Trimble i-device GPS apps

[FL2AK-Old Town]

Does anyone here use any of the Trimble GPS apps for their iPhone/Pad? I'm experimenting with the idea of going to an i device in lieu of a Garmin handheld, and I just downloaded the Trimble GPS Maps Pro App onto an iPad.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is in regards to the in-App purchases and the Premium GPS Subscription. It seems I can either buy the entire state of Alaska map set for $70 or I can get free downloads if I'm a premium subscriber for "free." (Subscription costs $3 a month or $30 a year.) If I go the subscription route, do I "lose" all of my map sets when the subscription expires?

Still toying with this idea, so I'm inclined to just do a one month subscrption. I"m using the girfireind's iPad before I pull the trigger on an iPhone for myself.

[FL2AK-Old Town]

Well it cost me $8 to figure this out, but yeah, the maps "expire" when your subscription runs out. Not only that, but there is no other way to get the maps on your i-device than to download to your home computer, then sync the i-device, which sucks in my current situation as the iPad has no computer to sync to. We use it as a stand alone item. So I can't really test/experiment with the apps without buying my own iPod, which isn't happening if I don't know for sure I can or even want to use the iPhone as a GPS. Given that lack of trial opportunity, it seems to me that the best thing to do is go with the tried and true technology of a Garmin handheld and replace my flip phone with a flip phone. Bollocks.

[jkb]

Unless I was on a boat in the ocean most features of a gps are useless. The goto home feature is pretty much the only one I like when traveling off of established trails. Other than that I get out the way I got in and use a natural sense of direction and natural land features to figure things out.

[AKChester]

No reason to spend any money on an expensive app. Install the free PDFmaps app, then download the topo maps of interest (available as geoPDFs) here: http://nationalmap.gov/historical/. It's simple.

The PDFmaps app allows tracking, making waypoints, and drawing lines or polygons. You can measure distances too.

All the old topo maps are available for the entire country. Here in AK they have both the 63k and 250k maps.

I use it in the field all the time. Just remember to keep your screen off as much as possible and bring a backup charger.

After all that, I still prefer a Garmin with their digital topo basemap. Better battery life, the screen is always on, and less fiddling.


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[FL2AK-Old Town]

LOL. I forgot to mention. Downloading a map of the MAt-Su Borough...took five hours and then failed. On my third attempt now. pffft.

[JOAT]

Forget Trimble. If you're not going to use a real, dedicated Garmin GPS receiver in leu of running an iFony app, then just buy the Topo Maps app for $8 (one-time fee and it is forever yours) and download all the USGS quads and quarter quads that you desire... for FREE. The built-in GPS functionality of the phone turns the USGS paper maps into a full-function mapping GPS unit.

[AKChester]

FL2AK-Old Town: I think the website is temporarily broken. I tried one yesterday too and it didn't work. I hadn't had a problem before yesterday, so I think it's a temporary glitch. The website is less than a year old and just got out of the beta testing.


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[AKChester]

Trimble i-device GPS apps

Just tried again and it is working. The map viewers are new, so might be glitchy at times. There are two interfaces:

http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/

And the USGS store "map locator" link found on this page:
http:/store.usgs.gov

The USGS store interface includes the new (2013) topo maps that include imagery in the PDF. In Abobe Reader you can turn layers on and off. Although the new topo maps's contours are more accurate, they suck for navigating. Also, they don't transfer well into the PDFmaps app because the app shows all the layers in the PDF. So, anywhere there is an area with vegetation, the vegetation polygon will obscure the imagery.

Try downloading the Anchorage 250k quad again.


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[FL2AK-Old Town]

No reason to spend any money on an expensive app. Install the free PDFmaps app, then download the topo maps of interest (available as geoPDFs) here: http://nationalmap.gov/historical/. It's simple.

The PDFmaps app allows tracking, making waypoints, and drawing lines or polygons. You can measure distances too.

All the old topo maps are available for the entire country. Here in AK they have both the 63k and 250k maps.

I use it in the field all the time. Just remember to keep your screen off as much as possible and bring a backup charger.

After all that, I still prefer a Garmin with their digital topo basemap. Better battery life, the screen is always on, and less fiddling.


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Are you referring to avenza pdf maps?

[AKChester]

Yep


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[FL2AK-Old Town]

Hmm. Interesting. There seems to be no way to actually transfer the pdf maps to the iPad or to the App. I have the maps on my desktop. I have them in my iTunes under Apps and added to the app under file sharing. I have synced the iPad. I have no maps. I have even added a new folder in the App to store the maps. Yet I have no maps.

I really dislike technology.

[FL2AK-Old Town]

Forget Trimble. If you're not going to use a real, dedicated Garmin GPS receiver in leu of running an iFony app, then just buy the Topo Maps app for $8 (one-time fee and it is forever yours) and download all the USGS quads and quarter quads that you desire... for FREE. The built-in GPS functionality of the phone turns the USGS paper maps into a full-function mapping GPS unit.

I know you're biased towards the Garmin product line, in part because you're like the AOD Garmin Guru. I have to admit, this iPhone stuff is incredibly user unfriendly. (Tried two Trimble Apps and the Avenza App.) But the only reason any of this has come up is it's time to swap out my flip phone. If not for that, we wouldn't even be having this discsussion. So, no, I'm not going to be buying a new Garmin handheld. (And if this iPhone stuff doesn't get a LOT LOT LOT better and a LOT easier very quickly, I won't be buying an iPhone, either.)

[cod]

FL..... Don't give up on your iPhone mapping. I have the Avenza PDF Maps and recently found another app called ArcGIS that I have been playing with. Both apps are FREE Versions. I will have to review these two again since I haven't used them since last hunting season but if I recall the second app I mentioned interested me cuz it allowed u to drop cookie crumbs to show your route taken.
I will probably update my phone to the iPhone 5 when I get back home this fall.
There are a couple threads on iPhone and mapping from the last two seasons. Read up on em. Happy to help where I can. Cheers.

[AKChester]

To transfer the maps (PDF files) to PDFmaps app on your iPad or iPhone: 1) connect the device to your computer. 2) open iTunes. 3) click on the device button in iTunes( upper right corner. 4) click on the apps tab at the top. 5) scroll down to the app file sharing box at the bottom. ( important to scroll down, or you won't see the box). 6) select the PDFmaps app in the list on the left. 7)drag and drop a PDF file to the empty box. 8) open PDFmaps on the device. 9) click the + sign. 10) select import from iTunes sharing. It will take a minute to convert the map. Done. Email me if you want.


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[JOAT]

The Topo Maps app is not a Garmin product. Go look at their website... http://topomapsapp.com/

It is actual scanned images of actual USGS paper maps. The maps are free forever and only limited by the memory space on your iPhone or iPad. The app is a one-time $7.99 and worth every penny. You can pick the maps you want and download them directly into your iProduct over WiFi or carrier data. On a 3G network, it takes about 5 minutes to download each map (they run about 7MB each). But once you have the map installed, it is available offline and anywhere.