Rare is the mobile device these days that does not come with GPS connectivity, allowing you to pinpoint your location. Accompanying this, inevitably, are a set of maps that let you not only find out where you are but also contain information such as interesting and important places in the vicinity, navigation directions and so on. If the maps on your device turn out to be less than satisfactory (like what happened on Apple’s new set of maps for the iPhone and iPad), you can explore alternatives. Most of the best map software costs a pretty penny, but there are also a number of free ones around for your phone and/or tablet that can deliver a fair bit of directional delight. Here are six that we think are the best of the lot.

MapQuest
In terms of sheer amount of traffic displayed by a single map application, it is tough to better AOL’s MapQuest. It works briskly, and lets you not just find your way around town (with full voice navigation and voice input) but also serves up details of cafes, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls and a host of other locations. It also claims to give traffic information but we found that a bit sketchy. In a very neat touch, you actually can just press down on a place in the map to get directions to it from your current location — very handy when the place you wish is not marked by name on the map but you know its general location in geographical terms. You also have a satellite view, a night view and the option to directly inform developers of any bugs that may pop up while using it. We just wish it had an offline mode as using it all the time can run up data charges, and that
it understood Indian accents a tad better.
Available from: Google Play
Works with: Android