by Dan Hughes
A global map, without any of the fuss; Maps.Me looks set to revolutionise caravanning and motorhoming
Have you ever made a wrong turn because your sat nav’s map wouldn’t load quickly enough? Or maybe you’ve gone through a rural area that hasn’t got any signposts at all? Perhaps you have had to use your smartphone’s maps and checked your bill to find extensive roaming charges? Well now there’s an app, which can solve all of these problems and much more – without having to fork out for a standard sat nav – or anything for that matter!
The Maps.Me app is one of the world’s most convenient and easy to use mapping applications of the modern world – trust us, we’ve tried a good few! Previously you were charged to purchase this app but thanks to Mail.Ru, the Russian internet company, the app has been made available for free.
The app was built off the back of the OpenStreetMap project and, originally launched in 2011,.offers extensive offline maps, routing information, offline search and the ability to bookmark locations. According to Maps.Me, the app is totally offline, worldwide, really fast and very detailed for all popular devices from mobile phones to tablets – we wouldn’t recommend you pulling out your iPad whilst driving along though!
So, how does it work? Well, the OpenStreetMap project works pretty much like Wikipedia articles in that many people edit and add to them as and when. Anyone can edit maps, add towns, roads, locations and points of interest. Maps.Me incorporates changes made into their database, constantly updating the app thanks to the global community of enthusiasts, which has recently grown above 1.8million members. It also encompasses over 345 countries and islands, and is one of the top rated apps in the Travel category.
To find out how to download Maps.Me straight to your device for free, click here.
