iPad Navigation - Hema or VMS?

VMS and Hema are GPS manufacturers. I do not know much about Hema so I cannot go down that line for you.

We have a VMS box/unit installed in the dash of the car. It is a small computer using a commercial version of Windows called WindowsCE. On that box we have all the music and entertainment functions that run in the background while other programs like Street and bush/off road navigation run in the foreground. I wont elaborate on street navigation as you already may know about. The off road/bush navigation we use is called Oziexplorer. It is basically a map display facility that shows you your location on the map. It does lots of other things of course including making a copy of where you go and being able to import tracks that others have used so that you can easily plan your own route. Look there are heaps and maybe I am teaching to the converted.

One attribute is it v=can handle two video inputs from something like rear view cameras or DVD.s or your video camera stuck on the windscreen..

Someone else will give you the lowdown on the Hema tack.

The VMS is top of the line in my opinion but it costs heaps.

One thing I like is that its stuck in the dash and hard to steal. But you cannot go walkies with it. That's fine for us as I am unable to walk far enough to get lost.

Best of luck.

Phil

I have the ipad vms application and I'm not that happy with it. The smart topo maps are rubbish off road and if you do buy mud map 25k bundles, the app doesn't auto load the next map when you drive off the edge of the map you are on. There are hardly any settings you can adjust, there is no computer app to do your planning and you can't import routes or tracks in any format. All in all, pretty dismal. If you want turn by turn street navigation then the Tom Tom ipad app is a good choice. For off road topo maps then Memory Map is very good but really quite expensive with heavy licence restrictions. There are other apps like Bitmap but you have to be able to get decent maps to make any of them any good. If you are a whizz at converting map formats then it helps a lot. Cheers.

I too am interested in the outcome of this thread.

Have read good and bad things about the vms app. Asked vms for a money back guarantee and they refused. They got me worried....if they don't guarantee it....well ? If they did I would give it a crack.

Hema app is out. Have heard no news on this one. I have a Hema navigator, and apart from poor contrast with any light around, it's works well. iPad contrast is significantly better. Currently waiting on Hema to see if they support their product enough for a money back gauanetee.

A bit of coin wasted of you buy the wrong app.

I've got my eye on this thread as well. will be very interested in all the replies and what others are using on their iPads.

I believe that Oziexplorer for ipad etc is under development but their website has not indication of when it might be ready for release. They have only recently released Ozi for Android OS. I would think that it is this sort of software that you would be looking to install on you iPad and perhaps Memory Map or another has already done it.....or not. Given Des Newman's past record I would suggest that it won't take him too long to develop Ozi for the iPhone and iPad though. It might we worth sending him and email info@oziexplorer.com to sus it out a bit further.

Thanks to all so far, a few others out there interested too which is good! So I guess we'll all stay posted over the next few days/weeks and hope further contributions set us off in the right direction, pardon the pun! Ha ha.

I use Memory Map (MM) on the iPhone for bushwalking with the QLD 1:25000 topographics maps. When you purchase the MM QLD Topo Maps you get a CD with the maps and the PC version of MM. The maps are licensed to one PC and two mobile devices.

You have to purchase the paid version of the MM iPhone app, once you have done that you simply drag the maps onto the MM app in iTunes and they are all available for offline use.

The problem with this setup is that when you go outside of QLD you can only buy maps state by state for close to $200 which isn't very economic when all you want is a couple of lousy maps.

I use Metroview for voice instructed road navigation, good application, quite cheap and includes free map upgrades.

There is another app Motion-X $1.99 (HD version for iPad) which allows you to access maps anywhere in the world for free. This includes road, topo and nautical maps which can be downloaded for offline use. You need to be careful about the area you specify to download as the map downloads can be huge. Also you have the option of not backing the maps up, if you choose this then any iPhone IOS upgrade that backs up and restores the iPhone will result in the loss of the downloaded maps.

Like you I intend to use my iPad for GPS navigation however I have yet to upgrade it to a 3G model to get the GPS. I have just purchased the full HEMA 4WD Map Collection for Australia for Memory Map. You have two choices here you can buy the Hema Maps on the app store which seems to be based on MM or you can buy them through MM, I chose the later. I don't know which is the better choice.

The reason I did it was that with MM I knew I could use the maps on the PC, on my iPhone and on the iPad. On the PC I can download Exploreoz routes, import them to MM, edit them, combine them and add my own bits before uploading back to the iPhone/iPads a planned route to follow. The resulting MM map is a moving map showing your position on it and the planned track to follow. It is not a turn by turn voice navigated map.

Also I chose the ClicOn Prado 120 mount for the iPhone & iPad which with the quick release adaptor should allow me to swap between the two. THe mount seems to be very firm, hopefully it will survive a mounted iPad on a rough 4WD track.

Hope this helps

John

I bought VMS when the price dropped to $150 and have used it on a few trips. Nothing quite compares to to OziExplorer, so I don't expect that full functionality.

The 1:250,000 iTopo maps are available for free on other apps, so you are really just paying for the Smart TOPO and the Gregory's State and Tour maps. The package worked well for me. I found that along the Border Track to the north of Nhill the detail was accurate. It kept a good log of my whole trip.

I have also been running Bit Map which has allowed me to use my previously purchased Hema map collection, and the free Vic and NSW maps at 1:25,000 and 1:100,000.

I have recently also tried OziExplorer on a couple of Android devices. Even in this cut down format, Ozi has more functionality than VMS or Bit Map, but the poor screen quality of the Android devices I used rendered any advantage meaningless.

Just out of interest, have a look at the OzRunways app. Free WAC charts and lots of bells and whistles.

I reckon OziExplorer on the iPad would be the ducks guts, so will just wait patiently while Des works his magic.

My recommendation for those not heavily into computers or mapping would be to spend $150 on VMS. If you already have the maps then Bit Map is the go.

Bob