4 ms·

If they only could provide offline maps like google maps. That feature is fantastic in the desert areas in the west where you have no connectivity. Even the sea

If they only could provide offline maps like google maps. That feature is fantastic in the desert areas in the west where you have no connectivity. Even the search function works great when offline. Also search still works better in google maps. Apple Maps doesn’t find the Office Depot near me but one 100 miles away for example.

SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
We use this when traveling abroad, it's extremely helpful to know exactly how to get from A to B before you buy a local sim card.
dickjocke 7y ago
Yes it seems kind of comical that a simple offline cache wouldn't be included as an easy to tick off thing to include in this huge undertaking.
Nextgrid 7y ago
It’s sad that technology has actually regressed despite exponential increments in processing power and storage capacity. It used to be that you could buy a mapping software and install it on your PDA/Pocket PC and it would run fine despite a CPU speed in the megahertz. Nowadays offline maps is some niche advanced feature despite even low-end devices have enough processing power to come preinstalled with an offline map.
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  OpenStreetMaps has some good apps with offline support but their search function is usually pretty bad. If they could crack search OpenStreetMaps would be a winner.
  - m4rtink 7y ago
    Check the OSM Scout Server & related apps: https://github.com/rinigus/osmscout-server https://github.com/rinigus/osmscout-server It's a local service running on your device that handled offline data updates (all data packs are generated from SOM data) and then provides various services (routing/tiles/geocoding/advanced PoI search) based on this offline data to navigation apps running on the device. I really nice concept IMHO, but I'm a bit biased as I'm the author of one of the navigation apps (modRana) that make use of OSM Scout Server if available on the device. :)
  - te0006 7y ago
    Check out MapFactor Navigator. Has a good single-line global offline search feature, usually two search terms (such as street/POI name and city or postal code) suffice. Also very good turn by turn voice navigation, an intuitive touch UI and other things one likes to see in a GPS app. Completely free on Android with OSM offline maps (which they distribute in a heavily compressed but rather complete format). Not affiliated but wouldn't drive out of town without it. You can also buy and use commercial TomTom maps within the same app if preferred. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapfactor.navigator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapfactor.... There is also an iOS version.
    - Ididntdothis 7y ago
      I have had this app for a long time. First on android, then on iOS. From what I see it has a google online search and then search through state, city and street. I can’t just you “Broadway , New York” or “Indian buffet” while offline. Otherwise the app is great.
      - te0006 7y ago
        Well the current Android version (don't know about iOS) _does_ have one-line offline search functionality. Perhaps you just need one or two more search terms.
- shaftway 7y ago
  Have you used offline maps in Google Maps? And compared it to the old mapping software you're talking about? It's kind of amazing, and frankly I often don't notice the difference between online and offline. The maps sync on a regular basis, it's got detailed information about businesses including hours open, and it will route you different ways based on anticipated traffic at that time of day. It's also surprisingly not niche, as the app automatically sets up zones for places you visit frequently; odds are the majority of people use it without even realizing it. I used that PDA software back in the day, and frankly it was pretty lacking. Route finding never took that much CPU. We moved to the cloud because the benefits of serving the data vastly outweighs the drawbacks for most people.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    But google has demonstrated that an offline cache can work great.
  - globular-toast 7y ago
    What's amazing about it? It just has a local copy of the data. Big deal.
    - Ididntdothis 7y ago
      Not true. Search works pretty well offline too. Much better than any other offline mapping app.
      - Nextgrid 7y ago
        My point was that offline isn’t the default, which means most people don’t even know about it or wouldn’t have it enabled for the times they actually need it.
        Ididntdothis 7y ago
        That makes sense. It's well hidden and a little awkward to use.
- chihuahua 7y ago
  There is an app called "Here maps" (free) which lets you download map data for individual states and countries for offline usage.
  - Nextgrid 7y ago
    This is what I use. My argument is that this basic feature should be part of default navigation apps.
    - Ididntdothis 7y ago
      The annoying thing is that google maps is still much better :(

SlowRobotAhead 7y ago

We use this when traveling abroad, it's extremely helpful to know exactly how to get from A to B before you buy a local sim card.

dickjocke 7y ago

Yes it seems kind of comical that a simple offline cache wouldn't be included as an easy to tick off thing to include in this huge undertaking.

Nextgrid 7y ago

It’s sad that technology has actually regressed despite exponential increments in processing power and storage capacity. It used to be that you could buy a mapping software and install it on your PDA/Pocket PC and it would run fine despite a CPU speed in the megahertz. Nowadays offline maps is some niche advanced feature despite even low-end devices have enough processing power to come preinstalled with an offline map.

Ididntdothis 7y ago
OpenStreetMaps has some good apps with offline support but their search function is usually pretty bad. If they could crack search OpenStreetMaps would be a winner.
- m4rtink 7y ago
  Check the OSM Scout Server & related apps: https://github.com/rinigus/osmscout-server https://github.com/rinigus/osmscout-server It's a local service running on your device that handled offline data updates (all data packs are generated from SOM data) and then provides various services (routing/tiles/geocoding/advanced PoI search) based on this offline data to navigation apps running on the device. I really nice concept IMHO, but I'm a bit biased as I'm the author of one of the navigation apps (modRana) that make use of OSM Scout Server if available on the device. :)
- te0006 7y ago
  Check out MapFactor Navigator. Has a good single-line global offline search feature, usually two search terms (such as street/POI name and city or postal code) suffice. Also very good turn by turn voice navigation, an intuitive touch UI and other things one likes to see in a GPS app. Completely free on Android with OSM offline maps (which they distribute in a heavily compressed but rather complete format). Not affiliated but wouldn't drive out of town without it. You can also buy and use commercial TomTom maps within the same app if preferred. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapfactor.navigator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapfactor.... There is also an iOS version.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    I have had this app for a long time. First on android, then on iOS. From what I see it has a google online search and then search through state, city and street. I can’t just you “Broadway , New York” or “Indian buffet” while offline. Otherwise the app is great.
    - te0006 7y ago
      Well the current Android version (don't know about iOS) _does_ have one-line offline search functionality. Perhaps you just need one or two more search terms.
shaftway 7y ago
Have you used offline maps in Google Maps? And compared it to the old mapping software you're talking about? It's kind of amazing, and frankly I often don't notice the difference between online and offline. The maps sync on a regular basis, it's got detailed information about businesses including hours open, and it will route you different ways based on anticipated traffic at that time of day. It's also surprisingly not niche, as the app automatically sets up zones for places you visit frequently; odds are the majority of people use it without even realizing it. I used that PDA software back in the day, and frankly it was pretty lacking. Route finding never took that much CPU. We moved to the cloud because the benefits of serving the data vastly outweighs the drawbacks for most people.
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  But google has demonstrated that an offline cache can work great.
- globular-toast 7y ago
  What's amazing about it? It just has a local copy of the data. Big deal.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    Not true. Search works pretty well offline too. Much better than any other offline mapping app.
    - Nextgrid 7y ago
      My point was that offline isn’t the default, which means most people don’t even know about it or wouldn’t have it enabled for the times they actually need it.
      - Ididntdothis 7y ago
        That makes sense. It's well hidden and a little awkward to use.
chihuahua 7y ago
There is an app called "Here maps" (free) which lets you download map data for individual states and countries for offline usage.
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  This is what I use. My argument is that this basic feature should be part of default navigation apps.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    The annoying thing is that google maps is still much better :(