MapMyWalk is one of a range of apps from the people at MapMyFitness. It’s not a pretty app, but mapping walks doesn’t have to be pretty to be functional. And it is functional. Mostly.
To get started, you’ll have to set up an account, because all the MapMyFitness services are designed to be social. The quickest way is with a Facebook account, but thankfully that’s not a requirement. You can just use an email address if you wish.
Getting started is also nice and easy, which is a good idea for people who are just getting started with a fitness programme. Hit “Record” and get moving. The first time you use it, you’ll be asked to enter your weight in lbs.
I did encounter some bugs. The app encourages you to set up a personal profile, which includes basic physical data, including your height. No matter how many times I tried to enter my weight in feet and inches, it ignored the inches and declared me five feet nothing. Every time. I’m short, but I’m not that short. I also saw a couple of crashes, although no serious loss of data.
Despite its name, MapMyWalk can be used for any activity, from running to cycling, swimming to doing sit-ups and push-ups. It’s a lot more flexible than its name suggests, which makes me think it might do better in the App Store if it had a different name.
At the most basic level, it did a decent job of accurately measuring and plotting my activity on a map. The “Routes” function is nice too – it shows you runs and walks that other people have done near your current location, which can be a helpful way of finding new places to run when things start to get boring on your usual route.
Every aspect of personal fitness is covered. There’s a nutrition section that helps you monitor your calorie intake on a daily basis.
So for the most basic functions, it works ok, even though there are bugs. The social features get the balance right. They encourage you to be social, of course, but they don’t nag too much. If you are the sociable type, the “Live” section lets you see where your friends are and what kind of workout they’re doing.
Like a lot of free apps, this one is supported by advertising, which need not be a problem. The ads are not present on every page, and when they do show up, they’re not difficult to ignore. One thing that could be done better is the upgrade path: an in-app purchase to remove the ads, perhaps, rather than force users to hunt around in the Store for the paid version.
MapMyWalk is not perfect, but it is a decent exercise assistant, and costs you nothing. It’s well suited to beginners and casual exercisers; keen fitness fanatics will probably want to pay up for something more specialized and less buggy.
Source: App Store
