Could anyone point out to me an app that is kind of like Google Maps or Mapquest, but doesn't require the internet? I know there's a Mapquest app, but I'm not entirely sure whether it requires the internet or not and I don't currently have an iPod Touch.
tomtom or navigon both store the maps on your itouch/iphone, and do not require internet access after the initial download both of them are fairly expensive though
Hey Burton, I'm currently doing some work with TomTom and as austrianoak pointed out the TomTom app doesn't require the internet as it stores the maps on the iPhone or iPod Touch. However, in order for the app to work on the iPod Touch you also must have the TomTom iPod car kit adapter as the iPod Touch currently doesn't have an internal GPS. The iPod car kit adapter has a GPS chip built in which allows the app to work on the iPod Touch.
Having just returned from a long holiday around Spain, I have a few thoughts about this: - OffMaps is great in the big cities, but OpenStreetMap (which powers its maps) is mediocre to unusable in less populated areas. It has a beautifully executed bookmarks function. Its main weakness is that you can't search street names offline (much less POIs) so ultimately it's really just a glorified image browser. - xGPS (if you have jailbroken your phone) is good because it sources its maps from Google. However, it has no real bookmarking function, is similarly handicapped search-wise as OffMaps, and its maps download manager is both more complicated and less powerful than OffMaps's. A good backup option for OffMaps. - Navigon is a good GPS program, but for offline maps functionality, it is terrible. Really ugly UI and messy 2D maps. However, its database of POIs (handy when you're stuck somewhere without WiFi) was better than anything else I tried. - Overall, Tom Tom was my choice for an offline maps app. The ability to quickly plug in a street address, figure out exactly where you are, and then get walking navigation directions to another street address saved me A LOT of grief. As you use it, though, it's pretty obvious that it wasn't designed for this purpose, and you have to go through a lot of useless menu digging to get it to work as a simple map browser.
According to Apple's website the iPod Touch does not have an internal GPS but rather the "iPod touch finds your location using known Wi-Fi hotspots". This means if you lose the wi-fi connection then the maps are lost. The TomTom app will only work on the iPod touch with the car kit as it needs GPS capabilities to function and the maps are stored on the phone so you don't need the internet.
Ugly UI? You must have confused Navigon with TomTom. Navigon uses the normal system UI, so either you don't like the UI of the iPhone at all or you mean another app. BTW the new version of Navigon (submitted but not yet approved by Apple) will have a complete new pedestrian mode with support for the 3GS compass (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/navigon/?saved=1).
I've been looking for something like this. Would be nice to be able to just download a map of the county you live in for instance. And still be able to have direction functionality, etc. I realize the entire country would be an enormous app that wouldn't work on iPod Touch.
Does anyone actually find the 3GS compass to be anything other then complete garbage? I've had it be off as much as 180 degrees, and of course had I not known what direction it should be pointing because I was just testing it out, I'd have been screwed. The 3GS compass is ludicrously untrustable.
Does TomTom on the iPhone know the proper speed of a road? I bought a stand-alone TomTom a few years ago and promptly returned it when it estimated my driving time from Edmonton, AB to Calgary, AB at 4.5 hours. The actual trip took 2.5 hours, driving the same route the TomTom told me to drive. I did some research and discovered the estimation was way off because TomTom views everything as a road, while Garmin knows whether the road is a primary or secondary highway and estimates the speed limit based on a defined speed for the type of road. Because of that feature the TomTom was completely useless to me, and I returned it for a newer Garmin. If all you do is drive in the city then you probably wouldn't be bothered by this limitation. 3 years ago I planned an entire road trip based on how long my Garmin told me it would take to get to a place, and it was extremely accurate. Gord
Hey GordLacey, I'm currently doing a little work with TomTom and can help answer this question. The iPhone app does know the speeds of most major roads and highways. However, on some of the smaller back roads it does not. If you are using the IQ routes function, the routes are based on millions of TomTom users worldwide providing TomTom with anonymous historical speed-data from each of their journeys every time they connect their device to TomTom HOME. It takes factors into account that may influence the trip time like traffic lights, rotaries/roundabouts, steep slopes, speed bumps and whether you are travelling on weekends or a weekday. This could've been how the trip time it gave you was longer than expected.
