Replacement for Mapopolis

[+Alan2]

I read on another site that Mapopolis might be going out of business. I don't want to start a false rumor but has anyone heard anything about this?

 

If it's true, what programs come close to Mapopolis. Things I partial too I'm on a Pocket PC):

 

1. Voice as well as visual prompts

2. Ability to overlay the caches (using gpxtomaplet)

3. Quick recalculations when your miss a turn.

4. Compass rose screen and data windows showing bearing arrow, distance to cahe, heading etc. that allow in-the-woods navigating.

[+NightPilot]

CetusGPS takes care of 4, and it's free. Cachemate and GPSBabel will both export cache information to Cetus. It's very good for what it does, but it doesn't do any mapping. TomTom is fairly well-known for that, but I've never used it, so I can't recommend it one way or another. I too may be looking for a replacement for Mapopolis someday, but for now I'll stick with it, since the roads don't move much.

[+Steel City Seekers]

Even if they went out of business, I expect I'd continue to use my current version of Mapopolis until the maps became so outdated that I had to change.

 

The only other one I know of that accepts customized POIs, including caches, is TomTom. I'm pretty sure it does not have the compass rose, though. You'd have to go with another non-nav software for this I would expect.

 

I think others like Destinator, OnCourse Navigator, and iGuidance have probably caught up in item 3, I'd expect, but don't know for sure. And, all of the above have always done item 1.

[+gcslim]

The rumor is partially true. They aren't going out of business, just discontinuing development for PDA software to focus on their "core products" (which I always thought WAS PDA software ).

 

Here is the announcement in their forums.

 

Like Steel City Seekers, I'll probably continue to use Mapopolis until it becomes so grossly outdated that I get made fun of. I would like to try TomTom, but there is no trial or demo. $150 is too much to take a chance. Maybe I'll write my own someday. Of course, I've never been one to use the voice prompts so it wouldn't fill that particular need (who needs another back seat driver? Just read the map while doing 80 down the highway like a real man ).

[+NightPilot]

My solution, at least for now, is Delorme Street Atlas on a laptop. It isn't ideal, but it seems to work, and it allows editing the maps to add new roads, so it can be used for a long time. It has a PDA version with it, that runs on PPC or Palm, but it's hopelessly, completely, useless. It doesn't do much, and runs so slowly as to be very frustrating. No voice, no autorouting that I can see, and it takes longer to just find the start location than Mapopolis takes to calculate and display a multistate route. The maps look nice, but not nice enough to make me suffer the agony of making it work. I'm not thrilled about having a laptop open in the front seat, but it may come to that.

[+Alan2]

Just read the map while doing 80 down the highway like a real man ).

 

Before Mapopolis, I use to squint at my Vista's grayscale maps doing just that. It's amazing I survived driving like that.

 

I guess I'll stay with Mapopolis. Like you all said, the streets aren't going to change that fast. Now if I can only remember where I misplaced my Mapopolis CD? Right now I have only the counties I've been using for a couple of years saved on my memory card. If I move I be in trouble.

 

Tks all.

[+Alan2]

The rumor is partially true. They aren't going out of business, just discontinuing development for PDA software to focus on their "core products" (which I always thought WAS PDA software ).

 

Here is the announcement in their forums.

 

Like Steel City Seekers, I'll probably continue to use Mapopolis until it becomes so grossly outdated that I get made fun of. I would like to try TomTom, but there is no trial or demo. $150 is too much to take a chance. Maybe I'll write my own someday. Of course, I've never been one to use the voice prompts so it wouldn't fill that particular need (who needs another back seat driver? Just read the map while doing 80 down the highway like a real man ).

 

In reading that thread, it seems to me like Mapopolis made a deal to sell their business to another company who will develope their product as their own. I might be wrong but that's my sense of reading between the lines. I always got the impression that Mapopolis was a great product but the company had limited capital to market themselves widely.

 

So if I'm right, Mapopolis will be around just under another name.

[+Steel City Seekers]

In reading that thread, it seems to me like Mapopolis made a deal to sell their business to another company who will develope their product as their own. I might be wrong but that's my sense of reading between the lines. I always got the impression that Mapopolis was a great product but the company had limited capital to market themselves widely.

 

So if I'm right, Mapopolis will be around just under another name.

 

I hope you're right, however, it sounds to me after reading the same thread that Mapopolis will become part of a hardware solution. I'm not interested in purchasing a separate GPS strictly for routing and would much prefer to stick to a PPC program.

 

I agree that they had a great reputation, but I think their problem was a lack of frequent map updates. That is the only place where they made their money. Somebody pointed out that it had been a year-and-a-half since the last update.

[+gcslim]

I agree that they had a great reputation, but I think their problem was a lack of frequent map updates. That is the only place where they made their money. Somebody pointed out that it had been a year-and-a-half since the last update.

 

Thats a big thread on their forums too, and a quite bitter one at that. Not only did they go over a year-and-a-half, but they skipped at least two promised deadlines along the way. The forum is 13 pages of "they're still not here, why not?" and Lamar quite obviously changing the subject to off topic over and over. Now it seems the new maps for handhelds will never come at all. I like their product, but I think the "great reputation" they were known for has been in quick decline recently.

[+NightPilot]

It seems to me also that the Mapopolis software will be used in some hardware device, but I have no idea which. They lost their main programmer some time back, and haven't done much since. The program still works for me, as long as the maps are reasonably current, but they're building new streets at a feverish pace here, so I'll eventually need something else.

[+Team Four Paw]

The MIO 310x which I just bought not too long ago will cover 1-3 and roughly 4(pedestrian mode). It can be hacked to run a short list of PPC apps. I use GSAK to convert to TOMTOM then iGo to convert to iGoDB for POIs. I have 2700 caches loaded. It's good for in car navigation to caches and it's cheap too. Can be found for around $150. I'm using my PDA phone with Cachemate (PPC)(just switched from Sonar) for logging and my Garmin 60CS for in the woods navigation.

 

Just wanted to add that I was lucky enough to download all the maps so I still use Mapopolis on the PDA phone for visual aid of where caches are when I'm not in the car.

Edited April 26, 2007 by Geek-Qualizer

[+Alan2]

Now I can't find my PPC Mapopolis CD and I need maps for my vacation.

 

So,

 

1. Is anyone willing to sell theirs?

2. What program like Mapopolis is available that you overlay caches like using gpxtomaplet and use it in the woods a secndary benefit of Mapopolis?

 

Tks Alan

Edited July 6, 2007 by Alan2

[+TheDenvernators]

Now I can't find my PPC Mapopolis CD and I need maps for my vacation.

 

So,

 

1. Is anyone willing to sell theirs?

2. What program like Mapopolis is available that you overlay caches like using gpxtomaplet and use it in the woods a secndary benefit of Mapopolis?

 

Tks Alan

 

Tomtom is my replacement for mapopolis. GSAK allows conversion of cache points to poi's which overlay on tomtoms maps.

Tom tom isnt cheap. And it overs no compass screen or such for field finding.

[+Cache Maine]

I'm still looking for a replacement for Mapopolis. Has anyone found anything that is working really well?

 

I have a separate bluetooth gps that I connect to the pda, and a 60csx.

 

My mapopolis errors out and locks up, so it's time for it to go.

[+siminsue]

How about Garmin Mobile XT? I'm using it on my smartphone, but I think they also have a version for pocket pc.