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WikiPlaces iPhone App Review: Useful Travel Reference

[app id=”324291304″]

WikiPlaces is an iPhone app developed by mifki. WikiPlaces gives you mobile access to Wikimapia.org, a collaborative mapping project.

WikiPlaces (and by extension, Wikimapia) is dedicated to providing descriptions of every notable site on the planet. To date, over 20 million places have been annotated using this project. In addition to detailed descriptions, photographs, and user reactions also help to paint a fuller picture of a destination or place.

You can set bookmarks, as well as search by Wikimapia place name, ID, or address. The interface here manages to be both minimalist and info-rich at the same time, which is no mean feat. There’s a ton of information to peruse here, but it is presented in a way that makes it easy to consume.

WikiPlaces loads data directly from Wikimapia.org using public API. That’s pretty cool, but it can create a frustrating user experience. When it seems like WikiPlaces is having issues, it is often actually an issue with Wikimapia itself.

This app is ad-supported, which may be a turn-off for some. However, you can remove the apps via IAP.

Do note that this app requires your iOS device of choice to be running at least iOS 7.0. If you’re one of the people who hasn’t upgraded to iOS 7.0 or iOS 7.1, you cannot use this app on your device. The latest version of the app as of this writing is Version 3.71, which mainly addressed some stability and bug issues.

Overall, this is a cool app that will appeal to both jet setters and armchair travelers alike.

WikiPlaces requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.