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RouteBuddy is an application for Mac marketed as "iTunes for your GPS" in reflection of some interface similarities. It works with most GPS receivers to plot your live position on high-quality street maps, but can also import and export saved data to/ from some devices, applications, and online services. With full-featured and highly portable personal navigation devices increasingly affordable (e.g. TomTom, Garmin) and free tools available for direction-finding and location-sharing (e.g. Google Maps, Google Earth), you may be forgiven for wondering what gap in the market RouteBuddy aims to fill. This question set the brief for my review as I determined to assess its strengths and weakness against the tools you may use already.

Disclosure: A single user license for RouteBuddy 2.1.1–2.2 with UK & Ireland maps was provided by RouteBuddy Ltd. for the purposes of this review. Tested using a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo MacBook with 2GB RAM.

Skip to:

• Prelude
• The RouteBuddy interface in brief
• RouteBuddy and GPS device compatibility
• Have software, need map
• Tracking
• Planning
• Navigating
• Importing
• Exporting
• Sharing
• Analyzing
• Plotting
• Managing
• Finding
• Summary and conclusion

Prelude

I gave up on Route 66 (now defunct route-planning software) with the arrival of Google Maps, but still largely relied on a spiral-bound paper road atlas—until I hired a car with "sat nav". After a false start with Navman, I migrated to the more Mac-friendly TomTom platform, which led me to discover the sport of geocaching. Then it was back to Navman, and then TomTom again, by which time I had caught up with photo geotagging—and that has become something of a preoccupation. Why am I boring you with this potted history? Just to make the point that, while no expert, I've had some experience using different GPS tools in different settings which I hope will contribute to an informed and balanced review.

I had initial difficulty "getting" RouteBuddy, despite this background—perhaps because some of RouteBuddy's true power and utility took time to fully appreciate, and as a relatively young product some of its potential has yet to be fully realized. I have thus taken the approach that a typical Mac user interested in maps will already be familiar with Google Maps or Google Earth, and hence make a number of comparisons to these products. My aim is not to compare apples with oranges, but to highlight strengths and weaknesses relevant to potential RouteBuddy migrants. To mitigate the obvious attractiveness of free software I have excluded cost from the comparison tables that follow. I've also added TomTom personal navigation devices (PNDs) into the mix, given their dominant share in Europe and Mac compatibility via HOME (Garmin enjoy a similar position in North America and offer similar PND functionality). No listed application is necessarily a replacement for any other, no listed strength or weakness is absolute, and no list comprehensive.

Terminology: Your GPS position at each point in time (intervals vary) is recorded as a track point. The collection of track points recorded during a logging session is called a track log. Some devices let you manually enter exact GPS locations as a waypoint (points-of-interest are really waypoints). An ordered set of waypoints enables others to retrace your steps and is known as a route.

The RouteBuddy interface in brief

First, a quick orientation. RouteBuddy presents a single window, divided into a toolbar (icons mostly duplicating menu bar functions), sidebar (comprising Library, Store, Devices, and Places), content area (map with zoom controls, overlays, and data items), and status bar.

In the sidebar under Library, Locations roughly equates to Music in iTunes, affording access to a list of all your waypoint, track, and route items (just as iTunes lists different kinds of content). Search interrogates a database of included street addresses and selects points-of-interest (POI) by proximity, but is semi-independent of the toolbar Filter (more on that below). Navigate gives spoken turn-by-turn directions for pre-planned routes. Maps shows any licensed or unlicensed regional maps currently installed.

Store, mirroring the iTMS, allows you to shop for new licensed content (in the web-based RouteBuddy Store) or review existing application and map licenses (in Purchases).

Devices (shown only if a GPS device is detected) lists your currently connected GPS devices.

Deleting an item (waypoint, track, or route) from Places (think iTunes playlist) doesn't delete it from Locations (Music in iTunes); deleting from Locations will remove the item permanently. Likewise an item added to Locations (Music) need not appear in a particular Place (playlist).

On the whole the iTunes analogy works very well, and RouteBuddy's uncluttered interface is elegant and praise-worthy. This version adds support for 3Dconnexion navigation controllers, permitting in-car command of RouteBuddy via an iDrive-like knob, or use by disabled users as an assistive device (it won't deliver 3D terrain fly-throughs like this, as shipping RouteBuddy mapping is 2D).

RouteBuddy and GPS device compatibility

RouteBuddy supports a variety of GPS devices in either or both of two modes—live position tracking (in GPS receiver mode), or bidirectional synchronization (of tracks/ waypoints/ routes).

If your device is turned on RouteBuddy will automatically detect it and establish a data link, receiving from multiple devices simultaneously. It's just like plugging in an iPod or iPhone and having iTunes recognize it. Unlike GlobalSync or GPSUtility (see here), it doesn't need to be manually told which port any given device is connected to. Very easy, very impressive.

I had four GPS devices available for testing, with the following compatibility:

Device	Compatibility
Navman 4470	Position tracking (Bluetooth)
Holux M-241	Position tracking (Bluetooth)
GlobalSat BT-335	Position tracking (Bluetooth)
TomTom ONE 3rd Edition	Synchronization of routes; transfer of POIs (USB)

You can't rename devices. For instance, the receiver that alway connects on /dev/cu.BT-GPS-37E322-BT-GPSCOM-1 will be reported as "Unknown NMEA" every time it is detected (shown as "NMEA GPS" under Devices). This could get a little confusing if you were managing several devices:

Which NMEA device is which? The Go is actually a ONE.

Clicking on any NMEA-compatible GPS receiver will show present location and allow you to set options for tracking the device on the map, displaying and saving track logs:

Present position and tracking options

Synchronization (that is, direct download or upload) of tracks, waypoints, or routes is device-dependent. RouteBuddy was unable to download track logs from either of my data loggers—stand-alone utilities are required to extract and convert them prior to import. Direct download functionality should be expanded to include at least some "preferred" non-Garmin devices, as anything that removes interim steps streamlines the user experience. To my pleasant surprise, however, RouteBuddy could send a TomTom Itinerary (route) directly to my ONE (as confirmed using TomTom HOME):

Likewise routes downloaded via TomTom HOME and installed on my ONE could be imported into RouteBuddy, edited and sent back. Garmin devices enjoy similar compatibility. Wow!

Aside: An off-the-shelf TomTom ONE 3rd Edition doesn't include the itinerary planning functions that would allow you to load, create, and save routes. They may be there—just hidden. Itineraries can be restored, providing you still have the older NavCore v7 software (you may need to roll back).

USB-connected devices like the TomTom should be safely ejected: an iTunes-like Eject icon shown next to the device would unmount it conveniently (which you must otherwise do from the desktop or from within TomTom HOME).

There are no smartphones on the compatible devices list, yet track logging software can easily be added to several brands with built-in GPS. Just imagine if RouteBuddy produced a data logging companion application for the iPhone 3G (and maybe even the 6 million older iPhones tracking location by triangulation)... now there's a market opportunity!

Have software, need map

A limited demo (see requirements) can be downloaded (34MB .dmg) with a city map of Santa Fe in New Mexico (USA), and an imprecise world base map. Using Routebuddy outside of Santa Fe will require both an application license ($US100) and a map license (if available, typically $US50 per country). Most maps can be downloaded; the UK & Ireland map, for example, is around 650MB.

What if you haven't purchased the map for an area in which you've recorded tracks, waypoints, or routes (or there is no map available)? Don't worry—RouteBuddy will still import and plot your data on the world base map.

After registering a map RouteBuddy confused me by continuing to present the Santa Fe data: the app defaults to the last view, so until you add your own items to Locations or new Places, Santa Fe is what you'll see. There's no option to delete or disable the demo data, but you can delete the waypoints one-by-one from Locations, and thankfully Santa Fe's streets don't seem to turn up in your searches.

The base map accepts waypoints etc. falling outside licensed maps

The fact that the map data are available locally is one means by which RouteBuddy distinguishes itself from its network-dependent Google competition—great for hotel rooms. Google Maps or Google Earth may give you more maps to play with, but you have to maintain a constant Internet connection in order to use them.

The fact that your maps are offline doesn't mean that they can't go where you go. See here for a method of taking your custom RouteBuddy maps with you on your iPhone or iPod touch (and even annotating them for sharing with contacts).

The following table summarizes the essential map characteristics:

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Locally-stored data; POI layer; custom data layer	Some regional maps; single view (roads); display lag; variable street coverage (e.g. UK 100%, Ireland 45%); no topographic maps (announced, none shipping); T&C prohibit business use
Google Maps	Global maps; POI layer; custom data layer (My Maps); multiple views (road, satellite, terrain); developer API; limited user corrections	Network dependency; patchy coverage; censorship; no topographic maps; restrictive API T&C routinely violated
Google Earth	Global maps; POI layer; custom data layer (My Places); developer API	High-bandwith network dependency; single view (satellite, but with roads layer); variable resolution; censorship; no topographic maps; T&C prohibit business use
TomTom	Locally-stored data; POI layer; custom data layer (user-added POIs); limited map share corrections; T&C allow business use	Some regional maps; roads only; variable street coverage; no topographic maps; small map viewport

Now we have our map how about doing something with it? Bring on the verbs.

Tracking

RouteBuddy can perform live tracking, or work with track data recorded elsewhere that has been imported into the app.

When a GPS receiver is connected to RouteBuddy your current position (indicated by a red icon) and historical position (a breadcrumb trail of linked red dots) can optionally be overlaid on the map. As you move so does the icon—leaving a red trail in it's wake:

Your current and historical position can be tracked

Did you miss this?: The NMEA GPS Location icon moves off-screen by default when tracking. Be sure to choose Keep Visible and select your device in the Map menu to avoid having to keep adjusting the map view manually.

Notably absent is a telemetry option. There are at least two situations in which the ability to upload your current location to a tracking service on the Internet could extend RouteBuddy's utility. The first is social networking. For example, students could use a campus WiFi network to notify a loopt-like service about their current location, visible to friends who might want to find them for lunch. If you can send your location with your iPhone, why not with your MacBook—using manual waypoints, triangulation of wireless signals, or GPS if available? The second situation is progress reporting on events like cross-country treks, road trips, ocean sailing, or endurance sporting activities (see MapMyTracks for inspiration). Wouldn't it be great if the fans or folks back home could see where you were at any given time—even if you could upload a position only intermittently?

Even if your GPS receiver has no data logging mode (i.e. any device with no on-board storage) you can still save track recordings using RouteBuddy. You may also be able to add logging to existing hardware (e.g. Event_Logger for TomTom).

Whether you are performing live tracking or importing track logs recorded previously, another advantage of using RouteBuddy is automatic velocity estimation (see Analyzing below). However you obtain them, tracks are shown as a map overlay along with any waypoints you have recorded and grouped together in the same Place:

Click thumbnail to enlarge image

Historical track record as a map overlay

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Shows current position & historical position (track logging); superior device support	No telemetry
Google Maps	Shows historical position (tracks converted to KML, imported via My Maps); telemetry via API	Shows current position using Google Maps for mobile only, with limited device support
Google Earth	Shows historical position (tracks converted to KML, GPX via File > Open)	Shows current position using paid upgrade only, with limited device support; no telemetry
TomTom	Shows current position	No track logging (except via modification); no telemetry

Planning

My early attempts at diving into route planning were disastrous and frustrating. But then I used it some more (over 14 hours as we planned a detailed holiday itinerary) and came to the realisation the key was in adapting to the way RouteBuddy works, rather than trying to use it like the tools with which I was already familiar. In the end RouteBuddy's "big screen" viewport proved highly valuable in determining the geographic relationships of points-of-interest we had entered, and in re-jigging our daily routes to incorporate those along with our accommodation choices. Perhaps an introductory route planning screencast should be obligatory viewing (and added to the Help menu).

Did you miss this?: If you have POIs or existing waypoints to visit, you can drag them from another Place, Locations, or Search into a new Place, select the items and choose Map > Create Route.

Alternatively, say you want to travel between waypoints you have previously created in Glasgow and Kilchoan: from the map view use the Route tool to click on the waypoint icon for Glasgow then double-click on the icon for Kilchoan, and RouteBuddy will create a route appropriately named "Glasgow to Kilchoan". If both icons aren't visible, first Command-select them from the list of items and the map will automatically zoom to reveal them. You can of course click/ double-click with the Route tool without using pre-existing waypoints, but you'll invariably need to zoom right in to fine-tune the Start and End pins:

A finished route can look deceptively simple

Another way to plan a route is this step-by-step method:

1. Create a new Place in which to store the route (along with interim waypoints);
2. Add any pre-existing waypoints that will describe the route by dragging them from another Place, Locations, or Search +/- Filter;
3. Create any waypoints that don't already exist, adding them to the same Place;
4. Select at least your start and end waypoints (and optionally any interim waypoints) from the items within the Place list and
   1. use Map > Create Route, or
   2. use the Route tool to join up the waypoints on the map manually;
5. Use the route editor to add/ delete/ reorder waypoints or reverse direction as necessary.

That's quite involved compared with two text entry fields and a "Go" button—but arguably a lot more flexible at the same time. Perhaps offering both "simple" and "advanced" route planning modes would enable users to find their own route planning nirvana?

A few more observations on route planning:

• You might simply wish to create a route to/ from an existing waypoint in your collection, or to/ from a POI. There is no easy way to do this without multiple steps or zooming/ scrolling (right-click to "Set as Start" or "Set as Destination" might be one option);
• You might want to visit someone in your OS X Address Book, but there's no integration (Address Book variably integrates with Google Maps, however, and there are workarounds for getting contact locations into RouteBuddy);
• When planning a route it would be nice to see it on screen as well as nearby POIs (which might cause you to refine your route). Unfortunately you can see either your route or adjacent POIs, not both simultaneously;
• A Home button would enable you to quickly view your home location, and should be usable as a starting point for route planning;
• There's no option to duplicate waypoints or Places, meaning you have to export then re-import them in order to retain several iterations of a particular trip plan for comparison (dragging items to a new Place doesn't help, since any editing is reflected in every occurrence of that item);
• You can't plan return routes (e.g. day trips) by editing an existing one (waypoints can only be selected once in the route editor);
• The route proposed by RouteBuddy (directions and timings) may differ where Google Maps and TomTom more-or-less concur;
• As you change item focus the map view tends to zoom in and out automatically to the point of distraction (a scroll-wheel mouse can be used to reset the view without clicking and thus loosing focus);
• Routing oddities are easily caused when waypoints miss the road (there's no "Snap to nearest road" preference) or fall on the wrong side of a bypass, so it's best to place them at maximum zoom;
• Map redraws involved some delay (and beach balls) particularly at high zoom or when there were many items in a Place (v2.2 includes some work on this, but was not noticeably improved over v2.1.1 on my Core Duo MacBook);
• Sort order for items on a map (e.g. numbered route segments) is not sticky, so doing a Search (for example) and returning to map view will annoyingly see them re-arranged;
• Printed maps are bitmapped rather than high-quality vector illustrations;
• With refinement of route planning functions, RouteBuddy could become the premier tool for creating itineraries (and custom POIs) destined for export to TomTom/ Garmin PNDs.

RouteBuddy's current map offerings are road maps, featuring only basic topography (e.g. rivers, lakes, urban areas, parkland, etc.). They won't replace Ordnance Survey mapping and are thus unsuitable for planning walking routes.

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Large screen aids planning, add waypoints; drag interim waypoint to change route; turn-by-turn directions (printable); trip time/ distance; routing preferences; routes can be saved and exported (or edited); highly flexible	Even simple A-B routing requires too many steps; routing not well integrated with search (address or POI)
Google Maps	Large screen aids planning, find address/ businesses (e.g. "Sainsburys, Chesterfield"); add waypoints; drag to change route; turn-by-turn directions (printable); trip time/ distance; avoid highways; integration with OS X Address Book; save route as bookmark link	Address Book integration often fails
Google Earth	Large screen aids planning, find address; turn-by-turn directions (printable); trip time/ distance; fly-by "2.5D" route tour; save route to My Places; overlapping waypoints splay apart for easier selection	A-B only (no interim waypoints/ re-calculation); no routing preferences; find businesses and start location present but not accessible in Directions
TomTom	From home location; find address; add waypoints (using Itinerary planning or Travel via...); turn-by-turn directions (text); trip time/ distance; routing preferences; can save as Itinerary; avoid part of route; fly-by "2.5D" tour	Small screen makes complex routes challenging

Navigating

While not personally convinced that navigating by laptop has anything more than novelty value (and few people have a Mac mini integrated into their dashboard), I'm told North American truckers and RV drivers like mounting big screens to navigate through big scenery. As a passenger I endured warm knees to put RouteBuddy's navigation skills to the test:

Reflection & road noise made navigating by laptop awkward in our tiny car

Alternatively I could have hit Print and taken a paper map instead. If you double-click on the route you'll get access to a printable list of turn-by-turn directions. Note also you can click Reverse to navigate back to your point of origin:

Turn-by-turn directions can be printed or voiced synthetically

On the road I made several observations:

• The option to "Keep visible" means the map is refreshed to ensure the GPS location icon is always on screen;
• You'll need to hide the Dock to review route instructions, as there isn't otherwise enough screen space on a MacBook;
• Voice guidance (with a synthetic American accent) was difficult to hear over road and traffic noise using the MacBook's built-in speakers at full volume (you could however plug in speakers or output to your vehicular sound system);
• Surprisingly voice guidance was street-specific (e.g. "Continue on London Road" instead of TomTom's "Ahead, go straight on") which worked well enough in Sheffield (but pronunciation of street names in Llanberis, Caernarfon, Gwynedd might well be a different story);
• If you miss a turn RouteBuddy dynamically recalculates to bring you back on track (I hadn't expected this either).

Did you miss this?: In addition to navigating pre-existing routes you can navigate from your current GPS location to any selected waypoint, without using the Route tool. Select the destination waypoint (on the map, from a Place or Locations, or even from the Search screen) and choose Map > Navigate To... or hit Option-Command-N.

Click thumbnail to enlarge image

Directions can be ignored; RouteBuddy will recalculate

Big rigs aside, why chauffeur your MacBook around town when inexpensive PNDs are optimized for this duty? While RouteBuddy can't realistically hope to match the utility of dedicated in-car navigation devices for most drivers, it does make a compelling case as a companion product for creating, editing, and transferring routes and POIs between TomTom/ Garmin devices and your Mac. Maybe that's why they called it "RouteBuddy"?

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Street-specific voice instructions; large screen view; makes sense if you need an on-board computer anyway	Requires bulky laptop + GPS with power for both; inaudible without speakers; route calculation and recalculation slow (but improving)
Google Maps	Can be used for basic in-car navigation (e.g. print-outs or iPhone 3G) or to send instructions to car (as here)	Requires device with mobile broadband, or existing navigation system + subscription; small screen view (on mobile device); traffic information coverage limited
Google Earth		Not generally suitable for in-car navigation (although it has been done)
TomTom	Compact, full-featured incld. voice direction, rapid recalculation if deviate from planned route, map perspective adjusts to driver's view of road, volume of voice directions adjusts to speed, etc.	Some features (e.g. traffic) subscription-only; small screen view

Importing

RouteBuddy supports direct importation of the following file formats:

• KML/ KMZ (Google Earth);
• GPX (the lingua franca of track logging);
• LOC (single and multi-cache files from Geocaching.com);
• CSV (as used by Garmin devices and on sites offering POI downloads);
• ITN (TomTom itinerary);
• OV2 (TomTom points-of-interest);
• RouteBuddy Document (a legacy format).

Importing/ exporting via RouteBuddy is great for converting the most common formats and transferring them between "incompatible" devices or applications. If the data you wish to import are in an unsupported format, the chances are good that you will be able to convert them into an importable format using the veritable GPSBabel+, a free download.

Sadly absent from the list are image files containing location data in EXIF-GPS and IPTC headers: RouteBuddy has no current support for geotagged images or for geotagging them. Geotagging is about to take off on the Mac now that it is built into every iPhone, and is already supported in both Google Maps and Google Earth (both can be used to geotag, and both can display geotagged photos from Panoramio, for instance).

You can easily import the locations of geotagged photos into RouteBuddy using Norbert Dorner's GPS-Info CMM, which provides a contextual menu option to export images to KML files (these can then be imported as waypoints).

Unfortunately it appears that the KMZ (compressed KML) format is only partially supported. For example, while waypoint title and coordinates were preserved, other data and images may be lost as in the following screen capture (the Google Earth view is overlaid on RouteBuddy's rendering of the same KMZ file):

KMZ import preserves title and coordinates, not much else

Geocachers might be pleased to see that LOC files can be imported, on the off chance you want to keep a local record of visited caches or incorporate them into a touring route. This is no replacement for software like GeoNiche, so you won't be using RouteBuddy for geocaching (besides, a laptop is a bit conspicuous to muggles). A link to cache (target) details is included, making it easy to copy-and-paste these off the web.

I was able to import waypoints within a custom POI category by dragging the OV2 file directly off my TomTom (mounted via USB) and into RouteBuddy. The import wasn't perfect—phone numbers were spliced to the name. If you're not inclined to create your own, TomTom users can download POIs here, and Itineraries (routes) here:

TomTom Itineraries can be synchronized, or downloaded then imported

Any custom icons you may have associated with KML/ KMZ and OV2 files will be lost.

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Supports direct import of multiple file formats	No support for geotagged images; KMZ import destructive; no custom icons
Google Maps	Imports KML/ KMZ with geotagged image thumbnails or GeoRSS to My Maps; KML and GeoRSS overlays via API; custom icons via My Maps	Cannot edit imported content
Google Earth	Imports KML/ KMZ with geotagged image thumbnails, GPX, LOC; easy to add/ edit custom notes (via Get Info)
TomTom		Handles native formats only; POI/ waypoints cannot contain descriptive notes

Exporting

The application exports to the same file formats as listed under Importing (with the exception of RouteBuddy Documents, as produced by versions prior to 1.5).

Note that if you have a Place containing a selection of waypoints, tracks or routes, you can export just one item by selecting it (although the Save As name will erroneously be the name of the Place, not the item). Likewise, select a Place to export all contained items. Place items and those in Locations can be Command-selected for export.

When exporting to formats that support notes/ descriptions, anything you enter into RouteBuddy's Notes field is preserved on export. This includes HTML, useful since links you type into Links may not be exported depending on the format. RouteBuddy can only do so much to support the variance between different standands within its own uniform fieldset, so some experimentation may be necessary.

When exporting itineraries do bear in mind you are exporting an ordered set of waypoints—and not necessarily the actual routing between them. If you want to reproduce a routing on your PND, you may need to add otherwise redundant waypoints in RouteBuddy to effect this.

Notes may be preserved when exporting waypoints or tracks

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Supports direct export of multiple file formats	Care needs to be taken to verify duplication of itineraries for PNDs
Google Maps		Export to KML only using My Maps (other formats possible via API e.g. DigiPoint)
Google Earth		Export to KML/ KMZ only
TomTom		No export function (handles native formats only)

Sharing

You can't share actual maps (due to encrypted proprietary file formats), but you might want to share your current location or your own collection of waypoints, tracks, and routes. We've alread mentioned the lack of telemetry (see under Tracking, above), and of course you can "share" by exporting and e-mailing your data—but what about automated "live" sharing or accessing community-contributed content? After all, if we're sticking with the iTunes comparisons you can share iTunes playlists across the network—so why not Places?

Did you miss this?: Choosing Copy View from the Edit menu prepares a special URL that can be sent to fellow RouteBuddy users. Clicking on the hyperlink with launch their copy of RouteBuddy and create a new waypoint with matching zoom (see an example here).

What if you had a particular interest in a specific area (your own neighbourhood, for example)? Perhaps you have amassed a collection of local waypoints (or walking routes, etc) you'd like to share with your community? Perhaps you would like to see what local attractions others are discovering in your back yard?

A Shared section in the sidebar could include the following:

• My location (for uploading telemetry to a service like MapMyTracks);
• Google Earth (for loading My Places from a local installation of Google Earth);
• My Maps (a bookmark link to any custom Google Maps you have created or are collaborating on);
• Address Book (plotting addresses within the OS X Address Book on a RouteBuddy or Google Map);
• Photos (scanning your iPhoto Library and caching a database of image thumbnails with geodata in EXIF);
• Feeds (like RSS feeds in Mail, RouteBuddy could manage GeoRSS feeds e.g. from Flickr or KML feeds e.g. from Panoramio).

Such a facility would helpfully consolidate most (if not all) of the geodata you use into one place.

Simulation: sharing local and online geodata

At the very least waypoints on the map marking contacts in your Address Book would certainly make route planning easier, readily identifying other contacts you might call in on if they happen to be along the suggested route. RouteBuddy also needs to employ data detectors, so that when an incoming e-mail contains an address "View in RouteBuddy" is an option.

The Help menu curiously includes a Get a Geocache! link to Geocaching.com. This is merely a homepage link: it would have a lot more utility if it queried the website for caches located within the currently displayed map area (as the Geocaching Network KML does in Google Earth).

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy		No live sharing; no integration of local geodata
Google Maps	Publish placemarks via My Maps with community collaboration on shared maps; integration with OS X Address Book; GeoRSS and KML feeds allow dynamic content updates
Google Earth	Share placemarks to Google Earth Community; KML feeds allow dynamic content updates
TomTom	Community-contributed POIs/ routes can be synched via TomTom HOME

Analyzing

The ability to analyze tracks is certainly one of RouteBuddy's key strengths. As an example, I attended an Open Day at the University of Sheffield, wanting to learn the layout of the university campus and figure a route from the train station in preparation for my own attendance. As road maps don't include pedestrian routes the only way to visualize and measure the path was via a GPS track. I also added some waypoints I thought would act as navigation aids or offering useful services:

Click thumbnail to enlarge image

Pedestrian path to University from train station

In the map view we can already discern some useful information:

• As the crow flies the Octagon Centre is 1.7km from Sheffield Station (measured using RouteBuddy's on-screen ruler);
• The track distance as walked was 2.4km;
• There are 21 nearby custom POIs (sadly you cannot overlay POIs from the map database within a Place).

Double-click the track and there's more to be seen:

Click thumbnail to enlarge image

GPX track analysis in RouteBuddy

In this view we can additionally determine that:

• We managed 12.9km/h running to cross the street;
• Our average walking speed was 4.9km/h;
• The walk took us 32 minutes;
• The Octagon Centre is a 28m climb from Sheffield Station.

Note: A GPX file will often not contain actual velocity data (speed was dropped from the spec). Velocity is helpfully calculated on-the-fly by RouteBuddy when a GPX file without it is imported.

RouteBuddy respects segmentation in imported GPX track logs, so to perform the above analysis I had to open the complete track log in a text editor, extract only the 3 segments of interest, and then remove the segmentation to combine track points for overall velocity calculations. RouteBuddy could make this much easier with an option to "Combine selected tracks" into a single segment. Other Mac apps already support track editing/ splitting and track segment sub-analysis (e.g. Ascent, myTracks, TrailRunner).

What you see is what you get when looking at a track in map view, and although double-clicking the track name will reveal the underlying raw data RouteBuddy needs to take the next step and relate the data to the track graphic. On the map a track is depicted by an interconnected sequence of dots. One option would be to mouse-over a dot and see what time, distance, or altitude from point-of-origin that dot represented, perhaps in a tooltip (like street names). Alternatively, a hovering crosshair tool (like the one in xScope) could dynamically reveal measurements from point-of-origin when positioned over a track. However a relationship is visualized keen walkers could then easily share informative details such as "If you follow this route, it'll take you about 40 minutes to reach the first view point, about 3km from the car park; the last 500m are quite steep too". The potential here is truly exciting.

Some activities require measurement of performance which may vary over time. Users might click on the track to fix the position of the crosshair then double-click elsewhere on the track to set start/ end focus markers; in the detail view these markers (shown below as triangles) correspond to the same points on the graph and would permit sub-analysis of the data between them (perhaps visualized similar to xScope's Dimensions tool). For example, in the simulation below the velocity of my jogging might be measured from a pause (marked on the map via the crosshair and identified on the graph by the first triangle) to the cool-down point where I started walking (the second triangle). Here the time spent jogging and my average velocity while doing so are of considerably more interest than the total track time or overall velocity—which includes a period of walking:

Simulation: connecting map position to plotted data, plus selective measuring

For in-car use commuters could likewise determine what proportion of their journey involved sitting in slow-moving traffic or stopped at lights! In my opinion this is one area RouteBuddy needs to focus on—partly because it would build on what RouteBuddy already does well and partly because obsessing over measurements soon becomes natural once you start using the app!

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Whole-track analysis combined with high-quality mapping	Fails to relate track points on map to data graph; no track editing or segment-specific analysis; no graph scales
Google Maps		No track analysis
Google Earth		Limited track analysis (ruler only)
TomTom		No track analysis (no tracking!)

Plotting

The View menu links the area within the current map view to a corresponding view in Google Maps or Google Earth. This function is duplicated on the toolbar, except that the toolbar icon can be set via Preferences to link to an alternative online map (the menu bar link remains fixed to Google Maps). Most importantly, this gives you access to satellite imagery. If you're zoomed in using RouteBuddy when you click Online, you'll be zoomed in to the same degree in Google Earth (for example). This symmetry makes orientation a snap and I found this feature very helpful for creating waypoints where there were no nearby roads for reference:

Plotting the current view on Google Maps greatly aids waypoint placement

It's a one-way link. You cannot, for example, fine-tune a waypoint position using the satellite data in Google Earth and amend the coordinates in RouteBuddy (other than by the convoluted means of exporting to KML and re-importing).

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Supports multiple online mapping services, as well as Google Earth	One-way link (geotagging apps typically also acquire coordinates from Google Maps/ Google Earth)
Google Maps	View in Google Earth	Works only for My Maps, not search results; Google Earth plugin Windows only
Google Earth	View in Google Maps (File menu)
TomTom		Not available

Managing

RouteBuddy allows you to organize your tracks, waypoints, and routes by dragging them into Places, and to edit them by double-clicking. Think of a Place as a folder, even though the icon suggests a document.

As we've already seen the track detail view displays and graphs the raw track data. You can't unfortunately edit this (e.g. to delete aberrant data), but you can change the track Name, add Notes, and enter a URL. Notes are even spell-checked (although I encountered a display bug with pasted text) and the URL is "live" so will open a browser window—very handy for linking to an associated blog post, for example:

The OS X dictionary is integrated, so no more bad smelling

The Link field takes HTTP addresses only, however, so you can't create waypoints that link to local files (like RapidoMap does) in order to geotag video clips or reports etc. that are not hosted online.

Waypoints are easy to add with the Waypoint tool: just click once on the map, or hold down the Option key to place multiple markers. As well as the standard Name, Notes, and Link field you can manually edit the coordinates and assign an icon to replace the default red flag. Custom icons are not supported, and there are no fields for altitude, date, or time stamp for waypoints recorded by GPS devices.

The most accurate way to add waypoints is to use a GPS device with that feature (e.g. the Holux M-241). Some data loggers, such as the GlobalSat BT-335, do not support marking waypoints.

Changing the icon for a waypoint

When viewing a collection of waypoints or tracks in Google Earth you can selectively turn on or off the display of individual items. A Places list might include a number of waypoints (of different "kinds" e.g. Building, Scenic View), a track, or a route. You get "all or nothing" on the map. Admittedly this is only going to be an issue if there's lots to see in a small area, and an overabundance of wayoints prevents you from assessing the relationship of an item in question to the underlying map.

When managing a route you also have the option to add or remove waypoints, reorder waypoints, or reverse the direction of travel (see the screen capture under Routing, above).

If you've been gathering locations for a time the items in your Library will have accrued considerable value. There's no easy backup option; it's not immediately clear where these data are stored (in a .plist file). Not everyone has had a good experience with Time Machine, and I continue to use Export > Address Book Archive... and Back up iCal... to backup to Documents when migrating or rebuilding a system (iTunes has a Back up to Disk... option too). It's too easy to loose or overwrite .plist files in ~/Library/Application Support/.

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Lovely and familiar OS X interface; dictionary integration; large screen/ cut-copy-paste/ mouse control aid management operations; custom data stored as XML for future-proof interchange	No backup option; cannot limit display to a subset of items within a Place (e.g. to focus on part of a route); no custom icons; no link to local files; waypoint date, time stamp, altitude fields missing
Google Maps	Custom icons; large screen/ mouse control aid management operations; custom My Maps data exported as KML for future-proof interchange (OGC standard)	No backup option; cannot selectively display items within My Map (available via API)
Google Earth	Selective display of tracks/ waypoints on map using checkbox; custom icons; large screen/ cut-copy-paste/ mouse control aid management operations; custom My Places data exported as KML for future-proof interchange (OGC standard)	No backup option
TomTom	On-device POI & itinerary editing; selective display of waypoints by category; backup custom POIs etc. via TomTom HOME; custom POI icons; free third-party POI editors (e.g. PoiView)	Small screen/ no cut-copy-paste/ imprecise touch screen hinder management operations; HOME software slow with limited functionality

Finding

There's a Search field and a Filter field, both accessed via the toolbar. This dichotomy poses something of a problem: when should a user "search" and when should they "filter"?

Search is where you go to find a street address, postcode, or supplied POI (it oddly ignores your custom data). You can enter an address (e.g. "10 downing street, london") or just a postcode (partial or full e.g. "SW1A" or "SW1A 2AA"). Search results can be saved to a new Place or dragged to an existing one. You can also enter some business names (e.g. "Alton Towers") if they happen to be POIs, but not others (e.g. "Sainsburys, Chesterfield"). If there are no results, there's no feedback to say so.

POIs work quite differently. To search for a POI by name you have to confusingly use Find > Address, otherwise you have to first guess where it is on the map and then guess an appropriate radius. This will show all POIs in the locale (unless you choose a category); things can get quite crowded, so you'll probably want to use the Filter too!

Search is only for built-in data—your own is ignored

The included POI database from Tele Atlas seems weak (virtually useless for the Scottish Highlands) although you can of course create or import your own. According to the UK & Ireland map information there should be over 102,000 POIs, although I counted "only" 69,561 (OK, that was the item count within a 1000km radius emanating from the Midlands). Quality would be preferable to quantity in any case.

The Filter tool can be used to quickly refine POI search results (e.g. just "closes" within a postcode), but it also "searches" through your custom data—with the proviso that you're already looking at the right Place. For this reason it works best if used from Locations, where is has access to your entire collection.

The Filter can pick out words you entered as item Notes

Sometimes you have to figure out how to use both Search and Filter to tease out a result. For example, searching for "University of Sheffield" as an address returns no results. If you then find and zoom in on Sheffield and change to search POIs within, say, 10km, you get too many results. At this point type "university" into the filter and we're finally there—a POI named "University of Sheffield". Excuse me, but that's just daft. I want to be able to enter "University of Sheffield" into a field and get an immediate result, as I can with Google Maps—a slow multi-step procedure is not convivial to regular use.

The Places area allows you to manually organize waypoints etc. into "playlists", but there are no smart (play)lists as found in iTunes and several other Mac applications. Smart lists would be one way to store and perform oft-repeated searches (for now you can drag results into a new Place), or contrive complex ones using multiple filters (e.g. "NOT Ireland"). They could also be used to identify "orphaned" waypoints (those not in a Place) to aid deletion from Locations.

I hope the developers will see fit to re-examine how Search and Filter work, and perhaps consider integrating them. If RouteBuddy were able to acquire placemark coordinates from Google Maps (as mentioned under Plotting, above) it could also add an "Include results from Google Maps" checkbox to help overcome the limitations of RouteBuddy's self-contained and static database.

Application	Strengths	Weaknesses
RouteBuddy	Filter finds text within custom notes	Search/ Filter split has usability issues; no smart lists; past searches not remembered; can't layer search results over current map view (unless you import them all to the same Place)
Google Maps	A powerful and intuitive search field and pull-down filter combo; search for business name/ address, postcode, street address; My Saved Locations saves past searches; filter results by location, businesses, user-created content, mapped web pages, real estate
Google Earth	Search for businesses name/ address, postcode, street address; saves most recent search history; filter display of POIs & other layers by category
TomTom	Find city centre, street address, postcode, crossing or intersection, POI by location/ name/ category

Summary and conclusion

RouteBuddy isn't Route 66 remade, it isn't a free Google-derived mashup, and nor is it necessarily an alternative to your in-car PND. Whilst clearly overlapping with such products in some areas, this application is more unlike them than it is like them. If you had to pigeonhole RouteBuddy, you might call it a geospatial asset manager—mapping and tracking different types of location-centric activities you plan to do, are doing, or have done. Despite embracing diversity it presents a uniform and familiar iTunes-like interface, crafted with meticulous attention to detail, and underpinned by clever coding that permits communication with a variety of GPS devices and a good range of data formats to deliver outstanding compatibility. The range of compatible mapping is less stellar (2D roads only, with topographic maps promised soon), although offline map storage offers competitive advantages.

When paired with a GPS receiver RouteBuddy can track your position, but the lack of telemetry means you can't be tracked by others or utilize location-aware services. It can directly record track logs, or handle historical data recorded elsewhere.

Route planning is something of a double-edged sword for RouteBuddy: highly flexible on the one hand, but too complex for the simplest of routes on the other. This does not however detract from it's talent as a large screen itinerary/ POI wunderkind when "buddied" with compatible PNDs. Standalone use for navigating entails overcoming the obstacles of space, power supply, reflections, audibility, and mispronunciation of voice directions—hence is best suited to installation in larger vehicles needing on-board computers.

The interchange of geodata formats is a RouteBuddy strength, but still needs refinement. There is no support for EXIF-GPS or IPTC metadata in images, and KMZ/ TomTom POI import is partial. Be aware that exported itineraries can result in completely different routing on PNDs (a side effect of changing map data, not a RouteBuddy failing). Integration and sharing of geodata to and from other applications, online services, and the user community is an area for development.

Where most software simply displays tracks, RouteBuddy provides a reasonable level of track analysis—but leaves you wanting more. With the advent of topographic maps the need to combine/ spit track logs, delete aberrant track points, relate the map view to the data graph, and perform sub-analyses on track segments will become more pressing.

RouteBuddy provides access to corresponding views in Google Earth and several online maps, which is especially helpful in positioning extra-urban waypoints—and would be even more so if it weren't a one-way interaction.

The benefit of managing your library of geo-activity within a uniform interface on a large screen can't be overstated, although some enhancements to the editor are indicated. Your valuable data are protected by future-proof XML—if you can avoid accidentally deleting them (although it does effectively backup the track logs, POI and itineraries from your PND). Searches are hampered by the separation of Search and Filter, and the weak POI database.

While I hope my criticisms are constructive, they do need putting into context. RouteBuddy is more than the sum of its parts, yet still has plenty of potential to fulfil. That does not mean it lacks usability now, because as a package it delivers a lot already. It does address several gaps in the market in its present incarnation, and the foundations for exciting evolutionary leaps have been laid. Cost will be perceived as an issue for some, but with RouteBuddy you're not getting a one-trick pony—several shareware alternatives may cover part of the same ground, but you might end up paying more overall at the cost of loosing integration.

In competing with inexpensive or free tools and services, RouteBuddy has two choices: it can either focus on something nobody else has gotten quite right and be best-of-breed, or it can aspire to be a Jack of all trades, with average ability outshone by one-stop utility and integration. If I have one fear for RouteBuddy, however, it's the developers ability to keep on top of a broad and deep user wish list, itself reflecting the divergent geo-activities that RouteBuddy supports, and the variety of ways people use their data and interact with their software. Accommodating all this is a tall order—although I'm personally convinced that the team behind RouteBuddy are earnest in their efforts to try and do it right. What's more, given what they have achieved to date, it's clear they have the talent to pull it off. As for the resources... doing things right takes time for a small company (e.g. topographic maps were requested two years ago), but feature-hungry consumers are fickle and do not have the patience of perfectionist developers. There are a number of areas that merit attention soon, or potential customers may look elsewhere.

Mac users interested in diverse geo-related pursuits have a capable and beautifully-crafted tool to employ, and we can expect subsequent versions to both do more and continue to refine what RouteBuddy does already. The version history demonstrates that they do respond to user feedback—so download the demo and provide some! This is a product with a bright future, and you can start getting your fix today.

Update 12.07.09: There's now an official RouteBuddy app for iPhone, called RouteBuddy Atlas.