This is a demo with little functionality and FAR LESS functionality than the free Google Maps, which works perfectly throughout France. When you start up, you will see a notification saying, “Licenses server: To subscribe to the service see the info page.” You must go to the in-app subscription page to buy the full version for US$5.99 AND to get the Geoportail license you must pay US$16.99 after the one free month for a one-year subscription. Being able to search for a specific address is only available in the Vmax module
Just to compare this app with the included Google Maps I search Menton, France, the last main town going up the Côte dAzur (aka French Riviera) before Italy. When trying to get down to street level, iPhiGeNie couldn’t show any detail at all that would make it useful: No street names, no points of interest, and no route numbers. Maps easily showed all of that, plus could pin point my exact location, track where movement, and it’s free!
The best part of the app is the maps are the indigenous maps showing details you would see if you bought a folding map with terrane, elevation, and surface but not necessarily street detail. Having said all that, I probably actually would be this app and pay the subscription fee if I did a lot of driving or was an avid explorer or more remote areas. Then I could see it being very useful as a supplement to Maps. But to just find my way around, just use Google Maps. (Note well: You do need a 3G iPad/iPhone to get real-time tracking of your current location. You do NOT have to subscribe to a 3G service to get this. 3G iPads/iPhones have the GPS tracking built-in independently of whether you have cell service or not.)