I really agree with @Julien a link from PC to mobile is really useful for a map application
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They also do a lot of unecrypted HTTP connections :-s
I’ve been using Waze for more than a month because GM often misses the path (it recognizes the address but also places it a few miles away).
Hi i was about to try /e/ on my pixel 1 but when i discovered that /e/ actually comes with non free proprietary software i decided not to install it…
I thought the main reason to use /e/ is the open source transparency and not sending data to companies.
I know that it is possible to uninstall maps and use Osmand but i think it is a general mistake to use and bundle “Magic Earth”.
I’ve checked their data policy and though this is exactly what i do NOT expect from /e/.
Its proprietary so who is able to check if the send data is actually anonymous ?
-> while shipping /e/ with magic earth we do blindly trust an unknown comany.
how will it be updated in case of security flaws (if its not on frdoid) ?
if the new version will be rolled out with new /e/ ota updates who can validate that their policy did not change ?
I know that osmand is not as convenient as f.e. google maps but it works and the map quality is awesome plus its constantly getting updates on f-droid.
There could be a good lead to developp a proper /e/maps app:
https://benmaps.fr/
Developped by a former Mapbox guy named Ben.
He’s active on twitter, there: https://twitter.com/_benjamintd?s=17
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You’ll need Librem5, all other devices require the so called “proprietary blobs”. Without non-free /e/ just wouldn’t work on most phones. Linux faces a similar issue: without non-free software it just doesn’t work, or only works partially on a lot of computers. You could also try ‘Replicant’ as mobile OS, and buy a WiFi dongle at Technoethical. Without proprietary software no WiFi on almost any phone or tablet. Even more ethical phones as FP2 don’t work without proprietary software.
That said, I do sympathize with the FSF, those people are right: it should be like that. But the reality is different.
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hi Rams, i fully agree with this, i really like the OSMAND app too. The map quality is great and also integration with extensions. However, someone pointed out to me recently that for new users (and remember, /e/ aims to tailor to new, mainstream users - your mom and dad, sort of speak) it is difficult to learn to work with. The fact that you have to download maps before you can look something up will put many people off it. Do as i do and email/Github the people at OSMAND for the need for an online UI that allows people upon start up to immediately look things up!
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The issue with OSMAND, unless it has changed in recent times is that it does not do traffic re-routing which Magic Earth does. As for privacy all apps using crowd sourced traffic will require trust that the information uploaded to the servers is treated in a suitably private way. If traffic is not required , then I agree there are better alternatives.
M.E. is OK, it has nice feature of high climded / decended. would be nice to have an eco route, especially for EV’s (as i have one) Map detail is good, routing seems alright/god traffic isn’t great.
I was previously a WAZE user, which was about the best.
OsmAnd is OK, but lacks features, traffic is non exsistent. So I ended up getting a completely seprate sat-nav. At least it’s not on my phone and have declind to share data. (Tomtom is good for city traffic, Garmin seems pretty much on par with Tomtomnow on traffic info, can have some percular route choices at times but still better than M.E and OsmAnd.
I’ve been using ME since I started with /e/ and find that it chooses very odd routes some of the time (I always use it offline). On one occasion, driving on a motorway, it wanted me to turn off at every junction and then rejoin! I think I’m going to go back to HERE we go, which is what I used before.
most of these apps are using Google TTS (Text To Speech)
PicoTTS (?) ships with /e/. It’s definitely robotic-sounding, but it works.
A better option that’s still open-source is the Flite TTS Engine (available through F-Droid). Speech quality is better than PicoTTS, though still a bit short of what I’d like, and it’s somewhat crashy.
If you’re not an open-source purist, the CereProc TTS packages (available through Google Play) produce better speech, are inexpensive ($1 each or so), and work without in-app purchases (each voice option is its own purchase). I’ve had the “Hannah” voice installed for a bit, and most of the voice prompts in Magic Earth work pretty well. The ones that don’t probably need fixing within Magic Earth (for instance, US-93 (a major part of the route between Las Vegas and Phoenix) gets pronounced “us-93” instead of “yoo-ess-93”).
I’m not sure but it looks that apps like Osmand with voice navigation only works with the Pico TTS languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish). I tried Flite but it has even less languages.
If it’s not open sourse, I tried to avoid it, so CereProc is not an option for me. Is there a way to use Osmand with e.g. Portuguese or Swedish? There is an option in Osmand to download the language packs but it does not work even if it is set.
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The topic was not split but a post was moved under another topic where there were similar posts. Discourse has common messages for some functions. If it was split and closed new entries would not have been possible here.
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Hi,
I have installed from F-droid the app “Maps” (just Maps). Looks like it’s the official app “Maps.me” but reworked to be without trackers and open source (Apache 2.0).
https://f-droid.org/fr/packages/com.github.axet.maps/
Could be a nice alternative, no ? 
Akha
PS: take care if the app can’t download maps at the first start, it’s because “WorldCoasts_obsolete.mwm” is missing from the official depot.
Annoying but I don’t know how to contact the dev about it.
If you want to try and find the same problem, you can correct it with:
https://adminblog.foucry.net/posts/info/maps_me/
For the old “WorldCoasts_obsolete.mwm”, I used an old one from here:
But it would be better to tell the dev
The link above is now dead.
You still can find it in Google cache: