Great for the nerdy commuter  
By: mrgerbek - Sep 6, 2009
Version: 2.1
I've only used this in urban environments without much overhead interference, but when I'm riding my bike to work, I can start up iTunes, start up this app, and put the phone back in my pocket. When I arrive an hour later, I stop recording my track and I've got a lovely and surprisingly accurate GPS path with elevation profile for my ride. Occasionally when I travel between some of the bigger buildings (40+ stories) downtown or under garages I get some loss in accuracy, but it does a good job of picking back up where I left off. Then, I upload the track to EveryTrail.com and I can get more details including average speed graphs and I can share it with friends.
I've only used a couple consumer grade GPS units, but I have used a number of Trimble units in my time and I was quite surprised at the accuracy of the GPS. That's not a testament to this app and more the GPS device, but it's really a well designed app. I have not used it off grid yet for hiking, but hope to soon.

Very impressed  
By: Hongziyang - Aug 29, 2009
Version: 2.1
I've been biking with a gps on my handlebar for some time. Trails is the first app that my tip me over to hat using iPhone. Importing and eexporting tracks (and being to set a background track to follow) is brilliant! This is a great app. Now, if only apple would open up background processig so I don't lose my track if I get a call ... (no fault to this app at all, it's an OS thing). Again, this is a great app, $4 is a crazy good deal (worth it jar alone to be able to browse openstreetmap's trial maps).

Best I've used!!  
By: tatelive - Aug 27, 2009
Version: 2.1
I tried several trail GPS apps and this one is awesome. I use it for mtn biking several times a week. I turn it on and throw it in my hydration pack. I've been able to map my entire network of trails on GoogleEarth, it has actually turned into a game for me! It can be a bit touchy, but just as long as you start it and be sure NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING, it's just fine! I would and have recommended this app!

This did exactly what I expected, and it did it well  
By: PK692 - Aug 6, 2009
Version: 2.0
I saved tracks from several 7 to 8 hour walks (using an external battery from radio shack). This was very handy and made it easy to review my hikes afterwards. I was in an area where data roaming was expensive, so I did not download maps as I hiked. I later realized there is a way to pre-download the maps so they will be available in an area where you plan to hike. This feature is not well documented, and it does not work quite as well as the similar feature in the app Offmaps by the same author, but it is very useful. The author is responsive and helpful.

Quite excellent for recording and sharing tracks while cycling.  
By: Serendipityseeker - Jul 23, 2009
Version: 2.0
I don't give out too many 5 star ratings, but this app deserves it. My key scenario is to record bicycle ride paths and share them. This app is super cool for this purpose because it's the only one that utilizes the proximity sensor to shut off the screen when put into my handlebar bag or pocket. This saves battery life in a big way and nobody else in the GPS tracking space has caught onto this simple but useful way to save battery life and prevent accidental control actuation. I saved and published three key Seattle bicycle commute routes on everytrail.com. After uploading from within this app, I was able to fully edit and publish the routes on the website. It doesn't publish to Facebook which is sad, but Everytrail is a much better way to publish with the world. I was able to also email myself the GPX and KML files which rocks! Wishes for me would be to track in airplane mode, edit the waypoints to trim or correct the ends of the route, and to lock a finished route so I can't wreck it by accidentally clicking the Resume Recording button. It would also be super if it placed a waypoint at each streetcorner instead of relying on distance deltas which result in routes that cut corners that are not cuttable in reality land. Those are minor nits and don't detract from the fact that this app does my one killer scenario excellently and reliably. It's so worth the price of a double nonfat half-caf extra hot latte with extra foam.

Best app of it's kind out there today  
By: WesteK Cyclist - Jul 13, 2009
Version: 2.0
I have downloaded all the other GPS ride/walk apps and this is the only one worth paying for. It has the best combination of features out there. You can see all the vital stats for your ride AND the map at the same time. Battery performance using this app is much better than others I have tried in the category.
I use the app on my bike in a pack for iPhone that I can strap to the top tube. The pack has a clear plastic screen so you can see/operate the app while riding. I found a local loop on MapMyRide and exported/imported into EveryTrail and then imported into the Trails app. This let's me ride the loop with the Trails app up on the screen, giving me a line on the map to follow the whole way. No other app can do this and it is fantastic to be able to ride the whole way without stopping to check where I am, switch between stats and the map, etc.
I would like to see the app only start recording the route when it has a lock and stop the timer as soon as I tell it to pause tracking. Highly recommended app, just as it is though!

Amazing.  
By: JTFatDryer - Jul 9, 2009
Version: 2.0
Used this today to map a tight bicycle slalom course. Took pictures with a regular camera along the way. Uploaded the gps file to everytrail.com which perfectly placed the course on google maps. Phenomenally accurate. Uploaded the photos, and it matched the camera timestamps to the gps timestamps, and automatically placed them on the route. I now have a virtual tour of the trail. This app is fantastic- this is the first app I've taken the time to write a review for, if you're thinking about this... get it. You're gonna love it!

Great app, Does what it says  
By: Lokirainman - Jul 2, 2009
Version: 2.0
I've using Trails for a week now on various hikes and it has worked flawlessly. GPS tracking on the hikes I take seems very accurate for tracking a hike on my 3GS. Felix us very responsive to questions. The only thing that I wish would work better is the camera feature since pictures taken via the Trails app are not geo-tagged. Felix says that this is a fault of the Apple camera API and he has filed a bug with Apple on this. I upload my hikes to EveryTrail and the upload process seems to work well. I also e-mail myself KML files so that I can view my hikes in Google Earth. I highly recommend this app.

Tracks well, shares easily, smart design.  
By: RomainKay - Jul 2, 2009
Version: 2.0
I enjoy using this app. I use it every day to track my walks and upload them to everytrail.com by pressing the 'publish' button. It's about as easy as could be. I like the fact that the app witches off the screen when I put my phone in my pocket, improving battery life. I use it for 45-60 minutes and I don't notice much of a difference in my battery life. It does everything I expect it to do, and does it well and reliably.

Great job developer guy!  
By: SuperFreq - Jun 26, 2009
Version: 2.0
This app is almost exactly what I have been looking for. Hiking, biking, skiing, running. It has trail info donloadable from everytrail.com for almost any sport. There still needs to be more users filling out the trail data, I will do my part. Topo maps are available and they are pretty good. It does turn off the screen to save power. I would like to see more coverage of trails but this should get better with usage. Sometimes it starts tracking too early and your first waypoint is wrong but you can delete it. It would also be nice to share everytrail maps on facebook and Twitter but you can do this from the website. Also being able to check for trails mapped in my immediate area could be cool, but that is something everytrail needs to support so this app can use it. Great job application developer! As a fellow app developer I can really appreciate a well developed app. Keep up the good work. This app needs to be on the front page.

Great product!  
By: G in N NV - Jun 24, 2009
Version: 2.0
Being in the spatial location profession, I have tried numerous PDA/PC gps/trails applications. This one is by far the easiest to use. The ability to download maps will decent (great for PDA!) cartographic representation and a good profile elevation tool is very useful. Allowing users to set point collection frequencies decreases the inherent positional error in these recreational grade GPS chips. I recommend this to any outdoors person. Felix's response time to inquiries is a huge plus!

Traveling on the Topo Trails  
By: mobyreview - Apr 29, 2009
Version: 1.88
I purchased this when it was fairly new. Since then the developer has continued to develop and make improvements on it to make it a better product. He obviously cares about his app and that it works great for people.
Great support: I contacted the developer with a question and I got a response back the next day.
Wanted to update my review. Love this app. Have been using it for mountainbiking and it keeps a great track. Just started using the everytrails.com. You simply click export and it puts it right into everytrails.com. Then everytrails let's you post it on facebook to share with friends. Easily done under a minute. This is well worth the three dollars. Glad I purchased it.
Definitely five stars

I Can Leave My Garmin at Home  
By: Hiker1950 - Apr 17, 2009
Version: 1.88
I just downloaded Trails last night and used it for the first time today.
While the standard Maps app on the iPhone does a good job of showing where you are, it does not provide coordinate information, or at least I have not been able to find it. Maps also lacks the ability to export your map information for use on your PC.
Trails does both of these functions very well. With Trials on my iPhone I no longer need to carry a separate handheld GPS receiver. I am able to capture waypoints with Trails and export them in a GPX file to my email account for use in DeLorme Topo USA. Trials also exports a KML file for use in Google Earth.
Tech support is also very helpful and responsive. Initially I was not able to receive my exported files. I sent and email to Trails’ technical support and received a response within just minutes. With help from Trails’ technical support I was able to determine that the problem was with my email provider. Problem resolved I am now able to receive my exported files with no difficulty.
Trails is a very good program and I am glad to give it a five star rating.

Excellent Program with Other Uses  
By: pkahleeb - Apr 13, 2009
Version: 1.88
I am using Trails to track GPS coordinates when taking photos. I have my Canon Digital SLR's time set the same as the iPhone and whenever I am taking photos, I have Trails running to track the GPS details. After I am done with photos, I stop trails to conserve battery life.
This is accomplished with this excellent program, Trails, emailing the GPS information to my email, and then loading it, along with photos, in a program called HoudahGeo.
My only complaint about Trails is a limitation of not being able to use the GPS while the screen is turned off. (This is a limitation set forth by Apple.) Other than that, I have had no issues, no crashes, and am having fun snapping photos and not worrying about keeping up with where I am when taking them.
Have fun with this setup!

Excellent tracking app  
By: SSTSST - Apr 13, 2009
Version: 1.88
Trails does it's task very well: it keeps a log of your travels without a lot of bells, whistles or angst. The GPS inaccuracies of the iPhone are dealt with very nicely with excellent control over the accuracy and filtering. When you are stuck with outliers (not this app's fault, it's the iPhone's limited GPS) the map-based waypoint deletion is elegant and simple. Exporting and importing tracks couldn't be easier. I actually exported tracks from another iPhone app into Trails in order to edit the waypoints and then exported it back out again.

Map storage on iPhone  
By: Scatter2 - Mar 13, 2009
Version: 1.86
This app is great! The best feature is I can pre-load the maps of the area I will be in. I do not have to worry about a cell signal, as I just activate the GPS and the maps are stored on the iPhone. This is extremely useful when hiking, or even when in a roaming area with your cell company. Other great options are, you can set the frequency for the waypoints, and you can dial in GPS sensitivity. I use it for hiking/biking, and for car gps when roaming.

This is the GPS app I keep coming back to ... but hope we get google maps back.  
By: itreviewer - Mar 6, 2009
Version: 1.86
I have tried a lot of GPS apps, spanning a range of capabilities. Trails is the one no-nonsense GPS app I keep coming back to and actually use. It is simple, quick, yet extremely capable. Skips the stuff you don't need in favor of a streamlined user interface and getting/saving the info you need. New version has sacrificed google in favor of OpenStreetMaps. Hopefully it will be a choice of either map in the future.

Works really well  
By: cgmk - Mar 3, 2009
Version: 1.85
This app definitely works very well. I have tried several others on the iPhone and MyTracks on the Android, and after MyTracks this is my favorite.
+
The resolution is good and the tracks are excellent
Screen lock is a great feature
battery consumption is good
Display while recording is good
Pausing and resuming recording is awesome!!
Supports both metric and imperial
-
Direct integration with google maps (my maps) would be even better.
kml, kmz support would be great with support for elevation profiles

Have some faith.  
By: David de Peru - Feb 26, 2009
Version: 1.82
Even though this app had better maps before the upgrade, the ability to store the maps and not have to upload them each time (or when you are far into the wilderness with no signal coverage) is a great advantage. Nevertheless, the developer is very responsive and has promissed to bring back the topographic maps, if not from Google from another site which he showed me; and I gotta say those other topo maps are way better than google. Thanks Felix! I'll be watching out for more developments!

Works great for Geotagging  
By: DaveWilson99 - Feb 25, 2009
Version: 1.82
I wanted this app to experiment with getagging photos from my Canon Xsi camera. I went for a walk today, and took 36 photos, and everything worked as planned. I imported the RAW photos into HoudahGeo on my Mac. I then emailed the Trails GPX file to myself.
When I downloaded the file from GMail, GMail appended an XML file suffix. I had to remove the ".xml", so HoudahGeo could read the GPX file. Then all my RAW photos got geotagged. The locations are usually quite accurate, even though a few are off by a block.
I made a mistake the first time I tried this, and the "Trails" developer gave instant, useful e-mail tech support. Excellent. I'm very happy with the program. It is important to remember not to switch off the iPhone while using Trails - unless you first start playing music (odd, but true).