Mapping apps for tablet

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rile42

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Jan 21, 2005
Messages
410
My wife received an Android tablet for Christmas. We travel several times a year on Amtrak from Cleveland. I know this has probably been asked before but, I am wondering if there is a decent mapping app that I can use with the tablet. I have the Delorme Topo USA GPS program on my laptop and use it almost every trip.

I thought I might be able to transfer that program to the tablet and use the tablet instead of the laptop. Unfortunately, the GPS locator thing that hangs on the window has an USB connection that is larger then the input on the tablet. What I would like is a mapping app that not only shows the location of the train, but also the speed. Has anyone found an app like that? I think Google Navigator would be a decent mapping app, but I don't think it indicates the speed.
 
You probably can purchase adapters for your USB cable to fit the smaller size on your tablet at most electronic stores (Frys, Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc.) Might be worth a check since you like your existing program.
 
SpeedproM is my favorite. It shows your location on a map and your speed. It has been invaluable on my current crazy cross country trip. I know that currently I'm just north of Oxnard and traveling ata speed of 54 mph! It's especially great at night when you wake up and wonder, "Where the heck am I"?
 
If I understand the OP, he wants to transfer a program from his laptop to the tablet, which I don't believe will work since they are running different opereating systems.

But if the tablet has GPS, then Google Maps should work just fine - on any Android tablet. I don't know if it shows speed, but there are lots of spedometer apps for Android, he could toggle back and forth between maps and speedometer.
 
Oops. While adapters like what I linked to will work, the deLorme software is Windows only.

Does the tablet not have a built-in gps sensor?

On my android phone I've had good results using the stock google maps app along with the Ulysse speedometer app. Only problem is the maps don't work when there's no connectivity.
 
guest said:
If I understand the OP, he wants to transfer a program from his laptop to the tablet, which I don't believe will work since they are running different opereating systems.

But if the tablet has GPS, then Google Maps should work just fine - on any Android tablet. I don't know if it shows speed, but there are lots of spedometer apps for Android, he could toggle back and forth between maps and speedometer.
Click to expand...
If it's written in Java, then it runs in a JVM which is (suppose to be) independent of the opsys and instruction set. ... we're currently working on a similar concept, but for the paleontology community - but has the same requirements of being able to run in multiple places and read GPS coordinates.
 
RyanS said:
Delorme Topo USA does not run in a JVM.
Click to expand...
Then they're like the rest of us: learning to suffer though rewriting in Java (nasty language is putting it politely(*)) or trusting Embarcadero will be around long enough and rewriting in Delphi FireMonkey, or forgoing the Android billion device marketplace.

(*) shows what happens when academics with little or no real world experience decide what a language should look like... and given the industry-wide software metrics error rates: they stepped in it with both feet, not merely one ;-(
 
Thanks everyone...didn't occur to me about the different oprrating systems.
 
Talking to a lot of people trying to use smartphones or tablets to map the train's location is that it doesn't work when they don't have Internet access. The apps don't come with detailed maps (which would be hundreds of megabytes, by themselves).

I've been through many locations on Western trains where there's no solid cell signal, and, therefore, no way to get data service.
 
gmushial said:
guest said:
If I understand the OP, he wants to transfer a program from his laptop to the tablet, which I don't believe will work since they are running different opereating systems.

But if the tablet has GPS, then Google Maps should work just fine - on any Android tablet. I don't know if it shows speed, but there are lots of spedometer apps for Android, he could toggle back and forth between maps and speedometer.
Click to expand...
If it's written in Java, then it runs in a JVM which is (suppose to be) independent of the opsys and instruction set. ... we're currently working on a similar concept, but for the paleontology community - but has the same requirements of being able to run in multiple places and read GPS coordinates.
Click to expand...
If you are writing apps for the paleontology community, shouldn't you be using a legacy (read "old") OS, like DOS 2.1? :p
 
sechs said:
Talking to a lot of people trying to use smartphones or tablets to map the train's location is that it doesn't work when they don't have Internet access. The apps don't come with detailed maps (which would be hundreds of megabytes, by themselves).

I've been through many locations on Western trains where there's no solid cell signal, and, therefore, no way to get data service.
Click to expand...
Which is why I always try to carry one of my auto GPS units with me when I travel by train -- both my Tom Tom and my Magellan have worked fine, as long as I keep them "relatively close" to the window. But once they've acquired the satellite signals, I can even leave them on the window seat in coach or either seat in a Superliner roomette and they work fine.
 
chakk said:
gmushial said:
guest said:
If I understand the OP, he wants to transfer a program from his laptop to the tablet, which I don't believe will work since they are running different opereating systems.

But if the tablet has GPS, then Google Maps should work just fine - on any Android tablet. I don't know if it shows speed, but there are lots of spedometer apps for Android, he could toggle back and forth between maps and speedometer.
Click to expand...
If it's written in Java, then it runs in a JVM which is (suppose to be) independent of the opsys and instruction set. ... we're currently working on a similar concept, but for the paleontology community - but has the same requirements of being able to run in multiple places and read GPS coordinates.
Click to expand...
If you are writing apps for the paleontology community, shouldn't you be using a legacy (read "old") OS, like DOS 2.1? :p
Click to expand...
Maybe we should be using punched cards? ... I wonder if there are keypunches still around somewhere [i think I can still remember how to generate a program card for a 129 keypunch] ... for that matter, wonder if one can still buy IBM punch cards?

But since my first love is Precambrian basement rock - maybe we should be doing it on stone tablets? ....

this is getting too silly... time to go back and write some more code...

ps. how do I connect a 5.25" (360kb) floppy to a tablet... and how many thousands of diskettes will I need to cache 24GB of topos and satellite imagery?

... back to the code ;-)
 
chakk said:
sechs said:
Talking to a lot of people trying to use smartphones or tablets to map the train's location is that it doesn't work when they don't have Internet access. The apps don't come with detailed maps (which would be hundreds of megabytes, by themselves).

I've been through many locations on Western trains where there's no solid cell signal, and, therefore, no way to get data service.
Click to expand...
Which is why I always try to carry one of my auto GPS units with me when I travel by train -- both my Tom Tom and my Magellan have worked fine, as long as I keep them "relatively close" to the window. But once they've acquired the satellite signals, I can even leave them on the window seat in coach or either seat in a Superliner roomette and they work fine.
Click to expand...
That's been basically my experience with a Garmin 60csx: leave it up against the window until it finds itself, then one can use the seat and it seems to be able to update enough to keep track... sometimes if the train takes a smoke break, I'll take a GPS break and let it update with clear sky access.
 
I use motionx maps on my iphone. There is a setting that shows the speed. You can download maps ahead of the trip. The gps works even when there is no cell signal. If the App Store for your tablet has motionx try it.
 
There are multiple mapping applications for Android devices but since we still don't know which brand and model we're talking about it's hard to give any specific advice.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top