Maps alternatives?

For now I went with Magic Earth. Main reasons: runs well enough and laziness, i.e. just download from the Aptoide store without thinking and done… :blush:. The native Pure Maps would in principle be preferable. Plan to come back in future. Many thanks for all information (and the map-work)!

2 Likes

I think the api that was missing is included in SFOS 4 so i believe at some point PureMaps will be available in the store. I hope at least.

2 Likes

[Update] PureMaps works well and is now in the store.

MagicEarth worked also well but I like the UI a little less than PureMaps. This said as I was looking for .gpx route support I switched to OsmAnd~ (downloaded from F-Droid store). A bit complicated in parts but a very nice and as it seems popular app. Will donate.

(As has been mentioned, the title really is not appropriate: there are very useful map apps available for Sailfish (w/Android emulator) phones! Thanks again for all the helpful comments.)

Hi Rinigus,

Conscious I’m late to the party, I’ll offer my view on what’s missing in Pure Maps, structuring that by my own user cases.

Find where I am

Pure Map is excellent, even if there is no connectivity I have the OSM maps stored on the server. The compass is much better now, and there is nothing I can complain about.

Provide directions

  • With pre-loaded gpx

Pure Map is imho the best choice for hiking or cyclotouring, enabling me to load any gpx I preloaded on the phone. There may be an easier way to load and save these gpx files (ie in a dedicated in-app library) but it’s already very good.

  • Searching from scratch

If I want to reach a point with a car, a bike, or my legs, Pure Maps is still one of the the best apps I know. My only criticism would be that when you select a point on the map as a destination, Pure Maps will calculate a route using the previous setting used (walk/cycle/car/whatever) without making it obvious. It would be neater if the choice was asked just before calculation.
However, if I want to use other means such as public transports or city bikes, unfortunately Pure Maps is useless to me. I can select ‘Public transport’ in the itinerary types, but I’ve never managed to make it work, it keeps saying ‘routing failure’. This is where I miss the old Here Maps app, as I need to juggle with other maps such as National Rail, MultiModal or BikeMe when I’m in London to scratch the itch.

I hope that helps.

2 Likes

My only criticism would be that when you select a point on the map as a destination, Pure Maps will calculate a route using the previous setting used (walk/cycle/car/whatever) without making it obvious. It would be neater if the choice was asked just before calculation.

Re route mode indicator: we used to have asking the mode before, but it was always on the way and resulted in extra clicks that you would have to do. Ideally, it should work in a streamlined manner as now, but would be clear to the user regarding the mode and how to change it. If you have an idea on how to implement UX, please file an issue at Github and let’s discuss it there.

However, if I want to use other means such as public transports or city bikes, unfortunately Pure Maps is useless to me. I can select ‘Public transport’ in the itinerary types, but I’ve never managed to make it work, it keeps saying ‘routing failure’.

Main problem is availability of public transport data. We used to have it for offline maps, but I couldn’t download it anymore when I tried last time. HERE maps support is planned, but so far nobody worked on it. It is issue #275 for Pure Maps.

2 Likes