Good Mapping Software/Android Besides Google, For Trip (plane, best, cheap)

[shyguylh]

I posted much of this in computers, but thought this forum might be more appropriate, because it's about going on a short trip.

Next weekend we're going on a short trip out of town. It's in a National Forest, so I figure my phone will not work there in terms of reception. In anticipation of this trip, I've been using Google Maps in the browser (as opposed to using Google Earth, my "good" computer is broken down and I'm using another) to pan around the area and "mark" spots we may want to check out. I have saved the GPS coordinates in a text file and also have created a "My Maps" in Google with these spots.

I figured there would be a good way to "push" these to my phone for quick navigation. The problem--there is a "My Maps" app that opens up the map I made, but it only shows the saved spots as "balloons" or "pins" with no obvious descriptions. You have to tap every single pin/balloon one at a time to see what it is, and there is no way to have a text-based "spreadsheet-style" listing of each spot. (They are viewable in "spreadsheet" style somewhat at the PC.)

Also, while Google Maps (the core app) has an offline function, the My Maps does not.

Herewith, my needs.

(1) I need for there to be a way to "mark" spots at the PC and then have these "push" to the phone, and they need to be easily separated from the "normal" ones I already have, not get mixed in with them. Also, they need to be able to display in a spreadsheet style, with the miles from current spot shown in the listing WITHOUT the need to click "more" or whatever--you can just scan the listing and see, at a glance, how far all of the given spots are from where you are.

(2) Once on the phone, all navigation needs to work offline, no data required whatsoever. I realize data is required when setting this up at the PC and having it "push" to the phone, but once on the phone, it needs to operate fully with no Internet/data whatsoever. It ALL needs to be stored on the device itself.

Is there anything like that in existence? Otherwise, the only alternative I know is to use a stand-alone GPS and enter all of these coordinates manually and save them as favorites. However, I figured that there HAD to be a way to do this work at the computer and then have it "push" to the phone--AND have it work offline.

[Roadking2003]

I have a Tom Tom GPS for this reason. They are cheap and include lifetime maps. They are much easier to use while driving.

[shyguylh]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

I have a Tom Tom GPS for this reason. They are cheap and include lifetime maps. They are much easier to use while driving.

Well, how do you make it to where it can show a "bird's eye" view of your spots as well as a listing, as well as map-out a multi-destination route if you want to, say, map out 4 spots and plan the entire thing?

The "overview" needs to have a VERY CLEAR view, like you'd get reading a full-sized Atlas. So if there was, say, a 7" version or something. Trying to get an "overview" on a 3.5 or 4.3" screen is just eye-popping hard.

Also, the screen needs to be "capacitive," not "resistive," it's annoying as heck trying to type on those resistive screens, you have to push so hard.

[k374]

There is an app called OsmAnd which does some of what you are asking and it ROCKS! I used it offline in the Himalayas in Nepal recently and it was fantastic. I don't know about the spreadsheet style listing but you can add favorites and it displays them on the favorites screen in a list style.

I don't think the app allows push from the PC but it's really easy to create favorites within the app itself...

I believe the free version supports a max of 4 regions to download to your phone and then you have to pay to get more.

Here is an interesting screen capture in OsmAnd that I did from the window of my plane as I was over Asia LOL!!

[shyguylh]

Thanks, I will have to check those out. (In another thread, someone suggested GPS Waypoints Navigator, an $8 app.)

A couple of solutions I've found myself (although the suggestions may be better). I noticed that "My Maps" (Google, where you make your own map at the PC with the "dots" placed, you then download "My Maps" on Android to run it) DOES allow you to show the names on the "dots" you've created. You have to do it within the PC, not the phone (and if you want to change that--turn it off/on etc, again, only within the PC) but it does give me much of what I want--a "bird's eye" view where you can quickly at a glance SEE the different places (with their names quickly visible) within the context of each other and within the context of where you are, and quickly go to one of them. (It pulls up Google Maps for navigation, haven't seen a way you can tell it to pull up Waze etc instead). That solution does also allow you to create on the PC and "push" to the phone. Then again, it probably doesn't work offline for navigation (although if the map has loaded from where there was a connection, Wi-Fi maybe?, you could still use it as a quick "bird's eye" view of things and then use other offline methods for actual navigation if you have the coordinates etc, which I do). I have not yet tried out if this method would support multi-destination routing, and for offline usage you're probably out I'd imagine, but assuming a data connection it's a good way to have points of interests for a given trip set up for quick calling up and for being able to have a "bird's eye" overview of it all.

Also, I found an app called "Road Warrior Route Planner" (Road Warrior). It only works on the phone itself, and I don't see a way to backup any "favorites" you save (not to say it can't do so), but it lets you set your spots (which you can save as favorites if you wish, and yes, you can plug in decimal-based coordinates) and then see a "bird's eye" view of what's going on (although without labels). It does let you quickly see a "listing" view of the spots as well, with labels. You can then also set up a multi-destination routing by "optimizing" the route, as it calls it, to where it maps out, via outlining the roads on its map, the best way for checking out all the points you've selected. (Again, it sends actual navigation to Google Maps, one spot at the time.) The only thing is that it doesn't give outright step-by-step directions, it mainly shows, via the outlined route, which order the points should be navigated to and how in a "bird's eye" sort of way, you'd then have to navigate to each point by selecting it and then selecting "navigate to" or whatever, at which point it sends it to Google Maps. At least, though, you can see what's going on, and when you do have it navigate to each spot, you just select it and tell it to, it beats having to enter that info all over again in something else.

That app actually was useful yesterday for checking out 2 different garage sales, by plugging them both in I was able to quickly see that they were at extreme opposite ends in the context of where we currently are and with respect to home. I was able to have "home" as the "final destination," then "optimize," then navigate to each spot "on the fly" as it came up. It was so much better than how I've done it before, in how I was able to very easily actually SEE what was going on in a "bird's eye" view sort of way.

Another app I've used before which may help--"Map Coordinates" (S&S Development). It lets you, at a given spot you've manually browsed to (panning & scanning or pulling up on an address), derive what its coordinates are, something which I have a hard time doing on the phone otherwise. "GPS Status & Toolbox" (MobiWIA) has a lot of useful tools which I probably don't understand, but one which I do--it quickly gives you the GPS coordinates of where you currently are, and can copy them to the clipboard--in the format of a clickable Google Maps link and with the coordinates themselves. Finally, GPS Converter by Creamun will convert coordinates to whatever format you wish, something which came in handy on a trip last year when I had a book on points of interest but they were all in degrees/minutes/seconds format, and I use decimal degrees.