Hi Nic,
There's a "Start Tracking with Heading" button in the lower left of
the Maps app screen that you might explore. It seems to lock on your
current location, and maybe switch you to one of the map views with
your current location. Also, in a viphone list post titled "Your
location question in GPS apps like Navigon and Maps" back in February,
I discussed the location accuracy of Google Maps vs. the assisted GPS
triangulation (which, by the way, is one of the features of the iPad
+3G models slated for release later this month), and determining your
address with the "Current position" pin. I'll paste that in here
below my sig if you want to review it and experiment.
Cheers,
Esther
From: Esther
Date: 16 February 2010
To: viph...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Your location question in GPS apps like Navigon and Maps
Reply-To: viph...@googlegroups.com
Hi,
A couple of weeks ago a new user asked about getting location as a
street address or intersection, and was pointed to i-map-u (by me
for U.S. locations), A1 GPS Pro (by Brett, for locations outside of
the U.S.), and by using the "IconWhereAmI" button in App Genie (by
Mark). Geoff pointed out that Navigon's MobileNavigator also gives
this information if you double click on the "More" button and then
double click the "DirectHelp" option, where you'll get a message
giving "Your approximated position" as an address as well as
estimated distance from an intersection, and the latitude and
longitude that most apps that "tell you your location" seem to
provide. (This feature presumably works for other countries, though
we haven't heard back a report from other Navigon users outside the
U.S. It doesn't have the one click convenience of i-map-u, but does
provide you with your current location without your having to exit
the Navigon app.)
Investigating the "Maps" app in more detail showed it is also
possible to get your current location announced, but may be a little
trickier. On the main map routing page, once you've set up a route,
the central map shows pins for the location of your starting and
ending location, but also a pin for "Current Location". If you
flick to or touch the "Current Location" pin, VO will announce
"Current Location, shows more info". Double tap, then touch the
screen above the "Current Location" pin. I hear VO announce two
lines: first, "Current Location" and then below that an approximate
street location associated with the Current Location (e.g., it might
be a range of street numbers, like 123-127 XXX St). Flick left and
there will be a "Street View" button. Double tapping the "Street
View" button gives a Landscape street view image. (You won't really
use this, but the label at the top -- once you've rotated your
iPhone 90 degrees to landscape mode -- announces the address. In
the above example it will just be the middle number in the range of
addresses. This information is only given out of completeness,
unless you can view the image.) Double tap the "Done" button at
the top right (in landscape mode) to return to the map screen with
focus on the current location information. If you flick right there
is a "More Info" button that gives an info screen with some options
that are similar to what you get from the AroundMe "More
Info" (buttons for "Directions to Here", "Directions From Here",
"Add to Contacts", "Share Location", and "Add to Bookmarks").
Double tap the "Map" button in the top left to return to the map
page. Again, this information is only given for completeness, since
you typically won't want to do anything except check out what this
button does.
Note that the current location information is only viewable from map
mode. If you double tap the "Settings" button in the bottom right
corner so that you can change the view mode from "map" to "list" in
order to get a simple turn-by-turn summary list of directions you
won't be able to query current position.
This was actually an instance where having the default WiFi access
for the iPod Touch made it a little easier to check out this
feature. If you don't use your GPS location the difference between
the position of the start position pin and the "Current Position"
pin is large enough so that if you move your finger around the start
position on the map you'll find the second pin for "Current
Position". I'd be curious to learn whether an iPhone user can track
their current position this way in the Maps app. The map view is
supposed to be centered on the route steps, but I don't know how
easy it is to find the current position pin in the different travel
stage maps. Incidentally, the current location position guess that
Google returns seems more accurate than the Navigon location in the
"DirectHelp" option.
Cheers,
Esther
Nicolai Svendsen wrote:
Hi,
I want to experiment more with this. Is it actually possible to get
live updated textual directions, rather than having to advance
forward? During my quick exploration of the application, it didn't
seem possible, however, it probably is I'd hope. I also did not have
a lot of time to try it out. I wonder if the bus route works
internationally, I'd imagine so. That'd definitely help me a lot.
Regards,
Nic
Skype: Kvalme
MSN Messenger: nico...@home3.gvdnet.dk
AIM: cincinster
yahoo Messenger: cin368
Facebook Profile
My Twitter
On Apr 8, 2010, at 10:39 PM, Esther wrote:
Hi Karen,
You asked about getting navigating directions in the Maps app, and
said that "no directions were spoken". The Maps app doesn't
automatically announce directions with text to speech the way GPS
apps like Navigon's MobileNavigator do, but it displays directions
on the screen that you can read off. They're listed just below the
buttons for choosing method of travel (e.g., "directions by car",
"directions by bus", "directions by walking") at the top of the
screen, at the location you heard the 2.0 miles and 7 minutes
travel time estimate, and the map of the route is shown below.
Once you double tap the "Start" button, the header changes to let
you navigate the legs of your journey. For example, instead of the
buttons for method of travel you might hear "1 of 8" and if you
touch the screen just below that you'll hear directions like "Head
north-east on Street A towards Avenue B". The map below the
directions update to show the portion of the route that is
described. At the upper right of the screen, in place of the
"Start" button, there's now a "Forward" button, and to the left of
it a "Back" button. Double tapping the "Forward" button advances
you to the next leg, so the header will read "2 of 8" and the
directions below the header might read "Drive 154 feet then turn
left at C Street". Your husband would be able to view the map
zoomed in to follow the detailed routing at each stage, with the
streets highlighted. Using the "Forward" and "Back" buttons let
you navigate your route. To review the series of directions for
the whole route, double tap the "Settings" button at the bottom
right, then move your finger up to the "List" button and double
tap. This will give you a route overview, with list of directions
that you read off for each stage. Double tapping any of the listed
entries will take you back to map view mode for that leg of your
journey, and you can use the "Forward" and "Back" buttons.
I also found that it was easier to learn how to use this app and
routing for maps by starting from the free AroundMe app, which lets
you select a a location and then, when you double tap the "more
info" button for your selection displayed in a map, lets you send
that information to Google Maps in the correct format for finding
directions when you double tap the "Show Route" button and double
tap "Maps" as the destination. This let me separate out the issue
of how to enter addresses and starting/ending points from using the
directions, since AroundMe assumes your starting point will be your
current location. (I'm using an iPod Touch, by the way.)
I'll also paste in the directions that Kristyn posted to the list
back in November, and cc: this post to the Macvisionaries list so I
can find it again. Without the easy to search and link archiving
that is used there, if I can't quickly find or don't have time to
type in an answer when they show up, I'll let posts go in hopes
that someone else can help. I'd really like for this list to be
archived at the secondary Mail Archive site for easy searching,
linking, and reading down threads with access keys that work for
multiple platforms and browsers.
HTH. Pasted post is below my signature.
Cheers,
Esther
Begin forwarded message:
From: Kristyn Leigh <krist...@gmail.com>
Date: 25 November 2009
To: viph...@googlegroups.com
Subject: maps app
Reply-To: viph...@googlegroups.com
Wow! I just discovered that choosing “directions by bus” also
gives train and light rail info.
I think the first time you open the app it asks to use your
current location and it shows it on the map if you select OK.
There are 4 buttons at the bottom. They are start tracking,
search, directions, and settings.
1. Choose “directions.”
2. Fill in the “start” and “end” fields. You have the option
to select from your address book.
3. Double tap the “route” button in the bottom right corner
if you did not choose a destination from your address book.
4. You will return to the map. There are buttons near the
top for “directions by car,” “directions by bus,” and “directions
by walking.”
5. If you choose “directions by bus,” it will give the
departure and arrival times.
6. If you choose the “start” button, you will get the first
direction in the turn-by-turn directions. I usually choose “list”
so I can preview the route. The other options are “map,”
“satellite,” “show traffic,” and “hybrid.”
7. If the choices listed above don’t appear on the screen,
choose “settings” from the buttons at the bottom and you will find
the view choices. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to refresh the
screen.
8. When traveling, tap the button in the lower left corner
that says “start tracking.” After you press it, it says “start
tracking with heading.” Sometimes I have to press that button
again during a route.
If anyone figures out how to drop a pin to mark a location, please
let me know.
Kristyn
Karen Poulakos wrote:
I posted a question yesterday, and haven't seen a reply, so
thought I'd try again.
I decided to try out the maps app which came installed on my
IPhone for the first time, when my husband and I were driving to
visit a friend. I entered our address as the starting point, and
our friend's address as the destination. I then tapped the button
for getting directions. I then read the screen to find that our
destination was 2.0 miles, and approximately 7 minutes in
traffic. There were no textual directions that I could find. My
husband said that there was a map on the screen.
I then found a start button and tapped that, but still no
directions were spoken.
I thought I had read on this list that some of you had been
successful in using this app. Would someone be willing to share a
few tips for making it work?
Thanks,
Karen P
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
