Mapopolis 4.2 Includes Driving Directions

Posted By: Ed Tuesday, April 9, 2002 10:05:45 AM

Mapopolis 4.2 has been released and includes the ability to create door-to-door driving directions directly on the handheld. It has direct access to the Address Book for address searches and its speed has been increased. Mapopolis is free but the maps range in price from $3 to $10, depending on their level of detail and the functions they support.

Mapopolis also includes the ability to load contiguous maps automatically, a new zoom box feature, an alternate font which is easier to read, and the ability to show city and town names.

Mapopolis maps are available for every county in the U.S. and many cities in Canada

The maps come in four levels: Basic, Enhanced, Platinum, and Platinum plus GPS. The Basic maps include streets, landmarks, and GPS support, while the Enhanced maps add addresses, rivers and lakes, and address search functions. Platinum maps provide all of the above, plus door-to-door driving directions.

There is now a charge of $3 for the Basic maps which were formerly free. Demo versions with GPS support are available. Yearly subscriptions are available, which range in price from $15 to $45. A subscription allows the user to download an unlimited number of maps.

Thanks to Paul Campbell for his help with this article. -Ed

Related Information:

Article Comments

 (37 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Comments Closed Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down

?

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 10:20:15 AM #
I have 4.1 and can get directions, I need it to be able to locate hotels, etc. for me.

RE: ?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 10:23:14 AM #
Doesn't it have a "find" feature?

RE: ?
Ed @ 4/9/2002 10:32:17 AM #
The door-to-door directions have been available since 4.0 but they released it on December 23 so it got zero press attention. I didn't even know about it until mid-January. I've been looking for an excuse to write about the new functions and finally decided this would have to be it.

---
News Editor
RE: ?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 10:46:41 AM #
Yes, it does have a find feature, but business info is not included in the maps. This will be available later as an add-on. As quoted from a previous inquiry to them regarding this:

"Our initial maps had some businesses on them, since we were funding our maps through advertisers initially. Since we now market our maps directly to our customer, Mapopolis has been working on a new product that will offer place guides on our maps. It will have a more comprehensive guide to restaurants, hotels and business locations. Check back in a few months for developments."

They do have info for lots of categories such as Airports, Gov't, Schools, Recreation, Hospitals, Police, etc... now though.

This is a great mapping app, and with this addition, it'll be the best out there.

RE: ?
JStraub @ 10/1/2002 3:25:19 AM #
FYI, Mapopolis PlaceGuides have now been available for about one month. More information about these guides, which include business locations including restaurants, gas stations, and other business locations of use to traveling professionals is available at http://www.mapopolis.com/subscriptions.jsp.


Thanks,

Jeremy Straub
Mapopolis.Com, Inc.


Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 10:19:48 AM #
I haven't tried software at all yet, but I always thought the palm didn't have enough horsepower to generate door to door directions. The one thing I miss on my Garmin EMap is directions.

Anyone have any ideas on how accurate the directions and maps are? Can it update the directions on the fly if you use it with a GPS?

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
Altema @ 4/9/2002 10:40:42 AM #
The "find" feature is pretty accurate. There have at least two times where I was led astray by an internet mapping site that I frequent, and also by my laptop mapping software. In both cases, Mapopolis was correct and led me to the door.

The driving directions seem to be about as accurate. The only drawback is that Mapopolis takes the shortest route approach, which is best in most cases, but will sometimes skip an expressway which would actually be quicker but longer. A plus is having the driving times and distances calculated for you... Great for those who must log their miles.

One quirk I did find involved the "Load Contiguous Maps" selection. If you live in a big metro area which spans several maps, you just check this box to load all ajacent maps for the one map you tap. For me, I leave this box unchecked, and select the two primary maps for my city. Even with the box unchecked, when you do load two Basic or Enhanced maps that are next to each other, they will appear as one larger map. If you do load two of the Platinum maps which are next to each other, but do not have the "Load Contiguous Maps" box checked, you can view on map or the other, and cannot generate driving directions which span the two maps. The fix, of course, is to check the box before selecting the maps. But it did seem odd that the different maps would behave differently to the sam selection. The main problem I see with this quirk, is when you have more than two ajacent Platinum maps, which would put you past 8Mb. You would not be able to generate driving directions from one map to another unless you had enough free RAM to load all the contiguous maps on your handheld.

Despite this drawback, you can do one thing that you will not be able to do at an internet site or your desktop. Tap the screen and get directions to where you tapped. This works for either the start location, the destination location, or both, and would really be a killer feature with GPS. Start the GPS, aquire a satellite lock, tap the GPS point displayed on your Plam screen, then enter the destination address.

The direction generation time is reasonable. A twenty mile plot took about 8 to 10 seconds depending on complexity. A complicated plot spanning different maps took significantly longer, but was less than 30 seconds.

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 10:42:41 AM #
I've been using it for some time. So far, only for addresses within my own city. No complaints. It's like the basic MapQuest directions: they work, but they're not necessarily the best or fastest route you can take if you know the area. It's quite handy, actually. Finds that little cul-de-sac way over at the other side of town just fine. What I want is to be able to save the directions to a memo. I think this version does that, yes? I haven't read it carefully yet.

By the way, if you want to upgrade a subscription, you can do it for the difference.

Dan

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 10:53:36 AM #
Yes, the direction are pretty accurate. They are based on the NavTech database, which is used by most of the best major automotive navigation systems. Directions can be generated from one contiguous map to another also, assuming you have enough memory to load them. They can then be saved as a memo also.

I am not sure about the GPS integration, but I don't believe it can calculate directions on-the-fly.

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
lithe67 @ 4/9/2002 11:46:55 AM #
Besides the fact that its the only one out there that will do route planning, overall it's great. (Although I miss the drag and scroll with roller coaster labels in Quo Vadis.)
However, it's driving me nuts that I can't load contiguous maps from my external memory. The problem is I live in L.A., and the platinum maps with GPS are divided into 4 sections totaling over 9 megs. Not only can I not plan routes from one end of LA to another because the maps are not loaded, even with three sections loaded, I don't have enough memory left to plan the routes.
PiDirect II is supposed to run data files directly from external memory without loading to RAM to bypass the 8 meg limit but Mapopolis4.2 has its own means of accessing the maps so I'm getting fatal alerts and soft resets. I'm using a TRGpro with a 128 meg CF in which I wanted to load all of California, and a Palm III form factor Streetfinder GPS. I thought this would be the killer system, but I can't access enough data at once. I've tried AutoCF, PiDirectII and launcher with minimal success.

Visor Platinum / Visorphone
RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 12:19:31 PM #
"Besides the fact that it's the only one out there that will do route planning..."

This seems like route planning to me: http://www.gpspilot.com/TripPilot.htm, granted it's 'barely' arrived.

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 12:20:03 PM #
Why don't you try contacting the developer with your problem. They might have a solution. =) Sometimes the best solution is to ask! (thats something i have to learn myself!)

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
lithe67 @ 4/9/2002 12:29:41 PM #
No, tripilot requires a wireless connection in order to do route planning, while mapopolis 4.2 does not. I do have a wireless connection on a device and one with Gps but not one with both wireless and GPS.
The only other software that does route planning is tomtom something or other but that's only city to city, not door to door.

Visor Platinum / Visorphone
RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 12:40:13 PM #
www.portableinternet.com and www.tomtom.com both have programs that calculate routes. TomTom's is city to city and i havn't tried the portable internet one. You could also export directions to a memo in V4.0

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
lithe67 @ 4/9/2002 12:51:39 PM #
portableinternet also requires a wireless connection for route planning. I have tried their wireless without GPS software and it was actually pretty good. But there is a monthly fee involved and of course without GPS it doesn't really know where you are, just the general region from the cellular connection.

Visor Platinum / Visorphone
RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 1:19:07 PM #
They have recently changed this, last year it was supposed to be palm generated, oh well... It looks nice, though

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 1:32:34 PM #
In response to the comment about running out of memory for contiguous map loading. They claim that they are working on allowing for map data loading in "chunks" so that only the necessary portions will be transferred to RAM. This will *hugely* add to the value of this program and I cannot wait for this ability, although I am not sure how far off it really is.

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 5:22:14 PM #
I have been running Mapopolis with the platinum w/o GPS maps from the card. I am using Pidirect II and have the .prc file as well as the maps in the pidirect folder on the card. Based on what I can tell, the maps are not being copied to ram. Before, when the .prc was in ram, the message "do you want to delete maps from ram?" would pop up when exiting Mapopolis. But not anymore!
RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 9:35:44 PM #
"I am not sure about the GPS integration, but I don't believe it can calculate directions on-the-fly."

yes, you can get directions by tapping on the screen for start or finish, with the GPS, it would be tapping where the "you are here" icon is.

RE: Has anyone tried this feature yet on the Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/10/2002 8:57:34 PM #
Can it trace the planned route and tell you "turn right at next street"?

Can it run off a MemoryStick?

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 11:59:06 AM #
The maps, I mean. I don't care if the program is in RAM, but I don't have 4 MB free for maps.

RE: Can it run off a MemoryStick?
Altema @ 4/9/2002 12:04:54 PM #
Yes, and you can keep the maps in their own folder so that they don't clutter up the main card directory. The main app can also be run from the card if needed.

RE: Can it run off a MemoryStick?
Altema @ 4/9/2002 12:07:34 PM #
I should clarify my last post: The cards can be STORED on the card, but will be loaded to RAM when selected. Mapopolis will ask if you want them removed from RAM when you exit the application. This mean that your stored map limit is the free space on your expansion card, but the limit for the maps you are actually using at one time in the program is the amount of free RAM.

An example of map sizes for a major city would be 819k for Basic, 1,118k for Enhanced, and 2,576 for Platinum plus GPS. I normally stick with the Enhanced maps, except for in my primary driving area when I need distance calculations.

RE: Can it run off a MemoryStick?
Altema @ 4/9/2002 1:04:14 PM #
"The cards can be STORED on the card"

That would be a good trick! I meant the maps could be stored on the card.

RE: Can it run off a MemoryStick?
popko @ 4/9/2002 1:33:40 PM #
"The cards can be STORED on the card"

LOL, I was just wondering about that :)


---------------------------------
I am lost. But I am going to find myself. So if I return before I get back, please ask me to wait.

Are the Enhanced Maps the same as last year?

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 2:30:17 PM #
There was a time when the basic maps and the enhanced maps for Mapopolis were free. At that time, the program did not support use from expansion memory sticks. Now that the program supports use from expansion memory sticks, do the old maps still work with the new program? I downloaded all of California and a few major cities across America about a year ago, but I was never able to use the maps because I didn't have the RAM to use the program. With PDA's coming out with 16MB of RAM, I should be able to use the maps.

Look like it also supports 320x320 res...

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 2:53:34 PM #
... or at least maps look a lot better.

RE: Look like it also supports 320x320 res...
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 4:18:00 PM #
Yes, it supports hi-res on the Sony and HandEra

RE: Look like it also supports 320x320 res...
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/10/2002 7:14:19 PM #
The really cool thing with the HE 330... you can plug in a CF GPS device (like a Pretec CompactGPS) *and* store tons of maps on your MMC/SD card. Runs very well.

Does it support the Sony Clie Memorystick GPS?

rsuplido @ 4/9/2002 4:26:14 PM #
Does 4.2 support the Sony GPS MS? If not, are there plans?

Thanks.


Reggie
http://www.cliesource.com

Mapopolis is Way Too Slow

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 9:45:56 PM #
I have the maps loaded on the MS, and when I go to view one it takes several minutes (yes minutes!) to load a map. I'm running it on a Clie T615, so it's not the slowest Palm around.


RE: Mapopolis is Way Too Slow
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 9:58:40 PM #
The reason Mapopolis takes so much time to load maps off your Memory Stick is because the Memory Stick interface is much slower than your Clie's memory. If you load a map in the Clie's memory, you'll see that Mapopolis will load it in seconds instead of minutes. SD has the same problem as does CF (although to a lesser degree).
RE: Mapopolis is Way Too Slow
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/9/2002 11:30:35 PM #
This seems *unusually* slow. How large is the map that you are loading? Are you loading multiple (contiguous) maps? On my Palm m515, it takes Mapopolis about 8-10 seconds per MB to load maps off the SD card. I don't think that the memory sticks should be that much slower.
RE: Mapopolis is Way Too Slow
Altema @ 4/10/2002 12:03:07 AM #
I can't see any combination of maps taking minutes unless they totaled more than 10 Mb. Like the other poster, I get about 10 seconds per Mb from SD card. I thought the transfer rates were similar between SD and MS. You may want to turn off the "Load Contiguous Maps" feature, then load a single good sized map. If the map is less than 2 Mb and takes more than 20 seconds, then something is wrong. You may want to turn off any hacks if you use them, then try turning hi res assist off to see if it makes any difference.

The hacks I run are Clock Pop, McPhling, PopUp Names, PopUp Note, and PopUp Calculator. No problems with all of them active, but I know that everyone has their own set of favorites...

would it be possible...?

cssu @ 4/9/2002 10:00:36 PM #
like previous post, I do notice that it take quite a while to load map (even the basic one) from MS to RAM. Therefore, I have couple of questions:

1. is it possible to load the map to ROM through JackFlash? Would it be faster?

2. Is there any other Palm map software around? How's their performance?

proud T600C owner!

Mapopolis Speed/Backwards combatability (sp)

orb2069 @ 4/11/2002 3:12:36 PM #

As is the case with most palm mapping programs, you're probably going to want to use some sort of acceleration with Mapopolis. I personally use Hackmaster, and it suits me (TRGPro) fine.


IIRC, the current program dosen't support the older maps - But I'm glad they've found a business model that will actually make them some money.


Anybody know someplace that's selling Rand-McNally GPS' cheap?



I /am/ the eggman.
RE: Mapopolis Speed/Backwards combatability (sp)
JStraub @ 10/1/2002 3:20:29 AM #
> What I want is to be able to save the directions to a memo. I think this version does that, yes? I haven't read it carefully yet.

Copying the directions that you generate to the memo pad is actually quite simple.

First, choose directions from the menu. Choose the start and end points (either on the map or by entering an address) and click find directions.

Then, click the step by step button. Click the Copy To Memo Pad button at the bottom of this screen.

This feature has been available for a while, but if for some reason you don't see the button, the latest software can be downloaded from http://www.mapopolis.com/mapopolis4.zip.

Thanks,

Jeremy Straub
Mapopolis.Com, Inc.

Top

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: