Smart phones are pretty amazing these days. Most, if not all, Androids have a built-in GPS receiver and a mapping application which will navigate over downloaded Google Maps. Historically I have been critical of these because they required a cell phone connection and consumed data. Well, that has now changed.
On one of the motorcycle forums I frequent there was a reference to a new Android application which utilizes free OSM maps. Unlike the built-in mapping app these new applications actually download the maps to phone memory and do not require an active tower connection. They do, of course, require the GPS receiver to be turned on.
I have a retired HTC Incredible which still works but its not on a phone contract. So, I thought I would try one of these new OSM mapping applications on it.
I downloaded from Google Play Store the free version of OsmAnd. The free version limits the number of downloaded maps to 10 so basically with it you can load nine states plus the base map on your phone. There is a Pro version which cost $5.99 and allows unlimited map downloads. OSM maps are available for the entire world so if you are planning to travel to a foreign country it would be a very economical way to obtain GPS functionality.
So, how does it work you ask. Surprisingly well. The user interface is of course different from a standard Garmin GPS but is not difficult to master. I have added a few screens here to illustrate.
this is the entry screen and provides easy access to a view of the map or two configuration settings.
as you can see a map view places an icon at your current location.
the view can be zoomed in or out using the +/- keys or by using the familiar pinch function on the screen
using this menu you can select a destination a route or manage other setting or configuration functions of the application.
here I have selected a destination and asked the GPS to route me to it.
As you can see it looks very much like a standard Garmin GPS in this mode. The phone does provide voice prompts (in most major languages) for turns and behaves in most ways exactly like a dedicated GPS.
Bottom line, I think Garmin is in big trouble. This thing works amazingly well for a total investment of zero or if you want the Pro version only $5.99. In my opinion the OSM maps are every bit as accurate as Garmin's but do not contain as many POIs. Also, the OSM maps are not indexed for street addresses so if you want to navigate to a street address you need to find the closest intersection. Depending on how one uses the GPS this may or may not be a limitation. Not so much for me but for my wife it would be a negative because she likes to just key in the address of her destination and allow the GPS to navigate to it.
My overall impression is very favorable and it seems that if you want an inexpensive GPS alternative this would be a viable means of getting there.
