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Google has updated its Android Maps application with the ability to store offline mapping and location data:
Google has upgraded its Android Maps app so it can provide directions when not connected to the internet. The software also lets devices find businesses' locations, opening hours and telephone numbers while offline. The firm said tourists visiting places outside their mobile subscription plans and people living in emerging markets, where data can be expensive, would be among those who would benefit most.
But one expert said budget-phone owners would now have to juggle data. "Entry-level Android smartphones sometimes only have four gigabytes of onboard storage, making it a precious resource," commented Ben Wood from CCS Insight. [...] Google said downloading most of Greater London would take up 380 megabytes on a device, while storing the San Francisco Bay area would require about 200MB.
It allows you to define a rectangular area specifying the mapping data you want to have available offline. The article mentions that Nokia Maps, now known as Here Maps, has offered a similar feature for years.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 12 2015, @11:04AM
How hard does it have to be to save the map data in a local cache?
So I want to see how to get to a certain very special oasis way the Hell out in the middle of death valley. I look it up in Google Maps oh yeah that's where it is. Then I'm in Death Valley and I'm lost. O well I'm shit outta luck because you can sell more ad clicks if we force the user to use the Internet.
I often tell people that I get a lot more work done if I can't connect to the Internet; they don't know that's even possible. "Well it's real simple I just get all the stuff I'm going to need while I am connected. Modern devices force you to use the Internet so they can sell more advertising."
Then there is the US Geological Survey, and dead trees. Imagine that!
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]