Smartphone: use its offline GPS – CNET France

So far, offline, these apps were often unusable. Lost in the countryside, or traveling abroad (so disconnected, or face roaming charges), difficult to use a conventional service using only mobile network. Fortunately, GPS navigation applications enable increasingly an offline use. Follow the guide

. Google Maps: record areas

Google Maps application is probably the best known, but not necessarily the most suitable for offline use, at least on iOS. It proposes to do without connection, but in a very limited way. Thus, you will hack: you will anticipate your journey, and go upstream on the network, the “zone” you want to visit. Then, in the options, click the “ save the plan offline .”

Google Maps – iOS 9

The app will ask you to zoom in or out in order to “adjust” the area you wish to store. Once registered plan, you will find it in “Your Address”, where are stored (maximum 1 month) all downloaded zones, and use even without connection.

Offline mode is however much more substantial on Android. A new version being deployed soon will download a city, region or country by filling the area in the search bar. It only remains to download the map in Wi-Fi. The experience wants to be very close to the classic version in line with POIs (points of interest) like hotels, restaurants, practical information such as schedules of openings, addresses or telephone number, and of course the route search. After Android, the offline version should soon be focused on iOS by Google.

iOS Plans: play with the cache

The GPS navigation application Apple is also impractical as Google Maps. Plans do not record a particular portion, but allows you to use the app’s cache, which keeps large areas of memory cards (larger areas than Google Maps). You will fly over the spot where you want to go later (maximum and then zoom in for details), so that the maps remembers

(Plans, iOS 9)

As with Google Maps, you need to anticipate your journey – not really suitable if you absolutely need to identify you, and this is an unforeseen. Better to use with other applications, which were especially designed for offline use.

The download cards

Available on iOS, Windows Phone and Android, Here allows you to download, for free, entire cards – a continent , a country or region. In the app menu, press “download maps’, then save those corresponding to the places you visit regularly, or places you plan to visit soon.

Here offers offline, allowing you not only to access your card (the details), but also to search for a route (as long as the start and finish are stored on the card), without any connection.

Here
– iOS 9

Maps.me is a GPS Service quite impressive, especially in offline mode. Using free data from Open Street Map, project open source and collaborative mapping, this app, available for iOS, Android and Blackberry 10, offers a pleasant usage, with a profusion of details – the maps are updated regularly .

Maps.me – iOS 9

For a connectionless use, go to the main menu, then click “download maps”. As with Here, you can select the continent, country and region of your choice. Once in offline mode, you can search, access maps and calculate routes (pedestrian, car).

Maps.me – Blackberry under 10

OsmAnd Maps also uses the Open Street Map data. Available for Android and iOS, this service can be used free version, but you can download a maximum of 4 cards without updates. To save more, and get updates, you will pay. Again, very detailed maps with points of interest, and GPS navigation (pedestrian, car, bicycle) used without connection.

OsmAnd Maps – iOS 9

Usable iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8, CoPilot GPS is limited, but offers a free trial for 7 days. Again, you will need to download the country map of your choice (main menu, under “my maps”), in order to identify without connection.

CoPilot – iOS 9

Offline is possible to use the downloaded maps (high quality), and calculate routes – but for voice guidance, you will move to the paid version, as in free mode, this option is only be used with a

Rest
the. Application Sygic GPS , which exists for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Unfortunately a paid application but proposes, as
  CoPilot, a free version for 7 days. Again, you need to download the map of the country of your choice: go in
 “Settings”, “map” and “manage maps”. Offline, you can then stroll through maps (TomTom) 3D high quality and calculate routes.

Sygic – iOS 9