Viamici–the First Map Calibration Solution for the Android Platform

[Pueo]

This seems cool... Just curious, why do you need to set your location twice?

Setting the location twice provides an measurement to the program that gives your downloaded map (jpeg, photo, scanned map) an accuracy scale and known location. Therefore the more accurate your pin location(s) the more accurate your location.

[tjs]

Got the Demo version and can't wait to try it out

[bastosero]

For those who have had the app for a while, how is it? I'm thinking of getting it myself.

[Milehighjc]

Gave this a try on my Verizon Moto Droid on a recent trip to London. I had hopes that I could use it to help me get around London, despite not having 3G service there. I downloaded maps before I left, and hoped that I could calibrate once I arrived.

Unfortunately, it did not work - and Im not really sure why. I wouldnt have thought it would require data service, but apparently it must. I was not able to calibrate the map.

I imagine it will still be useful for navigating trails etc here in the states...

jc

[bastosero]

Gave this a try on my Verizon Moto Droid on a recent trip to London. I had hopes that I could use it to help me get around London, despite not having 3G service there. I downloaded maps before I left, and hoped that I could calibrate once I arrived.

Unfortunately, it did not work - and Im not really sure why. I wouldnt have thought it would require data service, but apparently it must. I was not able to calibrate the map.

I imagine it will still be useful for navigating trails etc here in the states...

jc

I would think London is a very big place to use Viamici on, but if it could handle it then that's great. Also, when you arrived in London did you have GPS on? I don't believe you need data to use GPS (it's built-in on the Droid).

[KZIWarrior]

Gave this a try on my Verizon Moto Droid on a recent trip to London. I had hopes that I could use it to help me get around London, despite not having 3G service there. I downloaded maps before I left, and hoped that I could calibrate once I arrived.

Unfortunately, it did not work - and Im not really sure why. I wouldnt have thought it would require data service, but apparently it must. I was not able to calibrate the map.

I imagine it will still be useful for navigating trails etc here in the states...

jc

From the developers website:
"For using Viamici you do not need Internet connection—thus carrier data plan charges do not apply. You can use it even in the areas where your carrier has no coverage (e.g., in national parks, in the mountains)."


So there must have been another issue such as the map or GPS connection. Did you report the problem to the developer?

[bastosero]

Gave this a try on my Verizon Moto Droid on a recent trip to London. I had hopes that I could use it to help me get around London, despite not having 3G service there. I downloaded maps before I left, and hoped that I could calibrate once I arrived.

Unfortunately, it did not work - and Im not really sure why. I wouldnt have thought it would require data service, but apparently it must. I was not able to calibrate the map.

I imagine it will still be useful for navigating trails etc here in the states...

jc

From the developers website:
"For using Viamici you do not need Internet connection—thus carrier data plan charges do not apply. You can use it even in the areas where your carrier has no coverage (e.g., in national parks, in the mountains)."


So there must have been another issue such as the map or GPS connection. Did you report the problem to the developer?

I hope he didn't forget to turn GPS on when he arrived there or maybe Airplane Mode was still on for him.

[Milehighjc]

I have not yet reported to the developer... hope to be able to find some time to do so, but I dont really have a "test bed" anymore, since I came home!

I was trying to do central london... used Google Maps to create a PNG file of the area I was planning on being in. I did have the GPS on... and frequently had the wifi on (but the phone radio off for the duration). Never was able to get connected to a wifi hotspot until the last day, and at that point Google maps was functional (accurately reporting where I was).

jc

[Urboss]

Milehighjc, what was the message the program showed? In the situation you described AGPS/SGPS build in Droid might become just GPS—for which obtaining an initial fix may take much longer (e.g., 3-5 minutes). Additionally, in areas of big density of high buildings or during cloudy weather (which is common in London) , there may be some problems with obtaining an accurate position. These problems are connected with any app which uses GPS.

[Milehighjc]

Unfortunately, I dont recall the message. I tried multiple times from different places - I was able to get the initial point set at least once... but never able to get both the first and second point set (I dont recall it taking overly long to do so).

The first full day I was there, the weather was nice - and I was staying near Hyde Park. I dont think weather or buildings were an issue that day. However the following days were cloudy, and the second day was pretty rainy (as London can be this time of year).

I hope to have another chance to try it again sometime soon... next try will likely be in Rocky Mountain National Park - which would be a great opportunity to try with a trail map (and likely with no data service available).

I think Viamici shows great promise... and from my point of view especially for places where I would not be able to access data service (and might otherwise use Google Maps).

jc