World map in your pocket with useful atlas apps

World HD is an iOS app that has been around for about 12 years. All this time, the premise remained the same: a vector-based world map that you can zoom in. Everything is kept offline as a whole, only 170MB in size (or small if you prefer). So it works even without internet connection.

As we’ve known the app for so long, one of the ‘side effects’ is that it’s clearly different now from the devices it made ten years ago. In the past, it took noticeably some time to build the map; now immediately visible.

By default, The World HD starts in the topographic view. You can zoom in and out by spreading two fingers. If you want a more detailed map of a particular country, tap such a country. Next, a map full of facts opens on the side. They come from the CIA’s famous World Factbook. This is a ‘book’ (online) full of details, facts and figures about all countries in the world. For example, it’s ideal for browsing when you go on vacation to a country you’ve never been to.

It is integrated in The World HD. Usually the latest version or a year ago version, in most cases it doesn’t matter much for school use. It is practical to take a look at the official pages of the World Factbook for serious reference.

Tap the cross in the upper right to return to the world map. Then tap the tab with > on the right. You can then choose between a topographic (‘mountain button’) and a political map (‘temple button’). This political representation is also ideal for learning the location of countries as all ‘unnecessary’ information is filtered out.

Each country only gets one color and that’s it. However, you can still tap on a country to open a specific country map and you’ll see it in topographic views along with cities and everything else.

World HD is no more fuss, it’s just a world map and a basic atlas. In most cases, that’s more than enough for quick reference. The only downside we can discover is that sometimes things go wrong with language-specific fonts. This is because the creator of this app has chosen his own vector letters which apparently do not contain all the ‘strange’ characters.

The biggest problem is that there are almost no high-quality atlas apps for mobile use. What you might consider is the Barefoot World Atlas ($4.99). But then you immediately mention a required storage of 1GB. Also, it is mainly aimed at children and less so for (young) adults.

The same is true of Wonders of the World, although it may seem very tempting. And that makes it good for all ages. But the same drawback as Barefoot World Atlas applies here: it takes up almost 800 MB of storage. And that can still grow by purchasing in-app theme cards. So it’s something to think about beforehand.

Number buffs will love the World’s Geography app. This compact application contains a lot of information. But this compactness has everything to do with collecting data online and using online map material. There’s no drama, but it can be less useful on the go. With in-app purchases of a few euros in total, you unlock all statistical data, data and quizzes.

The only downside is that everything is in English, but for high school students and above this shouldn’t really spoil the fun. Also, this app has been running for over ten years and is kept up to date by its maker.

The reason why ‘classic’ atlas apps are nearly impossible to find these days (there were some really nice ones even not so long ago) probably has to do with the maps available for free from Google and of course Google Earth. However, this is never a substitute for an (preferably curated) atlas with serious and verified information. Therefore, the above-mentioned apps are highly recommended.

That’s right: portable pocket size on your smartphone (we don’t really need that paper jungle atlas anymore) or generous rental quality on your tablet. Feed the mentioned apps, they are real treasures.