Trapster, is an app which turns your iPhone into a social networking radar detector by utilizing your iPhone’s current location and gives users a way to report activities such as “Enforcement Points” and “Road Hazards”. So let me explain how to get started. When you first open the application, you are presented with three options: login, sign up, or continue. I would suggest signing up because it only takes a minute or two. After creating a username and password, you can also connect your Trapster account to Facebook and Twitter.
Trapster allows its users to report Enforcement Points such as: Live Police, Red Light and Speed Cameras, and Check Points. When you report an Enforcement Point, other Trapster users will receive a warning via push notification or audible alert. This is great idea because it works in real time as you are driving. When you come across an alert Trapster will prompt you to give it a thumbs up or thumbs down confirming the activity. This keeps all the Trapster data updated and provides users with accurate, fresh information.
Let’s just play out quick scenario for reporting an Enforcement Point. You are driving in the car on your way to the store. On the way, you spot a police car on the side of the road. Now to report the speed trap, you would then tap “Report” located on the bottom of the screen and then tap “Live Police”. Trapster will then ask you to drag the map and drop the pinpoint near the same location as the police officer. Next you have to confirm the location and the report will instantly notify other nearby Trapster users. If you tend to see law enforcement frequently using the same location, just tap “Report” and select Known Enforcement Point.
Not only can you report Enforcement Points, but the app gives you the ability to report Road Hazards in a very similar manner. Some examples of the types of hazards users can report are: Accidents, Construction Zones, Brush Fires, and even Road Kill. Yes, Road Kill.
The Settings tab located under the Options menu gives you access to your alert configurations. You have the option to choose what Enforcement Points and Road Hazards to be alerted to via push notification. You can also set your alerts to only cover a certain radius from where you are currently located. The app offers plenty of other settings that gives Trapster the customization to fit each user. There is a setting to also change the push notification frequency (intervals range 5-15 seconds) and an option to repeat the audible alert.
In the audio section, you have the option to enable alerts to play through the iPhone speaker and you can change the sound theme. The sound theme offers four different languages to choose from: English, French, German, and Spanish. What’s really funny is changing the voice to one of the provided themes: Hillbilly, NY Cab Driver, Southern Bell, and my favorite Mr. Grumpy. You definitely get a laugh trying out the different voice themes.
In addition to alert and audio settings, there are map display options. Trapster has three display views to pick from: Satellite, Hybrid, or Map. You can also choose what Points of Interest (POI) to view on the map. There are several POI to pick from: Banks, Gas Stations, Restaurants, Police Stations, and even Starbucks.
Now let’s get into the other features of Trapster, such as the user interface. On the main screen you will notice several blue tabs located on the right side. The first tab is the compass and will present your current direction when you tap on it. The next tab, Caravan, gives you the ability to see your friends in real time on the map and send them messages via audio, text or picture.
To get started using this feature you have to switch it on, which will make you discoverable to other users. You can also manually add friends and view any messages friends send to you. One of my favorite features of Trapster is the built-in iPod. If you tap on the music note tab, the iPod will slide out and give you the basic controls and display. If you plug your iPhone into the stereo like me, you will be able to hear your music and alerts through the car speakers. As mentioned earlier, you also have the option to use your iPhone speaker.
Trapster will also allow users create “Trips” which can be shared via the web. If you and the family are driving down to Florida and you want to share the journey. You can allow your friends to follow you on the web as you drive. You can also add notes, pictures and save the trip on Trapster. Another nice feature of app is the built in Real Time Traffic. After tapping on the tab, Trapster slides out a map view of real time traffic data provided by Google. The “Patrol” tab when enabled, places a blue line over a road that a fellow Trapster user just recently drove down. Overall the app offers various settings and filters to make the user’s experience less obtrusive and more effective.
I have been using Trapster for a while now. I will say it has worked for me on several times and probably saved me a few hundred dollars in tickets. Trapster offers a vast amount of features and there are several I didn’t have a chance to cover. Since Apple limits third party apps running in the background, Trapster does its best to help by offering features like the built in iPod. This eliminates having to open and close the app every time you want to pick a different song. The app works great when you have 3G coverage, doesn’t function well on EDGE, since it relies heavily on data updates. The alerts and warnings from other user reports are accurate for the most part.
My one wish would be for Trapster to integrate voice controls. It would be nice to drive and not take my eyes completely off the road to report activity. The audible alerts are nice because you don’t have to look down at the app to get the information. Also with the various settings and functions to choose from it could be confusing for some first time users. Trapster is a great idea and definitely worth trying out.
Trapster is now available for FREE in the App Store.
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