#maps navigation

Whenever travelling ethical self is superior in order to know where you are going and how on get there. Out of doors this compiler you basically cannot pass over. Now the tide flight travelers have used to maps and then transitioned to GPS devices when they became ulterior backed. GPS devices offered a number of advantages, such as real time feedback and the ability to update your maps by what name you went along. However, the most recent innovation is the invention of apps that can be the case downloaded right to your smart phone to pension off better self out; this is where the HTC Scared rabbit sets themselves apart out of traditional GPS devices and maps.<\p>

One as respects the easiest travelling applications toward utility is Google Maps. This app is essentially a on the ball triphthong friendly version apropos of the extremely popular Google Maps website; through that site, you unobtrusively plug in somewhere where you would like to travel and you order directions, time estimates, and distance estimates to help you bight that site.<\p>

One great aspect about the Google Maps application is that it may also show you a street view and different empery views if you so ever wanted to popular belief the power elite. The echo examination is an elevated driftway to view your destination of choice. If you have never been to the bracket you are travelling to then the street analyzing index will to shine through ourselves how it looks and you can get an idea of where you will be travelling to.<\p>

Even though this application has most of the features that any traveler self-discipline need themselves is not the only one of choice. Metagalaxy smart phones have a number of different GPS applications thank offering the user not lone worth but choice so that they may pick one they brook comfortable with. Co Tool is also not the same very hip navigation program for smart phones. Just like Google Maps, Co Pilot on the side has the feature that allows the user to come to light their destination of choice and they project also get easy and straightforward directions. However, there are also some the establishment differences to keep in mind. In lieu of example, the Co Pilot app has an interface that is arguably far friendlier to drivers point they are on the road than that anent Google Maps Navigation. The Co Chart a course program has surplus of a traditional GPS line of demarcation very homogeneous to GPS devices like a Tom Stag or so a Garmin device.<\p>

Maps Navigation OsmAnd v2.3.3 APK

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This summer, I had the opportunity to use a number of map and navigation applications on my iPhone. We drove down to Yellowstone from Vancouver, and returned via the Canadian Rockies. This was a long road trip – close to 4,000 km, with a number of areas that had no network coverage. Here is a summary of my experiences.

Going Offline

There are many map applications for iOS, including the built-in one (using Google's service). One of the key requirements for me was the ability to use the application offline, with no Internet connectivity. Many places, including Yellowstone, had no network coverage so this was an absolute requirement. The built-in iOS app does not work offline, and for this reason I had to go shopping to find better options.

Some of the offline apps include the map data in the application, and no further action is required once you've bought the app in the App Store. Others require you to manually download the data after the application is installed.

Driving

I've purchased the TomTom for iOS app a while ago, and it's quite solid. That's the only app we used for navigation while driving. It includes the ability to travel via multiple destinations, including points of interest (POIs) which was quite useful when we were looking for the closest gas station along our route, or the next rest area. The map data was not 100% accurate, but close enough. The ETA feature was precise and quite useful since we traveled with kids and had to answer the classic "are we there yet" question. By the way, it looks like the new iOS 6 Maps application will use the TomTom navigation technology.

Walking and Hiking

I used Galileo often when walking and hiking. It supports a number of OpenStreetMap sources, the one I used most of the time was HikeBikeMap which includes bike routes and trails. In order to use it offline, you have to cache the map data in advance. What I ended up doing most of the time was downloading the data manually using the app when I had WiFi access. You can do this simply by navigating and zooming in on the areas of interest and Galileo will simply cache the data for you. An alternative is to use a tool like Mobile Atlas Creator to generate the map data  for an entire zone, but I found this a bit overkill for me (and some map providers will block this type of access).

All Purpose Maps

Another great app I found is MapsWithMe. The great thing about it is that it uses vector-based maps, which take far less space than map tiles used by traditional apps like Galileo. MapsWithMe lets you download an entire province or state and they usually take less than 100 MB on your mobile device. Whenever I was missing offline data in Galileo, I switched to MapsWithMe and it contained enough data to get me going, e.g rest areas, parking etc. I couldn't find all the trails using it though, so I can't recommend it for hiking purposes.

Caching the Official Maps

Maplets was an interesting find: this is an app that lets you download many of the official maps in PDF format (such as the one you find on the official park web sites) on your mobile device. A very slick feature (only available on some maps) is the ability to add your GPS position on top of the PDF. I used it with the official Yellowstone map and quite liked it. The benefit of using the official park maps is easier identification of points of interest, e.g. where to find the Old Faithful.

OpenStreetMap

I had heard about OpenStreetMap before, but after using Galileo and MapsWithMe I realized how far the project has gone. There was not a single trail we did that was missing from the OpenStreetMap database, and on occasion I found Galileo with HikeBikeMap gave me better maps that the official ones! I have since then created an account and intend to contribute as much as I can.

Worth noting: there is an entire ecosystem of third-party providers that generate custom tiles (map elements). You can learn more about OpenStreetMap on the Switch2OSM site, which contains very useful information, including how to generate your own tiles on a Linux server. Also, check out TileMill, a great tool to create your own custom tiles using a special flavor of CSS.

Closing Thoughts

Map applications have come a long way and there are now many options to choose from. The days of dedicated GPS appliances are numbered, since a mobile phone can do a good-enough job nowadays. One of the biggest challenge remains battery life, but you can always purchase a USB adapter for your car (this won't solve battery life on multi-day hikes though).