100% free GPSLogger & Geocaching Software for BlackBerry® Devices
with OS 4.6 or higher (v1.x for OS 4.2.1)
|
GPSLogger II - Open Map Data (OMD)
A
straight forward application, to record your movement with your
BlackBerry® device over time
+ Simple
Geocache Application for BlackBerry® devices
+
Outdoor Navigation
+ Lap
Timer
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In these days there exist multiple different map data providers who
are offering access to their data via a common scheme.
With the release of GPSLogger v3.3 it is possible to access a variety
of different open map data servers directly from the application itself. This means you
can now have Bing!Maps, GoogleMaps, esri or MapQuest (just to name a few) with you - just on
your BlackBerry Device (running OS4.6 - 7.1).
This variety of different maps (for different purposes) makes a great
addition to the existing BlackBerry Maps implementation. With the open map data its now
even possible to display maps for counties which are currently not supported by
BlackBerry Maps.
Please be so kind and check with the
sample map below, if any of the available open map data services would display valid map
data for your local region.
By DEFAULT GPSLogger will not download any open map data
automatically! You have to request the map data manually (again this is the
default configuration). This is cause of multiple reasons:
- GPSLogger claims to be 100% offline - and I am still confident that this is a major
key for the acceptance of the application (by the users)
- Open Map Data is basically image data - and this data traffic should not be underestimated
- GPSLogger caches the data locally - once a area has been completely transfered you
can simply use it (offline)
- In favor of the different open map data providers, the application wants to restrict the
number of requests (to the different provider servers) to a minimum level
- Open map data becomes very useful for the Outdoor navigation functionality of GPSLogger
- and for the outdoor navigation you have already a complete path stored on your device - all
you would need is the map data that covers the region of this path
I hope with the facts above you will find the default configuration of
the open map data functionality more then reasonable.
If you like (and have an appropriate data plan) you can quickly enable
full online open map data support via the GPSLogger Options. See the
Configuration & Settings section for details.
Additionally to the possibility to download open map data directly with
your device, I have created a small application that can be started on any PC or Mac. This
tool allows you to download any open map data (in the required format) in a very easy and
convenient way. Details about this GPSLogger II Open Map data Tool can be found in the
Desktop Open Map Data Tool Section.
Via the PathManager
Open the PathManager (e.g. via SHIFT+M) and select a previously recored
Path. Here it makes no difference, if you have imported the Path via a KML or GPX file, or
if you have downloaded the path via GPSiesConnect.
For every Path in the list you can select 'Load Open Map data (OMD)' from
the BlackBerry menu. Once you have started the request, GPSLogger will load the path (just
like the normal Path loading functionality).
When you now switch over to the Open Maps View (if not already selected)
then you will see at the top of the map some progress information overlay.
Continue reading with the 'Map data request in progress' section.
Via the Main screen (Open Map Data View)
Once a Path (or Navigation Path) is loaded and displayed, you can switch
over to the 'Open Maps View' and select from the BlackBerry Menu the 'Load Open Map data (OMD)'
item.
Once the Open Map data has been requested a progress information overlay will
be displayed at the top of the map.
Continue reading with the 'Map data request in progress' section.
Map data request in progress
Please note that by default
GPSLogger will only download Open
Map data when the device is connected via WiFi
to the Internet! Please take also a look into the
Configuration & Settings of the 'Open Map Data' Options of GPSLogger
for adjustments.
As soon as GPSLogger can make use of a WiFi connection the application will
request the map data part by part - please be patient till this process is completed. There
is no cancel option implemented! If you started a open map data download by accident
you have to quit/terminate the application.
Depending on the size of the path and your connection speed this download
can take quite a while! The screen will update itself once the corresponding open map data
is locally present on your device. You can navigate though the path as normal and zoom in
and zoom out - but expect some inactivity/delay while the data will be downloaded by the
device. The open map data request is some work for your BlackBerry.
Once all data have been successfully transfered to your device the progress
information overlay at the top of the map will disappear.
After the download has completed you can disconnect the device from the
internet and GPSLogger will make use of the open map data that is now stored on your
BlackBerry locally - so you will have the map data of your path with you - 100% offline!
An alternative Tool
Since the download of the Open Map data can be quite time consuming there is
a small java based tool that you can use on your Desktop PC/Mac.