[ FIRST LOOK ] Schmap Puts the City in Your Pocket

[Kyle Matthews]

The guys over at Schmap sent us a tip about their upcoming iPhone web app, schmap.com. Set to go live on Monday, May 12 (ModMyI readers can get an exclusive sneak peek at it by entering access code 724627 from their iPhone site), Schmap is a well-made cross between the Google Maps app on your iPhone, and CitySearch.

Open Safari on your iPhone and browse to their page, and choose your city. Once there, you can search through a huge list of different establishments in the town - including city info, attractions, bars, clubs, coffee houses, shopping, and restaurants. There are sub categories within each category.



The real cool thing, however, with this app, is how well it integrates with both the iPhone and Google Maps. Once you choose a place, Schmap shows you a map of that establishment, as well as their contact info.

In their words, Schmap "encompasses our popular City Guides, a Local Search service and a unique feature that auto generates maps when the iPhone is turned sideways."

Also from Schmap,

Please note:
i) Some functions in this Pre Launch Preview - such as 'Local Search' - have yet to be enabled.
ii) Access code will not be required from Monday, May 12 (public beta launch).

[jarronv]

cool yes first replie

[patrickj]

This looks quite good. Lot of nice features ...

[DoerrFan]

Web App?!
Still awesome though.

[t3abags]

schmap.com/iphone is not the correct site to load the web app from the iphone or itouch use www.schmap.com on your iphone or itouch..

[Kyle Matthews]

Noted.

[billchase2]

pretty cool! totally could have used this when in vegas a couple weeks ago! oh well, next time for sure!

[KelvinalF]

looks sexy lol

[kamy]

Looks very interesting :]

[Squid7085]

So is it basically a more organized google? It sounds interesting, but the WebApp aspect of it is fishy to me.

[Cherrysoda_zx]

i don't think i've seen a web-app that looks so native...

[krusher]

awesome. Why a web app but?? Why not a full fledged application??? And why dont apple get such ideas?? Are they always on mercy of others like xerox??

[foureight84]

awesome. Why a web app but?? Why not a full fledged application??? And why dont apple get such ideas?? Are they always on mercy of others like xerox??

i think it's because the constant updates would require the user to frequently download new data. that would probably interfere with the experience. by going the webapp route, any update will be server side and the client will not have to stay on top of the latest version.

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

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13th reply. Cool.

[flybopr]

tried it and it works great, can't wait to use it tonight.thanks

[nadiasortiz]

its pretty cool, although they dont have all cities listed yet its a great app when ure out visiting somewhere. good job!!

[.:MirrorminD:.]

very cool integration

[AotW]

Looking gooood!

[Kaloyan]

Thats awesome

[02589]

pretty cool! totally could have used this when in vegas a couple weeks ago! oh well, next time for sure!

It's a very slick interface and looks to have a lot of potential. Has anyone tried it and checked it for accuracy in a city they are familiar with?

I live in Las Vegas and this town is in constant change. When I started looking at the details, I found the data woefully outdated. Sometimes 3 or 4 years out of date. That might be good in Middletown, Nowhere. It doesn't do a lot of good here. I don't know where their data base comes from. I haven't even looked to see if we can add our own updates or send in suggestions. I strongly discourage anyone from using this as a guide for a Vegas vacation.