Laptop GPS World

Hi everyone,

I'm off travelling around SE Asia for a few months starting in March and I'm looking for some software which would support mapping in the region (e.g. Thailand, Vietnam, China.)

I've got one of those tiny Asus Eee PCs with a USB gps receiver and the best bet I've found so far is using Google Earth and simply caching the areas I'll be in so it can be used offline. Unfortuneatly this is not ideal because some of the areas I'll be visiting are quite remote.

Is there a better way?

Hi eggenheimer,

Welcome to Laptop GPS World forums!

I never used the following product myself, nor have I heard any user comment on this, but it looks like it could help (if no other solution is available): http://www.schaik.com/gps/gemglobal/gemglobal.html

If you do give it a try, please let us know how you like it (pros/cons, etc).

__________________
Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

Hi Marvin,

Thanks for the heads up. That program does pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. It uses and caches maps from Google Maps and a few other sources. It's not very user-friendly though unfortuneatly... for example: when you "pan around" it freezes for a couple of seconds then loads another tile from the server. You can't see half of each tile or anything like that.

It's not something I would be prepared to spend $20 on really so I'll keep looking for something similar. I'll let you know what I find.

Willem here, the developer of GemGlobal. I just fixed a bug in the program, that prevented it from downloading maps from Google. Check out http://www.schaik.com/gps/gemglobal/gemglobal.html.

And good luck with your hunt for something cheaper!!

Hi wwwillem,

I think it's a great idea and its already pretty good but theres a couple of things which would make it much more friendly (and which would make me buy it): 1. Ability to actually pan around (i.e. all the tiles are merged into one and you can smoothly navigate between them) and 2. the whole window freezes while it's downloading a new tile which can sometimes take a while.. it would be good if there was some kind of progress bar or something.

Can's say I disagree with you. Would be great to have those features added. But what you propose, is a lot of work!! And there are only so many hours a day, so unfortunately I don't think that it will happen. You know, I've also a real job.... :-)

On your remark about the window repaint waiting for the fetching of maps, this program was always meant for people doing map downloads from a normal desktop with standard fast internet, which happens in split seconds. And when you're then on the road, the maps come without any delay from your harddisk. That was how it was designed to be, I understand that things will be different when you use it in different ways, like not "pre downloading" maps but (while on the road) downloading on-the-fly using some slower wireless connection. Yep, in that case, you need to have some patience.

Summary, if this is not the right program for you, just use something else. Your choice .....