Great for the casual enthusiast  
By: Cartooning Dude - Feb 9, 2009
Version: 1.2.1
I downloaded (the also good) Star Walk before finding this app, and I feel the extra price of Star Maps is worth it, especially considering the new features promised for Summer 2009 (particularly the time slider; see official website for more info).
Speed issues mentioned in other reviews had me wary, but it's fine as of the 1.2.1 release. Could be slightly faster though. Best thing about this star map is the customization you have for the presentation: you can turn on/off just about everything in the interface and tweak it to your liking. Star Walk is visually very cool, but not being able to get down to the basics just to identify basic night sky features was annoying. This is where Star Maps shines.
The price — and the fact that I just bought Star Walk — had me hesitant, but the purchase was well worth it once I started using it. I pretty much just wanted something for basic curiosity, naked-eye identification, and Star Maps functions great for this and can also go deeper for more detailed info for those that want it. Star Walk gets the "ooh/ahh" factor, but Star Maps gets the solid functionality down pat. I can only imagine this will get even better with future releases as one can tell a lot of care is going into this product already.
Fave features: accelerometer function will tilt the map when you hold it over your head (cool). Night vision red tint, adjusting the brightness of the sky & stars independently (and goes from day to night). Clicking on stars/constellations highlights them, w/info popups.
Review date: 2009-02; version 1.2.1

Fantastic App. The sky in your hand  
By: Varpiter - May 15, 2009
Version: 1.3
Update - I don't care what you've read here before. This app is well worth the money. If you are an astronomer then you will enjoy this. I've used it several times in the city and camping. Never a crash never hit any problems. And now the update I just got made even better. Ive tested this with Starry Sky and other software and it has been accurate. Even compared it to the Griffith Observatory sky info and it has proven accurate there. This app is great!! I read a lot of the reviews that were entered for this app and at first I was skeptical but I gambled the $12 it costs and let me tell you I am very surprised and delighted at the app's operation. It's pleasing to look at as it is artistically beautiful and the information it has in it is excellent. As for the bad reviewers out there, you have to go further than you did. I found nothing missing in this app. What people may not realize is that the app gives you choices of visible objects or all objects also it uses common and international names for constellations so if you want Canis Major you will find it as Big Dog (name style is selectable). The app is very well done and very useful.
I'm an ametuer astronomer and I found this to be well worth the price. I especially like the meteor shower location finder. My iPod Touch with Starmap will be with me on all future hiking and camping trips as well as explorations I do in my backyard in the city. My laptop was getting a bit cumbersome.

Awesome program!  
By: Skyrunner123456 - Jun 23, 2009
Version: 1.3
This program has just about everything you need to statgaze at night. I do like the feature where you can view what's currently available from night to night. Though it would be even better if some info was added for upcoming lunar and solar eclipses. Also, it would be nice to have some history info added to each constellation, star, galaxy, and nebula. But so far I'd say this was well worth the money. Definitely recommend buying. There's still more potential in future updates for the program.

A nice all around update to an already excellent program  
By: Ragashingo - May 16, 2009
Version: 1.3
Starmap is already a fantastic pocket astronomy program and version 1.3 makes it even better. My favorite new feature, by far, is the "Tonight" screen that makes it dead easy to see when certain planets, stars, and other objects will be viewable in the night sky. Another welcome feature is the update menu system that does away with the interesting but ultimately overly complicated rotating menu bar. In its place is a much nicer "More" button that brings up an icon based display of all the program's main menus. These new features combined with the rest of Starmap's already impressive capabilities make it a very good choice for exploring the sky with your iPhone.

Great app for me  
By: Michael the Monk - May 26, 2009
Version: 1.3
Thanks Starmap for producing such a good product! I purchased the first version and was pleased that you seemed to read my mind about what additional functions I would like to see. For instance:
1) What to see tonight and when. Great addition!
2) Ability to change colors of the items on the screen for easier reading.
3) Info on moon phases and greater information on the solar system.
4) Easier navigation.
The only other update that I would request is that you allow, on the new selecting navigation screen, the ability to move icons to create a personal navigation bar at the bottom of the view screen. The small icons could be moved around the same way as the icons on main screen of the iPod/Phone are move -- hold the icon down until the wiggle and then move.
Thanks!

Fantastic program  
By: justbarak - Jun 25, 2009
Version: 1.3
I've always been interested in astonomy but never made the leap till I found this app and took it on a trip to Northern Kenya. At 9000 ft in the desert I was blown away by the stars and this app was amazing in learning about what I was looking at. Came back and joined a local astronomical society and now I have veteran star gazers putting down their star books and looking over my shoulder to find objects they want to point their telescopes at. Great interface and features. Two requests. Artistic overlays of the constelations would be great. Also, a toggle for the 3Gs to us the compass to navigate with.

Great piece of work!  
By: hitheringwaters - May 23, 2009
Version: 1.3
I am so excited by the improvements in this latest release! The "tonight" function shows the sky for the evening in a format that I learned with astronomy mags. The movement of the sky is much smoother. Love the Time Slider!In answer to some of the complaints you will see... Constellation names can be toggled between common and international names. You're not going to find Libra if you've got constellations set to "common." Memory usage greatly improved upon, no crashes. Sky elements can be shown or hidden. Menu bar greatly improved, took me a few days with the old one before I figured out that it rotated. And last, but not least, "Whom are you kidding?!". Seriously?! "Whom"? Where did you go to school? I want that teacher's license.

I love this.  
By: VA Terp - Aug 1, 2009
Version: 1.4
I'm not an astronomy buff by any means but this program is easily my favorite iphone app. It really shows off the amazing capabilities of the 3GS. It's both comprehensive and easy to use. Simply point it at the sky and it identifies what you're looking at. If you want to find a star, planet, constellation, etc., just search for it and it will display an arrow showing you where to look. Point at an object and get info on it. Very nice help system as well. For the price, it's a steal.

The Best  
By: Bozocity - Aug 1, 2009
Version: 1.4
I have collected most of the iPhone's astronomy apps and can vouch that this is the best one for actually finding objects in the night sky. The image on the screen is especially clear, and the simple controls for light pollution and magnitude of visible stars truly allow the display to match what you see. Well conceived and getting even better with each upgrade. It is relatively expensive but the best value, worth every cent in comparison with other offerings.

Awesome  
By: Egyptian goddess - Jul 20, 2009
Version: 1.4
I purchased this app quite a while ago. Used it some, but also played with other astronomy apps. Thought this one was ok, maybe a little better than the others. But now with the compass feature, this app is AWESOME (shouting intended). I have very light polluted conditions. Impossible to starhop. Have Celestron SkyScout, but it is sort of big to find object and then point scope or binoculars. Great job and thanks. Compass addition makes a big difference. If you want to observe the night sky, get this app.

Multiple star charts & desktop computer in your pocket  
By: hummingcrow - Jul 11, 2008
Version: 1.0
I’ve got star charts for the Northern and Southern hemispheres, but they are peanuts to Starmap. One, they don’t fit in my pocket. Two, they’ve got to be swiveled around in multiple places to the correct time, and if you drop one, you’ve got to do it all over again in the dark. Three, they don’t illuminate, so you also have to carry a flashlight. I’ve also got a computer application that does what Starmap does, but again, it’s a bit difficult to fit my Windows XP tower (no Mac version!), monitor, keyboard, mouse, and power source in my pocket.
Starmap is many charts in one, since you can orient it to just about any location on the planet. It comes with its own adjustable-brightness flashlight, a “Lamp” button, which you can set to illuminate in red to preserve your night vision. Its interface is drop dead easy to use and includes the ability to turn planets, deep field objects, and constellation outlines on and off. Touchscreen panning and zooming around the sky is a bit slow, but it’s easy and fast to use the cardinal directions buttons instead. You can also search its catalogue to find objects of interest and figure out whether they’re visible and where to look for them in the night sky. I haven’t begun to list all the cool features of Starmap. It’s the only app I’ve paid for, and it’s well worth every penny.

Earlier review was unfairly harsh - 5 stars now  
By: ja-mo - Oct 26, 2009
Version: 1.4
Since this app's release, its author, Frederic Descamps, has been very responsive to comments and suggestions and is preparing a revision which should address most of the complaints. It will still probably be a bit slow, but I now understand why speed was sacrificed for display clarity. With the soon-to-be-released upgrade (including full night vision mode!), this app will become an indispensible part of every observing session. Very solid, worth 5 stars and the money I spent on it, especially given the outstanding support from the author.

Excellent App !!  
By: Shady Mac - Aug 4, 2008
Version: 1.0
This is a great app and well worth the 12 bucks. As someone with a Master's degree in astronomy and a lifelong observer with a telescope I can say this with some authority. The graphics are both beautiful and precise. Yes the map updates a little slowly but this is because the display is so wonderfully precise. Plus the idea is to find an area and stay there for a while. Stargazing is meditative. No need to hurry. There's lots and lots of well thought out features. The screen shot here doesn't do it justice. Go to the web site before you buy for a tutorial. Also visiting the web site you will be impressed by the level of support and planned improvements.I have a 2G iPhone (no GPS) and it found my location just fine when I hit the locator button.The only thing I would like would be for the map to optionally update/rotate at the earth rate - but this is a nitpick - the earth doesn't rotate that quickly and it's easy to update the time of day manually if desired.Oh yeah, the accelerometer feature is very cool. For example, for me tonight Saggitarius was close to the horizon due South. So I centered Saggitarius on the map and held it at arm's length, pointing to saggitarius in the sky. Then, with the accelerometer option turned on (this is configurable) I SLOWLY raised the iPhone above my head and there, both in the sky and on the iPhone, was the constellation Lyra. Neat!

Suggestions add the use of the camera to auto match what on sky to screen please :)  
By: netsung - 08-Aug-2008
Version: 1.0
I only just bought the app 1hr ago so not tried it properly yet, but it's a great app! It is abit slow though, I got a suggestion once it is running up to speed I great feature to add would be to make use of the camera to to adjust the brightness and to auto rotate and match what you see on the sky with the screen (asuming you are hold the phone against the sky of course) in addition to the use of the accelerometer and location service.
Oh the app doesn't save your last location :( It should save the last location and maybe add the location button to the main screen/menu in addition to the going into settings/location.

Great for learning and exploring  
By: Fingermouse - 22-Sep-2008
Version: 1.2
So comprehensive that you could end up being drowned in information - but virtually everything can be turned off or configured so it works the way you want it to. Handy accelerometer feature so you can hold the iPhone up to the sky, and it's great being able to match the sky conditions on the device to what you're actually seeing.
With the latest update, panning and zooming is now much smoother, fixing my only complaint from my previous review. I'm now happy to give Starmap 5 stars - other people ought to update their reviews too!

Novice user  
By: --Stu-- - 01-Mar-2009
Version: 1.2.1
I took a while before deciding to part with my cash for this app as it's the most expensive one I bought... Very glad I did and see why it's worth so much. The userinterface is very good (although took me a while to figure out that the bar at the bottom was a spinner :) ) but most importantly I finally got to find Saturn which is something I've always wanted to do. My only feature request would be add in option for satellites(maybe even the ones used for current gps position?)

Fantastic  
By: madmuso - 20-Jul-2008
Version: 1.0
This app is so cool. I've been waiting for a clear night to try this out and tonight was the night! It was great to be able to know what I was looking at in the sky even with just binoculars and I'm now looking forward to digging out my telescope and using it properly. The location services work really well, you just need to know which direction you're facing in (or use the moon if visible) if you're an amateur like me.Well worth the price.

Great buy!  
By: litlekris - 10-Aug-2008
Version: 1.0
I've always been interested in the stars and had tried to use paper print outs that I'd downloaded before, but couldn't claim to have recognized even one star.. Last night I spotted a whole heap of them in a 360 degree turn including my first planet, Jupiter.. I'm on holiday in Curacao right now and the sky aligned up perfectly!Trust me, the speed is not a problem unless you want to be spinning round on your heels like Michael JacksonGet it without hesitation..

Good but does not save locations  
By: kedony - 25-Mar-2009
Version: 1.2.1
I bought this after reading the reviews here. It's good, but I do have a gripe that is quite major: it does not remember the location (long & lat)you type in manually and the only listed location in the UK is London. Very irritating!
Added March2009:
I wrote the above for the first version. The upgrade sorted the problem out and it works perfectly now. I know very little about astronomy and this app really helps me to identify the constellations and stars (in fact it gives far more information than I need). Love this app.

The Best  
By: Bozocity - Nov 20, 2009
Version: 1.4
I have collected most of the iPhone's astronomy apps and can vouch that this is the best one for actually finding objects in the night sky. The image on the screen is especially clear, and the simple controls for light pollution and magnitude of visible stars truly allow the display to match what you see. This app illustrates how a good schematic line drawing can be far more useful than a photorealistic portayal. Well conceived and getting even better with each upgrade. It is relatively expensive but the best value, worth every cent in comparison with other offerings.