Google Maps is the king of mobile maps and navigation, no doubt about that. But surprisingly it is not fully equipped for the offline world. Yes, you can save part of a map for offline use, but that’s it. You can’t download maps for the whole country, and navigation doesn’t work offline either.
A lot of developers are aware of this and have tried to exploit this market. We’ve bookmarked those apps here before. But each of them has one problem or another. Bad data (most apps use data exclusively) or app full of ads. Some even require a premium subscription to enable navigation.
Now, it looks like there’s finally a real Google Maps alternative for offline users. And it’s a completely new app, but recent updates have made it so much better. Meet Maps.me. This is an application based on open source maps supported by the community and is completely free to use.
Let’s dig inside.
What you need to know before joining
Maps.Me has Android and iOS clients that are completely free to use (down from $4.99 for the previous version).
Look ghost, no internet!
Map data based on OpenStreetMap. If you don’t know about this service, think of it as Wikipedia for maps. Users can freely edit the map and add information.
Download Offline Routes and Maps
Start. Before you start exploring the wild, download the app (weighs 50MB from the Play Store) and from the Menu button select Download the map.
Here, the map will be presented by country. You can also download map data or add routing data. Make sure you download this file over Wi-Fi.
Now here’s the secret, when you’re in a new country and don’t have data on, your phone can still use GPS thanks to SIM ping to nearby cell towers.
Maps.me uses this data and overlays it with offline maps to create an online map experience.
Touch Search to start a location search or search for generic locations like coffee shops or ATMs.
When you find a place, tap car to start navigating. Now, this navigation is nothing fancy like the 3D view of a Google Map. Here you will still get a view of where you are, where you need to go, and most importantly, what direction your phone is currently pointing and of course the compass.
The navigation will mark a route and will show the remaining distance. All this without a Wi-Fi or data connection!
Maps.me compression technology: If you forgot to download offline maps, it might still be better to use Maps.me instead of Google Maps. Maps.me has a built-in compression engine that requires much less data than Google Maps.
Your map
Do you swear by Google Maps or do you use something more specific to your area? Let us know in the comments below.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
