Locus Pro - GPS Tracking and Offline Maps Galore

Summary

Stuck in the middle of the woods? Looking for a beach? Or just trying to find your way around the city? Locus Pro offers you a combination of useful maps and GPS tracking to help you get through any natural or urban jungle.

Find out how to navigate around the planet with this app in today’s review.

Locus Pro is an all-around navigator with comprehensive tracking and map services. After you download the 4,70 MB large app, you’ll see a welcome screen with a description of what the is all about. In a nutshell, the developers of Locus Pro are marketing it as a multi-function tourist app that can be used both on vacation and in everyday life.

Sounds impressive. But instead of reading through the long introduction, it’s better to get right down to it and try out the app.

Let me just say that the app has so many features and options that I am going to have to limit myself to the most important ones. Otherwise this review could go on for pages and pages.

Let’s start off with the main bar at the top which has the following buttons:

1. Main menu access
2. Information panel with different values:

• Title
• Map
• GPS
• Coordinates
• Guide
• Track record
• Time, battery

Moving on, the last three buttons are customizable and can be set to fit your needs. By default the buttons are in this order:

3. GPS (turn GPS on/off, view different stats)
4. Data manager (POI, Tracks, Import, Export)
5. Map manager (selection of online and offline maps for download)

These three buttons can be switched out for one of the following:

• Functions: Search, Track record, Parking, Share, Add new route, Augmented reality, My Maps, POI alert, Custom screen, Geocaching tolls, Weather and Navigate to
• Screens: Map manager, Data manager, GPS, Compass
• Various: Add up to two extra buttons to the main bar.

Long-tap any button and select Change to replace it with another one.

The bar at the bottom of the screen is dedicated to map use. Button #1 takes you to your current location on the map, Button #2 rotates the map, Buttons #3 and #4 are for zooming in and out, and Button #5 locks your current viewing position.

As you can tell, Locus Pro offers an unbelievable amount of options and functions for basically any occasion. Another great thing about the app is how it interacts with topographic maps. There is also a huge number of different maps to choose from (including WMS, OSM and regional OSM maps, ArcGIS, MapQuest and more) – all of which can be downloaded and viewed in offline mode. This way you will never stray from the right path – even without an internet connection.
The download section of the map manager is especially handy because it allows you to create your own fully customizable maps. Here are the different options:

• This screen: downloads the current map view as is.
• Select area: download any area which you have selected with your fingers.
• By country: download selected countries only
• Select path: download a specific user-defined path
• Select POIs: download areas based on points of interest

You can navigate around the map with your fingertips, using multi-touch or the magnifying buttons to zoom in and out. Not only can you always view your current position, but the app also tells you which direction you are facing.
And it’s not just the maps that are awesome. Locus Pro also has some extremely useful features fot your day-to-day problems. Forgot where you parked your car? Not a problem because the app comes with a parking feature that can track your cars location.

Bottom Line:
As I said, it’s very difficult to cover all the features Locus Pro has to offer in one test report. As far as I could tell, this app is very impressive in terms of the amount of options, functions, maps and other cool stuff that it has to offer. Locus Pro may look a bit daunting for a first-time user, but the app is structured in such a way that you’ll never feel lost or confused. For all people that are into outdoor activites, the app offers some impressive GPS tracking capabilities even out in the wild.

Before you invest in the full version, it makes sense to check out the free version (Locus Free). Be aware that the app comes with a whole set of limitations, but it gives you a good impression of how it works.
 

Locus Pro is packed with some amazing features. But it’s also important to take your time to figure out how everything works. It may take a bit of getting used to, but this will allow you to understand the full potential of this app. Other than that, the app is pure joy!

The Locus Pro app runs smoothly on my Nexus S. The different menu subsections open quickly and it takes just an instant to download maps. Navigating is also super easy and fast. No crashes, no worries, no lags.

Locus Pro costs around $6.45 which is a hefty sum, but the features and usability of the app make it totally worth it. Before investing all of that cash into this app, I would recommend downloading Locus Free and playing around with it for a while.