In this review I'll take a look at just two of the applications that allow you to check line status and plan your journeys across London's underground network. The Windows Phone 7 marketplace is still relatively young so at this stage there is not yet a clear indicator as to what the 'standard' is as far as these types of app is. It is also fair to say that all the apps are growing and adding features as they seek to respond to user demand and they get access to more features in the WP7 SDK. Tube Companion (Free) by TeamG lets you do the usual features you would expect from this type of app. These include checking line status and finding stations nearby, as well as journey planning and weekend closure information. The app itself works well, though it can be slightly 'jumpy' at times, it also can be unclear as to when you can click on something. The most obvious example of this is shown in the screenshot below, when on the line status area it seems intuitive that you would be able to click on a particular line to get more information, this is not the case however. Overall however the app works well, and allows you to quickly check when the next tube is departing and which route it will be taking. With a little more polish and continued updates I would expect this could remain as one of the top tube apps on the marketplace. London Travel (Free) by NextGen Systems have what could be considered a much more attractive looking alternative to Tube Companion and it benefits from push notifications for any tube line(s) you wish. The website for London Travel shows off its stylish looks and provides a video and a link for the application. However unlike Tube Companion this application will not let you find your closest tube stations or let you plan a journey, these features are likely to be found in NextGen Systems' upcoming app 'City Travel' which according to the app should be out this month (February 2011), however I suspect that could slip to March. Whilst these shortcomings in London Travel are quite considerable I do feel that it makes up for it in a big way with the push notifications and its speedier start up and performance. On balance then these two apps are both free, and both exceptionally good at what they do, and for that reason I have personally elected to keep both. I find that Tube Companion is useful for planning journeys and for finding the nearest tube if I'm somewhere new, whilst London Travel is much more useful for finding out if a line is disrupted and why so that I can decide what to do. Hopefully Tube Companion may add to its current features and I have high hopes for City Travel when it is released.
I don't have a Windows Phone 7 but it looks very neat, have they released the new version that you mention yet?
It is now called City Travel London, I plan to post an updated review of that along with a few other equivalent apps in the next few days. Hope that helps .
