Take a look at http://www.sustrans.org.uk/map and just look at the free mapping that comes up. It zooms in very quickly to footpath scales and when you reach a village pubs, schools are marked, along with bus stops and a link to tell you when the next bus is! For the first time in my life I begin to feel a need to rush out and buy an i-phone. I suspect the mapping probably wouldn't be much good in remote hills but for linear walks in areas like the midlands it surely has huge potential.
I like the way it is really quite clear when you zoom in. The "2nd level" which is just an enlarged OS 25:000 scale is pretty useful for those tricky bits where it is hard to see the detail on a paper map.
However, as I teach I generally try to avoid schools when I'm out and about (though on thinking about it them being marked could equally well be used to avoid them as find them!).
I don't think it's enough to make me want an iphone - I like to keep things simple and paper map and compass will do for me.
It looks more like a Geographical Information System than a pure mapping tool, overlaying additional information onto the underlying base map. Which explains why the mapping is all 'greyed out' (well, colour muted).
Thanks for comments, yes i believe it is GIS. What impresses me is the information is exactly what we users need when out and about, real YHA phone no.s, doctors surgeries etc. I have never really found my gps 60 to be much use, save for mileage ang getting a quick grid ref to report broken stiles and obstructions. Free mapping such as magic and council websites are horrendously slow on my desktop. For a cyclist this looks to be brilliant with Sustrans routes very clear. I would like to know how good it is on a large screen mobile internet phone when on the move and how it compares to Montana, Satmap and the like.
If you've not looked at openstreetmap.org and cyclestreets.net, you probably should. You won't get bus timetables, but you can get some surprisingly high quality mapping for free. I believe iphone and android apps are available for both.
As regards your gps 60... can you load extra maps on to it? I use a gpsmap 60csx and I use http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ and http://openmtbmap.org/ to generate maps suitable for driving and hiking respectively that support automatic routing.
Personally, I wouldn't use a smartphone as a GPS for hiking or cycling; battery life tends to be short, and they generally react poorly to rain and impact and tend to be expensive to replace. Lots of map applications for phones also only work in online mode; that makes running them potentially expensive, eats batteries even quicker and if you've no network coverage you're out of luck! My Dell Streak 5 does have a lovely big screen though; I do look forward to the day someone makes a ruggedised mini-tablet type device.
> Personally, I wouldn't use a smartphone as a GPS for hiking or cycling; battery life tends to be short, and they generally react poorly to rain and impact and tend to be expensive to replace.
Expect to see more smartphones add ruggedness. I've seen good reports of things like the Motorola Defy, which are heading in that direction.
Thanks for the response. I have now heard from the team at Sustrans who should have it available as an app for I-phone shortly. My gps60 was the mid range version without card slot so does not take mapping. I have found Garmin satnavs brilliant whilst driving. I have OS explorer mapping for almost all of the areas I walk, but might be tempted by an I-phone for walking in cities I visit. As an afterthought my satnav may well fulfil that function, perhaps I should try it. When visiting hostels I will certainly take my netbook to access the sustrans mapping information, I don't bother going online on my current midsize screen payg Nokia
Personally, I wouldn't use a smartphone as a GPS for hiking or cycling; battery life tends to be short, and they generally react poorly to rain and impact and tend to be expensive to replace. Lots of map applications for phones also only work in online mode; that makes running them potentially expensive, eats batteries even quicker and if you've no network coverage you're out of luck! My Dell Streak 5 does have a lovely big screen though; I do look forward to the day someone makes a ruggedised mini-tablet type device.
I'd be very interested in seeing if we ever get a Toughbook fondle-slab style device. Those things could survive orbital re-entry.
