Basecamp is a tracking app for your Windows Phone that should help you from loosing your way while your out hiking, climbing, surfing or whatever voodoo that you do while in the great outdoors. Basecamp helps you remember what to do at the fork in the trail as you head back to camp, where you parked your car, and will also remind you when to start heading back to camp.
The core function of Basecamp is to set a GPS coordinate for your base camp and help track yourself back when you venture out. Basecamp will also help you send out an SOS should you find yourself in trouble. To see how well Basecamp can tracks your steps, hit the break.
The main pages of the app includes:
GPS Detail: This is where you set your base camp location. It will also display your current longitude/latitude, speed, course, altitude, and location data status. To set your base camp, just tap the Base Command button to establish your base point. From here you can also set a return date/time and alternate contact information (more on this in a second).
Map Location: Basecamp utilizes BING maps and will display a map window that flags your base camp and current location. Unfortunately you can't pull the map full screen and if you go into the settings you can allow navigation around the map window. Otherwise the view remains static but will scroll with your movements.
Menu: Here's where you access Basecamp's settings, a how-to guide, and an information panel on the app and developer. Settings include establishing your contact information, SOS settings (number to call, SMS message), and app settings that range from running the app under the lock screen to what map type to display.
The SOS feature allows you to speed dial the number you entered in the settings and/or send out an emergency SMS message. This comes in handy if you get into trouble and may not have the ability to exit the app and dial 911 or another number. It's a one touch distress call.
I recently took Basecamp out for a test drive on the Alabama Gulf Coast. I venture out to photograph wildlife and my "base camp" was where I parked my car. As I hiked around the coast, Basecamp tracked my location with accuracy and the app ran smoothly (no crashes). The only downside to Basecamp is that the app doesn't record any information on your trek. It would have been nice to have seen stats on how far you traveled, how long you were gone or a track of your travels on the map.
Overall impression: Basecamp is a nice, simple personal tracking application for your Windows Phone. There's not a lot of bells and whistles with Basecamp and if you're looking for something with more beef to it, you might want to consider Outdoor Navigation. Basecamp performs as advertised, does it well and is worth checking out.
There is a free trial available for Basecamp with the full version running $1.99. You can find both here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.
