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Sorry, I know this question often pops up but I've never had the need to read the replies until now.
I'm just after an android GPS app (correct terminology?) that i can plan routes on and look back at basic info such as time, speeds, altitude etc....can anyone recommend a decent one? I've just acquired an HTC Wildfire, am I right in assuming its got to be one of the android apps?
MyTracks will show how far you've gone, not sure about the planning bit though.
As a complete thread hijack, can anyone recommend Android GPS driving software?
My tracks is a good free app for recording routes and stats such as av speed, distance etc. Data can be uploaded to google maps and docs. I believe you can down load routes to it but have never tried.
The main problem with google maps is that they do not do OS mapping!
Viewranger.
Thanks, I'll look into Mytracks and viewranger
I use Mytracks. Shows distance, time, elevation, avg speed, top speed and loads more...also plots the route on Google maps and saves the route to the phone for future reference and comparisons.
Maverick is free and uses online maps, e.g. multimap and you can get OS maps that way. If you scroll around the area you're interested in beforehand, it will automatically cache the bits of map you want to save download time & availability on the trail.
As a complete thread hijack, can anyone recommend Android GPS driving software?
Google Navigation.
Orux maps is my fave, then Maverick
As a complete thread hijack, can anyone recommend Android GPS driving software?
I bought Colpilot Live (V9) and I'm unimpressed to say the least. I also bought the traffic and speed cam addons.
Their support is atrocious. A week to cycle emails back and forth. Very unhelpful questions that ignore what you've already told them.
The app is too complex, and crams too much on the UI. Good on a feature list, awful on a phone (and I have a desire HD with a massive screen)
Their maps are incomplete. Lots of complaints about "unknown road" names for roads that have been available on GPS systems for years.
The routing can be bizarre. Changing priorities of roads seems to make it worse.
...I could go on. The problem with Google is it doesn't download the maps.
Maverick works great for me great quality 1:25000 maps, i don't use the share route function though as A- i cant really be bothered with it and B- it doesn't work well on my phone.
for in car GPS software i use co-pilot which works ok i think i have version 8, i did have issues installing it at first and found the customer service quite poor. Once it was up and running i got the option to upgrade it through Android Market and then it went pear shaped again, so it was re-installed and hasn't been upgraded since.
"[i]Google Navigation.[/i]"
...is a total fail IME. It's all dependent on being online for both maps and directions, so if you've got a patchy 3G connection you're screwed. I've tried using it before and ended up where I was going before it worked out a route, by just following my nose.
Navigation needs offline maps, like Ovi Maps on Nokia, which works pretty well IME and is the sole reason I've kept my 5800. CoPilot seems to be the favoured Android equivalent, but there are plenty of others and it's not hard to dig up about a bazillion reviews that compare them all.
Maverick works like google maps in that it downloads the maps as you go, if however you get the paid for version it will cache maps and utilise them in offline mode, meaning you just scan over the map when you have a network connection and it'll be cached when you're out on the trail.
Only downside is it doesn't seem to work too well on my phone (Desire S) in that it seems to struggle with the gps.
As part of google maps nav you can now download sections of maps so no need for being online. Not sure on the limit of how much you can store but if you know that you're going to a dead spot you can download it in advance.
I guess the Google Navigation haterz missed the 5.7 update. It lets you download maps for navigation when you have no data connection available, effectively making every paid-for satnav product obsolete.
I used the free version of Maverick and I was able to cache OS maps and use them off line.
I know that the free version of Maverick has recently had an update so perhaps you can no longer do this.
The full version has good reviews on Appbrain. http://www.appbrain.com/app/maverick-pro/com.codesector.maverick.full
Mytracks is good. Also lets you save a route you've done as a gpx. file.
crell.how do i get maps loaded on my phone for oruxmaps???
do i need to download them from somewhere?
thanks craig
I guess the Google Navigation haterz missed the 5.7 update
Nope, the OP who raised Google as an option suggested Google Navigation, which doesn't pre-cache maps - unlike Google Maps, which does in 5.7. Though you can still get directions in maps.
My versions of maverick and orux both allow downloaded maps (for the OP), as does Copilot for the in car Nav questions.
You need some additional SW called "Mobile Atlas Creator" for your PC (there could be alternatives - I think another is "TrekBuddy". It's not too intuitive on first use but with a bit of practice it's really simple.
You then have a huge range of map sources available.
Basically :
USE MAC to create the local map. The more tiles the bigger the file.
Copy the output to the maps folder on your phone.
Orux will let you choose it manually, or use the "maps at my location" button or zoom in / out.
I stand corrected, the free version of Maverick does cache tiles. The reason I bought the pro version is that it enabled OS grid references, making it easy to relate a position to a paper map.
I think the debate over Maverick/Viewranger vs Google maps etc really depends on whether the OP wants OS 25/50k maps or not. The former provide these whereas the latter do not.
Google maps pre-caching is (a) only capable of grabbing a fixed-size square area, (b) of no benefit if you didn't anticipate needing to navigate, (c) of no use at whatsoever - or at least hugely expensive - if you need to do it whilst roaming. Essentially if you need to drive a long distance, can't predict the future, or need directions abroad (and IME all three apply), it's a fundamentally flawed approach - by comparison, Ovi Maps is just like having a proper sat-nav (albeit an inconveniently titchy one).
Just noticed I had a Maverick Pro update available on the market.
In the latest version (1.95) caching of Google maps has been disabled at google's request. Not that I use it for that but some might.