MarcForrest.com

Tag: GPS

  • South African GPS Navigational iPhone Apps

    Earlier this year when Apple hosted WWDC one of the apps that was featured during the Keynote was the TomTom navigational app. Everyone was wowed by the app and what it could offer users as opposed to a separate GPS device in your car. You now had the opportunity for an all in 1 Device. GPS+Phone+Supercomputer all in one. There was a long silence after that, and then suddenly the app appeared on the app store at $99, and a further $99 for the cradle kit. It seemed a bit steep for both of them put together given that GPS devices are now round about the same price as that.

    South Africa had to wait a bit for their mapsets to appear on the app store, but eventually they arrived with Navigon making its entrance first. TomTom was available sneaky sneaky, but has since made it debut in the app store. Finally NDrive, a relatively unknown GPS provider also came onto the scene with their app. So far NDrive seems to be the most popular in terms of reviews from users on the South African app store, because both Navigon & TomTom mapsets in the app are hugely outdated. With road name changes taking place in South Africa daily, and all the road upgrades & changes being made for next years World Cup, the mapsets need to be fully up to date and upgraded regularly.

    I thought I would take a quick look at the 3 apps on offer as well as provide some links to the reviews to see what the people are saying. Most of the reviews I have found have been on the South African app store.

    Mobile Navigator Southern Africa (Opens iTunes)

    Price: $99.99 (±R770)

    Size: 128MB

    Mapset: Navteq

    iTunes Rating: 3.5 stars – Comments Link

    Comments: Reading through most of the reviews online people are really upset by the fact on how outdated the maps are, and how slow the app is.  The mapset seems to be from around 2007, which doesn’t really cut it given the changes to the roads since then. This is the most expensive app out of the lot, and has received a number of 1 star reviews in the app store.

    Tom Tom Southern Africa (Opens iTunes)

    Price: $79.99 (±R620)

    Size: 140MB

    Mapset: TomTom Mapset

    iTunes Rating: 3.5  – Comments Link

    Comments: Again, reading through the comments the maps seem very out of date. I have seen a version of this app on a mates phone, and being TomTom fan, I wasn’t hugely impressed. The app seems really slow and “clunky”. I expected a bit more out the TomTom app given the hype that surrounded it at WWDC. Hopefully they can redeem themselves by bringing out an update to see the new road changes in South Africa. Out of the 3, it also looks the most “basic” to me.

    NDrive South Africa (Opens iTunes)

    Price: $69.99 (±R540)

    Size: 144 MB

    Mapset: Mapit (Q3 2009)

    iTunes Rating: 4.5 – Comments Link

    Comments: Judging by the comments on the review in the app store, it would seem that this is the best GPS navigational app in South Africa so far. The fact that they are using a local company for the mapset, Mapit, and it is the latest version, says something about the app. It is also the cheapest of the 3. I also saw a really cool option in the screenshots that allows you to see some of the buildings in 3D. It also has a built in Adventure mode, which allows you to use it while walking or geocaching.

    By the looks of things NDrive takes the cake with this one, but I am really hoping that TomTom & Navigon comes to the party and updates the mapsets. We have fantastic mapping companies in South Africa, and they should be using them. I still wonder why the likes of Garmin haven’t come to the party. Added to the fact that there is talk of the Google Maps app becoming a fully fledged navigational app, it is sure going to be an interesting few months ahead.

  • Streetmaps API

    Streetmaps.co.za is South Africas ultimate mapping solution. Sure Google Maps gives us fantastic coverage of South Africa is satellite view, but the one thing it is lacking is the ability to route from one destination, to another.

    The guys at streetmaps.co.za have built up a fantastic mapping system that allows you to do this, and view & save your results. Yesterday they released an API, much like Googles mapping API, that will allow you to embed maps into your site, as well as allow for lookups of addresses and destinations.

    There are loads of possibilities, like an interactive map that would allow you to report crime in your area, or find specific point of interests in a specified area.

    Check out the new API on http://www.streetmaps.co.za

  • Garmap Africa Series 2008 Released

    Garmap have just announced the latest release of the South African Mapset for Garmin units.

    The DVD which retails at R99, allows you to update your current mapset and includes the following options:

    • Southern Africa Streetmaps March Edition
    • Southern Africa Streetmaps, DEM March Edition
    • Southern Africa Streetmaps, Topo & Rec March Edition
    • Nigeria Streetmaps, Topo & Rec Version 2
    • East Africa Street Maps Version 1
    • Indian Ocean Islands Streetmaps Version 1: Mauritius

    UPDATE: Thanks to Andrew from Avnic for the Pricing on the Above:

    • No previous versions of Garmap Software – R999.00
    • Africa Series 2008 SA StreetMaps SD – R1140.00
    • Africa Series 2008 SA StreetMaps, previous Garmap User – R699.00
    • South Africa Streetmaps or Topo Version 1.5 – R349.00
    • South Africa Streetmaps or Topo prior to Version 1.5 – R649.00

    I will be posting reviews and updates as soon as I have it in my grubby paws.

  • Geotag your blog

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    “Geotagging, sometimes referred to as Geocoding, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as websites, RSS feeds, or images and is a form of geospatial metadata. This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, though it can also include altitude, bearing, and place names.” – Wikipedia

    Search engines and geotagging enabled services are starting to localise search results, as well as localised news & information. Flickr has already started implementing geotagging on photo’s that have been uploaded to Flickr. This allows users to search for photos uploaded near a specific location.

    By adding a meta geotag to your website or blog, you stand a greater chance of being included in these results. To do this, get your co-ordinates. It doesn’t have to be your exact location, but can be a general physical location. It should not be the server location, as this may be inaccurate if the server is located overseas.

    To get your co-ordinates and the code needed for the meta tags, go to http://mygeoposition.com and browse to your location. Once you have location generate the meta tags, add them to the header section of your web page. You should start seeing the benefits very soon.

  • A new kinda fun

    Profile for MarcForrest

    I have recentley found myself addicted to a new hobby. Geocaching. After I bought my Garmin Nuvi 200 at the end of last year, I wanted to use it for more than just driving around. So I signed up on Geocaching.com, which is a really great site, that lists all the geocaches around the world.

    Well, what is a Geocaching ? Straight from the Geocaching website:

    Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.

    So armed with my Garmin Nuvi, I have set out and so far found 3 geocaches, hidden in and around my area. The Nuvi 200 isn’t the ideal GPS device for this hobby, but it does work. The Nuvi 200 is an “automotive GSP”, which will direct you to the genral area, but viewing the actual GPS coordinates, is quite tricky. I have put up a post on GPSBlog.co.za on how to use your Nuvi 200 for geocaching.

    I have also since managed to get my hands on a Garmin eTrex H, which is a hand held GPS, that allows you to get right to the cache. This really helps when it comes to getting to the actual spot of the cache, and directs you in the correct direction as well as giving the distance to the cache.

    This is a really exciting hobby, and with loads of these hidden spots all over, you will be greatly surprised how many are right around you without even knowing. Sign up on the Geocaching website to join the fun.