Cruise Control: ETA review

Damien McFerran

We review Cruise Control: ETA, an Apple iPhone application that helps you plan a journey

Published on Sep 4, 2009

We review Cruise Control: ETA, an Apple iPhone application that helps you plan a journey

Ever since mankind mastered the art of vehicular transport our species has gotten itself into an almighty hurry. The average road user seems to be on a death wish, rushing to their destination at breakneck speed, not only putting their own life at risk but the lives of those around them.

More often than not this dangerous driving is related to poor journey planning and not leaving enough time to get to the desired location. Thankfully Cruise Control: ETA has been created to counter this very issue and hopefully take the tension out of such trips.

The app works by allowing you to input your total travel distance and your average speed. Using these two basic values the program can determine an estimated time of arrival. Naturally this works best when you’re travelling at fairly constant speed or your car is equipped with a cruise control system which can keep your pace at a fairly steady level.

Other variables can be thrown into the mix such as time for refreshment stops during the trip. As you move the relevant slider it instantly affects the estimated time of arrival, which then gives you an accurate idea of what kind of impact the delay will have on your ETA.

Not only that, you can also specify how far you’ve actually driven, which then tells you how much longer there is to go – ideal for when the kids scream “how much longer?” for the umpteenth time.

Naturally these are all options that you’ll want to tinker with in real time as your journey unfolds, but Cruise Control: ETA also allows you to forward-plan future voyages as well. In a separate menu you can insert your intended departure time – which could be several hours in the future – and by changing various values you can give yourself advance warning of just how long it’s going to take you to get from A to B.

It’s hard to find fault with Cruise Control: ETA on a functional level; it certainly does everything it sets out to do (although some kind of help screen would have been nice as all the features aren’t 100% obvious from the outset). The biggest issue with the app is undoubtedly the somewhat shabby presentation; compared to some of the more visually accomplished programs available on the App Store, this looks decidedly amateurish.

There are probably a few people out there reading this right now and thinking “but my sat-nav can do all of these things and more”. It’s a fair point, but naturally not everyone is in possession of such a device, and for the rather modest 59p the developer is charging, Cruise Control: ETA is definitely a solid purchase. With a lick of paint this would be an even more attractive proposition.