With a smartphone or tablet with GPS and GLONASS support, it would be strange not to use it for navigation. And for the device to learn how to lay routes for you, you just need to equip it with a navigator application with maps of the area. There are quite a few applications of this kind, but not all of them are equally useful. We hope this article will help you to choose a navigator for Android that will satisfy your needs in the most worthy way. The rating is based on the opinions of experienced drivers and travelers.
Waze
The developer positions Waze as a navigator that helps the Russian driving community develop. And, I must say, this collective support is good for the application: many drivers are switching to Waze from other navigators that have been used for years.
The program allows each participant in the movement to replenish it with information himself: to report accidents, traffic jams, road works, ambushes of traffic police, prices at gas stations and the rest, which may be useful to other users.
Waze features and capabilities
Drivers appreciate Waze for the relevance of information, concise interface, stability in work and, of course, free. A big plus is that the program does not lose routes when Internet access is lost and automatically stops accessing GPS if not used during stops. This reduces the rate at which the battery is discharged.
Some users attributed the lack of 3D mode to the shortcomings of Waze and the voice search not always working correctly.
Yandex.Navigator
Another free app that travelers ranked among the top navigators for mobile devices... It contains very detailed and detailed information, useful for both drivers and pedestrians who are in unfamiliar terrain in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and even Turkey (for tourists).
Yandex.Navigator features
- Building up to three options for a route to a given object, taking into account traffic jams and other traffic events.
- Warning about toll road sections and ferry crossings.
- Displays the number of kilometers left to travel to the destination, as well as the remaining time until arrival.
- Voice guidance of the trip with notification of maneuvers, speed limits, road events, radars and traffic police crews, etc. Display them in the form of symbols on the map.
- Driver warning about overspeeding.
- Voice control. The option is much better developed than in Waze. After activating the command "Listen, Yandex", you can request a route to the desired point or search for an object on the map.
- Message to the program about traffic events, including voice.
- Storing the history of trips and routes.
- Search for parking lots (all - only in Moscow within the Third Ring Road; in other places of the capital and in some large cities - St. Petersburg, Kazan, Kiev, Minsk, Nizhny Novgorod, etc., separate large parking lots are displayed).
The best thing that, according to users, is in Yandex.Navigator, is the coverage of a large area (especially convenient for those who travel a lot in Russia and neighboring countries) and the ability to operate without hands. Disadvantages - not always up-to-date maps, especially in regions and small settlements remote from the center. And also the fact that the program takes up too much space in the device's memory due to the inability to move cards to removable media.
Despite the fact that it is a paid application (the cost of content starts at 560 rubles), it was preferred by more than 20 million users around the world. After all, this is, in fact, a standard that the developers of other navigation programs are equal to. Among its analogues, it has, perhaps, the largest set of functions, and there is no such driver who would say that the capabilities of Navitel are not enough for him.
A short list of functions and features of Navitel
If you install Navitel from the store Google play, it will be tied to your account Google, not device. Thanks to this, you can use the program on different gadgets.
The strongest points of Navitel, according to drivers, are its rich functionality, always up-to-date information, a large selection of maps and technical support. The reasons for negative reviews are, as a rule, limitations of the 7-day trial version, local failures, minor inaccuracies on the maps - the same thing as for all similar programs.
Maps.me
Maps.me is a free open source Android navigator source code from Mail.Ru Group. It functions even without Internet access, if you download the necessary maps into it in advance. Designed not only for drivers: in addition to roads, Maps.me maps contain hiking and cycling tourist routes in many countries around the world.
Key features of Maps.me
- Saving mobile internet traffic and battery power. Important for cycling and walking, especially where there is no cellular connection (for example, for a forest).
- The routes are always up to date and very detailed. Maps include objects that are not found in other applications, since the latter are more focused on the needs of motorists, rather than pedestrians.
- On hiking and cycling routes, the degrees of the slope of the terrain are indicated - downhill or uphill.
- There are more than 65 million users of the program involved in mapping the maps. And you can also join their community.
- In addition to making routes, Maps.me helps you search for various objects in the area. Search categories: food outlets, hotels and hostels, ATMs, public transport stops, attractions. The search function is available both online and offline (offline).
- You can book a hotel room directly from the app (available online only, via the Booking.com website).
- The program allows you to send your loved ones messages indicating your current location. For this, cellular communication (SMS) can be involved, social networks and web messengers.
The main advantages of Maps.me, according to experienced travelers, are free access to all functions, a large selection of maps (the latter, by the way, are well optimized for mobile devices: with the same amount of content as in other programs, they take up much less space in memory of the gadget), as well as taking into account the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.
There is probably only one significant drawback of the application. Because users are involved in mapping, the data is often in error. In addition, some maps are better designed than others. Again, this is due to user engagement: where people are more active, the maps are more detailed and accurate. And vice versa.
Google maps, transport and navigation
Is another free and ubiquitous Android navigation app. Used and maintained by perhaps the world's most impressive user community. It helps to navigate in unfamiliar terrain and draw up a route of movement in almost any locality of the world.
Features of Google Maps
- Fast route planning, taking into account the traffic situation. When obstacles appear - traffic jams, accidents, etc., the route is automatically rebuilt. Automatic selection of the least congested lane.
- Dynamic POI.
- The ability to quickly get information about objects of interest on the ground, for example, catering points. Details of the latter may include user ratings, interior photos, reviews, opening times, prices, menus, etc.
- Ability to leave reviews about visited places yourself.
- Always up-to-date data on public transport routes.
- Unique feature: displays the interior layouts of large public buildings: shopping centers, train stations, airports and stadiums, which helps visitors not to get lost in them.
- Description of more than 100 million objects worldwide, as well as more than 220 regions and countries.
Travelers value Google Maps primarily for its simplicity, accessibility and convenience. And many called the strange experiments of the developers, such as the integration of the Pac-Man game into the program, which only distracts the driver while driving and does not carry anything useful, shortcomings, more precisely, excesses.
8 best free offline GPS navigators for Android
You know there are many great navigation apps for when you have an internet connection. But what if you need to know your location and get directions when you are offline?
Offline GPS is an essential feature for any mapping application. You will use it if you are exploring a foreign city and you have data roaming disabled, or if you enter a dead zone during.
Here are the best free offline GPS apps for.
1. Google Maps
Google Maps offers to download and save regional maps for use in offline... The maximum downloadable map size is 2GB, which equals approximately 200 x 120 miles. The app automatically deletes downloaded maps after 30 days without an internet connection.
Thanks for reading! Subscribe to my channel in Telegram and Yandex Zen... Only there are the latest blog updates and news from the world of information technology. Also, read me on social networks.
Here is the final part of the "series" about popular car navigation applications for Android. In it, we tried to summarize all the information from five previously published reviews of individual applications and give a final assessment. In order not to bother the reader, we will try to do this in the most concise and visual form using tables, providing them with relatively small comments.
What caused the choice of these particular applications? The main criteria were popularity and the presence of a large number of positive reviews, as well as ease of use. The updated Shturmann did not fit into the first two criteria. The Seven Roads application did not pass all three criteria. Google Maps in the role of navigator is still in beta testing. Megaphone navigation is essentially the same Progorod, but only in the online version. The iGO app for Android has not officially appeared yet. Therefore, there are only five participants.
Prices and popularity
Having put ourselves in the shoes of the buyer, let's start by looking at the price tags and studying information about how popular this or that product has gained among users.
| Navitel | Suburb | Sygic | CityGuide | Yandex | |
| number of downloads on Google Play, mln. | 5-10 | 0,1-0,5 | 10-50 | 1-5 | 5-10 |
| google Play rating | 4,1 | 4,2 | 4,2 | 4,1 | 4,2 |
| price of Russian cards | 1350 p. | 1290 (950 *) p. | €40 | 1800 RUB | is free |
| minimum price | $1** | - | €20 | 990 p. | is free |
| update fee, rub | is free | is free | is free | is free | is free |
| traffic jam service fee, rub | is free | is free | does not work in Russia *** | is free | is free |
| allowed number of reinstallations | 1 | 3 | n.d. | 3 | not limited |
| free third party cards | yes | yes | no | yes | no |
| test period, days | 30 | 30 | 7 | 15 | - |
* if you purchase a key on the developer's website. The price is indicated for the application itself with unlimited access to maps.
** rent of foreign cards.
*** for Europe the service is paid - from 12 euros per year.
So the most expensive product is Sygic. It is aimed at the European consumer, so the price tag is quite appropriate. In addition, you will have to pay separately for traffic jams and advanced information about cameras, but this all applies only to Europe. In Russia, network services do not work.
The most adequate prices look like Navitel and Progorod. However, Navitel has a very strict reinstallation policy. Most likely, you will not be able to transfer the application to another smartphone.
Against the background of all these restrictions, Yandex looks like a king. However, the application has a number of significant limitations, thereby leaving a good chance for the rest.
Feature sets comparison
The developers of most of the presented applications are trying to attract users with various additional features, for example, weather, photographs on a map, articles from encyclopedias, tags in social networks, displaying the location of friends and even augmented reality.
We've summarized the core functionality of all five apps in one table:
| Navitel | Suburb | Sygic | CityGuide | Yandex | |
| Interface | |||||
| Manually zooming the map while navigating | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Battery / Satellite / GSM Indicators | yes Yes Yes | yes / yes / no | in the menu / in the menu / no | yes Yes Yes | oS status bar |
| Change Map Orientation | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Manual map rotation | yes | yes | no | no | yes |
| Mileage information | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Satellite overview screen | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| 3D Mode | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Map slope | only in 3D | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Quick Access Toolbar | dPOI only | yes | yes | yes | dPOI only |
| "Trip computer" | yes | no | yes | yes | no |
| Night mode | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Augmented reality | no | yes | no | no | no |
| Search | |||||
| Universal | no | no | yes | no | yes |
| Address | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| By coordinates | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| POI around / at the point / at the finish | yes Yes Yes | yes Yes Yes | yes Yes Yes | yes Yes Yes | yes Yes Yes |
| Voice input | no | no | no | no | yes |
| Working with routes | |||||
| Save / Load | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Simulated driving along the route | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Full display | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Working with tracks | yes | yes | no | yes | no |
| Operating modes: passenger car / truck / pedestrian | yes Yes Yes | yes / no / no | yes / no / yes | yes / no / yes | yes / no / no |
| Cards | |||||
| Updating maps | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Provider | n.d. | own | Navteq | many, different | Navteq, Scanex, etc. |
| Installing third-party and free maps | yes | yes, based on OSM | no | yes, based on OSM | no |
| Online services | |||||
| Traffic display | yes | yes | no * | yes | yes |
| Dynamic POI | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Friends on the map | yes | no | yes | yes | no |
| Thematic news feeds | no | no | no | yes | no |
| Photo on the map | no | no | yes (Panoramio) | no | no |
| Weather | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Denying access to the network | yes | by disabling the traffic jam service | no | yes | no |
* only for European countries for a fee
This table is for self-study. Here, everyone must answer the question himself whether this or that program has a minimum sufficient set of functions. For example, someone definitely needs to work with tracks, and someone needs to install free OSM maps. Some applications have extraordinary abilities. For example, displaying photos of places taken by Panoramio users (for Sygic) on a map, or augmented reality mode (City), as well as speech and voice recognition (Yandex.Navigator).
Applications also have large "holes". For example, Sygic does not have a function for displaying traffic (traffic jams), and Yandex.Navigator will not work fully in the absence of an Internet connection.
Interface
Since each of us has our own ideas about beauty, we will not talk much about which interface is more beautiful. Our eye turned out to be nicer than the "picture" of Navitel Navigator, Progorod and Yandex. But this does not mean that the other two programs have any problems with " appearance". They are all good. It's just that these stand out a little against the general background.
But if you move away from looking at the "pictures", then completely different properties of interfaces come to the fore - practicality and information content. The first of these is when you always feel at ease. A quick glance at the screen is enough for you to get the maximum information you need. The interface of the same Navitel can serve as a not very successful example of practicality - a heap of thin lines and small details makes it difficult to read information while driving. Also practical is the convenience of working with menus and search.
By information content, we mean the display of various related information on the screen, such as the speed limit in a given section, information about cameras, etc. The presence of all kinds of tips and additional information in the POI database.
So, below we will provide screenshots of the interfaces of all programs with a short listing of the main advantages and disadvantages. This time we will use a smartphone with a small screen resolution of 480x800, which is regulated by almost all software developers in today's test.
Let's start with the vertical version of the map display, which is most natural for smartphones and more practical for navigation. Next to the regular map view, place the 3D version.
Navitel Navigator 8.5
City 2.0
Sygic 13.4
CityGuide 7.8
Yandex.Navigator 1.5
This is the junction of the Varshavskoe Highway and the Moscow Ring Road. Alas, the picture is static, and its perception during movement, when the scale of the map is constantly changing depending on the speed and upcoming events (turns), is radically different from the one that you get just by contemplating these two sets of screenshots. In addition, in 3D mode, a lot depends on the angle of inclination, which is adjustable in all programs. The developers have made it so that the map is beautiful and practical in one angle, but it is already inconvenient to use it at another angle, because the detail, perspective, etc. changes. A similar remark can be made about scales. Therefore, we will give a verbal comment, but first we will post one more portion of screenshots taken in navigation mode:
Navitel Navigator 8.5
City 2.0
Sygic 13.4
CityGuide 7.8
Yandex.Navigator 1.5
Navitel Navigator
The picture deserves all the praise, but it is extremely impractical. The heap of a mass of small lines and contours complicates the perception of the route line on the screen, which is a little thicker than the road itself, but with busy traffic jams does not differ from it in color. Camera icons, signs and other details are barely visible on the screen.
Suburb
The "picture" is a bit like Navitel, but there are fewer small details, and the route line is much easier to read than in the previous case. There are two complaints: the status bar takes up a lot of space on the screen and chaos reigns on it, as well as the smallish graphics and all the control buttons.
Sygic
In the screenshots, the interface is plain, but from the point of view of ease of reading information while driving, it deserves the highest praise. Significant minus one - house numbers are not displayed in navigation mode. They appear only if you try to scroll the map in one of the directions, which will switch it to view mode.
CityGuide
The interface of the card is quite good in practical terms. It may not be as handsome, but comfortable enough.
Yandex.Navigator
Trying to find fault with the Yandex.Navigator interface failed reasonably. He's very practical. The only point is that users of platforms with high pixel density screens complain about small buttons and other items in the menu. For some reason, these interface elements do not fully comply with Google's developer guidelines, and programmers used absolute units of element sizes instead of relative DP and SP.
Well, for those who, for some reason, prefer the horizontal position of the map, here's another set of screenshots.
Navitel Navigator 8.5
City 2.0
Sygic 13.4
CityGuide 7.8
Yandex.Navigator 1.5
Cards
Alas, most developers do not provide detailed information about their cards, since they may not look so brilliant against the background of competitors.
We tried to collect as much information as possible and bring it together in one table. Pay attention to the line "Map online" - this is your chance to independently assess the quality of coverage. True, it also does not accurately reflect the situation. Navitel and Progorod have not the latest release online, but Yandex maps in the application and online are strikingly different in places, which sometimes causes confusion.
| Navitel | Suburb | Sygic | Cityigid | Yandex | |
| Russia: populated areas | 149 047 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | ≈170 thous. |
| Russia: cities with detail | 8762 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. |
| Road graph, km | 3 809 652 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. |
| POIs | 992 163 | n.d. | n / a * | n.d. | n.d. |
| Volume of cards, MB | 1250 | 1131 | 623 | 1900 | 1910 ** (only Moscow) |
| date of last update | 25.10.2013 | 22.10.2013 | 12.2013 | 22.01.2014 | n.d. |
| Frequency of updates per year, times | 3-4 | 2 | 1-3 | 2-10*** | n.d. |
| Online Map | - | - | |||
| Maps of foreign countries, pcs. | 52 | 28 (OSM) | ≈130 | 10 | 1**** |
| Information about maps on the developer's website | - | - |
* data from Foursquare is also used as POIs
** the volume of the full Moscow map is indicated
*** The map of Russia is updated almost every month, but changes in it each time concern a couple of some separate areas. If we take, for example, a map of Moscow, then it is updated twice a year.
**** Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey are mentioned. There is no longer a word about Turkey in the corporate video, and only Ukraine appears on Google Play. Nevertheless, in the list of maps for download you can find, for example, the map of Almaty.
According to the results of the 2010 census, the number of settlements in Russia was slightly more than 153 thousand, and about 20 thousand of them do not have a permanent population. Where then did Yandex get 170 thousand? The first is nesting. A specific settlement always belongs to other territorial units. Secondly, the census does not take into account all types of settlements. Railway stations, winter huts, etc. can fall out of it.
So, most likely, Navitel and Yandex are among the leaders. The volume of cards is an indirect indicator. In Yandex.Navigator, it has such unimaginable meanings because these maps contain a huge number of raster images.
As for the details, this issue is complex and requires a lot of time to study. For our own understanding, we took several settlements and looked at how things stand with this issue.
| Navitel | Suburb | Sygic | Cityigid | Yandex | |
| Olenegorsk, Murmansk region | detailed, with houses (3D) | three main streets | only the central street, with mistakes | detailed, with houses | three main streets |
| Bogoroditsk, Tula region | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses (3D) | only central street | detailed, with houses | three main streets |
| Angarsk, Irkutsk region | main road network | detailed road network | only central street | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses |
| Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky | detailed, with houses | detailed road network | only central street | point on the track | detailed, with houses |
| Astrakhan | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses (3D) | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses |
| Sochi | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses (3D) | detailed road network | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses |
| Chekhov, MO | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses (3D) | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses |
| Tver | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses (3D) | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses |
| Rybinsk | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses (3D) | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses | detailed, with houses |
| Pechory, Pskov region | detailed, with houses | main road network | three main streets, with mistakes | detailed, with outlines of houses, without addresses | three main streets |
| village Lanshino, MO | part of the road network | a point on the map | detailed road network | detailed road network | main road network |
The leaders were Navitel, Progorod and Citigid. Moreover, the maps of the Town in almost all settlements from the table have buildings not only with the corresponding contours, but also with height. Although CityGuide is good (OSM maps are used), you will have to look for maps of the regions you need in a large list and download separately, which is not very convenient. For some reason, it is impossible to download the entire map of Russia at once. In addition, Kamchatka Krai was absent from the list.
Yandex.Navigator surprised me a little, and this is taking into account the fact that the online browser map is beyond praise. At the same time, it is very funny that in the same Bogoroditsk you can indicate the exact address, it will be marked with a marker on the map and the route to it will be built. But the "last mile" will be displayed incorrectly.
But Sygic does not like small towns the most. He knows them only by hearsay.
The issue of the relevance of maps is also important. Here we were guided by the map of Moscow, noting the presence of new well-known roads, overpasses and interchanges that were opened during the summer-autumn of 2013. Progorod, Citigid and Yandex did not have any problems with this. At Navitel, all the interchanges and overpasses we were looking for were present, but for some reason there was no U-turn under the overpass at the intersection of the Yaroslavskoe highway and Malyginsky passage. But Sygic has a card that is at least a year old. We did not find a single desired road object on it.
Our selection by cards: Navitel, Progorod and Cityigid.
Routes and navigation
All applications build quite adequate routes. And this is the most important thing. Small minor "glitches" are in Navitel. We described one of them in detail, but there is no reason for panic. But it is definitely worth reducing the sensitivity to traffic jams in its settings for residents of megalopolises.
To save time for the reader, we will collect information on routes and navigation in one table.
| Navitel | Suburb | Sygic | Cityigid | Yandex | |
| the adequacy of the built routes | oK | oK | oK | oK | oK |
| number of alternatives | no | 2 | 1 | no | 1-2 |
| exclusion of toll roads / other settings | yes Yes | yes Yes | yes Yes | yes Yes | no no |
| logic of behavior when leaving the route | customizable | return to the old route | lane changeover | lane changeover | |
| traffic jams on the route | yes | yes | no | yes, but at a short distance | yes |
| overspeed warnings | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| camera alerts | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes, late |
| DPOI | yes | yes | no | yes | yes |
| work without Internet connection | yes | yes | only offline | yes | functions are very limited |
It will be most convenient to ride with Progorod, Cityigid and Navitel. Sygic, despite its very practical interface, works only offline: no traffic jams or DPOI. In addition, his logic of behavior when the driver leaves the route is far from civilized. But there are no less problems with Yandex: it will not warn you about speeding, it will only tell you about the camera when you drive past it, and without a network connection, the application will not search and route routes! But before starting navigation, he will offer the user alternative route options that can be viewed on the map and select the most suitable one. The city also knows how, although it uses a slightly different logic. We love both of these features.
Our choice: Progorod and CityGuide. With some interference - Navitel and Yandex.
Tests
We ran a series of tests to show how fast these apps will work across different mobile platforms. In a separate table, we summarized the results obtained on two systems, the main characteristics of which are as follows:
Both platforms are budgetary, but the tablet has a 4-core SoC, and the smartphone has a single-core, but with a more modern architecture. Will there be any significant difference between them? In the table, smartphone and tablet data are separated by two vertical bars.
| Navitel | Suburb | Sygic | Cityigid | Yandex | |
| Loading time, s | 11 || 8 | 5-6 on both platforms | 6 || 3 | 12 || 9 | ≈2 in all cases |
| Satellite search time | in accordance with GPS technology (1-2 min.) | ≈20-30 sec. ** on both platforms | |||
| Route laying time, s * | 2,5-5 || 1,5-5 | 1-4 on both platforms | 12-20 || 6-15 | ≈2 in all cases | -*** |
| Utilization of computing cores in motion,% | 60 || n.d. | 70 || n.d. | 40 || 15 | 65 || 19 | 20 || n.d. |
| Smooth scrolling and zooming with disabled "traffic jams" | with strong jerks | jerky | relatively smoothly | relatively smoothly | smoothly |
| The volume of network traffic on the highway, MB / h | 2,5 | n.d. | - | n.d. | n.d. - 4**** |
| The volume of network traffic in the megalopolis, MB / h | 4,5 | 1 | - | 1 | 3,5-6,5**** |
* through a dash, the time of laying two routes is indicated: from the south of Moscow and to the city of Olenegorsk in the Murmansk region; the second route is to Vladivostok.
** within two seconds after loading you can see your approximate position on the map, determined by signals from base stations and their coordinates. And after another 20-30 seconds, the device "clings" to the satellites.
*** routes are calculated on a remote server, and the construction time depends on the quality of the connection at a particular time. In the GPRS or EDGE coverage area, it may take a minute or more, but with a good connection - 2-3 seconds.
**** The first digit indicates the traffic volume in the case of a preloaded full map of the region. The second number is when the card cache is empty.
So, the main problem with application performance is the inability to use all available SoC cores. And although multithreading is declared by almost all developers, in practice on a 4-core system this translates into the fact that one core is loaded at 100%, the second at 30 percent, and the other two are cooled. The only exception is Yandex. The application not only has low requirements for system resources, but also when actively working on four cores can show a total load of 60-70%, which suggests that someone still succeeds in creating multi-threaded applications (benchmark developers are not in score).
If we talk about the smoothness and comfort of working with the map, then Yandex, Citigid and Sygic behave pretty well, which cannot be said about Navitel and Progorod. Scrolling the map and zooming with them take place with noticeable jerks, slowdowns and twitches. Moreover, if your smartphone has a resolution of 1280 pixels or more, the situation will worsen regardless of the type of SoC installed in the system.
Our choice: Yandex, CityGuide and, probably, Sygic. The latter has been building routes for a very long time, but otherwise very smart.
Application Features
Since the competition is fierce, developers are trying to add some zest to their creation, and it's a sin not to mention them.
Navitel Navigator
Suburb
Here we will only mention the augmented reality mode, which will work quite tolerably on those devices where there is an orientation sensor.
Perhaps it will come in handy when traveling by car.
Sygic
Sygic is trying to attract users with all sorts of useful and interesting little things: universal search, photos on the map from Panoramio, POIs from Foursquare, articles from Wikipedia (if they have a binding to coordinates), a sidebar and a trip computer. All details in the corresponding.
CityGuide
Nothing unusual.
Yandex.Navigator
The main trump card is universal search with speech recognition and voice commands, which works quite well.
Outcome
So, most of all references marked "our choice" went to CityGid and Progorod. Navitel, Yandex.Navigator and Sygic are lagging behind. But if we evaluate the applications by their main functions (the quality of maps and the navigation process), then we see the following three leaders: Progorod, CityGid and Navitel. The cheapest of them is Progorod. The most expensive is CityGuide. And Navitel will receive the title of the most unfriendly due to the impossibility of transferring the application to other smartphones.
If you live in one of the Russian megalopolises, in your region there is a reliable and high-quality cellular connection, you are not afraid of speed cameras and prefer not to spend extra money, then it is quite possible to use Yandex.Navigator. It's free. And besides, it works fast and has a practical interface.
Sygic can be useful when traveling abroad. However, it will cost a lot. In this regard, Navitel is many times more attractive, but there will be no traffic information in it. As well as Sygic in Russia.
P.S. Better to see once than hear a hundred times. Therefore, we urge you to independently test the applications you like and draw your own conclusions. But at the same time, it is important not to forget that all navigation programs, without exception, after removing them through the application manager leave almost all their files in internal memory phone forever, "freezing" hundreds of useful megabytes. Do not forget to delete them later manually, guided by the names of the folders on the drive. Oh Android, Android ...
This is one of best apps for offline navigation. From version to version, new functions appear in it, and today it is able to lay normal and pedestrian routes, has a high detail of maps and excellent work speed. The application is completely free and does not contain any restrictions on the number of downloaded maps - you can download at least the whole world, if the storage capacity of your smartphone allows it.
OsmAnd
In this application, the source of cartographic information is the OpenStreetMap project, which exists and is filled with data thanks to the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. The usefulness of this application may depend on the place of its use, since in some regions it knows the location of literally every object, up to shops and monuments, while in others it is difficult to display only the main streets. The free version allows you to download maps for ten different countries, which in most cases is sufficient. Some additional functions are implemented in OsmAnd using plugins, which also need to be downloaded separately. In general, OsmAnd is a powerful application with a large set of functions, but with a somewhat confusing interface.
City Maps 2Go
The maps and data of this application are stored on your device, so you can access them at any time, including offline. All functions such as address search, review and GPS positioning can work without internet access. Although the map data is also sourced from the OpenStreetMap project, the map detail in this application seemed to me a little less than in the previous one. allows you to search for addresses, points of interest, points of interest offline, but does not have a navigation function. An interesting feature of this application is the integration with Wikipedia, so you can always get additional information about the places of interest to you.
Google maps
Talking about the main cartographic application for Android can be very long, since it has a huge number of different functions. However, in light of this review, we are most interested in the possibility of using it offline. It was possible to download parts of maps in this application before, and more recently the developers have added full navigation and search for objects without an Internet connection. So now Google Maps can be safely used abroad in roaming or in places where Internet connection is not available.
Good afternoon! Just yesterday I was going on a trip, and I don't know which navigator is better to install on an android without the Internet. Having climbed a bunch of sites on the Internet, I gave you an example of the most popular and free software for your phone.
Shabby Atlas or Advanced Navigator?
Thanks to the navigator installed on a tablet or phone with an Android platform, you can easily get out of any wilderness, go around traffic jams, and also, find sights that are sometimes hidden from travelers in small towns. However, everything is not so simple.
I would like the application to function quickly in offline mode, but often without a network connection, even a promoted navigator becomes a set of maps, and in addition, not with all settlements. We have to refer to the old, shabby atlas and determine where “fate has thrown”.
The presented list, which includes a dozen applications, was created taking into account the comments of users who, on their own mistakes, figured out where the navigator slows down, and what options it lacks. As a rule, we are talking about free versions, but there are a couple of options that require payment.
Which navigator is better to install on android without internet?
Google maps
These are the most popular, widespread maps that allow you to travel without the Internet. To download a specific city, you need to visit Google Play, find the required plan and select a particular area for downloading.
By clicking on the phrase "available offline", you can download what you need. Thus, you can travel without a network, both by car and by metro, tram, and even a bicycle, while getting to know the area.
The pluses include:
- Continuous updates;
- Zoom function and the ability to view the city and road from different angles.
The downside is that the program often freezes, maps are downloaded for a long time and take up a lot of space.
Yandex maps
Yandex navigator is also well-known, it is quite common, and according to functionality similar to Google.
It is worth noting that a significant drawback of both one and the second application is that, without the participation of the network, applications turn into ordinary cards. Of course, they are updated quite quickly and are characterized by an expanded information base, but they function without the possibility of laying the necessary route.
Sygic GPS Navigation, MapDroyd and Maverick Pro GPS
Sygic GPS Navigation, MapDroyd, and also Maverick Pro GPS offer users fairly high quality maps and all sorts of additional options. You can download them at a free Wi-Fi hotspot and drive safely further, checking the route. All of the above applications are designed to work in absolutely any country in the world.
It is worth noting that, in order to avoid clogging the memory of the gadget, it is best to download maps of only a few cities near which you are located, and then delete them to make room for the next.
Travelers claim that the apps are able to find a route and give a detour in case of a blocked road. The downside is that Sygic Navigator only has plans in 3D for an additional fee, even though the program itself is free.
GPS Navigation BE-ON-ROAD
Works offline, can be installed for free, having received a license to work with OpenStreetMap.
The pluses include:
- clarity of maps;
- user-friendly interface;
- the ability to build a route without connecting to the network.
During the work, several minor disadvantages were recorded:
- the application displays the U-turn as a turn;
- unable to find house numbers on small streets.
MapFactor for Android
An excellent application that works via GPS, therefore it handles offline. There is a possibility to download area plans and use them in the future.
The advantages of the navigator are:
- clear menu;
- the presence of functions that do not require payment;
- the ability to lay the exact path to the specified address.
The disadvantages include:
- long loading;
- lack of small streets on the map.
OsmAnd
A great option for offline navigation. The application has voice support, the ability to find your way in the Alps, or make the shortest route to your favorite restaurant.
Perhaps the only drawback of this navigator is that only a dozen maps can be downloaded for free.
CityGuide
An innovative program with detailed data on maps of the CIS countries, some European countries, as well as Russia. She knows all about congestion, traffic accidents, sharp turns and signs. It can function without an internet connection.
The most significant benefit is the excellent customer support, which is completely free. Its competent specialists are always ready to answer the question regarding accidents and traffic jams.
The disadvantages are:
- inability to work free version without using a network;
- the trial period for a full-fledged application is only fifteen days.
His Majesty Navitel
After Yandex, it is the most common. The high quality service offers detailed maps that can be downloaded without being tied to network quality. The peculiarity is that this application not provided without payment. After using the demo version for a month, the necessary cards should be purchased.
It is worth noting that by giving preference to Navitel, you will significantly save battery power, regardless of what kind of Android device you have.
The most significant advantages are:
- incredibly accurate data;
- excellent speed of functioning;
- availability of a support service;
- the ability to plan a route without using the network.
The disadvantage is that you have to pay to use the application.
When choosing which application to give preference to, motorists recommend:
- Wanting to save money, you should download maps where there are network access points;
- Free Apps are excellent maps providing detailed data, but not always a route finding function.
In any case, each of the above navigators will help you orient yourself with the direction of your movement, get out of any trap, and also enjoy the rare sights of the whole Earth.
I hope now you also know which navigator is better to install on android without the Internet. If you have any questions - ask them in the comments and I will be happy to answer. Peace and kindness to all!
