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Caching Google Maps to Use Offline

Recently, I hear more rumors that Google is going to make their maps/navigation available offline...
 
Usta said:
Recently, I hear more rumors that Google is going to make their maps/navigation available offline...
Click to expand...
Oh that would be nice! I would love to have that on my trip to Hong Kong this summer! So hopefully it comes out by then.

Source to the rumor please!
 
Usta said:
Recently, I hear more rumors that Google is going to make their maps/navigation available offline...
Click to expand...

That would be awesome! My take on it is that Google is all about the web, the cloud, etc. I've always thought that the idea of offline maps was sort of contradictory to the whole google thing.

Sure, it's nice when you're home (works fine on 3G) but when you're traveling roaming charges can be pretty bad (on my last trip to the US my carrier was charging
 
Hi all

Following this thread with interest as, although I have unlimited data, 3G connection can be pretty lousy in some parts of Ireland (i.e. anywhere outside a large town/city where there might be a hill in the way of "line of sight").

I used to have an Nokia 5800 before I switched to my DHD and could use Ovi maps using GPS only i.e. "off line". Was very accurate and fast to load the maps. How come Nokia (symbian) has managed it but android hasn't?
 
It seems that Google's general philosophy is to have everything in the cloud. For instance, if you do a Google search for something, it goes to the clould to find what you are looking for and then the result is sent back to you. You wouldn't want to download the entire Google database so you can do a search while offline.

I do feel that with mapping apps, it is quite likely that you would want to use it while you are unable to or unwilling to be online. Google Maps have many features that are dependent on being online. Streetview and the search capabilities are more difficult to do offline since the amount of data for these capabilities are huge and not practical to be stored on the device. For navigating only, the amount of data is small enough to be stored online. The latest Google Maps uses vectors instead of map images. Vectors is supposed to take up less space than images. Perhaps, making this change will make it more feasible for users to download the maps to their devices and allow offline navigation.

I am very happy to hear that Google Maps may soon be available in offline mode for navigation. I used Ovi Maps for my last vacation. I don't think I was out of network range at all, but it is nice to know that you don't need network coverage in case you do wind up in a reclusive area.
 
Usta said:
Here is one article about Maps being available online:

Google Maps Navigation to get offline mode? Garmin and TomTom on notice -- Engadget

The original source comes from Holland, so here is the English translated page: Google Vertaling
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From the Google Translation form Dutch to English in the article, it seems like this is only applicable for Holland? The translation is a bit rough with the sentence structure, lol.


According to an informed source from the Dutch telecom industry will soon be a Google offline version of Google Maps Navigation available.
Daarmee wordt het ook mogelijk om ook in het buitenland gratis te navigeren.​
This makes it possible to also free to move abroad.
Click to expand...
 
Roze said:
From the Google Translation form Dutch to English in the article, it seems like this is only applicable for Holland? The translation is a bit rough with the sentence structure, lol.
Click to expand...
Indeed, the Translation could have been made better...

The article says that according to an Android phone manufacturer (HTC? Samsung?) the offline feature will be made available this Summer via application update, and it will finally allow to use free navigation in abroad.
There is no indication that this is Dutch-only. :)
 
Usta said:
Indeed, the Translation could have been made better...

The article says that according to an Android phone manufacturer (HTC? Samsung?) the offline feature will be made available this Summer via application update, and it will finally allow to use free navigation in abroad.
There is no indication that this is Dutch-only. :)
Click to expand...


I hope that is the case *crosses fingers*
 
Subscribing to thread.

I'm still with Ovi maps stuck on symbian until I find something on Android that does the same or better.
With OviMaps I can fly into Brazil, jump into a hirecar and not get lost. I need that kind of thing. 3G is no good in the jungle.

I'd even be prepared to pay for global coverage. But I find maps tend to be sold regionally which is really annoying. And expensive. I'd pay
 
There is a pre-cache map area available under "menu"->"more"->"labs". Check the "pre-cache map area" written by Ole C, then on the map, tap and hold a central address. One of the options will be to cache. It will cache a 10 mile radius from that address.
 
foszz said:
There is a pre-cache map area available under "menu"->"more"->"labs". Check the "pre-cache map area" written by Ole C, then on the map, tap and hold a central address. One of the options will be to cache. It will cache a 10 mile radius from that address.
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Thanks for the info :) I hope they expand from 10 mile ...but 10 mile is pretty decent for a city centre, lol.
 
itsallgood said:
You can cache more then one area. I've had like 6 to cover a 60 mile radius.
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You're right about being able to cache more than one area, but your math skills are a bit weak <grin>

10 mile radius = 10 x 10 x 3.14 = 314 square miles

6 of those = 6 x 314 = 1,884 square miles

60 mile radius = 60 x 60 x 3.14 = 11,304 square miles

So to cover the same area of a circle with a 60 mile radius, you'd need to cache 36 of the 10 mile radius circles.

However, if you're filling a big circle with smaller circles, you'd have to overlap them to avoid coverage holes, so you'd need substantially more than 36 of them. I'm sure someone out there could tell you exactly how many, but that's well beyond what I remember about geometry.
 
Goreygirl said:
Hi all

I used to have an Nokia 5800 before I switched to my DHD and could use Ovi maps using GPS only i.e. "off line". Was very accurate and fast to load the maps. How come Nokia (symbian) has managed it but android hasn't?
Click to expand...
Yes, Nokia really has maps down very nicely with Ovi Maps. You could download the entire world offline on your SD card and have offline global maps and navigation including turn by turn voice, jumping off a flight.

I was debating keeping my 5800 simply for this purpose only, but since I got $100 or so for it, let it go, as I do not travel very frequently. Also Ovi was quite terrible at finding an address offline and so was quite useless. Also it was quite laggy and route IQ was poor.

Google could probably make offline maps vector based like Ovi with POIs and then if online, add layers depending on the user's requirement / zoom level.

With 2.3.3 and latest version of Google Maps, it does cache maps offline. One has to go to settings>Labs and enable pre-cache map area. AFAIK if you plan your route when on wi-fi/online, it caches that portion of the map area as well.
 
Darkseas said:
You're right about being able to cache more than one area, but your math skills are a bit weak <grin>

10 mile radius = 10 x 10 x 3.14 = 314 square miles

6 of those = 6 x 314 = 1,884 square miles

60 mile radius = 60 x 60 x 3.14 = 11,304 square miles

So to cover the same area of a circle with a 60 mile radius, you'd need to cache 36 of the 10 mile radius circles.

However, if you're filling a big circle with smaller circles, you'd have to overlap them to avoid coverage holes, so you'd need substantially more than 36 of them. I'm sure someone out there could tell you exactly how many, but that's well beyond what I remember about geometry.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the morning headache math lesson :P
 
Hey everyone, longtime reader/firsttime caller :-)

So I have a Chinese (Huawei) Google phone running 2.2, and I have Maps running at 5.10. When I go into my maps, and try to get to MORE and Labs, though, I don't see Offline caching. I have the bubble locations and the tape measure, but no offline. Any suggestions? I live in Taiwan, so I assumed it had something to do with not being able to get it here in its initial release, but I'm hearing of people in Hong Kong and other places getting it. Help!
 
I just tried the new google maps precache thanks to this thread. It seemed to work well. But a couple of questions, maybe no one here knows?

  1. Where does it store the maps?
  2. Is there any way to clear the cached maps without clearing "user data" as it states? I'm guessing that "user data" that can be cleared is all cached user data on the phone?
  3. At least when I pre-cache, the idicator shows a rectangular area has been downloaded. There was talk here earlier about weak math skills...but it'd sure have made more sense for the pre-cache to store square tiles, not round, and since it shows a square...maybe it is storing squarish maps?
 
So.. no chance for Android users like me (LG GT540) to have a complete offline (get directions,...) GPS navigator for free?
 
minusdroid said:
There was talk here earlier about weak math skills...but it'd sure have made more sense for the pre-cache to store square tiles, not round, and since it shows a square...maybe it is storing squarish maps?
Click to expand...

Google was very explicit about a 10 mile radius. But you're not the first to report 10 mile x 10 mile squares.

So perhaps it's Google whose math skills don't extend to knowing that a rectangle doesn't have a radius.
 
minusdroid said:
I just tried the new google maps precache thanks to this thread. It seemed to work well. But a couple of questions, maybe no one here knows?

  1. Where does it store the maps?
  2. Is there any way to clear the cached maps without clearing "user data" as it states? I'm guessing that "user data" that can be cleared is all cached user data on the phone?
  3. At least when I pre-cache, the idicator shows a rectangular area has been downloaded. There was talk here earlier about weak math skills...but it'd sure have made more sense for the pre-cache to store square tiles, not round, and since it shows a square...maybe it is storing squarish maps?
Click to expand...

1) I believe it stores the maps data on either the SD card or internal storage. (Depending what you have selected on your phone.) 2) To clear map cache: menu > More> Cache Settings> Clear map Tile Cache. When you pre-cache the maps of a 10mile radius, you can access them within the Google Maps app. Open Google Maps> menu> More> Cache Settings> Pre-cached Map Areas. On my phone, the pre-cache area is square and not rectangular.
 
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