Does anyone know if it will automatically update the saved maps during times you have a network connection? I mean, smaller areas won't change too often, but it you're using the feature for areas you frequently travel in, it would be nice if you didn't have to "re-save" them to get them updated.
Typo in the first sentence? "Earlier this year at Google I/O it was announced that Google Maps for Android and iOS would be receiving an update that would add the ability to save maps for online viewing."
Would be nice to download a full map for a whole country that you can use for turn-by-turn navigation rather than just a small area, maybe they actually make it work like that this time.
Yeah, that's one of the things I love about Windows Phone. The idea of needing to rely on data for GPS is nuts, as is having to remember to manually save out some specific part. Windows Phone (and now Windows 10 too) you just pick whatever part of the word you want. In the U.S. you can download the whole country, or go state by state.
Nah, for some inexplicable reason Here Maps requires access to Contacts list, Identity, Call information etc. to display maps. I mean WTF?! Display the darn maps, don't sift through my private information that is of no business to you.
(not that recent versions of Google Maps spyware are any better, I didn't bother upgrading once they incorporated all the spying stuff in there)
Whether or not you use Google Maps isn't really relevant. If your phone is turned on and able to send data, Google will collect and maintain a record of where you go and what you do either through coarse cellular triangulation or fine GPS measurements because many other apps and the OS itself support that sort of window into your activities. They only need to collect that information in order to properly target advertisements at you so they can pay for the costs of on-going business expenses. Yes, you're the product in the case of anything Google offers (Gmail, Android, Chrome OS, Chrome browser, etc) and it's important that Google can link all those individual parts up to identify you as a person regardless of what device you use or where you're at in the world. Microsoft is working hard to get to the same point too by expanding telemetry in newer operating systems. I think both companies and Apple are too high-profile to mishandle your data so while they know who you call, what you say to other people in private communications, they'd suffer quite a bit of negative backlash for at least a day or two while various media outlets reported on it and they made a few superficial changes to placate the general public until they happily get back to accepting the "free" Google candy in the form of the next shiny new device with meaninglessly higher number specifications.
Actually, all that is modifiable in the settings. While it would be nice to make them opt-in "features", let get real here, Google needs to make money somehow.
I think that's because you can do things like search and drive directly to a contact's place. If you are using Google for contacts syncing, email, calendar, etc. they already have that info...
Yeah Here maps is excellent. Used it across the UK and Canada and its only once taken me slightly wrong (roads change) in the 18 months or so I've been using it. Recommended it to many friends and family and the net result has been many TomToms have been abandoned or sold on Ebay.
As for Google Maps? Nah never got on with that. Just never seems finished.
If you download maps for a whole country, and it's not a tiny country, you're using a lot of space on your device to support maps in places you'll never go.
Some of us have MicroSd cards and some buy 64GB/128GB phones too, so it is no big deal to get entire country maps on your phone, I use Here Drive and it is around 1.5 GB for India, it is few hundred MB's for most countries.
Agreed, for many people Maps and Nav is the #1 most important non-talk feature of a phone. I'd gladly give up 4 gigs of space to never have a data problem when I need to see where I am RIGHT NOW.
It's not like I would want half of Sweden, half of Denmark and half of Germany. If I were to take a trip through a few European countries I would like to load the maps for offline use, a fairly complete version that can be used for navigation. This from Google kinda does it, but it needs to be managed okay. I wouldn't just load all the countries or whole continents and no I wouldn't really be buying SIM's with data in every country I pass. If they could approach how Here has been able to do it it would be ok and I wouldn't need to buy awkward navigation software from the likes of TomTom, Garmin/Navigon and the others or rely on OSM. A few gigabytes is usually enough for like Europe or western Europe.
You've always been able to save small areas. Just type "ok maps" Into the search bar. Google loves to remove features that people find useful only to reintroduce them years later as new features.
There are Map Apps that you can download/buy which do not need either a WiFi nor Cell phone connection in order to use them. I use Sygic all the time on my Smartphone on the road without using a Cell Phone & Data Plan connection, as it connects to orbiting Satellites and displays where I am at while traveling, and does so for free. It does cost $$$ to buy Sygic, and you have to download State Maps, but that information is stored on your smartphone, and it doesn't vanish into thin air like Google Maps does when not using them in the past.
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32 Comments
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FatalFlaw - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Does anyone know if it will automatically update the saved maps during times you have a network connection? I mean, smaller areas won't change too often, but it you're using the feature for areas you frequently travel in, it would be nice if you didn't have to "re-save" them to get them updated.wicketr - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
No. They will expire.sprockkets - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
No, it will update them while on WIFI when necessary.ToTTenTranz - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Typo in the first sentence?"Earlier this year at Google I/O it was announced that Google Maps for Android and iOS would be receiving an update that would add the ability to save maps for online viewing."
Shouldn't it be "save maps for offline viewing"?
Divide Overflow - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Nice catch!Penti - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Would be nice to download a full map for a whole country that you can use for turn-by-turn navigation rather than just a small area, maybe they actually make it work like that this time.zepi - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Try here maps.rtho782 - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
I tried HERE maps, but it takes me 10 miles out of my way on my daily commute for reasons I'm not quite sure of. Now I don't trust it.Murloc - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
why use a navigator for your daily commute?vespr - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
Probably to test it out on a route that he is very familiar with. That's what I'd do.Daniel Egger - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Try MAPS.ME; doesn't require registration and uses the exquisit OpenStreetMaps cards which are available for countries where HERE has bupkes...Wolfpup - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Yeah, that's one of the things I love about Windows Phone. The idea of needing to rely on data for GPS is nuts, as is having to remember to manually save out some specific part. Windows Phone (and now Windows 10 too) you just pick whatever part of the word you want. In the U.S. you can download the whole country, or go state by state.Arnulf - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
Nah, for some inexplicable reason Here Maps requires access to Contacts list, Identity, Call information etc. to display maps. I mean WTF?! Display the darn maps, don't sift through my private information that is of no business to you.(not that recent versions of Google Maps spyware are any better, I didn't bother upgrading once they incorporated all the spying stuff in there)
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
Whether or not you use Google Maps isn't really relevant. If your phone is turned on and able to send data, Google will collect and maintain a record of where you go and what you do either through coarse cellular triangulation or fine GPS measurements because many other apps and the OS itself support that sort of window into your activities. They only need to collect that information in order to properly target advertisements at you so they can pay for the costs of on-going business expenses. Yes, you're the product in the case of anything Google offers (Gmail, Android, Chrome OS, Chrome browser, etc) and it's important that Google can link all those individual parts up to identify you as a person regardless of what device you use or where you're at in the world. Microsoft is working hard to get to the same point too by expanding telemetry in newer operating systems. I think both companies and Apple are too high-profile to mishandle your data so while they know who you call, what you say to other people in private communications, they'd suffer quite a bit of negative backlash for at least a day or two while various media outlets reported on it and they made a few superficial changes to placate the general public until they happily get back to accepting the "free" Google candy in the form of the next shiny new device with meaninglessly higher number specifications.anishannayya - Thursday, November 19, 2015 - link
Actually, all that is modifiable in the settings. While it would be nice to make them opt-in "features", let get real here, Google needs to make money somehow.anishannayya - Thursday, November 19, 2015 - link
I think that's because you can do things like search and drive directly to a contact's place. If you are using Google for contacts syncing, email, calendar, etc. they already have that info...jabber - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
Yeah Here maps is excellent. Used it across the UK and Canada and its only once taken me slightly wrong (roads change) in the 18 months or so I've been using it. Recommended it to many friends and family and the net result has been many TomToms have been abandoned or sold on Ebay.As for Google Maps? Nah never got on with that. Just never seems finished.
jtd871 - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Try CoPilotMurloc - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
not freeJeffFlanagan - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
If you download maps for a whole country, and it's not a tiny country, you're using a lot of space on your device to support maps in places you'll never go.BMNify - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Some of us have MicroSd cards and some buy 64GB/128GB phones too, so it is no big deal to get entire country maps on your phone, I use Here Drive and it is around 1.5 GB for India, it is few hundred MB's for most countries.Wolfpup - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Yeah, the U.S. is like 4GB which is no big deal, individual states look like they're typically 100MBish, mine's a bit over 200MB.I don't want to have to manually manage downloaded maps, nor rely on an unlimited and available everywhere data connection.
blakflag - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Agreed, for many people Maps and Nav is the #1 most important non-talk feature of a phone. I'd gladly give up 4 gigs of space to never have a data problem when I need to see where I am RIGHT NOW.Penti - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
It's not like I would want half of Sweden, half of Denmark and half of Germany. If I were to take a trip through a few European countries I would like to load the maps for offline use, a fairly complete version that can be used for navigation. This from Google kinda does it, but it needs to be managed okay. I wouldn't just load all the countries or whole continents and no I wouldn't really be buying SIM's with data in every country I pass. If they could approach how Here has been able to do it it would be ok and I wouldn't need to buy awkward navigation software from the likes of TomTom, Garmin/Navigon and the others or rely on OSM. A few gigabytes is usually enough for like Europe or western Europe.Penti - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
Be able to just store the maps on MicroSD also takes care of the storage concerns for me.Murloc - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
do you really need to download the whole of the US?Single states don't take up much space.
Needing such a huge area is a niche thing that can be accomodated with an sd card.
xthetenth - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
First sentence, online viewing should likely be offline viewing.merikafyeah - Thursday, November 12, 2015 - link
Somewhere Garmin, TomTom, Magellan, et al, are wondering what took them so long.jkostans - Friday, November 13, 2015 - link
You've always been able to save small areas. Just type "ok maps" Into the search bar. Google loves to remove features that people find useful only to reintroduce them years later as new features.transphasic - Friday, November 13, 2015 - link
There are Map Apps that you can download/buy which do not need either a WiFi nor Cell phone connection in order to use them.I use Sygic all the time on my Smartphone on the road without using a Cell Phone & Data Plan connection, as it connects to orbiting Satellites and displays where I am at while traveling, and does so for free.
It does cost $$$ to buy Sygic, and you have to download State Maps, but that information is stored on your smartphone, and it doesn't vanish into thin air like Google Maps does when not using them in the past.
paddytokey - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
Does anyone know if this will allow you to store the maps on the SD card?cokhithanhhai - Thursday, January 2, 2020 - link
My company's Maps address is lost on android devices. This makes me not sure what to do. Maybe it depends on my website https://cokhithanhhai.com.vn