The maps and POIs (points of interest) are very useful in the guide books but is it possible to get the POIs in downloadable format so you can use them in mapping software like TomTom Navigator? It would be nice when you're walking around a city and getting hungry to quickly look up the nearest restaurants on your GPS enabled phone/PDA. The POIs could also have page numbers so you could easily find out what the restaurants where like.
1
lan
Might be worth re-posting this on All About The Thorntree, as I don't think LP tends to read this branch particularly often.
2
efish
maybe LP "pick and mix" could post .gpx files of waypoints, pois, or even .img maps which we could download directly to gps - Im not sure if TomTom uses this format, but works for me OK with Garmin (eg nepal trek maps), Lowrance (I think). I dont know how LP could make money off this though.
3
efish
For gps often the maze of overhead cabling in fast growing cities messes up signals so readings can be way off. How many cities and how much would map access cost like that on a phone ?. The recommended restuarant list is a part of a guidebook i never had any use for - the only cities i can think of with hidden restuarants were in Russia and its ex republics - most places u are spoilt for choice - eg. looks busy, clean, smells ok. My earlier post #2 was bit off topic so i copied it over to all about LP ..
4
markh_12
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<hr>How many cities and how much would map access cost like that on a phone ?<hr></blockquote>
First-off, you need a high-end smartphone. A bluetooth GPS device would cost less than £100, and maps of Western Europe around £100. Maps are generally only available for first world countries.
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<hr>I dont know how LP could make money off this though.<hr></blockquote>
TomTom sell 3rd party POIs on their website so you could use that as a distribution channel. But you're right there wouldn't be much money in it but it would be useful.
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<hr>For gps often the maze of overhead cabling in fast growing cities messes up signals so readings can be way off.<hr></blockquote>
Generally with the latest and more sensitive chipset GPS works ok in cities in Europe though you will lose the signal now and again in urban canyons. It can also take a little while to get a 'fix' so it 's best to turn the GPS device on in the morning and leave it on all day. Of course GPS isn't necessary in a city that is well signposted, but it makes it so easy to navigate that you can concentrate on other things.
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<hr> The recommended restuarant list is a part of a guidebook i never had any use for - the only cities i can think of with hidden restuarants were in Russia and its ex republics - most places u are spoilt for choice - eg. looks busy, clean, smells ok.<hr></blockquote>
I generally find that they pick out the better less touristy restaurants though they're not always convienently located.
5
anonymous
Depends where you are. In some countires their maps are quite wrong (apart from Major cities where good maps exist) and it would not help if you could load that map into a GPS...
You still could try it, just take a digi image of a LP map and load it into a PDS/GPS system and calibrate it there.
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