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Nov 13, 2007, 07:33 AM

I've been thinking of biting the bullet and getting an iPhone. I do have a question before I take the plunge that I can't seem to find an answer for.

The question is this: Can you save a Google Map or a web page in a local cache to access while not connected to Wifi or Cell?

I have a Nokia N800 that has a cool map program that will download Google maps at different zoom resolutions for an area you specifiy. You can then use the maps while offline. Though, I would suspect the iPhone can't have this level of offline functionality, I would need to at least be able to pull up saved maps/web pages while not connected.

Thanks for any info and sorry if this is common knowledge.

analogika · Nov 13, 2007, 08:13 AM

Nope.

The idea is that you're always online - which is why the phone only comes with a complete data flatrate.

Nov 13, 2007, 08:39 AM

Bah. Well, that's stupid.

For some reason, Apple, you love for me to hate you.

Amorya · Nov 13, 2007, 09:30 AM

If you leave a map on the screen in the maps app, it is still there when you relaunch that app even if there's no net connection. Obviously you can only do one map at a time this way.

Amorya

CorpITGuy · Nov 13, 2007, 09:33 AM

I've only encountered this problem once. I took my wife to Hot Springs, Arkansas for her birthday. During our drive there (which required Google Maps) we lost the AT&T network two or three times, and had to drive a couple of miles out of our way to get network coverage again.

If you don't live around any mountains or tall buildings you don't have to worry about it I guess.

gradient · Nov 13, 2007, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by nstehle

I've only encountered this problem once. I took my wife to Hot Springs, Arkansas for her birthday. During our drive there (which required Google Maps) we lost the AT&T network two or three times, and had to drive a couple of miles out of our way to get network coverage again.

If you don't live around any mountains or tall buildings you don't have to worry about it I guess.

Always take a real (paper) map with you on trips!

Torque18 · Feb 14, 2008, 07:15 PM

It's now possible to save webpages and even some WebApps to the iPhone or iPod touch and use them offline (or in airplane mode). iWebSaver is a free web-based service that makes it happen. See:

iWebSaver

Visnaut · 08:16 PM

Actually, all the addresses (and longitude/latitudes) you bookmark in Google Maps on the iPhone are cached. Furthermore, when you bookmark an address, and scroll around the area, that area is cached as well, as opposed to just the image blocks that make up the screen area of what you bookmark.

I don't use a data plan up here in Canada, so I actually rely on this feature when I'm headed to an area I haven't been before and can't count on a WiFi connection. Before I leave, I put in the address of the place, scroll around a bit, and then bookmark it. Works like a charm, and it's saved my bacon a few times already.

I just tested this in Airplane mode and it worked fine. A couple of caveats to keep in mind though: you can't bookmark entire directions. You'd need to bookmark addresses in your path and infer where to turn. It also doesn't cache anything other than the current zoom level and view type (map, satellite, or hybrid). And unlike actual addresses you bookmark, the new Pins feature in 1.1.3 does not cache the map. So if you use Pins to bookmark your locations you will be left mapless once you are off the network.

Cipher13 · Jul 28, 2008, 06:13 AM

I'd love to find a way to permanently cache map data, because in locations where I'd actually use "Maps", I'm not going to have reception.

Andy8 · Jul 28, 2008, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by Cipher13

I'd love to find a way to permanently cache map data, because in locations where I'd actually use "Maps", I'm not going to have reception.

Exactly.

Cipher13 · Jul 28, 2008, 06:29 AM

http://nambrot.com/index.php/home/33...g-maps-offline

Might accomplish what we're after, though I've not tried it yet...

Andy8 · 06:39 AM

Originally Posted by Cipher13

http://nambrot.com/index.php/home/33...g-maps-offline

Might accomplish what we're after, though I've not tried it yet...

Interesting, thanks for the link, will give it a try if and when it is updated for OS 2+

Randman · Jul 28, 2008, 10:57 AM

Haven't tried but you could try and save a google map as an image and access it that way. Also, you can email yourself a story from the web (and link) and read it that way offline.

Simon · Jul 28, 2008, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by Cipher13

I'd love to find a way to permanently cache map data, because in locations where I'd actually use "Maps", I'm not going to have reception.

I did that yesterday actually because I was abroad and didn't want to use data roaming. At the hotel (I had WiFi there) I scrolled the map to where I was going, and zoomed in around the location I was expecting to be. Once I arrived at the place I hit the locate button. The blue dot then hovered over the previously loaded parts of the map. The map ended where it had ended when I was last online and the zoom detail was only as good as what I had previously cached. But everything I had visited while I was still at the hotel was still there when I was using it. Worked fine for me.

Dhalilahma · Sep 11, 2008, 07:40 PM

Thought you guys might be intrested in this symlink method here