Although it’s been a while in coming, Mapomatic have updated their free UK OpenStreetmap based Garmin IMG files for use on Garmin GPS units.  Although they are still having some trouble with producing the canal map and cycle map versions, they have released an updated (July 2010) main map of the UK for general use (or for use in adding vital extra detail when you are out geocaching).  Importantly, with this release, they’ve also created a version with routing information (although that does make for a large download). I’ve been running Mapomatic files on my Garmin GPS for some while (since they started), and am grateful for the detail it gives; it seems a lot of the early OpenStreetMap footpaths were actually added by geocachers, so whilst last year you would often find the obvious footpath to a geocache on the map (and often stopping at the cache, as they turned round and went back the same way), this year a lot more footpaths (and roads in general) have been added; it’s still not complete (OpenStreetMap that is, the source of Mapomatic’s data), but it’s a lot better than it was.

If you are interested in loading up UK OpenStreetMap files onto your Garmin then head over to Mapomatic to download the files, especially if you haven’t yet gone on holiday this year, and want to improve your GPS maps.

On Friday, the Barclays London Cycle Hire scheme was launched, with many of the sites and bicycles now available for those who have pre-registered their details, and have been supplied a personal key for accessing the bikes.  Over time, the ability to walk up and purchase hire with a credit card will be added, but right now, users need to be registered with a hardware key.

I think this is a brilliant scheme; if you take the £45 annual access option (plus £3 for the hardware key), then for less than £50 you can hire a bike for up to 30 minutes for free, and that sounds a more interesting option than the overcrowded and hot (although air conditioning is slowly coming over the next few decades) tube lines in central London.  In fact, if you put the bike back and wait at least 5 minutes (go get yourself a coffee, and drink it), then you can hire another bike for another 30 minutes for free.

To support the scheme, a number of clever individuals / companies have developed mobile apps for the London Cycle Hire scheme.  I have to stress none of these apps are directly sponsored or supported by Transport for London, although much of the functionality of these apps comes from published APIs, although some isn’t…

These mobile apps don’t just show you the places where the bikes can be hired from; they are often taking data from the Cycle Hire website and also including how many bikes are available (and equally how many empty slots there are for returning your bike).  In fact, this area is one where I’m glad to say they have thought about the problem of a full cycle rack and come up with a solution; if you arrive at your destination bike rack and it’s full, you can select on the touchscreen terminal an option to see where there are available slots nearby, and if needed, you will also get an additional 15 minutes of free extra hire time to get the bike to that location.

Firstly, there’s an iPhone app from London Cycle App, which includes the information on the numbers of bikes / slots available, and I also note it uses the OpenStreetMap data for the mapping, which is a nice touch too (screenshot above). In fact, they have also included the ability to plan a cycle route through London too, which is a nice extra feature.  The app is available to download here.

Cycle Hire App is another option, which also uses OpenStreetMap maps, and like the London Cycle App, has these maps available when offline (or for use on an iPod Touch).  One nice feature is the ability to request a search for bikes available near London attractions, as well as tube and train stations, and general locations (postcode based).

Another alternative is Bixou (for the iPhone), which although originally developed for the BIXI bicycle hire scheme in Montreal, now has support for the London scheme too (in fact it also supports the Melbourne and Minneapolis schemes too).

For Android, there’s a widget, which has been produced by Little Fluffy Toys.  When first touched, the widget will display the details of the 3 nearest hire locations, with their status (Ok, not enough bikes, not enough spare slots, closed), and when touched again, provides a detailed view of the information.  This app is interesting though; instead of as well as taking the bike / slots details from the TfL website, it uses crowdsourcing to collect the information; as a nice touch, if you open the details screen within 50 metres of a hire location, you are asked to provide an updated status for all other users.

Update: Thanks to Kevin for pointing out Bixou as an alternative option.

A couple of fairly major changes have recently happened with Nokia’s Sports Tracker application, which might actually benefit those who like and use the application in the long term.  A while ago, Nokia sold the application off to a new company (which does appear to be staffed by some ex-Nokia people) and they have established a new website and a new application.  Right now, you can’t use the full service in the way you could with the old Nokia based solution, but it’s coming.

As of 30 June 2010, Nokia will shut down the old Sports Tracker website.  However, you can pre-register at the new website, and there’s an option to import your journeys and records from Nokia.  Right now, you can’t view them, or do anything else with the website, but it will come.

The new team have released new versions of Sports Tracker for both S60 3rd and 5th Edition, and although these will in time have the capability to upload your details to allowed them to be viewed and shared on the website, again, this needs the website to be fully functional.

However, good news; at one point, Nokia offered one phone with a bundle of a Heart Rate Monitor (via Bluetooth).  At the time, everybody pointed out that it would be good if the heart rate monitor was also available to those who already had that phone (or any other supported phone); well, although Nokia never managed it, Sports Tracking Technologies have done so, and have this week created an online store where you can buy a heart rate monitor for €69.90 + delivery (they accept PayPal as well as credit cards), although shipments won’t start until 1st July, so even if you order today, you’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive.

From a personal viewpoint, I note this version uses OpenStreetMap for the maps, and I think that’s a wise (if only short term) approach. The Nokia solution used maps which had to be downloaded (even though many devices had local Ovi Maps installations); although towards the end, it did at least share this download map cache with Nokia FriendView.  I think moving to OpenStreetMap is a good idea, as it reduces any costs of providing commercial mapping, although I do hope that in time Sports Tracking Technologies are able to link into the Ovi Maps SDK and use the maps where present on the device.

It’s nice to see this application being developed further and the support of a heart rate monitor will make the whole solution more attractive to many sports enthusiasts; however, if you have ever used the old Sports Tracker website don’t forget you need to register and import your old information within the next week.

ViewRanger have updated their Symbian mapping client to now support OpenStreetMap and OpenCycleMap (which includes topographic data).  Historically, ViewRanger has been the software to allow access to a range of different OS maps (and OS-equivalent maps across selected European countries), but now it has support for these two free sources of data.

Also, due to now not being tied to the purchase of OS maps, the software is available in the Ovi Store (priced at £4.50), which allows you access to these two free data sources, and still allows the user to purchase and download the OS style maps in a variety of ways (direct on the handset, via the ViewRanger website, and via your PC).

For Samsung Symbian users, the app should also be available in the Samsung App Store too, and for existing customers, there is a free upgrade available allowing access to these new maps without charge, and for those who feel they are missing out, ViewRanger plan to launch Android and iPhone versions during 2010.

For more information, see the ViewRanger website.

Here at UK Gadgeteer we’re a big fan of OpenStreetMap, and we recently came across a new iPhone / iPod Touch application which allows you the ability to not just access the OSM, but to have access to the maps when offline, eg when roaming, and trying to avoid large data bills.

In a short time, a number of new features have been added, such as landscape map support, bookmark management, wikipedia search, distance ticker, and a full screen mode.  There is a small charge associated with the application, but then the maps themselves are free, and should remain free.

For those who want to have a backup map option for those times when you are in a strange town / city, this may well be that app…

More information available from their website here.

Mapomatic, who produce free Garmin maps from the OpenStreetMap data, have published their review of the Garmin Oregon, and considered whether it, or the Garmin Colorado is a better device for going geocaching.

Head over to read their review, and if you own a Garmin device which can have additional maps loaded onto it, then you might want to try out their Garmin UK OSM Map, or their specialised Garmin UK OSM Cycle Map (which puts greater emphasise on cycle routes) or even their Garmin UK OSM Canal Map (which adds lots of additional canals and rivers, and even shows lockgates; useful for those planning a summer trip on the water).

If you would like to view OSM (OpenStreetMap) maps on your iPhone, then this application may be for you.  Called route-me, it allows you to view OpenStreetMap, Microsoft Virtual Earth and CloudMade maps.  It’s still early days, but it looks promising.

Head over to their website for a little more information.

If you are looking for a new GPS unit, or just want to keep up with a detailed review of a recent model, Mapomatic has just published it’s review of the Garmin Colorado, including a comparison with the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx.  Head over to here to read the review.

We understand Mapomatic are going to start producing many more articles in the next few months, and in case you missed it, they recently updated their free UK OSM Garmin maps.

Although we’ve seen OS maps on other devices, such as the SatMap Active 10 before, and in software, such as the ViewRanger software for Symbian phones, Garmin are shortly to release UK OS Maps for their Garmin Colorado and Garmin Oregon GPS devices.

The OS Maps will come on a microSD card that you can slot straight into the units (although knowing Garmin you will not be able to transfer the maps to another memory card, as they use the “Secure” bit of the SD card standard to store the license to use the maps).  This should not be a major problem for these devices, as they have some internal memory for storing additional POIs, and they support multiple map files on the internal memory too.

What’s different about these Garmin maps though is that as well as featuring the full visual OS maps, all the data has been included to allow you to navigate via the maps too, and POI information is included as well.

At some point, Garmin will also sell the units and maps together, but in the meantime the OS Maps will be available from November priced at £129.99.

For those who want better mapping on their GPS units, but don’t want to pay at all, then Mapomatic offer the Garmin UK OSM maps (using the OpenStreetMap maps) free of charge!  OpenStreetMap is still a “Work in Progress”, so not every road or footpath is covered, but the data will still enhance your GPS if you only have a very rough basemap (or no map at all), and best of all, you can help improve the map by uploading your GPS traces, and adding the missing roads and footpaths yourself.

Story and picture courtesy of OUTDOORSmagic.com.

For those involved in OpenStreetMap, or for those thinking about getting involved, the NaviGPS is a common unit to use. As well as being able to log large amounts of data to an SD card, the unit functions as a working GPS, which is rare for DataLoggers. Historically, the manufacturer, Locosys, has produced 2 models, the second including Bluetooth to allow the unit to provide the GPS data to a PDA, or other device.

Locosys has announced, at CES, an updated NaviGPS, the GT-31 and BGT-31 (with Bluetooth). This has a SirfIII chipset, is waterproof (and floats), and has battery life of up to 24 hours.