Sygic satnav-app for your smartphone

Assumption is the mother of all f*ckups...

Recently bought me an offline-satnav-app named Sygic for my smartphone. My intention was using it, getting me to and touring the Harz-area in Germany which is renowned for its scenery and biker-friendly roads. Actually, local people and businesses have composed loads of satnav-routes for visiting tourists to follow, offering 'best-of-Harz'-rides without the effort. So many twisties you'll need a plan to see 'em all...

The app costs money, is independent of data connection, runs on a small computer and I thus assumed it to be capable of importing and exporting 'routes' witout any fuss. To me this seemed like a basic feature.

Turns out I was wrong.

The manufacturer has prioritized offering useless (albeit funny) Homer Simpson voice over useful route import/export functionality.

I know, because I asked support and they replied 'Sygic currently does not support route importing but we are considering adding this in the future.'
Homer (and Mr. Burns) on the other hand are avalable for a mere 4.49£ - today.


I write this simply to let you avoid doing the same mistake as I, should you be considering an offline-satnav-app for your phone.

That is a bit dumb isn't it...

Paper maps all the way. Retro, practical, beautiful, require skill and engagement with the task at hand to use... All the reasons I chose a motorbike over a car.

Basil Moss wrote:Paper maps all the way. Retro, practical, beautiful, require skill and engagement

I hear you. Being a paper-map dinosaur, I'm simply trying to keep up. And what do I get?

Oh well. There's always the free choice: "Left looks nice - let's go!".

Harz won't escape me because of this. Just go south for about 500 km - then turn left and start asking for Goslar.

Saturday...

I'm quite a big fan of paper maps, I think they encourage you to think slightly more about where you are actually going than just following a satnav, plus, it is easy to see a large area in one go at a relatively large scale (much more than on even the biggest screen) .

eternally_troubled wrote:I'm quite a big fan of paper maps, I think they encourage you to think slightly more about where you are actually going...

Oh yes. As said, I'm a dinosaur in this respect, and having the map in your head is the holy grail of pathfinders worldwide. Took my cab drivers license using paper maps years back. Badseeds went to london recently and found he'd 'still got it', meaning he was able to navigate out of plain memory. I know exactly what he means...

Nowadays, most cabbies rely entirely on their satnav, and I looove to amuse myself, finding ways to humiliate the sorry buggers when i'm going by taxi.

You know:
"I'd like to go to <destination>" -> cabbie goes clickety-click-Enter. We drive off.
"Oh, couldn't we go past < via> first?" -> Clickety-click-tap-delete-click-enter...
One minute later; "Eehhhh - actually, we'll have to go to the ATM near <mall> first; know that one?" -> clickety-click. ENTER!
And so on...

Real cabbies don't mind. Some even suggest better alternatives than <mall>. They end up getting a nice tip, simply because they are professional about their job.

Paper maps provide an overview allright. I'm bringing one for the overview. But here, I'm on a holiday and would basically just like to be entertained. Somebody went to great lengths, putting together scenic routes for people like me to enjoy. App in question denies me the possibility to appreciate 'somebody's efforts.

Sygic seems perfectly capable of getting me from A to B - unless I want to go see my parents in law. They live in Orhei, Moldova and the offline database only offers national roads there. As opposed to Google Maps...

On the bright side I find that navigating London appears easy; lots of 3D-map-scenery onscreen helping me gauge the path ahead. And Homer Simpson telling me to go left here - providing I've opted in for this particular treat.