Talkback: Anquet's New Apps With Cloud-Based Synch

Anyone tried this yet?
I have a lot of Anquet mapping. It costs £50 to upgrade both the software and the maps and it doesn't make clear if I would then have to pay for the Android app as well. I have found Anquet to work much slower than Memory Map on windows mobile devices, so would be interested to know if the Android app is quicker (as otherwise I wouldn't be interested).

I can't see that it does much more than Anquet Maps V06 did. I too have lots of V06 maps, but only those downloaded in the last year get transferred free. If you want to upload to a GPS you have to get Outdoor Map Pro, so either way you will end up paying £50 for very little benefit. Having been a big fan of Anquet I'm very disappointed that existing customers are getting such a poor deal.

I just purchased Outdoor Map Navigator Pro this evening and here are a few initial impressions

* It's expensive having to pay £30 to upgrade any maps purchased before 2012

* It doesn't really seem to offer a lot of new functionality versus Anquet v06 other than the Anquet Cloud feature, though that is of only limited practical value as there are no apps for mobile devices that you can actually sync it with yet

* I'm not sure that the premium (£50) for the "pro" version is worth it versus the free version. It allows A3 printing (which I have never needed) and "zoom printing" (which I think v06 did anyway). The ability to join routes properly (which was a real frustration with v06) seems to be there though I haven't tested it yet

* Main gripe I have with it is that the software is just as "buggy" as v06 was. It's extremely slow - even on a powerful PC - especially if you have more than one route open, and it will crash several times during an average mapping session, returning various error messages.

* It still doesn't do simple basic things, like automatic numbering of miles on routes, printing routes in dotted lines, "locking" routes so you can't accidentally edit them, manually allowing setting of horizontal and vertical scale on route profile (which Anquet version 2 did)

All in all Outdoor Map Navigator appears to be exactly the same as v06 with a slightly different user interface. Pretty much all the rest of the functionality appears to be the same. My advice - based on admittedly only one evening using it - is that if you've got used to v06 with all its various failings, there is little merit in upgrading to Outdoor Map Navigator. I'd wait until the bugs are fixed (which given Anquet's progress on v06 could be a very long time) and missing functionality added in (ditto)

Thanks for your comments Adam. It is interesting what you say about it being buggy. I have never had a problem with v06 on a PC - it is only on a mobile I have a problem (ie very slow). I still have one map on v01 which is much quicker than v06 - I wish I could downgrade my v06 maps!

Has anyone succeeded in printing A3 yet? I purchased the upgrade specifically on the basis that it supports "Unlimited A3 Printing". Thus far it has refused to let me select any paper size other than A4. I have e-mailed Anquet support and I await their response.

 I would second the remarks about it being slow. I have the map files stored on a solid state drive, 16 processor cores, masses of memory and it still cannot render map titles at a respectable speed. So I don't buy the claim that "the maps load so quickly you'll barely notice it happening". It took just about 60s to finish drawing the OS Road Map at 10% scale. According to Wikipedia humans perceive flashing images if the frame rate is below 16 frames per second, so I reckon it is running about 16 * 60 = 960 times too slowly. 

Anquet sent me a link to their latest beta version and this seems to have fixed the A3 printing issue. (it looks OK on the printer driver's preview; I have not tried actual paper yet).

They say they have fixed some crashes and other issues too.

Beta 1.0.0.135

A brief look at the demo download doesn't appear much different to v06 and if this new version is to become the main Anquet platform and having paid a lot of cash for maps and map updates it seems to me that Anquet are treating their existing, loyal customers with contempt asking for £50 to upgrade.

No support for MAC OSX so you still need a Windows PC. My supper thin Macbook air synchs beautifully with the iCloud.

No mention of the iPod (only iPhone)subject to on-going negotiations with Apple. Who knows when the product will reach the app store?

I've always cut my own Anquet maps. So they are already stored on the server. Anquet cloud is just a new name. But I appear to be locked out unless I upgrade to the new software.

£50 is far too much, to get access to what I've already paid for.

I will stick with V06 but won't make any more map purchases. The competition is looking more attractive, especially mapping on more rugged waterproof GPS devices rather than smartphones.

I upgraded in the end. My comments so far are that new version not so different from version 6. In one way, 3d mapping it is worse in that v6 allowed you to use the cursor to rotate the map, whereas OMN only allows you to use the 3d control, which is not nearly as flexible.
Also, comparing the two, v6 appears sharper - OMN looks a bit blurry in comparison (and in comparison the memory map too). Haven't printed out yet to see if blurry on paper as well - will do that next.
One advantage though - all your mapping, including on disc, appears to be upgraded to the latest data - certainly my 1:25,000 Lake District shows the new mapping, with softer colour contours and crags in grey rather than black. If you have a lot of mapping, that may be £50 well spent.
Need to wait to see what the android app is like now.

Well good luck Zippy. I certainly would not pay whilst there are no available apps. I assume they will be free like Memory Map, but Anquet have been silent. I really don’t want to be dependent upon The Cloud. I much prefer having all maps on my PC and being able to copy them to pocket Anquet. OMN in my opinion is not yet fit for purpose.

I upgraded to OMN and have had success with the A3 printing which I love. However, the rest of the software is leaving me distinctly underwhelmed. The Detailed Gazetteer  never worked an with their latest fix the Gazetteer hardly works. Brighton does not exist though I know of 3 (Cornwall, Shropshire and Sussex).

I find it is very clunky when swapping between maps. Some just don't display.

I agree with Tom B above in that this version was not fit to publish and they need to fix it quickly before it tarnishes their reputation.

I must confess my experience is different from yours Nick H. My gazetteer works fine and all the maps display well and I can switch between them quickly. The gazetteer is not as friendly as the V06 version though as it only shows the grid reference not the county or type of feature, which is a clear backward step.

Other than this, which is a removal of a feature, it works fine for me.

Just got an update email from Anquet. It seems Android app will cost £6.99. So with OMN pro plus upgrade of old maps, that £56.99 in total. So now you know.
NB the upgrade for £50 is an early bird discount - although it my experience Anquet offers tend to last a while, but price could increase in near future.

Hi, Ed from Anquet here.

(Jon's happy for me to post directly.)

@ Nick H 36  Apologise, on the gazetteer issue we introduced a bug that effects some (but not all) Gazetteer files as part of the roll out of the latest release of OMN for PC which enabled the French IGN map data. This slipped through our testing I’m afraid but we have it fixed now. Do we have a support ticket for you? If so, we’ll update you via that.

@Zippy, Map clarity should be at least comparable to v06 and you can expect 3D mapping to be faster. Again, perhaps we can look into these issues for you? Are you in contact with our support desk?

Ed from Anquet again,

Thought I’d add a few general points relevant to some of the post on this thread.

At launch we had an issue with A3 printing and an issue with converting some older v06 disks to OMN compatible downloads. Both were addressed quickly, within a few days I believe, once reported.

All in all though, the direct user feedback for OMN has been very positive. Most have had a trouble free experience and are enjoying using the new software.

But you know, as much as you test a product, in the real world, there are always new permutations of hardware, graphics cards, firewalls, service packs etc which can throw things up.  As these things have come up we’ve isolated the issues and fixed them. In short, you should expect OMN for PC to be fast and stable and more than fit for purpose. If that’s not how you find it, please do let us know and we’ll investigate of course.

On the subject of the pricing of upgrades, I thought I’d do my best to clarify a few things. Here goes…

There is capable free version of OMN for PC which has the features that most people will need.

There’s also a Pro version of OMN for £40 which includes GPS connectivity, 3D maps, A3 printing etc.

Any Anquet maps bought in 2012 and onwards will work in both OMN and Anquet v06.

If you have maps on disk or download that were bought before 2012 that you would like to use in OMN for PC then you need a the v06 Map Reader Plug-in to convert them to OMN compatible downloads. This costs £30, no matter how large or small the map library.

There’s also an Early Bird offer which gives the Pro version of OMN for PC, the v06 PC Map Reader Plug-in, the v06 Android Map Reader Plug for £50.

Also, just a note on the continued support of Anquet v06: It’s here to stay. If any of you used Anquet v1, back from 2001, you know we mean it when we say we’ll continue to support a product.

With the above, we have tried to provide existing v06 with some options, they are:

1. Stick with v06, re-assured that v06 is still very much supported and that any new maps they buy will be OMN compatible. We hope this means that customers who are happy with v06 can carry on using it knowing that should they wish to convert in the future, they can.

2. Convert v06 maps to OMN compatible downloads. Here we charge a one off fee to convert all v06 maps, no matter how large the map library. This, we hope, provides a fair way to give existing v06 customers access to new software without asking them to re-buy their maps (which, incidentally, until very recently, was the only option under OS regulations).

As I say, just an effort to clarify things where I can. Hope it helps.

Happy to answer questions if I can. You can drop us note at Anquet support or post here but I may not be able to reply right away here.

Ed,

Just rechecked v06 and omn side by side - after an update ran. Clarity now seems pretty similar so you must have fixed this. In terms of the 3D, it seems to have speeded up but I still do not seem to have the option in omn (that I do in v06) to simply click and hold with the mouse and move the image around. Is this still supposed to work?

Ed you say that the early bird offer includes the Android plug in, but it doesn't say this on the website. It only mentions Pro plus the v06 PC plug in. Is the android app in fact included in what I bought?

Zippy wrote (see)

Ed, Just rechecked v06 and omn side by side - after an update ran. Clarity now seems pretty similar so you must have fixed this. In terms of the 3D, it seems to have speeded up but I still do not seem to have the option in omn (that I do in v06) to simply click and hold with the mouse and move the image around. Is this still supposed to work? Ed you say that the early bird offer includes the Android plug in, but it doesn't say this on the website. It only mentions Pro plus the v06 PC plug in. Is the android app in fact included in what I bought?

 Hi Zippy

 We’ve not knowingly addressed anything to do with clarity, but I guess whatever was causing the issue for you might have been changed in the update.

On 3D, again, not knowingly addressed but glad it’s speeded up anyway.  With regard to moving the map, it’s the 3D controls or the short cut keys to move the 3D map around in OMN. If I remember correctly (but don’t quote me, it was a while back) , touch screens had a hand in that design decision for OMN somewhere along the line.

The Early Bird Pro upgrade includes the v06 Android Map Reader Plug-in, yes. So with it, you’ll be able to use all of your maps in OMN for Android. But you will also need the app itself. Thanks again for the feedback.  Oh, and I’ll make sure the v06 Android Map Reader Plug-in is mentioned in the web pages for the Early Bird Pro Upgrade.

Thanks for the quick reply, Ed.  I'll look forward to trying the Android app when it becomes available, as my main use of Anquet is as a GPS. 

When can I move my routes in one go to OMN? I can't face doing it individually, so continue to use version 6. Therefore my upgrade has been a complete waste of money, and my routes are still being created in v6. I also think the quality of rendering is less good in the new software.

Hi

I am having problems with Anquet Pocket.  All of a sudden most of my maps except 2 of them won't load or recognise when trying to open on my Pocket PC.  Is this an issue due to the development of the new cloud interface?  Will Pocket PC still be supported afterwards or is it now going to be only iphone and android?