Trapster: free iPhone GPS app is good value, just don’t ask it for directions

One of the hottest verticals in iPhone apps in the last 6 months has been GPS applications, but most share a similar trait: they’re not free and in the case of some, they’re highly expensive.

Eventually though someone had to come out with a free GPS application, and Trapster was released in the iTunes App store earlier this year. As the name suggests, Trapster is primarily focused on identifying speed traps and similar urban hazards such as red light cameras and fixed speed cameras. The data in Trapster comes from a combination of publicly available data and user generated contributions, with users encouraged to submit speed traps when they see them.

As a trap detector, Trapster works a treat. The application offers a verbal warning as you approach a trap, so you can adjust your driving to suit. The app also uses a ranking algorithm to rank the quality of user contributions, so although in theory you could feed it false data, others are able to mark your contributions as being incorrect so you’re unable to game the system too much.

The other positive with Trapster is how extensive its database is; unlike a typical GPS app, Trapster offers coverage across multiple countries, so you can use it in United States as well as Europe or Australia (presuming you’ve got data access for your phone as you’re traveling.)

If you’re looking for an iPhone application that warns you of traps, I can’t recommend Trapster enough. If you’re looking for a full featured and accurate GPS, you might want to look elsewhere. I put Trapster to the test Sunday in a 45 minute drive to a semi-rural location. Trapster offers (like any GPS) the ability to map your destination, and it also offers turn by turn instructions (which is a huge positive), but that’s where the good stuff ends. Despite overlaying data on a Google Map, Trapster doesn’t tap into Google for directions or location data. Unlike a typical GPS it also doesn’t offer alternative choices when you don’t get the address 100% right either.

My first experience was pure frustration as I was simply unable to plot where I wanted to go because Trapster didn’t recognize the location I was entering. Flipping back into Google Maps I bought up the exact address (without place name) and punched it in. Then things got worse. The app suggested I go way out of my way to get to where I was going…as in a route that made absolutely zero sense. I knew roughly the way to go, so I drove off expecting it to re-route as I went along, but it didn’t do that either. The only way to get route information from that point was to re-enter the destination details…but even then, it was still offering bizarre recommendations. Having finally gotten onto some country roads, Trapster took us to the wrong address…by about 5 kms as the bird flies, and no where near via road where we wanted to go. In the end, it was back to Google Maps to get to where we wanted to go.

For a free app, it’s probably not fair to complain too much about Trapster’s failure in route mapping, but likewise offering a feature so endemically bad does tarnish slightly the love I feel for it. I’ll switch back to my old fashioned GPS next trip, and leave Trapster on to avoid having to contribute further to Government coffers.