smartphone GPS mapping software

jonnyashworth

I have recently got myself a samsung galaxy S2 and have fallen upon a peice of software called "View Ranger" and I thought I had better put something up on here to spread the word about it (Sorry if I'm singing a tune you already know). The brilliant thing about it is that you can download O.S Maps at 1:50,000 or 1:25,000 and store them on your device so that you dont need to have mobile signal to view your maps. It's also really easy to make routes, download other peoples routes and has a buddy tracker feature. I also like the way its compatible with android and iphone and other major operating systems. I believe the app is a couple of quid and you get a 14 day free trial, the maps are really cheap too at £12 for 14000km2 that you download in blocks of 100km2 at a time. You also get paid credits (that you can use to download maps / pistemaps / god knows what else) when you upload your routes and they are downloaded by someone else. Thus encouraging people to share routes.

Just for the record my only interest in putting this up here is to spread the word and hopefully to increase the amount of uploaded routes available for download.

pilch

I've got this too, I originally got it as part of a package for tracking my dawg. He wears a collar with a gps tracker in it and you can track him on your phone when he buggers off.

I have used it whilst out on my bike, particularly good if you are in an area you dont know, helps you get your bearings etc. and you can record a route for future use. Mostly I prefer Garmin or Satmap though as they are made for the job, sturdy, waterproof and bar mounted and the files are a bit easier to transfer between.

I know you can get cases for the purpose, but i'm still not keen on sticking my iphone on the bars and possibly getting it destroyed.

Anonymous

There's been many a thread on GPS software, but yeah ViewRanger is nice.

I think the price of the OS maps is expensive though. 1:50000 is cheap, but they really don't have much detail once you get off road. A forest area can just be a green patch, but at 1:25000 some of the fire roads and paths are marked. Official footpaths and bridleways are on the 1:50000 though.

At 1:25000 paper maps are better value - and they don't fail when the battery runs out

But you can use OSM with ViewRanger for free. Not the same stuff as on OS maps, but there are trails on there that OS would never mark (e.g. popular bits of singletrack, depending on the area and if someone's marked them).

Aside from just maps though, check out sports tracking software like Endomondo, Strava, My Tracks, Sports Tracker. All much the same and focus on tracking rather than navigating, though can do that a bit with some of them too.

Strava is becoming my favourite, in the main because people can mark segments on their site and they are shared so you get to find how you compare on the same trail to other people and also what the name is for the trail (or what people tend to call them) and can explore them to find where that trail you've heard of is.

benpinnick

I like trails, which you can download OSM maps to - which are way better for non-RoW trails than OS.

d3matt

jonnyashworth wrote:

I believe the app is a couple of quid and you get a 14 day free trial, the maps are really cheap too at £12 for 14000km2 that you download in blocks of 100km2 at a time.

Where? I'm just trying to setup ViewRanger and the 1:25k Explorer maps are from £20 for self select and £50 for some areas.
Based on my paper 1:25k maps, I ideally I want six maps areas, assuming you can download about the same area as the printed map. How much is this going to cost me?

The View Finder video on the Android Market looked great and the app looked simple. Yet now I've got it installed, I can't make head or tail of it or work out how to add the OS maps I want.

gezebo

I've downloaded maverick onto my HTC phone. It was free and I somehow downloaded OS maps at a range of scales including 1:25000 and it was all free. I then upload them onto gpspies.com

I'm not very good with technology but I can view the routes on my phone at any scale on OS maps

louthepoo

I've got endomondo for the blackberry, does anyone know of any other software for blackberrys?