deladeb

I have an android tablet that I would like to use for navigating in Austria and Germany. What do I need to download or purchase? (I do not have a cell phone)

Andrew

Is it a WiFi-only tablet? (Can you get internet on it without WiFi - through 3G or LTE by subscribing to a mobile service?) If so, you can use it for navigation, with "assisted GPS," even if you have no actual service on it in Europe.

If not - if it's purely a WiFi-only tablet - you probably can't use it for GPS navigation. It won't have the mobile radio needed for assisted GPS.

deladeb

It's an Amazon Fire.

Andrew

Does your Amazon fire have 3G or LTE? (So you can use internet without WiFi?) My Fire doesn't. I installed Google Maps on my Fire. With WiFi on, it can find my location. Put it into airplane mode (or walk away from my WiFi signal) and it is completely lost. By contrast, when I put my Android phone into airplane mode, Google Maps can still find my location, my phone it has assisted GPS due to having a cellular radio. Even if I were in Europe without having any cell service there, it would work as a GPS.

If your Fire a WiFi-only Fire like mine is, you are out of luck.

deladeb

We also have a Samsung galaxy, but I don't think it has wifi on it. Would any of these work?
http://mashtips.com/android-offline-paid-and-free-maps/
or
http://joyofandroid.com/offline-gps-...p-for-android/ ????

deladeb

or
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/5-androi...f-google-maps/

Andrew

I'm pretty sure every tablet has WiFi. WiFi doesn't help you with offline navigation. It's the opposite: some tablets have ONLY WiFi and not the ability to use internet without it. Other tablets can get internet anywhere there is cell phone service, just like a phone, but like a phone they need 3G or LTE for mobile data, a subscription like a cell phone has. (But you don't need to pay for a subscription just to use the "assisted GPS".)

You've linked to apps (software) above. The apps are useless unless the tablet itself has the ability (built into the hardware of the tablet) to do "assisted GPS," and that means it has the ability to connect to internet data like a cell phone - 3G or LTE. Your Amazon Fire does not have this hardware feature.

I have no idea which Samsung Galaxy you have. If it has the ability to get internet with 3G/LTE, without WiFi (like a cell phone), then it can do the offline navigation, with probably any or all the apps you linked to above - or just Google Maps, which is what I use.

flanneruk

You're getting some confused information here.

GPS has nothing to do with the internet. A mobile phone with GPS capabilities receives signals from satellites directly.

I don't use android, but both my Windows mobile and my wife's android need to download local maps to make our phones operate GPS in a new country. <b> This downloading process does need internet access, but can be done at home before you leave or in a local hotel </b>

Once the local maps are downloaded, you simply activate the relevant app and drive normally. In much of Europe, GPS access is often imperfect: close buildings, undulating countryside or foliage canopies distort reception, just the way GPS is close to useless in much of Manhattan.

But that's a pain you just have to live with, and an excellent reason if you're serious about navigating for always having a decent road atlas as backup.

For how to download local GPS-friendly mapping software, look at the manual for your wife's phone, or browse "gps" or "mapping" in its "systems" bit

bilboburgler

Does your kindle have GPS is the critical question. Many do not.

But I see that for $28 you can buy a

GlobalSat ND-105C Micro USB GPS Receiver

which if the kindle has a micro usb port will make your box gps useable.

(technical advice offered without responsibility) ;-)

Andrew

bilboburgler: <i>Does your kindle have GPS is the critical question. Many do not.</i>

Which is what I've been getting at. If the tablet doesn't have GPS capability, it doesn't matter how you download maps - your tablet won't be able to find your location anyway (unless you happen to be on WiFi), so the maps will be useless for navigation.

As I understand it, if the tablet doesn't have a cellular radio (3G or LTE), it won't have GPS either. It needs the cellular radio for "assisted GPS." That's how a cell phone can find your location inside a building (and so quickly), without communicating with a satellite.

I don't see any point in buying a separate GPS unit at this point for car navigation. Android phones are really cheap nowadays. I have a couple that I paid under $25 for, and they work great as GPS units, even if there is no mobile service on them - because they have cellular radios.

rs899

"As I understand it, if the tablet doesn't have a cellular radio (3G or LTE), it won't have GPS either. It needs the cellular radio for "assisted GPS." That's how a cell phone can find your location inside a building (and so quickly), without communicating with a satellite."

Though it is probably a rare bird, my Hisense Sero Pro 7" is wifi only, but has real GPS. GPS is much , much more likely to come with a tablet that has 3G or 4G radio, but it doesn't seem to require it. Just like dedicated GPS unit (Garmin etc) don't have cellular radio.

Andrew

To see if your tablet has GPS, here's an easy test:

On WiFi, start up Google Maps (assuming it is installed).

Tell it to show your current location. It should show it with a little blue dot, because it can use WiFi to pinpoint location. (It may ask you to turn on location services.)

Now put the tablet into airplane mode.

Does the blue dot disappear? If so, that means the tablet can't find your location - it doesn't have GPS. If it still shows a blue dot, it can still find your location.

bilboburgler

Andrew, it isn't always about money, sometimes it is about familiarity, size, not wanting yet more of the earth's bounty being wasted on this, etc As we say in Europe, "there is no away"..