Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Free offline maps with you at any point of the world. Now on Android!

MapsWithMe app, offering free offline maps, is available on Android Market. Now Android smartphone owners can locate their position on the map being offline at any point on the earth.

MapsWithMe is a tool that helps travel with full confidence. What travelers, setting out on a journey, should do is just to install the application and get instant access to the maps of the countries they are going to visit.

“Instant” here means instant indeed. The app’s know-how is in a special map data compressing method that allows downloading maps in seconds. For example, the size of the full maps of Switzerland is just 52MB, and only 173MB – of Italy. The map data comes from the open source initiative, OpenStreetMap, and is being updated through massive online collaboration, with hundreds of thousands of users worldwide.

The major advantage of the app is that users can work with the maps without any Internet connection, after the maps have been downloaded to their smartphones. So locating the nearest restaurant in Paris or a public WiFi hotspot in London becomes a really easy task with GPS positioning and compass supported by the app. And no payment is required for mobile roaming.

MapsWithMe is also available for iPhone users on the App Store. As to the next releases, we are already working on new features such as search, bookmarking places, and integration with other data sources.

Posted by AlexZ at 11:03

56 comments:

  1. Please introduce search capabilities soon...nice maps but not much to do without search and search functionality. Manual peck and hunt is no fun!

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  2. Offline search for iPhone/iPad is almost ready, for Android is coming soon!

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  3. Right! I now have almost 30 maps DL'd. Without being able to SEARCH them they are dead weight on my kindlefire... why was this released as it is?

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  4. Hi jipsi,

    We are working hard to release MapsWithMe with search for Kindle Fire as soon as possible.
    However we decided not to delay the release until that happens because we think that the current version may still be useful when traveling: you can find where you are with WiFi geopositioning and browse the map around you.
    You may also find interesting my previous blog post about why do we try releasing earlier.

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  5. This app is fantastic! However one of the best features, the Wikitravel companion, made this app one of the best apps in the App Store.

    Are you planning on implementing the Wikitravel portion back into the app? If so when?

    Thank you very much.

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  6. Thank you for your kind words. We're investigating now how to implement it in the most useful way.

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  7. I travel internationally on business almost weekly, and I've been looking for an app like this one for as long as I've had my phone - a 27-month old Nexus One, by the way, and the app runs fast and flawlessly on it.

    I'm a map-reader from way back - used to be a F.A.C. in the military - and just being able to have a local map in my possession without the $15/MB roaming charge is a blessing!

    I will patiently wait for the additional functionality of search and bookmark, as well as the travel guide for Android devices. If and when you go public, be sure to post it here. I'll want to buy stock!

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    1. Thank you! We are keen to release MapsWithMe Pro for Android as soon as possible, featuring offline search and bookmarks.

      Delete

  8. А чем ваше приложение отличается от проекта osmand? есть что-то принципиальное, почему я его должен использовать?

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    1. Проще один раз посмотреть чем сто раз услышать, тем более что версия - бесплатная.

      Delete

  9. Just installed this, downloaded maps. App has been seeking for my position for nearly an hour now- how long is it supposed to take?

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  10. Looks like your positioning services are disabled either globally or only for MapsWithMe (in iOS) or not available at the moment (GPS satellites usually work outdoors).
    Are other apps with location work correctly?

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    1. My position in Google Maps functions correctly, have tried opening Mapswithme today, but still only get a grey area with a blue dot and a beam that moves...

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    2. But blue dot and beam means that your position was determined correctly. In which country are you located? Have you downloaded it?

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    3. I'm in the North of Norway, and I have downloaded the map for Norway.

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    4. What about other locations on the map? Are they displayed correctly? Can you check that your location is actually mapped in the http://openstreetmap.org ?

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  11. I have the exact problem as hejno's. I live in California, USA. I have dled California map. thanks for instruction...

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  12. Can you check that "Use wireless network" and "Use GPS Satellites" checkboxes are ENABLED in settings?
    For example, on this pic these settings are disabled (it's wrong!): http://images.brighthub.com/cf/0/cf08a777a362c549e4f48184bebe8fb8e2c6f9e0_large.jpg

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  13. thank you very much for your reply. Unfortunately, my Android is version 2.3. the option for Location are only 1) VZW Location Services, 2)Standalone GPS Services,and 3)Google Location Services. I checked all that but the problem persists. Is it because of the Android version incompatability?

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    1. Strange, it should work on all devices starting from 2.1. Would you please install some logging tool from the Play Market like "Log Viewer", launch MapsWithMe, capture it's logs and send them to bugs@mapswithme.com? It can help us to debug and fix this issue.

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  14. Hi AlexZ, I just sent out the log as your instruction. Thank you much for your help.

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. Hi, I am on Android. Maps work great, much better than other apps. I plan to travel oversees in 3 months. Do you think you'll have the search available by then? Do you plan to add bookmarks also?

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  17. Hi Emil, thank you for your kind words.

    Bookmarks for iOS are almost ready, next step is offline search for Android. Bookmarks for Android are planned after that. I suppose that search will be ready in several months.

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  18. can I download mapswithme maps to my PC and then transfer them to my droid X?

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    1. You can always download maps directly on your device, but if you really need to use a PC, please drop us a line at info@mapswithme.com, we'll provide detailed instructions how to do it.

      Delete

  19. Hi! I downloaded this app in my HTC Raider.. however, I have a problem with it..It won't show the roads when I zoom it up to 10 km. The screen turns blank but I can see the blue dot. How can I solve this problem? I have already uninstalled and re-installed the app a number of times but there's no progress. I tried deleting the map of Canada too but it can't be deleted. Please try to help me solve this problem

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hi Ching, have you tried latest versions from the market?
      If it doesn't help, try to connect your device as an external USB drive, delete MapsWithMe folder completely, disconnect the cable and re-launch MapsWithMe app.

      Delete

  20. Works perfectly on my galaxy s3 / android 4.0 :-)

    only one little problem : while downloading maps, connexion hangs very offently, even if connected via wifi at home.

    Is there an alternative url to donwload them from my pc (then transfer directly to flash) ?

    Storing maps on extension sdcard would also be a good improvement.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hi Philippe,

      Can you contact us by mail info@mapswithme.com? We'll help you with download problem.
      SDCard usage is also in our plans, we'll add this feature in one of the upcoming updates.

      Delete

  21. sale distorciomada la imagen en la tableta no anda no funca es una porqueria mas grande

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  22. Hi, very nice app! Thank you very much for it.

    Allow to store the maps in external sd card, as Philippe Fernández suggested, would be a great feature.

    Also, some function to be notified about outdated maps would be very useful, IMHO.

    Thanks again, and best regards,

    Joan

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    Replies

    1. Hi. Yes, we will add setting for map data path in device storage. Maps update feature is also in our todo list and it will be available in one of the next updates.

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  23. My position wont load for nearly 30 minutes when google maps located me in two second
    There is no blue dot or beam or anything else
    Already download the offline maps by the way
    What should I do?

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    Replies

    1. Hi, probably you have set incorrect date/time or timezone on your device, would you please recheck?

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    2. Doesn't work
      Tried to use both network provided timezone and set them myself
      None of them seems to work
      I'm using ICS by the way
      Is that a problem?

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    3. Hi Reikazu, what about your location settings? Are all checkmarks enabled? By the way, we've almost ready with Android update which contains alot of fixes, probably it will fix this issue for you too.

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    4. Please let me know if the update is available

      Yes, all the checkmarks is enabled
      And I just realize, the problem showed up when I use my mobile network
      It's working fine (sometimes, not always) when I'm on wi-fi
      The thing is, I rarely got wi-fi access when I'm out

      Delete

    5. ah, and as a suggestion
      Can you guys write the application version at 'about' page (since it's the only page available beside the main page)
      And update button right from the application would be awesome

      Delete

    6. It's a good idea, probably we'll put the version into the convenient place. Now you can check it from System Settings->App Manager
      Have you already checked out new version for Google Play?

      Delete

  24. Hey, this sounds great...

    is it available for countries like INDIA???

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    Replies

    1. Now you can install MapsWithMe from Google Play Market, Amazon, Samsung and LG appstores. And of course you can download offline map of India inside the MapsWithMe app. Which device do you have, and what app market is preinstalled on it?

      Delete

  25. Is the use of GPS is free? Can you explain how it works offline?

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    1. Hi Mark, yes, it's free. GPS works by using satellites signal on your device. If you are interested, here are more details: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel/gps.htm

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  26. I tried the app on my android mobile device but I can zoom in only a couple of times which is very troublesome. I really could need this app and would go for the pro if it would work properly. Any advice how to fix it? The page just goes blank after zooming in more than 2 or 3 times.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Have you downloaded the map of the country where you're trying to zoom in?

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  27. Yes I did. The app did ask me if I like to download the map of Vietnam, where I am at the moment.

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    Replies

    1. Would you please send us a screenshot with a problem, to support@mapswithme.com?
      Also can you check that other countries works well?

      Delete

  28. Thanks Alex, I downloaded cambodia and it did work, so I just deleted Vietnam and reinstalled it and it works just fine now. Thanks for your support guys, very nice app, keep on the good work !

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  29. When will be available bookmark on the pro version for android ?

    It is really missing !

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    Replies

    1. We know it. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than we've estimated, but the work is almost done.

      Delete

  30. I returned CoPilot Live Premium Europe because it does not let me plan my holidays in Europe while residing in New Zealand. Instead I installed ‘Maps with Me’.
    I started setting out my route by dropping Pins on the map.
    I noticed, this is the only way to show the planned route. This is very awkward when you have to zoom in on a complicated motorway intersection and your pins are dropping of the screen. In Google maps the route is highlighted thus very easy to follow in a labyrinth of roads. Does ‘Maps with Me’ provide highlighting?
    Another thing I found is; when you decide to drop an extra pin to create more help to negotiate difficult intersections, the pin can’t be inserted into list so it is in the right sequence. Are there any tricks I have missed?

    Is there a user manual available for ‘Maps with Me Pro’ ?

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    Replies

    1. Hello Chris

      Sorry for late reply. Unfortunately we have no navigation at the moment but it's in our long-term plans. We plan to develop different types of navigation(voice, turn-by-turn), add highlighting, distance calculator and other things connected to navigating.

      We are also working on bookmark option improvements. That's why your idea to add an ability to insert the pin to the list of bookmarks is really helpful for us. Thanks for that.

      Feel free to contact us via support@mapswithme.com e-mail if you have any additional questions.

      Delete

  31. Any thoughts on using/adding the cycle information overlay?

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    Replies

    1. Yes, we're thinking how to make it easy to use. If you have any usability ideas, please share them with us at info@mapswith.me

      Delete

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