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I am trying to decide on a GPS app for my iPad Mini. I have narrowed it down to these and was looking for feedback from EDC (I have scoured the net and this had led to these final choices. They are listed in order of interest to me. Thanx allot, Ed
1- GPS Kit HD (appears to still have map choice options)
2- Motion X HD (have heard the the map choices are now limited to Apple)
3- GPS Tracks HD (can’t really find any info about)Isn’t Google Maps now available on apple products? Google maps is great. Free, turn by turn, Street view, and a long list of other features. I actually sold a garmin because Google maps on my phone was going a better job.
Google Maps is OK for day-to-day navigation, but as I found out in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, not really so hot for the back country. I don’t know about Apple products as I don’t use any except a 6 year old Ipod in the little OHV Samurai I bought, but for Android I use a product called BackCountry Navigator Pro….which after research I find isn’t ported to iOS products. Sorry
Basically, find one where you can either download maps or save them to memory, your internal gps locator will do the rest whether you have data access or not.
Yeah I got totally sold on BKN Pro and then realized it was not for iOS. Of the ones I listed GPS Kit is the only one that allows downloading maps for “offline” use. I think I will try it, its spendier than the rest but looks pretty well thought out. Thanks for your input.
I have stumbled on a few more, my new top three list is:
1- GPS Kit HD
2- Gaia GPS
3- AccuTerra HDStill looking for input if anyone has anything to share….
I decided on GPS Kit HD, I love it, no subscription, can choose from many map sources, google, apple, topo etc…. It’s perfect
Just out of curiosity, have you tried using the new TomTom based GPS function on ISO 6 and above? I’ve actually found it really quite good with voice command and turn-by-turn. Also seems to be battery efficient since it wakes from sleep to issue instructions and will overlay traffic jams.
My basic uses will be for hiking, and back country driving on the many mountain dirt 4×4 roads here in CO. I already have a Garmin in the truck, it shows no detail once you leave the pavement. Thanx for the tip though, should I decide to ditch the Garmin the search will be on for an app similar to the TomTom you mentioned. Thanx again, Ed
Not sure we talking about the same thing, but I’m referring Apple’s stock map app that’s already included with your OS – it’s been TomTom based since they moved away from Google’s map app and I find it as good as my Garmin for road navigation. But like all smartphone/tablet GPS systems, they are primarily designed for roads where you have good cell service that can cache the maps as you move along. Not sure how the newer devices and apps work with fully cached maps and no cell service, maybe it has improved a lot since I tried, which I have to say quite a long time ago.
Now as far as Garmin is concerned, I’ve been using a 60csx for 5-6 yrs now, a handheld 2xAA unit with full auto-routing/turn-by-turn capabilities as the street pilot line. I’m a motorcyclist, hiker, camper and kayaker and take the thing everywhere when traveling/exploring. The beauty of the Garmin is that you can load different maps on the device, and call them up as necessary. So I use City Navigator maps for the motorcycle/car, US Topo for off-road, hiking and camping, and Marine maps for the kayak. I have half the US on one microSD and other half on another.
I would think all the Garmins would be capable of the map layering thing.
I use a Nuvi cheapy in my truck and a Zumo 220 on my bike, I keep the maps up to date and have purchased the map upgrades for the Zumo as I often head out for 2-3 day trips to no-where. Very pleased with both, I do not use turn by turn navigation on either of them, I typically will a have a good feel for where I am going and usually keep a map highlighted with my routes in my tank bag that is fully visible. The app search that lead to GPS Kit is for back-country 4-wheeling, after lots of research on Taco forums and the like I found that for what I want to do with the app, GPS Kit is it, you can save maps to device and the gps chip will keep your tracks going etc… Same with hiking, neither of my Garmins are hiker friendly so that was reason #2 for the app. I think we are kinda talking about the same thing and kinda not….ed
Good stuff… please report back after you’ve tested it out. I would like a backup to my Gamin that works with stored maps and without cell service. Be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Google Maps definitely. Google Sky Map and My Tracks are pretty cool navigation-related apps as well.
GPS Kit HD, lest you use any and all google maps +: Google terrain, cycling, satallite, street; Open street; Mapquest open arial; Open Topo; Bing shaded relief, street, image and Google Hybrid
I have GPS Kit on my iPhone, and have found it quite useful 🙂 I’ve certainly never had any problems with it. Although I consider it a backup to my paper map! I think that’s backwards to most people, but hey ho!
Spyglass is an intriguing little app, far too complex to be much use for general navigation without reading the manual and learning a LOT of controls, but a funky little toy nonetheless…
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