UpNext Launches 3D iPhone Location Map Application

We first reviewed the UpNext web application at the end of 2007. Last week I met with the team and they provided a demo of their new iPhone application which rocks as much as their web application does. In fact, the iPhone app looks even better than the website itself.

Basically UpNext provides an interactive map (currently Manhattan only) that allows you to move around the map as if you were flying through the city. In the iPhone application you can use different finger gestures to see different views of the map. Clicking on a building will show you what’s inside the building – from companies, to shops to eateries.

The application uses the GPS functions on the iPhone to locate you within the map and then you can search for items based on their distance from where you are. You can send your location to Twitter and Facebook if you connect via Facebook connect. The team drew all the subway lines by hand so you can see which subways are close to where you are or where you are searching. My suggestion to the team was to tie in real-time subway alerts so that you can make any necessary changes. This would also make the app more useful on a daily basis.

For many of the locations, UpNext provides ratings, reviews, and descriptions. You can leave comments as well about a location as you travel through the city. You can also add photos to locations.

What would be great is if UpNext pulled in data from SitOrSquat so that you can see where clean toilets are near your location.

The UpNext iPhone app is available for $2.99. Here’s a video the team created about how the application works.