The Daily App: Raw GPS For iPhone

The iPhone comes pre-loaded with its own mapping and GPS application, and there are several other GPS apps available in Apple’s iTunes App Store. But Raw GPS for iPhone is a great app that will record as much data about any travel you do as you could want, neatly, graphically and with numbers.

A 99-cent download, Raw GPS ties into the iPhone’s GPS antenna and Google Maps to provide a slick trip tracker. Once you hit the “Start” button, it will record your location, velocity, altitude, average speed, distance and time traveled.

It also plots your location on a Google Maps satellite image, will present you with a map of the route you took to your present location and will allow you to export all of the data so you can integrate it with PC-based applications.

One caveat: During the 25 minutes that we road-tested Raw GPS, without plugging it into an iPhone automobile charger, it burned about one-third of the phone’s battery life. If you use this app, it would be advised that you have it plugged in to a power source to make sure the iPhone doesn’t die before you reach your destination. Otherwise, Raw GPS is a great app to take with you on the road.