tangoGPS

A new release of tangoGPS is out

A new version of tangoGPS is released. Two major milestones have been achieved:

• layout improvements for both small and big screens
  
• addition of route tracks  

Layout Changes

The user interface has been revamped which largely improves user experience on small screens like on handheld devices like the Openmoko phone as well as on medium sized screens like on netbooks and big screens like the 21" LCD on your desk.

The tabs have been replace with an info pane on the right. The info pane is opened and closed with a new button in the toolbar or alternatively by hitting 'm' on your keyboard. On small screens you have now better usage of the screen because the tabs are gone and on larger screens you can have the information open together with the map.

Below is a screenshot of what it now looks like. The map on the screenshot is OpenCycleMap.org. It is a fantastic map created by Andy Allen and Dave Stubbs which is great not only for cycling but for hiking too.




Route Tracks

A new feature introduced with this version are Route Tracks. You can now fetch a route track from three different web services with two simple clicks on the map. The tracks are automatically saved in the track directory and can be reloaded at a later time.

To get a route track click on the map to bring up the menu and select from "ways & routes" the sub-item "get route" as in this screenshot:



Map Menu


Once you have done this the following dialog will appear:



Route Dialog

In this dialog click on the "Pick" buttons to select start and end point of your route. Then select your service and click "OK" to fetch the route.

The map will then automatically zoom and center to show the whole track:



tangoGPS route track


There are three route services:

• yournavigation.org, a fully open source service based on OpenStreetMap and using the gosmore routing engine. Pretty decent results for routes up to 50 miles. Don't use it for cross country trips, the server currently has not enough RAM (November 2009). More info can be found on the OSM wiki.
  
  
• OpenRouteService.org, is being developed by Pascal Neis and is also based on Openstreetmap. The routing engine is quite sophisticated but currently not open, yet it is capable to calculate longer trips. The website offers several additional features and is worth to check it out.
  
  
• gnuite.com is a service run by John Costigan, the developer of maemo-mapper. This service is based on google maps.
  

Kudos

György Balló - updated hungarian translation
Michal Bellovič - new slovak translation


Donations

Jérôme Durand - Dinner for two (!)
Dirk Winkel - a Pizza and a Pint
Sebastian Dannenberg - two Pints

    Thanks a lot!


If you like tangoGPS and feel like buying me a pint:

Feedback

As important as pints is feedback: tangoGPS is going towards a 1.0 release, thus send your words about any glitches that you encounter as well as your praise. You can do it right here in the comments! If you like tangoGPS don't forget to tell others about it - your blog is a good place to share your experiences ;-)

Have fun!