14 DAY TRIAL // Each time I have the money or the occasion to go on a trip I delay it due to various reasons, but mostly because I don't have them both in the same period... Fortunately, there are Google Earth, NASA World Wind and other programs like them that can at least help you see a lot of places without being there (and without any expenditures, of course...). This is me, but I am sure there are a lot of people out there who happen to have the time and money to go wherever they want.
Let's suppose you have the money for a trip to San Francisco, but you haven't decided yet what to visit, where to sleep and other little problems like these... little problems that become big once you start losing time searching for different objectives. Today's program was created especially for situations like this. Its goal is to help you find out everything about the available attractions of an area, the events and where to find them. The program is called Schmap Player, as you already know, and it's completely free of any charge.
The installation kit is over 7MB in size, and the setup process goes on fast, just click some "Next" buttons and it's finished!
The interface is very easy to use and you can't get lost, even if the Help system is not ready yet. There are two side panels and a central work area. To the left of the main area you have the City Navigator and to its right you can check the details about the currently selected objective.
I won't say how to do things, but only the things that can be done with Schmap Player.
The Contents page for an area (San Francisco, in our case) is divided into more sections.
You can read the Introduction about San Francisco and get to know more about its historical background, neighborhoods, places to stay, fun facts and more.
The Top Picks area saves you the time required to check good and bad and delivers you a selection of the best sights and attractions, hotels, restaurants, bars, museums and more.
Finding an objective on the map is extremely easy, with the zoomed surface ranging from 400X400 meters to the entire San Francisco area. The Top Picks or the Directory entries change according to the area that you zoomed to. Is this great or what?
Did I say "Directory"? Schmap Player's Directory area can show you all the sights & attractions, trips & activities, hotels & accommodation objectives, and not only these.
What else do we have here? There are links to useful sites, the area and neighborhood maps, the excellent guided tours (top attractions, museums or restaurants, for example) and more.
Searching and bookmarking are another two useful features when talking about visiting a city in the future, or just remember great places you've been last week when you want to stay longer and enjoy yourself to the maximum.
After reviewing this program, I have only one wish: a ticket to San Francisco!
The Good
Schmap Player has a nice interface, it's easy to use and can offer a lot of useful info. Above all these, it's free! Apart from San Francisco's guide that comes with the program, there are 56 guides available for download, with a total of 200 scheduled for release this year.
The Bad
Unfortunately, most objectives don't have any picture attached. Schmap Player uses around 70MB of memory, which I think is a bit too much. In the future it would be nice to be able to access live video feeds from different map locations.
The Truth
If you are from San Francisco or you are planning a visit in the near future, this program is "a must have". For the rest of us, it's a good opportunity to check out this city and dream about it (or download the other ones available).
Since the additional maps can be installed without having to upgrade the program, I can only say three words: get it now!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
