Originally Posted by
flatlander
The danger of relying on cached maps is that if your phone clears its cache - which can happen almost randomly - and you have no mobile signal then it can't fetch more maps and you're in trouble. Obviously this does not apply if you're using a true offline maps solution (Google Maps offline, Open Streetmap maps downloaded to your device, TomTom app, etc).
I chose Vodacom because I was going into the Kruger NP and other rural areas where coverage could be marginal, if you're not going right into the edges of mobile coverage than MTN would be fine - I was just trying to get the best coverage I could.
I found that the 2G coverage was often quite workable, unlike in Europe where 2G usually means you're at the edge of 3G and 2G coverage with 3G failing just before 2G. In South Africa I often had solid 2G coverage that would transmit data at 2G rates, good enough for maps, in rural areas.
I guess my statement was a bit ambiguous. I am not advocating caching the maps on Google Maps at home and then heading out on the road, unless using one of the other solutions that you mentioned, that would certainly be trouble. What I meant is that there are A LOT of dead spots in African countries, including South Africa (just on the pretty main highway between Piet Retief and Hluhluwe my signal dropped countless times... granted it was on that crap-o CellO card), so someone using Google Maps whose signal drops out will be fine for quite a while since the maps for the vicinity will have already loaded while the signal was live.
Agree, the 2G signals I've had in South Africa (and other African countries) has been much better than in the USA (never dealt with 2G in Europe), it's still painfully slow if you're trying to change map detail (zoom level) and waiting for it to reload.
I still would never pay for a navi rental in a country I can get a decent data coverage but I've certainly learned to anticipate my needs well ahead of time when on 2G signals.
If someone is going for Vodacom with a Galaxy S5, I'd see if the shop will check an already activated card in your phone before buying one. I wasted about 150 Rand by not checking first (they're also perhaps the most expensive in SA), Vodacom is the only carrier I've ever had an issue with this phone but it seems to be limited to my specific version of the Galaxy because I can't find anyone else on the internet complaining about it. Voice worked fine, it was just data, their preset downloaded settings didn't work nor did any APN that I had found on my own. I've started carrying a slightly older HTC I have as a backup just in case this comes up again, but so far every other carrier has worked fine (not necessarily SA, various countries.)