*** ~ OSMAND GPS Basic Questions, Please ~ ***

General talk
1

Please completely honest and accurate answers.

These are the requirements:

  • has muti-route (multiple destinations in one path)
  • has turn by turn voice
  • easily able to get muti-route directions from google maps, or another map site
  • user-friendly
  • gives accurate and good bike routes/directions
  • has saved locations
  • works offline (no data service)
  1. I found OSMAND SO DIFFICULT like everyone else http://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?pid=356906#p356906

How do you do muti-route by entering specific addresses, like any good nav app would do?

  1. cyclestreet – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cyclestreets – seems to give good biking directions since they use www.thunderforest.com/opencyclemap/

Does OSMAND use opencyclemap and if not when will it?

  1. NavFree seems good http://androidforums.com/android-applications/727500-best-free-offline-navigation-app-i-say-navfree-over-osmand-navigator-least-usa.html

but I don’t think any of these apps “* easily able to get muti-route directions from google maps, or another map site”

What are the key flaws on NavFree based on the requirements above?

Any Good suggestions for * easily able to get muti-route directions from google maps, or another map site?

If not, I’m going to a Garmin or another commercial GPS device.

Posted on the OSMAND forum and got zero help.

Please completely honest and accurate answers.

2

The first thing I turn on on any navigation device is the voice guidance, so I don’t know how good or bad it is on OSMAND.

  1. Never tried multiple point routing on OSMAND so I can’t comment on that directly other than it is not obvious how to do it via location or POI search assuming it is possible. However you might get a similar functionality via imported GPX “track” information, see below.

  2. OpenCycleMap uses the same OpenStreetMap data as OSMAND so, in theory, OSMAND can do the same bicycle routing as other sites/apps that are using OSM. The couple of times I’ve used OSMAND for bicycle routing, it picked a reasonable route. And, in fact, selected a route that was not possible in a car so it definitely was looking at the tagging on at least one street which allows foot and bicycle traffic but not automobile traffic.

  3. OSMAND does have a capability to route along a GPX track. I’ve only played with this, but it seems to work. Just copy the GPX file into the “osmand/tracks/” directory on your SD card and then select GPX under navigation. One of the options it so follow the GPX track exactly so if the track/route has all the intermediate destinations in it you should be able to visit each in succession.

If your on-line routing site can export the route as GPX it should work. The routing software at http://map.project-osrm.org exports GPX data that seems to work on OSMAND. I don’t know about setting multiple destinations like the Google maps, but you can drag the route to go to specific points which might be sufficient. It does not look like OSRM does bicycle routing however.

Google maps does not allow you to save a route as GPX but it looks like some people have hacked it to do so. First one I found is at http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/ It looks like some others have found it too and have figured out how to add elevation data to the file before using it, see http://forums.mtbr.com/gps-hrm-bike-computer/how-convert-google-maps-route-gpx-578043.html#post6401355 however I don’t think OSMAND would do anything with the elevation data. But using that bookmarklet in your browser you can save out a GPX file for your desired route and load it into a GPS navigation device of your choosing. The file seems to work with OSMAND in the one quick test case I did while writing up this response.

Note: I have a cheap mobile plan so I leave data turned off on my phone and I am often in mountains where mobile coverage is spotty at best. So OSMAND works well for me as it can do everything offline.

3

1
What… ?

2
“OpenCycleMap uses the same OpenStreetMap data”

– i have no idea if you’re talking about the biking routes because opencyclemap seems to use it’s own biking routes.

“looking at the tagging on at least one street”

– ok, so it’s not biking-specific and i can’t even test since the user interface is so broken. you also never answered the question.

3
“route along a GPX track”

– don’t understand what this means

“Just copy the GPX file into the “osmand/tracks/””

– where do you get the file from? google maps has a gpx file to give you?

This doesn’t sound easy. The question was about easy. Did you read?..

With Garmin, you can just go on google maps and send directly to a Garmin device.

“but it looks like some people have hacked it to do so”

– ok, so… well at least this one thing got cleared up but how about the rest?

“it can do everything offline”

– really?.. you just said that you “Never tried multiple point routing on OSMAND” and that you don’t even know if it’s possible currently.

So this sounds like OSMAND is -100 out of 10 stars in user-friendly

and there was no mention as to if it “has saved locations”

You also never solved any of the other questions…

~

Looks like have to test NavFree

or get a commercial GPS device soon

4

double checking on mapfactor as well http://forum.mapfactor.com/discussion/4133/-few-questions-

and not testing navfree just emailed them

im done with this after that

5

When searching, the second icon (the flag, between the arrow and the pin) means “set as intermediate destination”.

They’re both using the same Database, only displaying a different subset of it.

It essentially recaps your question.

Actually it’s very simple. Well, if you know how to handle your device…

What exactly do you mean by this? An option to remember a destination (Favourites/Bookmarks)? Maybe you should actually try using OsmAnd before flaming…

And my “honest and accurate answer” to your first posting: OsmAnd perfectly meets your requirements and your username suggests you’ll like it if you’d give it a chance.

6

the reply on mapfactor answers everything

nobody can give a decent answer on osmand…

“Maybe you should actually try…”

– sorry, you didn’t read either…

“1) I found OSMAND SO DIFFICULT like everyone else http://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?pid=356906#p356906 / [http://androidforums.com/android-applications/727500-best-free-offline-navigation-app-i-say-navfree-over-osmand-navigator-least-usa.html\”](http://androidforums.com/android-applications/727500-best-free-offline-navigation-app-i-say-navfree-over-osmand-navigator-least-usa.html\)

i have posts all over the web about how awful & yucky osmand is

and still no answers to the other questions above.

that just logically mean how BAD osmand, developers, and the users, are – duh!!

7

One question, I saw an option in navegation that warns you about radars, does that mean speed cameras?

8

Yes, indeed.

For a long time Osmand was able to only show speed cameras that are a simple node of a way you drive along. But in very recent versions Osmand can also display speed cameras that consist of a so called relation in raw OSM data.

Be sure that it isnot illegal to use that feature in your country … there are several where it is forbidden do use such warning programs in a car when driving.