Widely known as 'the little red dot', Singapore simply gives the impression to the swathe of society as a small compact nation which is highly accessible to different parts of the island. Being a local, I say this is far from the truth if you were to find a very specific location - perhaps a residential, industrial park or a skyscraper - that reasoned out that our island has still so much grounds for venturing and exploration activities.
I am uncertain on how virtual mapping tools work oversea so I shall only deliver glimpse for sampling within my island. Before setting off to your destination, there is a spoilt for choices to rely on the tools easily available on the web. We are just going to generate a random location in one of my island's hotspot in Serangoon.
1. Google Map - At times, I find them lazy, unreliable and inaccurate
On the above google map, I can't tell for nuts to rely on any nearby distinctive landmark near my destination and for goodness sake the location of Serangoon Mrt is totally out of place. If I were an Ang Mo I will boycott the use of google map out of frustration. The contrast is even more obvious for comparison with other map assistance tools.
Best plus point - Sucks on andriod but excels on iphone. On the road and depending on your mobile model, you could make the best in its 'lighthouse mode' navigating to the direction you are moving which constantly update your current spot with almost precision.
My say - worthy only on iphone. Being a Samsung device fanatic, I din give a second thought to source for other noteworthy mapping tools.
2. Street directory - My top choice on PC
Pioneered by Virtual Map a Singapore venture firm, streetdirectory was born. With its huge notable success, its reputation arise with a fast-rising value and was eventually bought over as a wholly entity by JDB holding (Hongkong) in 2008.
Comparing on the same location with google map, the visual reference provided is absolutely dummy-proof. With indicative landmark around the region, one can easily locate their destination without much hassle. While the virtual map is colourful, it is also powerful. It does little to shroud your vision enabling a faster way to navigate and zoom into the destined spot. One shot one kill would be an ideal tagline.
Because of its chunky and localised style of mapping, it works best on PC. I've tried using it on my Samsung Note 2 and I honestly wasn't generous to rate it well. Any screen smaller than a PC, you will have problems figuring longer than you should. Moreover, the interface on both Andriod and Iphone don't appeal.
My say - Use it only on PC, while on PC use it only.
3. Go there sg - A worthy opponent to the top giants
Coming fast and furious, we have gothere.sg.
If you bear a low threshold for colorful virtual maps, this is the best alternative to avoid enveloping yourself with overflowing of information. The best part tells you on the charges for parking which is essential for drivers - I find this extremely useful to plan before making trips down.
The neat layout and light colouring does not enguff your vision and trade off for pleasantness. On top of all, the interface plays a farmiliar sight to iMac users with trusty user experience.
My say - Amid the cluster of options, I would wrap up with these three options - googlemap for iphone, streetdirectory for PC and gothere.sg for either PC or Andriod.