Maps make you one of the locals

Ever since Apple's massive mistake by introducing its own maps instead of Google's, the world has understood the problems with building good maps.

From being a prosaic and uninspiring technology - albeit an utterly important underpinning to our ever increasingly digital lives - mapping is experiencing something of a boom. This is partly because we're always moving and because we now have fancy smartphones that can tell us exactly what street we're walking down.

And, because we're all hungry consumers, what specials are nearby.

We are in the world of location-based services, which is just a fancy way of saying your phone knows where you are and can help you find lunch, directions, a sale at a store and, if you're a tourist, where to have your picture taken.

GPSes have evolved themselves from just giving directions to all of these added-value items, causing the industry to call them personal navigation devices. The most recent addition to this functionality has been live traffic data, letting you know if there are delays on the route you've taken.

Standalone GPSes are under threat because of the prevalence of smartphones, on which navigation apps can perform a number of other useful things.

Telmap, a free download for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, scoops the typical GPS because it gets an inside track from the locals in the city.

"Telmap has a local approach, bringing users the best turn-by-turn navigation with voice instructions plus traffic, speed camera alerts and rich local content, TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet," said Charles Talbot, whose company, Wand Africa, is the local agent for the app's location-based advertising.

"Unlike global one-fits-all giants, Telmap takes a truly local approach and works with local providers to bring the most relevant and up-to-date info to our users. In South Africa we've teamed with Eat Out to bring the entire guide to our users' fingertips while they are out and about."

Another recently launched free navigation app is Waze, which is a crowd-sourced app that relies on its users to contribute mapping data.

"Waze is the world's first community-based traffic and navigation app for smartphones.

"The app allows drivers to outsmart and beat the traffic together by sharing the information the app passively transmits about a user's speed and location to identify where traffic is moving slowly," said Charles Tasker, the managing director of Waze's local partner MiX Telematics.

You'll never be lost, or hungry, again.