Very few location based applications focus on users who want to venture off the tarmac. ViewRanger is not just a GPS application with maps; it is more like a countryside information system. Richard Bloor explores this application.
First, I must say that I was not able to test ViewRanger to the extent I had hoped. Blame British Airways. They lost my bag and GPS unit on the way into the UK. So I ended up with only two days to put ViewRanger thought is paces. As a result this review is not as comprehensive as I had hope, but I believe it still provide a reasonable picture of what this application is capable of.
ViewRanger is designed to fulfill the needs of anyone who gets off the beaten track and out into the countryside. It currently provides coverage of Great Britain, but Augmentra has plans to expand this coverage into Europe and eventually further a field. The application relies on Ordinance Survey maps and gazette information to provide map, points of interest, and topographic data. Users can choose from a range of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scale maps, as well as a 1:1,000,000 scale map of the UK. Maps can be purchased as specific sets or selected for any particular area of interest. The whole of the UK at 1:50,000 requires 2.8Gb of memory, but can be loaded in sections to fit the available memory. Typically around 200Mb of storage would provide useful coverage.
ViewRanger delivers a comprehensive set of navigation features. These include: track recording and editing; route creation, either from a track or manually defined; route editing; definition of points of interest, which can be displayed as icons in a map overlay; setting of bookmarks; import and export of points of interest and routes; navigation of routes or to points of interest; server storage of photographs and note; and a panorama feature.
The main interface is the map display, which can include details of the location and altitude, a scale bar and, when navigating, a navigation arrow.
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