the app, finding the establishment and listening to the voice marks left by others.

The software uses the Google Maps interface to locate the areas you're interested in.  You can toggle the view to show the previous audio geotags from other users scattered throughout the map.  Simply tap the placeholder and listen to the message.  The UI is very intuitive, making the process of getting your prerecorded reviews an uncomplicated matter.

Like all reviews-based apps, this thing will only take off if users actually take the time to leave their own voice marks.  I'm lazy about these things, but I'm guessing there's a whole plethora of people who will.  I'd be more optimistic if the "reviewers" actually had some kind of incentive to post their audio recordings, though.

Voice Marks is available free from the App Store.

[Voice Marks Website]

The battle of the iPhone GPS apps is on, as the fourth title for the platform has finally come out.  The CoPilot Live brings capabilities along the same lines as other competing releases, with a few factors swaying heavily into its favor.

First off, it's the fastest of the lot, wasting very little time from launch to getting a signal to routing.  Turn-by-turn services are, largely, on par with existing apps, with a wider selection of languages for the voice-guided system.

Like Navigon, it offers switching between various modes of travel, namely car, RV, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian.  The feature is particularly easy to use in CoPilot Live, allowing you to change modes of transport mid-trip with just a couple of taps.

The app's best value-added features (assuming they all become available soon) are the Live Services option, which includes Live Traffic (traffic updates), Live Weather (weather updates) and Live Link (location sharing).  The first one is a coming-soon feature, the second is working and good, and the third is very useful for finding out areas to avoid (based on your friends who get caught in traffic).  Live Services does require an extra purchase ($20), though.

There's no text-to-speech, which is acceptable for an iPhone GPS app, since none of the others offer it either.  But, that's not the worst of it.

Anyone who uses CoPilot Live right now will immediately notice one thing: it feels rushed.  Since the first three turn-by-turn apps for the platform have already gotten a massive headway, the company probably felt compelled to bring it to market half-baked.  The result is a buggy software that can prove a headache for daily use.

You'll notice various bugs throughout working with the app, along with a noticeable lag when changing the map's orientation.  The most unforgivable for me is the app's terrible performance at reading addresses in your contact list.  While we chastised the TomTom for passing on contacts with no ZIP code, CoPilot Live seems to just refuse to read the majority of addresses on my list.  Even worse, if it can't read something about a contact, it just left all the fields blank, forcing you to enter every part of the address one by one.

Overall, CoPilot Live is a decent GPS app.  At $35 for the first year, plus $20 after every 12 months, it's the cheapest one available for the iPhone.  If you can live with the problematic reading from the contacts list, it could be a good purchase.  Just keep your fingers crossed that they end up fixing the bugs shortly.

TomTom finally released their turn-by-turn navigation app for the iPhone this week.  The third full-featured GPS app for the platform, it's also the most expensive, coming in at $100.  Is it worth the price?

Here's the gist of it, if you'd rather not read the whole thing: it's good, but not perfect.  If you remember our review of Navigon MobileNavigator for the iPhone, it was exactly the same way.  As such, there's no clear cut winner here.  Best read the review and decide if the app's strengths are exactly what you're looking for.

First up, it's the fastest GPS app I've seen on the iPhone, loading in just around five seconds (about 10 seconds less than other options) and finding a signal almost immediately.  The maps look fine (though it is, arguably, the least visually-appealing of the three iPhone GPS apps) and there's barely any learning curve.

The app's interface is great - very easy to use with accurate controls.  Input mechanism is particularly convenient, hinting at a properly-designed user experience.  I haven't seen TomTom's previous efforts on other devices, but they might have perfected the UI process because their app is definitely enjoyable to work with.

Despite those positives, however, this app suffers from some serious flaws.  The maps and POI database, for one, aren't the most up-to-date.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these were at least a year old - it couldn't find a couple of newer addresses I plugged in, apart from showing points-of-interest that, as far as I know, no longer exist.

Pulling the addresses from your iPhone's contacts database is a major pain, as the app can only recognize entries with zipcode.  If you haven't been in the habit of adding zipcodes to your contact lists, best do so or you'll have to enter the addresses manually every single time.

Like the two available iPhone GPS apps (Navigon and iGo My Way), it skimps on many extras, including text-to-speech, traffic updates and similar features.  It's not a deal-breaker, but not having them makes it less enticing of a choice - especially for $100.  Unless you need a GPS app for the iPhone right now, I'm more inclined to suggest that you wait for someone else to fill the gap, because what's available right now just isn't all that great.

Want the same traffic updates on BMW in-car systems without actually buying a BMW?  Now you can, with the Inrix Traffic app for the iPhone.

Covering 126 cities in the US, the software shows a map of your vicinity (using the onboard GPS), combined with a graphical visual of local traffic flow and road incidents.  Information is pulled from various sources, including local traffic authorities, traffic probes, event schedules and accident reports.  Like Waze, the app phones home, sending data on your speed and location to its servers, which are automatically taken into consideration as an additional variable for their traffic reports.

One feature Inrix offers that isn't available in other traffic systems is a forecasting function.  Using historical information and local data, they can map out a prediction of possible traffic situations for up to one hour in advance, allowing you to plan your immediate road itinerary.

Simple and clean, the app is very easy to use and should be a permanent fixture for motorists still holding out on buying a full-featured GPS app for the iPhone.  In case you're looking for a more robust GPS solution, though, the upcoming TomTom Navigator app for the handset will include data pulled directly from the Inrix servers, apart from turn-by-turn navigation.

Via GPS Lodge

Scheduled to launch with the MyTouch 3G (HTC Magic) next week, Geodelic's location-based Sherpa just received an early release in the Android Market.  While the app is not complete (only one of the three types of "experiences" are available), it's a very polished tool that helps make finding shops and services nearby considerably easier.

The General Experience

When you open the app, it will begin displaying points of interest, along with various information, that are filtered based on proximity, relevance (to needs you specify) and personal preferences (which you can set).  You get multiple viewing options for these information, namely a carousel-style interface, a Google map with markers and a straightforward list-style layout.

It's fair to say that Sherpa's backend database is quite massive (we don't know who their partners are for this, but we assume it's a large business directory of some sort).  You'll immediately find this out when you launch the tool and see nearly every business establishment in your immediate area listed, complete with the actual company logo (for many of them, at least).  Click on the business name and you'll be taken to a more detailed listing, which includes a facility for adding your own ratings, along with reading other people's reviews.

Coming Soon

While Sherpa is already an incredibly useful tool at its current incarnation, it will get two more operating modes in the near future, namely the Onsite and the Themed experiences.  The former is triggered when you actually enter an establishment (as in, you're onsite), outfitting your phone with information and custom content specifically for that business (e.g. menus for restaurants, price lists for stores, etc).  The latter, on the other hand, will be a specialized version of the General experience, tailored to a specific niche.

It's uncertain whether the two upcoming features will be part of the app or if they will constitute a separate purchase (most likely).  Regardless, Sherpa is already mighty impressive, even in its present form, and offers a very useful way to spend a few bucks.

If you've been looking for a non-subscription GPS software for the iPhone, look no further than the recently-released MobileNavigator from Navigon, which they're currently offering at a $69.99 flat-rate price until August 15.  While it's not exactly cheap, that easily beats the $10 monthly charges other options are currently providing for.

Wondering what to expect from the app?  Don't get your hopes up too much, because it's largely basic.  For the most part, it performed exactly how you'd expect a turn-by-turn navigation software to, without offering much value-added services.

For instance, there's no support for real-time traffic data, so you'll still be left on your own when it comes to figuring out high-traffic areas.  It also doesn't vocalize street names, which, to be honest, is too basic a feature not to have on any GPS software.   While it does include a POI functionality, it doesn't integrate calling the establishment (phone numbers are not even listed), though, Navigon promises this is on hand for a future free update.

To its credit, the MobileNavigator offers a light and easy-to-use interface, exceptionally fast operation and highly-accurate directions.  A few simple amenities, like the lane assist feature, are also quite helpful.

As a whole, though, the Navigon MobileNavigator doesn't feel like a complete app.  Even with the attractive pricing, I'd rather wait for something better, especially considering that I'll still be paying for subsequent map updates.  The AT&T Navigator app, which charges $9.99 monthly without any tie-in, actually sounds more attractive at this point, with a better overall GPS experience to boot.

Via GPS Review