Topo maps on your phone

More than a year we have pleaded for it and now it exists: topographic maps
on your cell phone, coming in through the air. Here is an article in
DirectionsMag from May 20 (sorry, a bit late):

http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=11817&trv=1&PRSID=243b0fd0926e9253be1d4a0e5ecdc10c

--
Andreas van Hooijdonk
http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com

maps
http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=11817&trv=1&PRSID=243b0fd0926e9253be1d4a0e5ecdc10c
No exitement at all for this (r)evolution? How long will it take before we
bring our actual receivers (and all the pricy CDs with out-dated maps) to a
museum? Map updating is a continuous process and a huge task. Distribution
of a new CD every year means that you get maps that were up-to-date two
years ago. Only through the air you can obtain the most up-to-date maps,
although they will not represent last week's changes neither.

--
Andreas van Hooijdonk

Lets see
- expensive phone
- M$ OS on said phone
- downloads (implied US only) topomaps, no mention of cost
- now I can get a virus on my GPSr

nah, you were right the first time "No exitement at all for this
(r)evolution"
I think I'll keep using my existing receiver, home made contour maps,
and existing cell phone (turned off, just in case I need it)

Ian M

Very soon it will be available for other phones (Symbian, Linux, etc.).
Don't have the illusion that this will protect you from future viruses,
because they will come to the mobile world anyway.
US only for the moment. Cost per map can be very reasonable, as you load
only the map that you need. You do not need to buy hundreds of square miles
(kilometers) for a hike of several miles.
Home made contour maps. Scanned paper maps? Usually paper maps are replaced
even less often than maps on CD and will certainly be out-of-date squared.
When you see someone carrying a paper map, it often served already for
years. I agree that for a Topo map this is less critical than for street
routing.
It is a start and I am very happy with it. Yes, exited about it. Living in
Belgium, I can not touch it yet, but even here it will be available one day
(soon).

--
Andreas van Hooijdonk
http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com

Andreas van Hooijdonk (NoZ) wrote:
My point exactly. On the other hand my non "connected" GPSr is not
susceptible to viri

"CAN" does not equal "IS", cost is more likely to be "what the market
will bear". At least the US has an enlightened policy on digital map
data: ie taxpayer has already paid for data acquisition, and shouldn't
have to pay (again) at exhorbitant prices to get access to this data.
Unfortunately not true for other countries. If you doubt this, try
looking at pricing for US vs non-US GPS mapping products (Yes, I know
it is not the only factor)

No. My home made maps (Canada) are made using free NASA SRTM data. Sure
they don't have features other than contour lines, but since they are
transparent, one can still see the features on the other GPS maps I
already own. I also carry a paper map of the area with me, since it
doesn't require batteries and works just as well with a poor sky view.

If you think that "online" mapping will be updated more often, you may
be in for a disappointment. Part of the problem (distribution) can be
solved by an "online/on demand" product, and as you say if you are only
interested in a small area, the "chunk price" may well be small.
However, the effort of maintaining accuracy of what amounts to a huge
database of interelated data is non-trivial. Take a project like
Wikipedia for example. It is just as easy to introduce new errors as to
eliminate old ones. "On the ground" checking by the data company
quickly gets very expensive.

I for one, won't be holding my breath ;)

Ian M