It’s a new series on Geeks, one that makes us wade through all the gunk and garbage that makes itself onto the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store in our bid to search for apps that set themselves apart from the rest. We’re Jason and the Argonauts and we’re looking for the Golden Fleece.
And what’s not a better way to inaugurate this series than a look at an app born here in the sands of Dubai, excuse me, I mean: born here in the urban jungle that is Dubai.
Anyone who lives here will give testimony to the difficulty of navigating the streets of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai in particular, not because the roads were imported from Ancient Rome (the Romans by the way were fantastic road designers) but due to the fact that they’re constantly changing. Much like a snake, the roads of Dubai constantly twist and turn as they seemingly by themselves work their way around hundreds of the construction sites or road works that pop up by the day.
Enter the RTA Smart Drive, an app by the Roads and Transport Authority. To be honest, I was skeptical when downloading it a while ago. I expected a clone of Google Maps localised to Dubai, providing the same base features such as live traffic updates but that would be it. Though it does feature live traffic updates, the first inclination that I was wrong was the size of the app. A couple of seconds after downloading the 36 MB app, I was ready to install it. This included a few seconds of decompressing what I’d just downloaded with the end result being an app that clocked in at over 70MB in size, quite hefty for a navigation app that’s localised. There’s a reason for this. You can use Smart Drive without an internet connection. That’s right, you don’t need to subscribe to a data plan just for the purposes of navigation; all Smart Drive needs is GPS – hence the large app size. You’ve basically downloaded a highly detailed map to your phone.
Booting it up shows an interface similar to Google Maps but with a few noticeable additions. For instance, far more landmarks are shown, from Mosques to Metro Stations as well as parking lots and Salik toll gates. Even in an age of electronic communication, your local post office comes up on Smart Drive.
That’s not all, Smart Drive integrates the ability to report traffic incidents, ranging from traffic jams to areas of low visibility, ensuring quick responses from law enforcement and paramedics. The navigation itself is spectacularly detailed and accurate. After years of using Google Maps and hearing the altogether unhelpful “slide left NOW!”, I was staring open mouthed at my phone (luckily I wasn’t driving) when the dulcet tones of a recorded voice gave me instructions to use the two lanes on the far right to get onto the exit. I confess, if it weren’t for the fact that Smart Drive was using my phone’s speakers we would have missed the exit since I was still staring at it. Accuracy to-the-lane isn’t the only thing Smart Drive has to offer. When selecting a destination, it gives you up to 3 routes from you to choose from, all varying in length of journey and time. You can even set your Smart Drive to never use routes with tolls and to only use paved roads. Another interesting – if slightly bugged feature – is the pedestrian route it sometimes offers. I assume this is for short distances but Smart Drive once gave me the option to walk to Al Qusais from Dubai Mall.
If you commute to work you can store your favourite routes in Smart Drive. I haven’t tested the feature out, but I assume that you’ll be notified if there are any incidents on said route. And if you’re one of the insufferable people on my Facebook timeline who insist on sharing where you are and what you’re doing every single minute, Smart Drive lets you share your favourite places and routes to WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.
The only downside to Smart Drive that I was saddened about was the fact that you can only search for POIs that are already in the app’s library. Despite the constant updates the app receives, it simply cannot keep up with the introduction of new stores or other places of interest. As a result I had to often search for my destination using Google, and then manually place a marker in Smart Drive so I could utilise it’s accurate features. Integration with Google’s search function, though nigh impossible, would greatly help. Other incidences of weak signals have also been reported by users, but I’m confident that these kicks in the system will be sorted out soon.
Despite the bugs, in the end, Smart Drive is a must have for your smartphone, especially when you commute frequently using your own car.
You can download it from the Play Store here and from the Apple App Store here.
What are your thoughts on RTA Smart Drive? Do you know of any other great apps we can review? Comment below to let us know about your thoughts!
