I haven't tried Tracklogs and only really seen in store demos of MM, looks very impressive though. They've been a bit "cost prohibitive" for me in the past.

Even the Tracklog 20K x 20K comes out at nearly 3 times the price of the equivalent Quo area, at £16.95 for 40K x 40K!

I suppose if I only needed 1 map Tracklogs could be cost effective though.

We don't have plans right now to do a site centred map tile. That's not a 48 hour turnaround kind of thing, but we'll add it to the list of things we're considering. Thanks for the feedback.

With Tracklogs 1:25k, it seems the bigger the area you buy the better value it is (cheaper per km^2). Anquet is much more costly (and I checked: they can sell me out of date 1:25k mapping for my existing 1:50k software, at full price of course, but not the up to date maps).

I just did a check and Quo is cheaper than Tracklogs on a "pence per km^2" basis for 1:25k. Looking at an area in SE England, it's still cheaper even though I'd need to buy more "tiles". However, it's unclear to me what I end up with by just buying the 1:25k tiles. Is the base software any use with these? Or must I buy some sort of extension?

The whole "purchase extra plugins" model is flawed IMO, too confusing.

I'm tempted by some 1:25k stuff, but am concerned I'd find that I would then need to start buying extra bits to make it usable.

Here's the background behind our pricing:

We felt that for many people £100-£200 was a big investment for the other s/w packages on the market.

For many people we reckon that they just want some simple tools (distance measuring, drawing, media stickers, etc.) These are all free in Quo so you can have some basic fun on a digital map for free. You just buy the maps you want - and we made these affordable.

If you're an expert then yes you'll need all our PRO tools - so we made the £99 packages that have all these included and a GB 1:50k.

I can see how the tools make it look confusing, but if you take it at face value - just buy what you need - I do think it makes sense. We'll work on simplifying the model - so thanks for the feedback.

Dan - while we have your attention. . . .

Does the OS licensing still mean we need to replace all our map data when you do a major upgrade to your software?

This has been a matter of some concern in the past with the existing packages. Anquet have tied their package right down, MM have (accidentally or otherwise) let theirs be hacked - so there's map data floating around on BitTorrent etc.

I suspect that lots of existing Anquet/MM/Tracklogs users will only consider migrating to Quo if/when they have yo buy all that mapping again.


Thanks

Unfortunately the OS licencing does mean the same for us as for the others.

There's a big difference though with Mapyx. We only charge you the OS licence fee for upgrades and add zero profit - so you get it at cost. Other companies see this as a chance to make a profit so you pay up to 5 times more in some cases...

There's nothing we can do about the OS rules so we all have to live with them - but we hope to make them a little easier to swallow.

We're happy to wait for people to upgrade - we'll be here when the time comes. In the meantime we hope to win first time buyers and also bring in a wider audience with our free version.

It's a shame Dan that you're still tied into the OS's stupid rules. I thought that, from the OM review, you had got around this somehow. Now *that* would be a selling point. I'd only be happy to pay for maps again if they were totally updated, otherwise i'd still begrudge the OS having it. I'll still give the program a whirl though, but i'm doubtful i'll get lured away from my comfortable and homely (and heavily invested in) Tracklogs environment just yet!

But as others have said, there's a lot of investment in these systems and as opposed to current users you're likely to get mainly newcomers to the digital mapping with a few people who are fed up of their system and the gadget/toys-for-boys crowd who'll buy it anyway as it's a shiny new piece of software to play with...

That's why i'm off to play with the demo.

Edit:

Had a play with it. Shame i can't import gpx files on the free version. Is the full version compatible with gpx files? Route planning is very similar to MemoryMap - i.e. not as easy as on Tracklogs for me. I like to be able to click on the line and add points to the route or move them. Others may prefer the MM or Quo method where you right click to add new points and right click to move them too, but it was my major bugbear with MM (plus the way it manages routes).

Have a feeling that Mem Map users may feel more at home here than Tracklogs users (this one at least!).

Dave,
The GPS Manager tool allows import and export of gpx files. Like any system you get used to the way it works and transferring means re-learning to an extent. Personally I prefer the right click to add new points/move them system as it reduces the chance of accidentally adding points.

The adding of Quo "bolt-ons" works for me.
Just calculated that without maps I can get exaclty the tools I'd use for about £35. If I was new to the market as I could have everything I'd need for just over £40!
However, I'd definately be after the 1:25K tiles and seen as they are about the same price as a laminated paper map I'd have to do some more comparing. Not such a straight forward choice......Hmmm, confused!

Anybody know of any benefit of using 1:25K instead of 1:50K for loading/plotting routes onto GPS? I dont think its a great deal more accurate. Is it?

The mapping is nowhere near as accurate as your GPS, so no real advantage.

As for the 1:25k vs 1:50k debate - that's been covered (often) in the past. I think in most cases it comes down to the sort of environment you walk in. If you're mostly in "the hills", 1:50k is best. If you're mostly in "farmland", 1:25k offers more detail on walls, gates etc.

Quo have got a competition to win free maps by spotting Christmas puddings!
Not too difficult to win free software.

I have been using Quo for a few weeks now and have found it really good for the local stuff I have been doing. Hoping to upgrade to a GPS this week so will see how it goes with that!!
I am impressed with the pricing and have found it easier than MM or Tracklogs.