Some of the younger generation might not know what the Yellow Pages are but, for the rest of us, they started to become obsolete since the introduction of something called the Internet and even more since the invention of iDevices.

Let’s wind the clocks back to pre-1983 and think about the importance of the two giant books split from A-K and L-Z, each over 6cm in width, and our only source of finding local services and contacts. These days we have this information right at our fingertips – across our iDevices – and the Yellow Pages in hard copy mostly functions as a doorstop or monitor stand. Who knows, in another 30 years it could be an app download to our minds.

The biggest Yellow Pages competitor would have to be Google Maps, a great feature by Google that allows you to search what you’re looking for on the Internet and find, not only, where it is but also what other people have said about it, the contact info and website of the place, and other similar services or places in the area.

Yellow Pages iPhone

Yellow pages for iPhone has been on the App Store since December 2010 and has been getting mixed reviews with an average rating of 3 Stars. Comparatively, Google Maps has been an included app feature since the iPhone was released and we’re wondering, does Yellow Pages stack up to Google Maps?

That’s a negative Will Robinson. Implementing our own ‘map comparison test’ at iDevices HQ we searched for Pizza in Sydney, NSW on both the Yellow Pages app and Google Maps – Google Maps wins hands down. The Google Maps app is much simpler to use and there are less button bars and options that tend to get in the way of your map on Yellow Pages. The turn-by-turn navigation on Google Maps could be the difference between eating or giving up entirely – as you might do with the Yellow Pages for the iPhone because, although it does include directions, it redirects to whereis.com and it is neither smooth nor simple. Pizza for dinner might just fall in the too hard basket.

If you just need Yellow Pages as a business directory it’s surprisingly helpful at quick glance and has achieved this purpose. For anything map or directions based stick with Google Maps because the Yellow Pages app is in serious need of a directions interface that is more suitable for multi-touch gestures.

This app is free so why not see for yourself? Eat straight away or challenge yourself for a meal.

Yellow Pages Australia

Yellow Pages HD for iPad

The iPad version for Yellow Pages has only been out a few days and already we can see a major improvement from the iPhone version. This could be due to the larger screen and more space to work with where the iPhone interface just really isn’t as user friendly.

Once again, as a directory, Yellow Pages HD is great and the layout is spot on. Your search results show on a map and there is sidebar with directory details – this is something it has that Google Maps does not currently offer. The actual map display is also much clearer than Google Maps and this makes it easier to find your locations than on the iPhone and on the Google equivalent.

Comparing the same pizza search for both apps, there are significantly more listings with Yellow Pages HD at 14 results and Google Maps with only six. This is quite odd considering the Google listings are provided by the Yellow Pages.

Directions on Google Maps are always going to be fast and simple because this is the primary purpose of Google Maps. Google Maps takes three touches to get directions whereas Yellow Pages takes 5. They still redirect to Where iS, which is still an issue for what has, so far, been a much better app.

You only have the choice of directions by car (with or without tolls) or walking. What? No public transport route? Then you have to click on the first direction to start your journey and the top navigation bar takes up 1/3 of the screen. At least give us the choice to decrease the navigation bar so that it doesn’t obstruct the map. The multi-touch gestures are still not perfect but you can get through it and it gets the job done.

Once again, Google Maps is great. Yellow Pages almost takes the cake until we start getting into the Where iS interface. The Yellow Pages app is also free, so we would recommend you download this for the directory element. Regarding the directions aspect, everyone will have different opinions on which interface they prefer, but we personally think Yellow Pages would be better using Google Maps as their third party map site until Where iS can develop a more user friendly experience.

This app is also free so try it out now.

Yellow Pages Australia for iPad