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Everything here is comparing Apple Maps and Google Maps, which is fair as the front-runners. For those of us on Android though, does anyone have a good replace

Everything here is comparing Apple Maps and Google Maps, which is fair as the front-runners. For those of us on Android though, does anyone have a good replacement app suggestion for Google Maps? Waze/OpenStreetMaps/etc? I've never tried them and would prefer not to trial them by fire, since I usually use them when I need to get somewhere for an appt or something :)

modzu 5y ago
for driving, nothing else comes close to waze.
mempko 5y ago
Yes, HERE WeGo. Benefit is being able to download a whole state or country to the phone which allows it to work completely offline. No need to preselect some bounding box to download or anything. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m...
- bussierem 5y ago
  Thanks for the rec! How's the experience compared to the big names in terms of efficiency/UX/etc in your opinion?
  - mempko 5y ago
    HERE WeGo is built by HERE maps which creates maps for the navigation industry. They have been at it for over 30 years. So it's not some new company that is figuring out maps. The UI is good, especially when navigating. Before I travel everywhere, I like to use the collections feature to keep track of all the places I want to go to. Looks like they recently did a whole UI update. I need to look at that more (judging from the reviews, older users don't like the new changes, but that's true of any software, people don't like you moving their cheese). (disclaimer: I used to work there).
  - tssva 5y ago
    A warning. I just downloaded this to try it out. To test I searched for directions to a location I travel to often. The directions didn't even get me out of my neighborhood before telling me to turn left onto a median divided road which doesn't have a gap in the median to allow turning left at that particular intersection. No other mapping app I have tried has ever made this mistake. EDIT: For giggles I tried a few more mapping apps and websites for the same directions. No others made this same mistake but Bing Maps and MapQuest want me to drive on the jogging path around a pond which separates my neighborhood from the next and then use the streets in that neighborhood to get to the main road. I think both sites used base map data from TomTom.
    - mempko 5y ago
      For about 7 years Google Maps couldn't give me directions from my house to work. Not that they gave the wrong directions, no, literally couldn't give me any route. Any mapping company has errors for individuals. Question is, in aggregate are they better or worse.
- pomian 5y ago
  Do you have any thoughts why an app like here we go, isn't made available on f-droid. Or the apk isn't made available from their website? (Perhaps it's a bigger discussion than in a comment, but I'm sure there are a lot of users- especially on HN who are averse to the play store, and knowing the risks, are willing - even forced to use, other sources for their apks.)
pomian 5y ago
Another map app I recommend is mapy.cz It uses many sources for maps. You can download them for off line travel too.

modzu 5y ago

for driving, nothing else comes close to waze.

mempko 5y ago

Yes, HERE WeGo. Benefit is being able to download a whole state or country to the phone which allows it to work completely offline. No need to preselect some bounding box to download or anything. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m...

bussierem 5y ago
Thanks for the rec! How's the experience compared to the big names in terms of efficiency/UX/etc in your opinion?
- mempko 5y ago
  HERE WeGo is built by HERE maps which creates maps for the navigation industry. They have been at it for over 30 years. So it's not some new company that is figuring out maps. The UI is good, especially when navigating. Before I travel everywhere, I like to use the collections feature to keep track of all the places I want to go to. Looks like they recently did a whole UI update. I need to look at that more (judging from the reviews, older users don't like the new changes, but that's true of any software, people don't like you moving their cheese). (disclaimer: I used to work there).
- tssva 5y ago
  A warning. I just downloaded this to try it out. To test I searched for directions to a location I travel to often. The directions didn't even get me out of my neighborhood before telling me to turn left onto a median divided road which doesn't have a gap in the median to allow turning left at that particular intersection. No other mapping app I have tried has ever made this mistake. EDIT: For giggles I tried a few more mapping apps and websites for the same directions. No others made this same mistake but Bing Maps and MapQuest want me to drive on the jogging path around a pond which separates my neighborhood from the next and then use the streets in that neighborhood to get to the main road. I think both sites used base map data from TomTom.
  - mempko 5y ago
    For about 7 years Google Maps couldn't give me directions from my house to work. Not that they gave the wrong directions, no, literally couldn't give me any route. Any mapping company has errors for individuals. Question is, in aggregate are they better or worse.
pomian 5y ago
Do you have any thoughts why an app like here we go, isn't made available on f-droid. Or the apk isn't made available from their website? (Perhaps it's a bigger discussion than in a comment, but I'm sure there are a lot of users- especially on HN who are averse to the play store, and knowing the risks, are willing - even forced to use, other sources for their apks.)

pomian 5y ago

Another map app I recommend is mapy.cz It uses many sources for maps. You can download them for off line travel too.