What is it?
Off-Grid GPS is a simple, straight line navigation app that tells you where places are in relation to where you are now. It lists your places in order of distance and colour codes them so that it is easy to tell at a glance whether you are getting closer or further away. Choose your places from a map or use search to find places by name. You can also add them directly if you already know the GPS coordinates. Once your places have been set you no longer need internet or cell access. Off-Grid GPS can work in airplane/flight mode using only a GPS signal - perfect for trekkers, sailors, travellers, pilots and adventurers.
What is it for?
Use it on a bus, boat, train or plane to figure out how much longer it will take you to get to your destination. Use it while trekking to mark locations, plan your route, see how far you've come (both horizontally and vertically) and find your way back. Use it for geocaching. Use it to figure out how much further you have to walk to get to a post office. Use it to figure out whether the rickshaw driver is taking you to the hotel you asked him to take you to or the one his brother opened with the same name.
Off-Grid GPS comes pre-loaded with a number of places of interest. Delete them to make way for your own or visit them to see if they are of interest to you.
How does it work?
Watch the youtube run-through for a mini-demo.
What does it all mean?
A The waypoint list. Any location that you mark goes into this list. Waypoints are kept sorted in order of distance and are coloured depending on whether they are getting closer (green), further away (red), or neither (yellow).
B Distance between your current location and this waypoint. Also, the compass point you would have to head towards to get there.
C Waypoints can have altitude data attached. If they do then this is the difference in height between you and the waypoint. The arrow indicates whether the waypoint is above or below you.
D The speed at which you are getting closer or further away from this waypoint. This depends on your actual speed and your heading in relation to the waypoint.
E Based on the relative speed (D) and the distance (B) this is an estimate of how long it would take to travel the distance to this waypoint.
F To delete a waypoint, select it and press the trash icon. In the image above, "Riviera Bay" is selected.
G To edit a waypoint's details, select it and press the edit icon.
H Display the map. Once on the map, press and hold to add a new waypoint at a specific location or to move the selected waypoint to that location.
I Add a new waypoint. By default the new waypoint will take the co-ordinates of the current location.
J The bearing that you would have to take to reach this waypoint.
K To reach this waypoint you would need to correct your course according to what is listed here.
L Waypoint name.
M Location services accuracy bar. The smaller the number printed and the longer the bar the more accurately is your current location known. With a proper GPS fix the bar should be green and the value should be in double or single digits. A red bar and a value of a couple of hundreds or more usually means no GPS fix. In this case, speed and direction will be unreported or useless. To get a GPS fix you will need a clear view of the sky - the more of it the better. Note that if you have no data access, or no cell signal whatsoever, it may take some time to get a GPS fix. In this case your location will not be known until the fix is obtained, at which point the bar will suddenly go green and report good accuracy.
To waypoint your current location.
Press the + icon (I) at the bottom of the main screen. Change the name if you like. Click the "Save New" icon.
waypoint your current location
To search for a location.
Press the map icon (H) at the bottom of the main screen. Scroll the map to the place you are searching in. Press the search button, type in what you are searching for and hit the go button. Up to ten results will be returned and these will be displayed in green pins on the screen. Tap on the one you would like to save as a waypoint.
search for a location on the map
To waypoint a location from the map.
Press the map icon (H) at the bottom of the main screen. Scroll the map to display the place you would like to waypoint. Press and hold on the exact spot; a menu will pop up. Select "new waypoint here" from the menu.
waypoint a location from the map