FIELD TRIP for Android – Making Navigation An...

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FIELD TRIP for Android – Making Navigation An Intimate Experience

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Since their inception, Google’s name has been synonymous with technological innovation and ingenuity. So when Google developers themselves invest their time in the development of an Android app, expectations are bound to be sky high. Field Tripis another app that is the brainchild of Google, and it certainly lives up to the hype. Field Trip is a virtual pocket guide to fascinating places all around you, such as monuments, museums, restaurants, malls, etc. Utilizing data sourced from various web publications such as Zagat, Songkick, Thrillist, Forkful, Inhabitat, etc., Field Trip compiles a list of recommendations of places for you to visit and interesting facts associated with them.

Once you have downloaded and installed this free app from Google Play Store, you will be introduced to the sleek brown-shaded app interface which is remarkably simple to navigate through. To get started, you first need to choose your areas of interest from seven diverse options:

· Architecture

· Lifestyle

· Historic Places & Events

· Offers & Deals

· Outdoor Art

· Food

· Drinks & Fun

As soon as Field Trip identifies a recommendation relevant to your interest and location, it is presented in the form of a pop-card on your Android screen. There are 2 distinct modes for using the Field Trip app.

With Map-based Recommendations

In this mode, your set of recommendations will be shown as a list or on a map. For those who may find their map overpopulated with recommendations, they can use the more subtle “Nearby and Recent” lists.

With Local Notifications

Field Trip can also be used with notifications. Once you turn this mode on, Field Trip will run in the background of your Android device and automatically search your local area for any interesting recommendations in your vicinity. Curious travelers you can adjust the level of notifications to “Explore” and watch dozens and dozens of recommendations come in. You can also set the level to “Feeling Lucky” or simply disable notifications when you don’t need them.

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Final Analysis

You will now be able to explore a plethora of interesting places and learn fun facts about outdoor art, concerts, historical structures, restaurants, etc. near you. However, you will also occasionally have to sieve through several irrelevant and outdated listings to find relevant information. Luckily, Field Trip allows you to optimize its recommendations by voting up or down the recommendation cards and by configuring the publications used to source the information content. Despite a couple of hiccups, this app runs smoothly on all Android devices running an OS of 2.3 or above, and a good 3G connection. It is a highly recommended app for tourists and curious users who love to make navigation a more intimate experience.

PROS CONS
Discover new information about places around you. No worldwide support for the app.
Great variety of content partners to choose from for sourcing info. Heavy demands on your device’s battery life.
Customization for receiving notifications about recommended places in your vicinity. Sources and interests cannot be customized further beyond the default options provided by the app.
Enjoy the map navigation efficiency of Google Maps.
Excellent text-to-speech service to read aloud recommendation cards as you discover them.

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