Filip Brož Maps from Apple are not bad at all. I personally use them as the main navigation in the car. However, the problem arises as soon as I get to an area where there is not enough mobile internet coverage. At that moment I am uploaded and I have to pull out the classic GPS or paper maps. However, the sometimes necessary offline mode can be found in many alternative map applications. One of them is the Czech application PhoneMaps, which from our review last year has seen many changes and innovations.
PhoneMaps is the responsibility of the Czech company SHOCart, which has been publishing cartographic maps of all kinds for more than twenty years. The main purpose of the PhoneMaps application lies primarily in offline maps. Imagine that you are going on vacation abroad or on a cycling trip around the Czech Republic. Of course, you take your Apple device with you, but you already know in advance that there is no Internet in the given area. On the other hand, transferred data abroad is very expensive and running Maps will cost you a lot. What now?
The solution can be the PhoneMaps application, which offers maps of the entire world. Since the last review, the application has grown a lot and a number of updates have come to the system. In addition to new guides, cycle maps, car maps, city plans, tourist maps and guides of all kinds, for example, maps of various metro networks, the possibility of automatically saving photos created in the application to the phone gallery and the addition of many detailed information have been added.
The developers have also completely redesigned and supplemented several maps. The biggest innovation is the possibility to insert your own routes in gpx format. You can also send these routes to your friends. Itineraries are easily entered either via the web or by e-mail. The detailed procedure can be found in the application itself, under the More tab.
The main strength of this application is that I download the maps I need before the trip and save them to my device. In my case, I know that for example a map of the city where I live or of Prague, where I also often go, can be useful. I also like to go on various nature trips, so this map doesn't get lost on my iPhone either. I also really like the various tips on places that are worth visiting in the given location.
A lot of maps can also be found in the app which are available for free download. I think that such a car map of the entire Czech Republic would also come in handy. You never know when you will run out of FUP limit or end up in some wilderness with no signal. The application itself is very simple and intuitive. As soon as you start it, you get to a clear menu, where you just have to choose which map and, above all, the location you need.
As mentioned, PhoneMaps has gone through several updates, so the selection of maps has grown rapidly. The coverage of the Czech Republic is more than sufficient, and other countries are not at all bad either. For example, detailed maps of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York or Moscow can be found in the application.
The application works with GPS in iOS devices, so it is possible to show your current location on the map and you have the option to turn on route recording. You will certainly appreciate this function on tourist trips, when later you have your entire trip documented.
You can also use the height profile, map scale or route information in the settings. Points of interest and routes can also be useful, where you can click on a given object and read short information about the location and the place you are currently in. You can call up the map legend or search for a specific location on the map with one button.
I was also very pleased that there are about a hundred maps in the application that are free. The others are purchased as part of in-app purchases, while the price varies according to type and scope. All downloaded maps are then stored in one place for you, and in case you are forced to uninstall the app at some point in the future, all maps can be restored again, just like apps in the App Store.
Also handy is that you can create your own map if you don't like any of the default ones on offer. On the website phonemaps.cz just create your own map viewport, specify the maximum scale and enter an e-mail to which you will then be sent a link to download the map. It will automatically download to the application and you are ready.
PhoneMaps is free in the store, and the app runs on both iPhones and iPads. From the point of view of graphic processing, PhoneMaps are similar to their paper siblings, and working with them is therefore very simple.
[app url=https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/phonemaps/id527522136?mt=8]
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