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-   -   Here Maps (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/1673145-here-maps.html)

ScottC Apr 18, 2015 6:25 pm

Here Maps
 
What a totally underestimated app. I recently used this in Germany with its cached maps, and it blows Google Maps out of the water. I had tried an early very a year or so ago, but this is miles ahead of where they were then.

Highly recommended, and I assume it is also available for iOS:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....here.app.maps

docbert Apr 18, 2015 10:42 pm

Absolutely agree. Even with an unlimited global data plan I find myself using Nokia more and more when overseas. The only real catch with using it without a data connection is that their offline searching is good but not great - whilst online search is almost as good as Google.

That said, their "Maps For Life" tagline may be in for a change in the near future - Nokia Looks to Sell Its HERE Mapping Unit

cressers Apr 19, 2015 1:08 am

Really good - also use this. The iOS one only came back to the store recently, as someone coming from WP this was something I missed.

Downloading the full country is so much better than caching the route on google.

Definitely the best I have found on iOS for free.

Negatives - not so good for finding businesses/shops/etc as google - assume data points are less dense...

JClishe Apr 19, 2015 8:33 am

Another fan here. I went from Windows Phone to iOS about 6 months ago and like the last poster, I really missed Here Maps. Was stoked to see it appear in the store recently.

docbert Apr 19, 2015 10:14 am


Originally Posted by cressers (Post 24686623)
Downloading the full country is so much better than caching the route on google.

Actually this is one of the things I wish they would fix. For most countries, the map granularity is the entire country, not at a state level. So for example, if you're going to Australia you need to download the entire country (~750MB) even if you're only interested in one state. Not a major problem if you remember to do it before you leave home, but frequently a challenge if you're trying to download via airport/lounge/hotel/etc Wifi.

A few countries have state-level (US, UK, France, etc) but not most of them.


Originally Posted by cressers (Post 24686623)
Negatives - not so good for finding businesses/shops/etc as google - assume data points are less dense...

As I mentioned above, online searching is much better than it's fixed/offline POI database. If you don't have a data plan then try doing the search when you're on Wifi - it'll remember your selected results even when you're offline again.

Buzz53 Apr 19, 2015 5:49 pm

Agree, this is a great app.
I've been using it on an iphone and it's good so far (2 weeks of driving around my home city to see how it performs). As it uses open-street maps it does has limitations when used in off-line mode, especially in looking up POIs and street numbers. The OSM app I use on my android tablet (Osmand) seems to have a bigger off-line POI database.
Re-routing on Here works well, which is great when driving.
The only thing I didn't like was the requirement to create an account and sign on to download maps.

docbert Apr 19, 2015 8:31 pm


Originally Posted by Buzz53 (Post 24689445)
As it uses open-street maps it does has limitations when used in off-line mode

No, it does not use OSM. Nokia bought NAVTEQ in 2007 - it uses their maps.

Loren Pechtel Apr 19, 2015 11:19 pm

The offline capability looks interesting.

MAN Pax Apr 20, 2015 3:22 am

Useful for offline navigation, I'll still keep Google as my "go-to"

Buzz53 Apr 20, 2015 5:37 pm


Originally Posted by docbert (Post 24690018)
No, it does not use OSM. Nokia bought NAVTEQ in 2007 - it uses their maps.

Oh, thanks for that, I didn't realise.
I'll compare it with OSM when I'm walking around Stockholm in a couple of months. Let's see which one gets me un-lost the quickest.:)

TWA884 Apr 20, 2015 6:50 pm

I installed the app yesterday. It's humongous.

I downloaded two sets of maps - California (~500 MB) for testing and Spain (~700 MB) for an upcoming trip - and one voice navigation language packet (~60 MB). With the app itself the total is 1.26 GB.

Wow!

No other app on my phone even comes close.

Loren Pechtel Apr 20, 2015 9:53 pm


Originally Posted by TWA884 (Post 24694930)
I installed the app yesterday. It's humongous.

I downloaded two sets of maps - California (~500 MB) for testing and Spain (~700 MB) for an upcoming trip - and one voice navigation language packet (~60 MB). With the app itself the total is 1.26 GB.

Wow!

No other app on my phone even comes close.

That's why maps are usually served up piecemeal rather than downloaded.

Tocsin Apr 21, 2015 9:42 am

I have built-in satnav in the car, but one benefit of Here is that it also does pretty good public transport and walking routes as well.

That got me from a park and ride to the gate of a Cambridge college without any drama recently.

Vulcan Apr 21, 2015 1:27 pm

I downloaded HERE and NJ maps yesterday and used it today. It is very good.

TWA884 Apr 21, 2015 4:18 pm


Originally Posted by Loren Pechtel (Post 24695590)
That's why maps are usually served up piecemeal rather than downloaded.

Downloading only the four regional maps that I need for my Spain trip would have taken even more space than the whole country's map. I was not presented with a piecemeal option for California.


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