Color me jaded, but I’m naturally partial to any Mac app that delivers more than expected. That’s the case with the inexpensive and highly satisfying Click Map app.
99-cents gets you an app with maps. Since both Google Maps and Apple Maps are free and others can be launched in a Safari browser window, what’s the big whoop with Click Map?
I like to think of it as Spotlight meets Maps. Open up a map on your Mac from within Click Map, click on a location on the map, and choose from a bunch of useful information you won’t find on other maps apps.
For example, Click Map displays the weather information for the location you clicked, from NOAA or Weather.com. Like Yelp, or Maps you can enter some search words to find places near the location you clicked.
Like OS X’s Maps, you can display routes between locations, show the satellite and street view, but also search the internet for news, photos, web cams, and other information about the location.
Map images can be saved for offline viewing. Click Map also displays the route between your current location and any map pin you drop onto the map. Select an address in Contacts and Click Map brings up that location, too.
Other pieces of useful information you’ll find in Click Map that you won’t find in OS X’s Maps app includes nearby areas or locations of interest as well as the location’s elevation. One of the useful benefits of Click Map is the ability to find local locations of interest while you travel.
How does it work? Just click the tabs below the map to select Weather, Places, Routes, Satellite View, Web Cams, Elevation, and Areas of Interest. Nothing could be easier, so it’s a good addition to OS X’s Maps and easily worth the 99-cent price tag. Can you find the same things by searching Google? Sure. But you’ll have many more clicks and distracting advertising. Google wants to know where you’re going and what you plan to do. Click Map doesn’t care.