OSMAnd

Following the fun with LocusPRO one of the suggestions was to try OSMAnd, which I've been using the last few times out. One of the things I feel should be pointed out here is that playing with a Sat Nav system is not the same as other software. You can't simply check the help manual while driving along, so getting used to a new system and more important coping with things that suddenly change is a problem. OSMAnd has a different way of working and as yet I've not adjusted from the Tomtom and LocusPro modes, so some of the niggles are very much how do you do things. This is a list of the 'todo' items generated so far.

Feedback has been added from the tracker - Issue 2151

1. Right hand drive - Took a little while to apreciate that the 'Left' mode was actually 'Right Hand Drive' Adding that in brackets to the description would just help quicker assimilation for those of us who drive on the left. We tend think 'Left Hand Drive' is the other way ...
   Driving region replaces this in later version - to be tested.
2. Having switched to the right mode, the roundabout prompts run the right way, but there is a problem with the calculation of the angle. It's not quiite usng the oposite angle, but certainly it's wrong. Again trying to check things while one is driving is not recomended, but a 'take the 1st exit' where it is 90deg left is not showing as that
   Raised as Issue 2156 on tracker
3. The next problem is something that comes up across a number of the systems. The 'Onto the xxx' when one is already on the xxx. One of my problems with the old Tomtom was it's lack of warnings at times when going through a complex junctions particularly from one motorway to another. It would be reporting a junction some way in the distance which might still be X to X ! I think that part of this is ensuring the correct information is on the OSM map, but it would be helpful if the programs understood that you are not changing road and perhaps said 'Remaining on XXX' ... to be honest even a 'Taking the third exit off the roundabout' without the 'onto the xxx' would be better.
   Already existing issue 2061 on tracker
4. Now my biggest bug bare! 'Onto the Mx' when one is actually aproaching a junction OFF the motorway or trunk road. I've complained about this on LocusPro as it was actually making dangerous anouncements such as 'Straight on' when in reality the move was to take the inside lane off the motorway. OSMAnd has at least been saying 'slightly left, but 'onto the Mx', when what it SHOULD be saying is take the sip road upto the roundabout ... and then take the third exit. I understand the problem with the distances here, but part of the reason we have the x_link tags is to handle this situation. Currently there seems to be a lack of understanding of that in all of the routing engines I have tried. Again it's difficult to test this except when driving some distance.
   Partially covered by already existing issue 2061 on tracker
5. Now an OSMAnd specific problem. Local routing from my own house out to the main roads is simply wrong. The M5 is south of here, but the route planned takes a 3 mile detour north rather than the 'unclassified' roads which are our main route. Coming into home from the north the detour is 8 miles! This does not give confidence that it is creating a suitable route when going to an area that I do not already know? At least from here I can 'take the right route' until OSMAnd catches up but even that takes some time.
   It has been advised that a new routing engine is under development, but it does not fix the problem. Issue 2158 details the current state of play
6. I do need to work out how to get my own maps loaded. The maps supplied are now out of date and don't include a couple of new roundabouts I've added recently. Other routing options are already handling them!
   Looks like I just missed the update on that, latest map does have the missing bits. Bu the basic sentiment still applies as I would like to get my own rendering style back.
7. Not really an OSMAnd problem, but related to using it on the move. One of the reasons for using the TomTom was as a control centre for the mobile phone, and I could handle calls on the move easily - and safely! I've been shouted down saying 'you should not be doing things while on the move', but 'answer call' and 'call home' should be simple. I don't like 'auto answer' - If I'm not in a position to answer I will ignore, but on the Tomtom I could ring back easily later. The new Tomtom's have lost all of this functionality and my old one will not work with the S4 phone while it was perfect with my old N900. Basically the S4 is NOT safe to use on the move and it's getting tothe point where I think I will pay out for a replacement N900 just to get that safety back!
   Hardy has responded on this in Issue 2151 My particular gripe here is with the S4 phone in general. It's mounted horizontally in a car mount specific for the S4, but I have trouble hitting the relevent 'button', and it's difficult to get to another application to phone back for example, and often when I've managed to get back to the phone, it 'wanders off doing it's own thing' while you are trying to get the phone number up. Needs to be a lot less cluttered to be used 'mobile'! Like the simple TomTom displays used to be.
8. New observation. This may be related to issue 2061, but I suspect that it is a little more complex than that. On a number of ocasions aproaching a roundabout with a change of direction, the anounced new road has seemed wrong. I've nailed this down on the roundabout nearest to me, and what happens is that while the roadabout and main road is the A44, the side roads have different numbers, so turning left should be 'Onto B4632', but instead is anounced as 'Onto A44' which with the 2061 fix would then be wrong. Coming up from the south earlier, the anouncement going from the Leamington Road ( I do like the quaint attempt at anouncing that but that is another problem ) onto the B4632 gets anounces still as 'Onto A44'. Just to confuse things, the Leamington Road is the B4632 and is signposted as that, but it's the miss placed 'A44' which is the problem here. It has been happening on other roundabouts as well, and I wonder if it's ones where there are link ways and more detailed roundabout. I have amended the local roundabout so that the B4632 is now going the right route. It was broken previously.
   http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/52.04682/-1.85721 for reference

I still have the TomTom in the car as a backup until I can get something reliable to replace it. My son-in-law is playing with a new tomtom because he uses the live traffic updates a lot for his business travels, and he confirms that the telephone side is no longer provided. Could that be becuase Android have screwed up hands free?

Useful links

Main website for OSMAnd

Development links