Footpath -- usually $1 but at time of review free on the App Store -- is a route map app for walkers and runners that does one thing very well. We would like it to do just a little more for the ambulatory, but it's one of those apps you'll play with just to see how it works.
What it does is present you first with a satellite view of an area. By default, it's where you are, but you can specify anywhere. We tried it on tourist spots we fully intend to go to one day, we tried it around our homes, we tried it randomly while waiting for people in the middle of nowhere.
Wherever you are, or wherever you tell Footpath you want to be, tap its Draw button and then with your finger draw a line of roughly where you fancy walking (We don't run. We have style. Also, a high BMI). Draw the very crudest line or the very roughest circle and as soon as you lift your finger, Footpath converts it to follow the route of roads and streets.
So when you were you saying you want to walk around that park there, and this gas station here, becomes a specific route for you to follow. It is rather fascinating. We're used to seeing graphics software do something similar as it snaps your lines to grids or Bezier curves, but here Footpath finds the closest walkable route, and it snaps to the roads.
It has some nice touches, too, as if you draw a line instead of a circle it will offer to loop back to the start for you. When it's conjured up this route, you can see the distance it will take. Tap a button and you'll usually see the elevation too -- though did have the occasional error message on that.
You do have options to save your routes (in the now-free version you're limited to five), and there's an in-app purchase for $4 that removes the limit. The purchase also adds abilities to export and import your routes.
We found that it was easiest to draw out routes if the whole area were on our screen at once: we couldn't seem to scroll very effectively. You can zoom out, but with a broader area it was hard to draw even an approximately accurate route.
Then, we did wonder what to do next. It would be great if the app could translate its route into a list of walking instructions, or tie in to a walking app that could tell us when to turn. All we could really do was keep it open as we walked around, watching to see that we stayed on the route.
Footpath -- full name Footpath Route Planner: Running/Cycling/Hiking Maps -- requires iOS 7.0 or later, and
is at time of writing free in the App Store. Its regular price is $1, and the optional in-app purchase adding extra features is $4.
Who is Footpath for:
Anyone wanting to walk in unfamiliar areas, or looking for specific distances and elevations in their exercise, the mad fools.
Who is Footpath not for:
This isn't for you if you like to measure your progress as you hike up mountains. Even saying that makes us feel faint, and need tea.
-- William Gallagher (
@WGallagher)
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