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App unusable in countries where Google is inaccessible


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I never really understood why the website uses openstreetmaps while the app is powered by Googlemap.

You guys probably know by now that Googlemap, Google is banned in quite a few countries whereas openstreetmaps works just fine pretty much everywhere.

I'm trying very hard to promote Geocaching in China but the app is a massive let down over there. Not only it's pretty much useless without a premium account since you removed most features but the maps are also completely useless as well since Googlemaps simply don't work in China.

Why not simply offering the choice to switch to openstreetmaps on the app? The Geocaching scene in China is extremely slow and this would help you boost your business over there for sure.

In the field I'm working in, I have access to hundreds of young adults willing to try new things. Every time I try to promote Geocaching, the app is a massive hurdle.

Please. Help.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Xelium said:

I never really understood why the website uses openstreetmaps while the app is powered by Googlemap.

You guys probably know by now that Googlemap, Google is banned in quite a few countries whereas openstreetmaps works just fine pretty much everywhere.

I'm trying very hard to promote Geocaching in China but the app is a massive let down over there. Not only it's pretty much useless without a premium account since you removed most features but the maps are also completely useless as well since Googlemaps simply don't work in China.

Why not simply offering the choice to switch to openstreetmaps on the app? The Geocaching scene in China is extremely slow and this would help you boost your business over there for sure.

In the field I'm working in, I have access to hundreds of young adults willing to try new things. Every time I try to promote Geocaching, the app is a massive hurdle.

Please. Help.

 

 

It might interest less people, but an alternative to the phone is a hand held GPS unit, if the app doesn't work. (I haven't heard that GPS units are banned in China, as they are in Cuba. Is this correct?) When I joined there were no phones; it was all GPS units. Although I found my first 180 caches without a phone or GPS unit. Then I bought a GPS, which I still use in preference to a phone. Some others will argue with this, but I find a GPS more user friendly then the app.

Of course, people could be like I was as I mentioned for my first 180 finds, find them without a phone or GPS. Giving very good, clear hints would assist people to make the finds without an app or GPS. People who have a GPS unit and don't want such precise directions, don't need to read the hint, but for those without a GPS or app, this would help them cache. Then, those who got interested enough to continue, as I did, could purchase a GPS unit. I don't know how much phone data costs in China, but when I bought my GPS unit, over a few short years (maybe much less), it was the cheaper option, rather then paying for data. I am suggesting very detailed hints to get geocaching started in China. If it got going and lots of people then had a GPS unit, (or the app was found to work), future caches don't need to have such detailed hints.

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2 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

It might interest less people, but an alternative to the phone is a hand held GPS unit, if the app doesn't work. (I haven't heard that GPS units are banned in China, as they are in Cuba. Is this correct?) When I joined there were no phones; it was all GPS units. Although I found my first 180 caches without a phone or GPS unit. Then I bought a GPS, which I still use in preference to a phone. Some others will argue with this, but I find a GPS more user friendly then the app.

Of course, people could be like I was as I mentioned for my first 180 finds, find them without a phone or GPS. Giving very good, clear hints would assist people to make the finds without an app or GPS. People who have a GPS unit and don't want such precise directions, don't need to read the hint, but for those without a GPS or app, this would help them cache. Then, those who got interested enough to continue, as I did, could purchase a GPS unit. I don't know how much phone data costs in China, but when I bought my GPS unit, over a few short years (maybe much less), it was the cheaper option, rather then paying for data. I am suggesting very detailed hints to get geocaching started in China. If it got going and lots of people then had a GPS unit, (or the app was found to work), future cachers don't need to have such detailed hints.

 

I personally use a GPS but this isn't a viable option for a new cacher. Most new comers would rather solely rely on their phones, which I perfectly understand. Nobody buys a GPS unit from the get go.

There are quite a few workarounds to get accurate readings but this extra step can be quite the annoyance for new comers since there's already a bit of a learning curve when you try geocaching for the first time. 

I firmly believe that the best solution is to simply allow users to switch to openstreetmaps on the app. 

I fail to see why it's not the case. I suspect it's a financial decision. Google probably has a hand in this somehow. 

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16 minutes ago, Xelium said:

Nobody buys a GPS unit from the get go.

Until only a few years ago, that's exactly what people did, buy a GPS unit to start geocaching, or after a few finds without a unit. No phones then with data and no app. It's how geocaching started and continued for years, with GPS units only. So, people did buy "a GPS unit from the get go".

Or though now, with phones attached to many people's ears permanently :rolleyes: and their life revolving around their phone, I can see your augment.

Edited by Goldenwattle
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2 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

Until only a few years ago, that's exactly what people did, buy a GPS unit to start geocaching, or after a few finds without a unit. No phones then with data and no app. It's how geocaching started and continued for years, with GPS units only. So, people did buy "a GPS unit from the get go".

 

That's like 7 or 8 years ago. Once the Geocaching App appeared, many people started using their phones only, even preferring it to a regular GPS unit. 

We're digressing though. 

The debate here is to render the app usable for people who can't access Google.

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7 minutes ago, Xelium said:

 

That's like 7 or 8 years ago. Once the Geocaching App appeared, many people started using their phones only, even preferring it to a regular GPS unit. 

We're digressing though. 

The debate here is to render the app usable for people who can't access Google.

More digressing :). Here, for me it was about 3 years ago (definitely not 7 or 8 years ago) when I got an app on my phone, as until then data was too expensive in Australia, but I have been spoiled by having a GPS unit and continue to prefer it. It might have been cheaper in China. When I started 8 years ago, I didn't know anyone who used a phone for caching.

Edited by Goldenwattle
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