BYTE's BYOD Holiday Gift Guide

This year, get friends and family a gift they can really use: A bring-your-own-device -- BYOD -- gadget, something that makes it easier to use their favorite mobile device. They'll thank you every time they use it.

GPS App For iPhone

iPhones are great at a lot of things, but Android phones have always had superior GPS with turn-by-turn directions. Apple attempted to remedy that with Apple Maps in iOS 6 but everyone knows they laid a big egg on that one. So to get a really good experience you need a third-party GPS app for the iPhone. There are many choices out there and to help everyone out, I recently reviewed the Top 5 GPS Apps For The iPhone.

There are three different types of map apps -- maps provided via mobile broadband; maps on board; and hybrid, where a large region of data is downloaded as needed. Picking the right app depends on your navigation needs, your data plan, and how much free space you have on your device.

Cell coverage can be a funny thing. Regardless of where you live, you're likely going to bump into areas of poor or spotty service. I have a horrible sense of direction. Stories of me getting lost are legendary, and although I have an iPhone 5 with LTE coverage in Chicago, I'd prefer not to worry about my data signal dying on me when I need to get from A to B in an unknown area. I choose to use the "maps on board" type of navigation app, despite the 1.2 GB of space the app eats up on my 16-GB iPhone 5.

I like TomTom for iOS. The app has a decent interface with maps on board, and it offers turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation. It works on the iPhone or cellular iPad with their built in AGPS receivers or with the iPod Touch when it's connected to a GPS Car Kit. The latest version, which makes use of Facebook Search to help you find local points of interest, is getting mixed reviews in the iOS App Store.

-- Chris Spera