NDrive USA is an app I’ve had on my review list for a couple of weeks now.  I’ve used in in an extensive and exhaustive house hunt, and it was the very use of the app (and reason for it) that was causing the delay in getting the review done.  I was feeling guilty for not getting the review out sooner, but then saw something today that made me think the timing could not be better.

NDrive is a HUGE app.  Weighing in at 1.78 GB and a normal price of $32.99, the app does everything a GPS app would be expected to do.  But the app just made my Must-Have list.  Why?  Because the first 1 million downloads will get it at $2.99.  You can read more about the special promotion here.  If you don’t have  a GPS in your vehicle and don’t already have a turn-by-turn GPS app for your iPhone, you’d be crazy to let this steal of a deal pass you by.

Now for the review.  NDrive did a great job in locating places I was going to check out in my house hunt.  It is a very complete and complex app.  Being unfamiliar with these types of apps, there was a bit of a learning curve in using it.  The thing that threw me off initially was that I could not get it to take/find addresses.  I was trying to stick in an address in the same format as I would write it out.  But the iPhone app wants your address in the same way that the Post Office looks at it…from the largest geographical area down to the smallest.  You start out giving it the city, then the street, then the number.  Once this concept clicked,  was quickly using the app to get from place to place.

The only true issue I had with NDrive was hardware related rather than software.  Obviously, the iPhone is going to pick up better GPS accuracy in the open.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a convertible and medical issues require me to recline as much as possible.  This led to inaccurate locations and directions unless I put the iPhone near the windows.  When I say “inaccurate”, I don’t mean that it was telling me to turn left when it should have been a right.  It would tell me to “turn left ahead” and I’d already be at the intersection.  So, for best results, I’d suggest using this app with one of those windshield mounts like what a typical GPS would have.  If you put them both in the same location with the same access to the sky, NDrive provided every bit as good of a navigation experience as the built-in system in a much more expensive Lincoln Navigator that I was in on one of my “testing” days.

In case you need any further incentive to get such a comprehensive app for such an incredibly low price, check out the app features:

- Fully functional SIGNPOSTS AND INFOLANES
- Embedded store-inside-store to allow an easy download of extra features to your Application
- Highly effective search engine and fast calculations derives benefits such as fast and easy calculation of alternative routes and re-routing
- Car, Pedestrian and Adventure Mode
-ADVENTURE MODE will guide the way while trekking, bike riding, off-road in cars, on boats and even on light aircrafts
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- MULTI-TOUCH TECHNOLOGY with gesture recognition for menu, zooming, tilting and panning will enable you to control and display maps easily
- POIs (Points of Interest) and favorites with phone/fax number, description, email and website address
- UNLIMITED NUMBER of customizable favorite’s entries and user defined categories
- Search and navigate to city centers, street names and numbers, crossings, postal codes, favorite places, recent locations, coordinates and nearby POIs
- Advanced itinerary with multiple waypoints which enhanced planning
- Keyboard available in either ABC or QWERTY mode
- Integration with iPod, offers listening to music while driving
- Automatic Day/Night mode
- Sound and visual alerts for desired and fixed maximum speed limits
- Automatic Portrait/Landscape display mode
- Free access to the NDRIVE COMMUNITY where sharing POIs with other users anywhere in the world is possible
- Search Online from your NDrive application using search engines like GoogleTM to find additional POIs in any location
- Actual and complete map of the USA (March 2010)
- OVER 1,500,000 POIs representing restaurants, gas stations, tourism attractions, hotels, landmarks, etc.
- Precise voice instruction and full interface language support for: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch and Portuguese.