First off I already have a proper truckers satnav as well as conventional maps.
What I have seen on Google is OFFLINE satnav apps for mobile phones where the maps are stored on the SD card. Bear in mind I know little about smartphones or apps HOW do these offline satnav phone apps know where you are on the road? Reason I am asking is I still have a pay as you go phone, rather than contract, so don’t want to be ramping up any charges (obviously). Want something purely for back up, that won’t cost me anything to use via the phone if I ever need it. Any help or guidance would be appreciated.
Incidentally, I have read that Google Maps is also going to be available OFFLINE later this year, which will be great.
All satnav apps, online or offline, use the phone’s GPS to identify your position, speed and direction. The difference is where the maps are stored and any processing power lies. Offline applications have maps in the phone, and the app is capable of calculating a route without external assistance.
These will use ur GPRS location (same as satnavs do) and not your mobile data (mobile data helps for live traffic updates etc) to download maps etc all the time.
Waze is an online app. It downloads a small amount of map data to your phone so that it has something to work with during brief data outages, but it doesn’t have offline maps. If you lose data coverage for too long, Waze will stop working completely.
Offline apps include CoPilot and TomTom. However, the free CoPilot GPS is online only unless you buy a downloadable map (at which point you may as well buy one of the full featured apps).
There is a truck version of CoPilot, though it’s quite expensive and typically lags behind the car version in getting new features and map updates.
The easy way to tell the difference is that anything that downloads a large chunk of data (typically 100-3000MBytes) when you first install it is an offline app.
Thanks for the input and advice guys, it is much appreciated.
I hadn’t really given much thought to the phone knowing where it was, but I am guessing it triangulates its position in relation to the satellites up there. For some reason I had got it into my head that ‘proper’ satnavs somehow worked differently with their own dedicated satellites network, which is obviously not the case.
Am going to try the free ones out first to assess their capability and see they work ok with my phone. Thanks again fellas.
Ahem
Would it not make more sense to get an unlimited data sim ■■
3 do one from £16 i think , is completely unlimited . includes some calls but wots the point .
If unlimited data just videocall everybody . thats data and its therefore unlimited .
Im an old bloke but this unlimited data smartphone combo is really liberating
LIBERTY_GUY:
I hadn’t really given much thought to the phone knowing where it was, but I am guessing it triangulates its position in relation to the satellites up there. For some reason I had got it into my head that ‘proper’ satnavs somehow worked differently with their own dedicated satellites network, which is obviously not the case.
That’s exactly how GPS works - triangulating satellites. It’s a free to use service made available to the world by the US Department of Defense. There’s no data connection via the satellites.
A dedicated satnav is, in most cases, a smartphone like device with no Wi-Fi or mobile phone capability that only runs navigation software with offline maps. If the unit has traffic capability, it either uses TMC (broadcast as part of the RDS data on FM radio) or uses a mobile phone over Bluetooth.
A few units, typically those sold as telematics units, have a dedicated mobile phone inside them.
9970:
These will use ur GPRS location (same as satnavs do) and not your mobile data (mobile data helps for live traffic updates etc) to download maps etc all the time.
wrong GPRS is your basic internet connect ie dial up speed.
If the maps are stored locally is on the phone then it won’t use your data.
Copilot if free as a trial the app is free but the maps cost many off l Iine apps use this Aponia is cheep for uk only maps about 28-30 quid depending on the exchange rate
LIBERTY_GUY:
Thanks for the input and advice guys, it is much appreciated.
I hadn’t really given much thought to the phone knowing where it was, but I am guessing it triangulates its position in relation to the satellites up there. For some reason I had got it into my head that ‘proper’ satnavs somehow worked differently with their own dedicated satellites network, which is obviously not the case.
Am going to try the free ones out first to assess their capability and see they work ok with my phone. Thanks again fellas.
It uses GPS in exactly the same way a snooper or Garmin dedicates unit uses GPS
boredwivdrivin:
Ahem
Would it not make more sense to get an unlimited data sim ■■
3 do one from £16 i think , is completely unlimited . includes some calls but wots the point .
If unlimited data just videocall everybody . thats data and its therefore unlimited .
Im an old bloke but this unlimited data smartphone combo is really liberating
I seldom use my mobile phone to make calls and don’t send that many texts nowadays, so not interested in sim cards and the like.
Sadly the Here maps come up as incompatible with my phone (LG L3), so currently downloading an alternative.
One the the problems with most Android phones is they don’t allow you to download apps direct to the SD card, so unless the boot program of the app itself allows you to do that, you end up stuffed with larger storage hungry apps like offline maps.
LIBERTY_GUY:
First off I already have a proper truckers satnav as well as conventional maps.
What I have seen on Google is OFFLINE satnav apps for mobile phones where the maps are stored on the SD card. Bear in mind I know little about smartphones or apps HOW do these offline satnav phone apps know where you are on the road? Reason I am asking is I still have a pay as you go phone, rather than contract, so don’t want to be ramping up any charges (obviously). Want something purely for back up, that won’t cost me anything to use via the phone if I ever need it. Any help or guidance would be appreciated.
Incidentally, I have read that Google Maps is also going to be available OFFLINE later this year, which will be great.
Try Navfree, on google play store, this app. is free, does not use any data, but be aware this is for cars, not trucks, it may be now listed as Navmii.
Dave.
Well after several attempts, it would appear I am unable to download ANY offline satnav to the phone (LG Optimus E-400).
Problem is there appears to be no way to download direct to the SD card and nowhere to set that option up in the operating system of the phone. With UK offline maps being close on 600Mb in size they are just too big to download direct to the phones internal memory. Looking at Android forums it appears some phones need ‘rook kits’ and other stuff, as the SD card with many is just data storage for mp3 files and stuff. Probably be way cheaper to buy a sub £30 satnav off Fleabay as backup, rather than invest over £100 in a new PAYG phone.
UPDATE: Sadly trying to get offline maps onto my LG phone ended up being non viable.
The good news is that my partner has given me her old iPhone 3, to which I have been able to get nav.mii onto. Effectively I now have a second satnav now, working purely off the gps signals.
I’ve just downloaded the Here app for Android, it looks good enough for my job, although not as detailed as Google Maps I’ve become annoyed with how often GM can’t find something relatively simple. Has anyone noticed how if your phone goes onto standby, the map zooms back out (it never used to do this)? Here however, doesn’t seem to go to landscape mode if I tilt my phone, minor I know but I used to prefer this view.
Will Google Maps drain my packet data if used in sat nav mode? I’ve always avoided it in case it does.
davemackie:
Try Navfree, on google play store, this app. is free, does not use any data, but be aware this is for cars, not trucks, it may be now listed as Navmii.
Dave.
