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Which sky map application for mobile devices have the best "feature satisfaction"-to-investment ratio?

I would like to have a comparison between "sky map" applications for mobile devices and it should be a factual comparison made by astronomy professionals, enthusiasts, and hobbyists. The result would be a user guideline on valuable applications.

I am always looking for great tools for amateur and professional astronomy to use for outdoor night observations.

(Tagging suggestion: this question can be part of a "How to make observation easier", subpart "mobile application".)

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Please reword your question to be less subjective, it is otherwise at risk of being closed for such a reason. – Mr. Disappointment Aug 24 '11 at 20:42
I've changed the question... "best" is subjective I agree.. the aim of this question is to have a guideline to best fit application for particular usage ... A wiki alike answer with a matrix feature/application that can be enrich by contributor experience may guide user. (do not fit astronomy stack ?) – Emmanuel Devaux Aug 24 '11 at 21:52
You could also indicate the type of mobile platform that you are interested. There are some iPhone only programs, etc – Tigran Khanzadyan Aug 26 '11 at 19:04
@Tigran : no discremination: mainly for android and ios. – Emmanuel Devaux Aug 26 '11 at 19:26

1 Answer

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Define "best".

As always, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Are you just a casual observer, looking mostly for naked-eye objects? Or are you looking through a telescope for deep-space stuff? Is your scope a go-to that can be interfaced with and controlled from the phone?

Here are some examples, look at the features and decide what's best for you:

SkySafari 3, either plain, or Plus, or Pro. My favorite. A lot of folks hauling big dobs and whatnot use it.

Star Walk

Stellarium - good for casual naked-eye gazing but not much else.

StarMap 3D, either plain or Plus

Pocket Universe

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thanks for this enumeration ... yes best is very subgestive (fixed in question) ... Anyway is it possible to have more factual comparison ... like dream feature is x,y,z... with App A x,y are easy to use but not as complete as App B but B does not have z... something alike ... may be a ideal tools feature matrix .. may be a wiki alike answer could be more appropriate to provide any contributor to enrich the matrix . – Emmanuel Devaux Aug 24 '11 at 21:40

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