GPS Mapping options

These are the GPS map options I've tried. I primarily require offline use. Outdated maps can be a big problem as I found on a recent business trip.

BlackBerry Maps (Native) : Online only, you'd expect it to have updated maps, but nope. On the other hand, I generally liked using it. It is also possible to use it slightly offline. As long as I start the trip within range of WiFi, it will cache enough of the trip to go 15-19km (varies quite a bit). It's even capable of re-routing on the fly without data.

Genius (Native) : Sadly, can no longer be found on BlackBerry World, so this is an option only if you have downloaded it before. It can be upgraded with latest maps if you have an Android installation somewhere. Just copy the maps over. Works fine offline as an electronic map. I emailed them about it and the issue is the payment is initiated within the app but relies on BlackBerry World so when they shut that down, they pulled the app.

NavFree (Native) : Works ok, but maps very outdated. Which is too bad because it is actually otherwise quite nice to use.

Maps.Me (Android) : This was available on BlackBerry World but you can also grab the latest download directly from their web site. Has updated maps but the address search functionality is pretty bad. Sometimes you can see it on the map but still can't find it. If you can find the address and store it as a favourite, this works pretty well. Limited number of languages for turn-by-turn navigation.

OsmAnd (Android) : I believe free version still available on BlackBerry World. I paid for the upgrade to get the updated maps. The search functionality is even worse than Maps.Me though. Really odd to use and hard to find sometimes. Display can also be very cluttered, but it does work, even on my PlayBook.

Sygic Maps (Android) : Android only, you can download the APK from Google using Yalp or snag it from an Android install. Alternately, I emailed them and they gave me a direct download link from their own website. I actually paid for the upgrade on this one. I used it for a week while on vacation and it worked perfectly on my Passport. Very nice, easy to use.

Magic Earth (Android) : As with Sygic, you'll need to download the APK from Google using Yalp or snag it from some other APK site (at your own risk). However, this one contains no ads, no known trackers and is also very easy to use.

Map Quality:
The best are probably Sygic and Magic Earth, they seem to be the most updated and have all the addresses I need. OsmAnd, Maps.Me and the other ones based on OpenStreetMap data also provides updated maps but I often ran into addresses not in their database even though I know these have been around for many decades.
NavFree is probably the worst as it has the oldest maps.

Battery Usage:
Do Android apps suck more battery? I tested this on both my Q10 and Passport SE. Each app got between 1-3 runs on each device over exactly the same route between home and work which takes about 30-40 minutes. There seems to be the occasional time where battery usage spikes up for any app, but I can see a very consistent trend
1) NavFree is the winner, consistently using the least power. This gets a rating of 1.0, taking about 6% on PassportSE and 12% on Q10
2) OsmAnd is a big surprise, it matched NavFree most of the time, and in fact given the limited number of data points, I would call it a tie. This gets a rating of 1.0-1.1, 6% on Passport SE and 13% on Q10
3) Magic Earth was not too far behind, scoring between 1.4-1.6 relative to NavFree, 10% on Passport SE and 16% on Q10.
At the end of the pack:
- Genius seemed to vary a lot, 1.5-2.3, 14% on PassportSE and 18% on 10, very surprising as it is native and I don't even have the Pro Guidance.
- Maps.Me consistently scored 1.7-2.0, 12% on Passport to 20% on Q10
- Sygic was very similary, 1.8-1.9, or about 12% on Passport and 21% on Q10.

I can see that it is not true to say Android apps necessary do worse than native apps. For me the overall winner has to be Magic Earth at this point. It's easy to use, no trackers or ads, free, updated maps and pretty decent on the batteries. On the Passport, you could go on a pretty long trip even if you left it on all the time without a charger.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
I tried Here maps but for some reason it won't run even though it meets the minimum Android level. Someone did mention them explicitly blacklisting BlackBerry...who knows...

What about Navitel? It's native.

Posted via CB10

Somebody posted some weeks ago the link of BBW for Genius Map.

https://forums.crackberry.com/blackb...r-bbw-1161064/

Originally Posted by EFats

......
OsmAnd (Android) : I believe free version still available on BlackBerry World. I paid for the upgrade to get the updated maps. The search functionality is even worse than Maps.Me though. Really odd to use and hard to find sometimes. Display can also be very cluttered, but it does work, even on my PlayBook.


Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
I tried Here maps but for some reason it won't run even though it meets the minimum Android level. Someone did mention them explicitly blacklisting BlackBerry...who knows...

About OSmAnd: there is a more normal search functionality in osmand (osm nominatim), which tends to hide when used in the Passport format (with my z30 it's fully visible) . In fact it's excellent . Type the adress, city whatever and you get some very good suggestions . Press the one of your choice and you get some relevant options: to go there, to view on map, add as way point and so on.

To get there: you need to zoom out the app view (drag in upper border and change). In osmand: Press search button and you are taken to the search view. In the upper border (above the info-sign, the house and so on) you see smaller icons (turn-by-turn, show on map, add to favourites etc.). At the outmost right you may or may not see an arrow pointing right. Press that point and you'll come to adress search with osm nominatim.

And by the way, no need to buy anything. Downloaded maps are up to date.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by mikael11

About OSmAnd: there is a more normal search functionality in osmand (osm nominatim), which tends to hide when used in the Passport format (with my z30 it's fully visible) . In fact it's excellent . Type the adress, city whatever and you get some very good suggestions . Press the one of your choice and you get some relevant options: to go there, to view on map, add as way point and so on.

To get there: you need to zoom out the app view (drag in upper border and change). In osmand: Press search button and you are taken to the search view. In the upper border (above the info-sign, the house and so on) you see smaller icons (turn-by-turn, show on map, add to favourites etc.). At the outmost right you may or may not see an arrow pointing right. Press that point and you'll come to adress search with osm nominatim. ...

Well I think I finally found it on my Z10. That bar is at the bottom of the screen, away from where every other control is. The search...still sucks. First it relies on you being online, it doesn't work offline. Secondly, it's actually possibly worse than the other search option. If it finds a place, it doesn't list it in order of proximity, it seems to be some odd random order so the one you are most likely to want is hidden down the list. (And I'm not searching for obscure addresses, these are like large business or industrial locations that have been around for decades)

Yes, it's usable but there is so much better options out there.

Originally Posted by jamescarruthers

What about Navitel? It's native.

Posted via CB10

It does not work for me and judging by the reviews, it's rare to find anyone who got it working. Plus it looks like the maps are Europe only.

Originally Posted by EFats

Well I think I finally found it on my Z10. That bar is at the bottom of the screen, away from where every other control is. The search...still sucks. First it relies on you being online, it doesn't work offline. Secondly, it's actually possibly worse than the other search option. If it finds a place, it doesn't list it in order of proximity, it seems to be some odd random order so the one you are most likely to want is hidden down the list. (And I'm not searching for obscure addresses, these are like large business or industrial locations that have been around for decades)

Yes, it's usable but there is so much better options out there.

Guess it's a matter of taste. I find it a lot easier to use and mostly accurate. Sometimes you have to add a city to a street name for it to find. Also I seldom have no Internet access.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by EFats

I can see that it is not true to say Android apps necessary do worse than native apps. For me the overall winner has to be Magic Earth at this point. It's easy to use, no trackers or ads, free, updated maps and pretty decent on the batteries. On the Passport, you could go on a pretty long trip even if you left it on all the time without a charger.

Excellent post, thanks. Never heard of Magic Earth but will give it a try. Do you know if it allows saving the maps onto the SD card?

Originally Posted by bb_geezer

Excellent post, thanks. Never heard of Magic Earth but will give it a try. Do you know if it allows saving the maps onto the SD card?

Yes and no. Yes it is supposed to be able to but no as in I can't see that option on my Q10. Same version of software shows that option on my Android device. I don't know if this is just Android version limitation. Sygic also says it supports saving to external SD on some devices only.

I like that MagicEarth is pretty clear about where it stores the data and even tells you how to manually move the maps around if you want to do that.

And on another aside, both Sygic and Magic Earth support lower versions of Android so why do so many other apps which do hardly as much (data, GPS, 2D/3D graphics, etc) need such high versions of Android? Hmmm...


Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by EFats

Yes and no. Yes it is supposed to be able to but no as in I can't see that option on my Q10. Same version of software shows that option on my Android device. I don't know if this is just Android version limitation. Sygic also says it supports saving to external SD on some devices only.

Thanks for that, will have to give it a try.

Btw, I'm still a fan of NavFree (oudated maps being the only major gripe), but have you ever managed to get their maps onto SD?