Magic Earth sat nav app (Android and iOS)

[Pudsey Bear]

No I haven't Kev. Didn't know about them. The key thing I probably do different though is using headphones on the scooter so I don't see the screen. Nowhere to mount a screen on the Honda really.

I'm just about to leave Boscastle for Tintagel. Google Maps says the road is closed and it's 16 miles, Magic Earth says it isn't and it's 4 miles which one will be right. Place your bets now!

I'll go with Google, not keen on ME at all Google has never taken me don't any unsuitable roads in a long time.

 

[barryd]

I'll go with Google, not keen on ME at all Google has never taken me don't any unsuitable roads in a long time.

Stuff that. I went with Magic Earth and the road was clear so Google was wrong. I generally ignore road closures on the bike anyway as there is nearly always pedestrian access or a verge to get through.

I wish I could find a better voice on magic earth than the old Irish school teacher. Funny in the chippy just now. I forgot to turn her off and she started spouting instructions from my pocket. So I put on an Irish accent and said "to be sure my dear" and turned left out of the queue. The girls in the chippy fell about but Mrs D sent me outside in disgrace. Suits me

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I've had Google tell me to turn left etc in shops so I do.

 

[guerdeval]

Do other apps produce sounds? Perhaps your device is faulty.

Difficult to say really, I can get apps to make sounds but I may have some settings wrong, it’s an iPhone 13 Pro so pretty new ,I used to have same problem with copilot too ,it used to say “welcome to copilot” then bugger all.

 

[guerdeval]

Stuff that. I went with Magic Earth and the road was clear so Google was wrong. I generally ignore road closures on the bike anyway as there is nearly always pedestrian access or a verge to get through.

I wish I could find a better voice on magic earth than the old Irish school teacher. Funny in the chippy just now. I forgot to turn her off and she started spouting instructions from my pocket. So I put on an Irish accent and said "to be sure my dear" and turned left out of the queue. The girls in the chippy fell about but Mrs D sent me outside in disgrace. Suits me

I’d kill for an Irish school teacher, I’ve still got bugger all , then again no one speaks to me normally

 

[smb]

I've used Copilot for years and generally it's been very reliable. As I have a lifetime licence rather than paying a monthly subscription I can't download the maps for Morocco. So Magic Earth will be handy as a navigation option without relying on Internet access

 

[TJBi]

I've used Copilot for years and generally it's been very reliable. As I have a lifetime licence rather than paying a monthly subscription I can't download the maps for Morocco. So Magic Earth will be handy as a navigation option without relying on Internet access

I've used CoPilot for a couple of years and generally found it reliable, though I have come across issues with road closures that were no longer in force, speed limits that were totally incorrect (and may have related to earlier roadworks) and one area in France where it was unable to navigate to my (longstanding) destination from any significant distance away and unable to navigate away from the location once it had got me there!

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I only use three nav apps mainly, although I have others just in case.

1, Google maps ( but it does need a decent data signal)

2, Copilot, not perfect but mostly reliable.

3, Organic maps, very reliable I use it to store all my POIs, it does a fair job of navigating but the voice guidance gets on me tits.

 

[barryd]

I only use three nav apps mainly, although I have others just in case.

1, Google maps ( but it does need a decent data signal)

2, Copilot, not perfect but mostly reliable.

3, Organic maps, very reliable I use it to store all my POIs, it does a fair job of navigating but the voice guidance gets on me tits.

Google maps should work without a signal if you download the maps and you go into airplane mode. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't which can be a right pia out on the bike. Thankfully Magic Earth does the job perfectly now as a back up.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Google maps should work without a signal if you download the maps and you go into airplane mode. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't which can be a right pia out on the bike. Thankfully Magic Earth does the job perfectly now as a back up.

G maps works fine without a signal IF you had one when you set out (can't do that anyway with no signal) the route and don't stray off it, and of course, you can download the offline map of your area which you often do.

 

[trevskoda]

G maps works fine without a signal IF you had one when you set out (can't do that anyway with no signal) the route and don't stray off it, and of course, you can download the offline map of your area which you often do.

Download from the cloud, very old system.

 

[barryd]

G maps works fine without a signal IF you had one when you set out (can't do that anyway with no signal) the route and don't stray off it, and of course, you can download the offline map of your area which you often do.

Yep. I know that but it should work if you have the offline maps when you don't have a signal and need to start a new route. What's the point of downloading the offline maps otherwise? It's hit and miss with no reason I can find so far as to why.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I've made new routes on the offline maps, pointless if you couldn't I think.

 

[barryd]

I've made new routes on the offline maps, pointless if you couldn't I think.

Exactly but it don't always work. Nothing I could do the other day when I got lost. Tried airplane mode as well. Simply wouldn't start a route with no signal. Magic earth though would.

This is what I mean regarding reliability. They can't be trusted 100%. At least having more than one app should get you out of trouble.

 

[smb]

I've used CoPilot for a couple of years and generally found it reliable, though I have come across issues with road closures that were no longer in force, speed limits that were totally incorrect (and may have related to earlier roadworks) and one area in France where it was unable to navigate to my (longstanding) destination from any significant distance away and unable to navigate away from the location once it had got me there!

Yes I've had similar problems with speed limits and it sometimes takes me off a road then back on to it. Since Trimble took over Copilot the poi's never seem to get updated especially service stations so I use Google maps to identify their location. It doesn't identify average speed cameras or their length so I use the free tomtom Amigo app which does this and is very customisable and can be used as a widget in overlay mode.

 

[barryd]

Just trying to plot a route to get 8 miles to our next stop but as there are road closures I have to go via Barnstaple making it 23 miles. Plotted it in Google maps on my laptop dead easy and sent to my phone for navigation. I can't however for the life of me get magic earth to replicate the journey. Even if I plot the way markers for some reason it's taking me off the main road near my destination and around about three miles of single track goat track. That road I'm pretty sure is open. It's impossible. It refused to let me do it.

I wish there was a way to send Google maps routes from the laptop to magic earth on my phone. I guess nobody has figured that one out? Might have to be Google maps this time then.

 

[colinm]

Even the TomTom app on a phone or tablet works better than a dedicated DumTom these day. I do still use a dedicated one though, but I certainly won't be replacing it with another one when it packs up.

With 'lifetime' maps, speedcams, and traffic, I'll be keeping my TomTom 5100 going as long as possible, also on long trips to Europe many mobile networks will start to charge after a certain number of days.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

With 'lifetime' maps, speedcams, and traffic, I'll be keeping my TomTom 5100 going as long as possible, also on long trips to Europe many mobile networks will start to charge after a certain number of days.

I think it's the amount of data Colin, not the days you're away, at least that's how my roaming works with TalkMobile which is essentially Vodaphone when we're out of the UK, it is limited to 15gb per month despite paying for 70gb.

 

[colinm]

I think it's the amount of data Colin, not the days you're away, at least that's how my roaming works with TalkMobile which is essentially Vodaphone when we're out of the UK, it is limited to 15gb per month despite paying for 70gb.

Just checked, and on TalkMobile you are limited to 61 days in 120.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Just checked, and on TalkMobile you are limited to 61 days in 120.

Every day a skooolday, Thanks Colin, I didn't realise that, not been a problem as six weeks is has been our limit.