posted by admin on Apr 10
This is a piece of software that allows you to combine OS mapping with a personal location tool and with a notepad thrown in!
This software is available to use only on certain mobile phones - which must have a camera; and one such phone that can handle this, is the Nokia N95. The software then uses GPS to allow you to determine your exact position anywhere in the UK (at the moment), with other European countries being made available soon on the same system.
Extra Features:
In addition, this software allows you to take co-ordinates or photos of locations you are standing in and save them onto your maps - with your added notes if there was something of interest worth recording. It can also offer a panaramic image of a chosen area showing all the places you can see in the distance, so you can identify which hill, valley or town is which from some distance.
It is also very easy to record details of all of your walks, with advice and identifiable points being easy to insert in the field. Any saved data will then be displayed on screen for your reference when you recall that particular area.
You can also save the details of everywhere you have been on any one walk and it will then allow you to send this information to a website to either record for yourself, or show your friends where you have been! In theory this would then allow another person to follow the exact same route with your notes as their guide - if they wanted to, of course….
Plants and Wildlife:
It is a great tool to map out locations of plants and wildlife if that is your interest. You can use the camera function to record the image, the GPS to identify the location and the notepad function to write down what you saw and any behaviour notations. You can then use this information back on your pc to record sightings over a period of time or look at ranges of certain individuals or species.
Camera’s on mobile phones though are notoriously poor quality compared to professional cameras, so it depends on whether you want quality or quantity here. Don’t expect great shots with your mobile, but never-the-less it is a handy feature for recording visual details.
Good points:
It is a handy little tool that fits in your pocket wherever you go - no more wet camera, soggy foldaway map or pens that don’t write through rain drops! The whole thing is simple to use and can record personal journeys that can be saved for eternity!
Bad points:
For the GPS to work, it needs a good satellite connection and this is not always available everywhere. Also, if the battery on your mobile runs out while you are in the field - you have no map!
An additional problem not strictly linked to the software, but none the less annoying, is that if your internet access is limited by the phone model or network coverage for example, you cannot download your details to your site, rendering this one of it’s ’selling points’ useless.
Costs:
Basically, you can download any maps you want onto the program, and at the moment this isn’t that cheap. You choose the areas of the UK you wish to be made available based on the OS paper map system and from £20 per region this is made available to you. Alternatively - if you plan to use this tool widely (more than 6 regions) - you may as well pay the one-off fee of £149.99 and have the whole OS of Great Britain installed on your phone.
Whatever you do - don’t drop your phone in a bog while you’re out there hiking!!!!
