About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

I scoured the numerous parking helper iPhone apps to find the best one. Parkbud has the most features and best user interface of the bunch. Manage parking meter timing and alarms, easily mark your car on a map when you get out of the car, locate and go to your car on an interactive, zoomable map, take a picture of the car's location if you wish, and make notes on a built-in notepad (i.e."Parked on Level 3").

Pros

• Set alarms for parking meter expiration and advance notification.
• Beautifully crafted, easy-to-use interface.
• Intuitive find-my-car map.

Cons

• Car locator feature may be included if you have a GPS navigation app. Check for the feature.

Description

• Price: $1.99 in the App Store
• 9.2MB
• Get directions back to your car.
• Find nearby parking garages.
• Track parking meter time and set alarm.
• Built-in notes utility.
• Add a photo showing car location, parking fee signage, etc.
• Support for 13 languages.

Guide Review - Parkbud Shows You the Way to Your Car, Tracks Parking Meter, Shows Parking Sites

I have a reasonably good memory, but I have to admit that I can forget where I parked my car in a parking garage, or a large lot. People can lose track of their cars in urban metered parking, also, if they don't make special note of their parking location.

I've been aware of dedicated car locator apps for some time, but most of them seemed like over-simplified toys. What's more, car locator capability is built into a number of full-featured GPS navigation apps.

However, a thorough review of the numerous available parking locator apps revealed a gem. Parkbud features a beautiful, precisely done user interface, and a terrific set of useful features. One of the reasons I singled out Parkbud is its integration of a nicely crafted parking meter time-set and alarm set feature. This worked very well in my tests.

The integrated, zoomable map showing your car's location is intuitive and easy to use, and it also shows the location of nearby public parking, a nice touch. It's easy to integrate a photo using the photo utility, useful for showing the street view of your parking spot, or the sign showing parking fees.

Integrated note-taking is very handy for noting your parking garage level, a shopping list, etc.

Overall, Parkbud is the cream of the car locator app crop, a pleasure to use, and it's great to know that your car location and meter alarm is securely in your pocket when parking in urban settings, big parking garages, or giant lots.