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gMaps is down - any alternatives?

Hi,
I need some way of getting public transit routes from Google Maps. There used to be a bunch of apps that supported this (gMaps, PublicTransit, PublicTransport), but lately it seems that they've all been pulled off the Marketplace for some reason. And trying to access Google Maps directly using IE, fails as well.
Would appreciate any help; my phone is pretty much useless for me without this.
Thanks.

Read: http://strakh.com/

If you put the phone's browser in "Desktop" mode, it may be possible to use the Google site. It'll be... awkward, though. Similarly, Bing Maps (the website, but not the built-in app for some reason) also offers directions by transit, and with a bit of effort can be accessed using the phone's browser.
If you just want to look up routes and route planners, that information is probably available from the transit agency directly. If you want a bus-stop finder and arrival time info, use the OneBusAway app (or site, but the app is very well-made).

Be Careful When Installing Google Maps 7.0

When I saw that Google had a new version of maps available last night I was really excited. However, that excitement died down really fast when I saw how much they'd stripped from it. Just read the 1- and 2-star rating comments that this app is now getting on Google Play if you don't take my word for it.
Here's just some of the big disappointments:
- No more Google Latitude, though in fairness this isn't really a problem with Maps per se, because Google is SHUTTING DOWN Latitude on August 9th. They want us to use Google+ and its Locations feature as a replacement, but Locations is mere toy compared to what Latitude was able to do. It's a sad joke. To make matters worse, the location sharing feature of Google+ only works if the app is a SYSTEM APP. If your phone didn't come with it and you initially installed Google+ from the Play Store, Locations WILL NOT WORK. You must have a rooted phone on which you can assign Google+ to a system app using a tool such as Titanium Backup.
- No more Labs functions. One of the features I used to adore on my S4 was the "Larger Text" lab. This worked great on phones with 1080p screens, as the native text was just too small. The new maps app has small text, especially on a 1080p screen.
- No access to "My Maps". I read somewhere that this will be restored IN THE FUTURE, but until then you won't have access to your custom routes and maps if you upgrade to 7.0.
- No more zoom buttons on the map, though it is apparently possible to double-tap, and the swipe up or down to change the zoom. However, this still isn't as convenient under some circumstances.
- No more scale on the map. Okay, not everyone used this, but I liked knowing how far 1 km (or 1 mile) was on the map at the current zoom level.
- The Pegman in Streetview is gone and overall this feature seems less usable than it was before.
- Offline maps are still available, but they've been hidden. It's rather like an Easter Egg now, in that you must type (or say) "OK Maps" to get it to cache what you are zoomed in on at the time. However, it doesn't store as large an area as before and there is NO WAY to list or administer your cached local maps.
- Many people have reported that Navigation is now quite buggy, though I haven't had a chance to try it myself.
- You can no longer create navigation shortcuts and no Navigation icon appears on your phone. To use Navigation you must start Maps first and go through that.
- No more Terrain layer.
------------------------------------------------
So, if you are curious about trying Maps 7.0, then I strongly recommend that you backup your copy of the older maps first (if you have Titanium Backup or another apps for backing up your apps). Failing that, Google has made the old version available for downloading, if you can find it.
If you have Titanium Backup, use it to remove Maps from Play Store list so that it won't keep popping up as an update. You might accidentally install it.

Double tap, hold and swipe over the screen to zoom with one finger. Worked in maps 6.x and still works with maps 7.
To get access to your places, you just have to simply press the icon on the right side of the search bar, and there they are.

neluba said:
Double tap, hold and swipe over the screen to zoom with one finger. Worked in maps 6.x and still works with maps 7.
To get access to your places, you just have to simply press the icon on the right side of the search bar, and there they are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was not aware of the double-tap shortcut for zoom, but I tried it and it certainly does work. I edited the original post to reflect this.
However, I think you might have misunderstood what I meant concerning the second issue. I'm not so much interest in "My Places", but the sub-category of that called "My Maps". These are custom routes and maps you can create with the desktop version of Maps and they were loadable on Maps for Android prior to version 7.0. I double-checked to make sure they weren't there on 7.0, and they definitely aren't. I edited the original post to say just "My Maps" to clarify this point.

You can still launch navigation by voice, but it opens maps then navigation. What I'm not liking about this is that I often launch navigation by voice and like being able to change my route and check off avoid tolls and/or highways. This now has to be done from maps before launching navigation. A bit inconvenient.

Steve Punter said:
- You can no longer create navigation shortcuts and no Navigation icon appears on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have a separate Navigation icon? Takes me right to the 'choose destination' screen in Navigation...?
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium

Another thing to note which is now missing (I believe) is the separate "Car Mode" Maps display.
This was a quasi 3d display, similar to the old all-in-one GPS units, that followed the car movement from behind. This used to pop up automatically when my 'car mode' was activated. This mode would not screen time-out. Now it just pops up with the standard maps display, which will time-out and not follow along/scroll with your car position.

The offline maps feature has been added back in a small update. Still not done right, but it's at least accessible and not an easter egg.
I think latitude's features are supposed to be rolled into G+ before latitude itself is shut down.
Hadn't heard about the rest, but several sound like serious leaps backwards.

Well that's 3 google apps I'm leaving old versions now, all within the last few months I had to stop applying updates, I gave it a try and I agree, it sucks
Maps, GMail, and Talk.
I'm so disappointed in Google lately, nothing good has come out of their updates. I bought in to their infrastructure and now they're just ****ing around with me as they please. I wish they had a competitor worth a damn (Bing's worse imo).
Fire their new UI guys and let engineers develop apps again, sick of this design first philosophy that doesn't work.

what's remained ???
i will update and see what happens

waylo said:
Another thing to note which is now missing (I believe) is the separate "Car Mode" Maps display.
This was a quasi 3d display, similar to the old all-in-one GPS units, that followed the car movement from behind. This used to pop up automatically when my 'car mode' was activated. This mode would not screen time-out. Now it just pops up with the standard maps display, which will time-out and not follow along/scroll with your car position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is mainly what I use Google Maps for in my car, had to downgrade to 6.x to get this back

I used Latitude a lot... now I have to use a separate (broken) app to see my latitude contacts? Shouldn't that be in the MAPS program?

Double tab to zoom,, it works to my phone in this last maps..:good::good:

Everyone talking about the update but how come I still can't get it!!! I'm on ICS 4.0.4 ...usa
Sent from my C5170 using xda premium

I also have the difficulty to see the tiny street name on the map. Why won't Google make the font size user adjustable.
I probably have to keep using the old version of Google maps unless a larger text is allowed.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Steve Punter said:
I was not aware of the double-tap shortcut for zoom, but I tried it and it certainly does work. I edited the original post to reflect this.
However, I think you might have misunderstood what I meant concerning the second issue. I'm not so much interest in "My Places", but the sub-category of that called "My Maps". These are custom routes and maps you can create with the desktop version of Maps and they were loadable on Maps for Android prior to version 7.0. I double-checked to make sure they weren't there on 7.0, and they definitely aren't. I edited the original post to say just "My Maps" to clarify this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just installed version 7 and no ``My Places``, how do we downgrade to the old version?

Downgrade?
raczyk said:
Just installed version 7 and no ``My Places``, how do we downgrade to the old version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I concur but don't know how to do that. I want the old version back. Anyone?

Thanks

Cortana!

As we all know, Google does not work on our dinosaur. Actually, I do use it successfully with a "voice search assistant" widget that will place text recognized in the older Google voice on-line recognizer into Google App (Now). Direct use of Now's off-line recognizer will FC. Accepting this, Google Now Launcher and XGels also work just fine on the LG P500!
Seems most other voice apps will accept the older Google recognition chosen in settings->input&language or have their own implementation and work just fine! These include Hound (very ambitious, worth a try), Jeannie (says its "like Siri" but is actually older), and now Microsoft's Bing and Torq. Bing is quicker than Google. Torq is really cool if you like the shake&bake trigger. But none of these offer the functions of Now, that is, anticipatory results, predicting what you want (if you can accept being spied-upon ).
Cortana, Microsoft's Now and Siri competitor is supposed to do this? And it is not armv7-dependent. Not available and maybe not operative! outside the good old USA so I side-loaded off apkmirror.
No FCs. Got it set up, requested various cards (a la Now) and all. But I have never gotten anything in to or out of Cortana. Because of being expatriate? Or it cannot read the mic or get search results or cards--unlikely both of these!
Anyone tried this? Got it to work?
(Getting off the Google Play Service battery sucker and FC maniac would be a blessing. Cortana could be the first step. BTW, might check out other Microsoft offering that are OK on our phones: Next lockscreen overlay, Arrow launcher, etc.)

Gear S2 - Google Integration?

Hello, all!
I was given a Gear S2 for Christmas today! Very polished, and nice UI. Also the battery life has been quite acceptable, with constant use and tinkering all day.
It was actually a completely unexpected gift... I'd been thinking of getting a smartwatch of some kind, and was looking to probably get one next year. As such, I hadn't researched them any.
My ideas of what I could do with a smartwatch, was basically using it as, of course, a watch, in addition to the functions of Google Now (reminders, music control, navigation, etc., as an extension of my phone).
Unfortunately, this nice little piece of technology seems to be 100% devoid of anything Google-related (and that is the eco-system I like, am familiar with, and have been using).
Is there any workaround to get Google Now working on it? I've got the "Wearable Widgets" app, and that allows me to call on Google Now when the phone's screen is on, or if it's plugged in. Also, I've been unable to find out an easy way to use navigation on the watch.
Any ideas if these things are possible? If I can get it working the way I imagine, that would be ideal over trying to get an exchange.

Not to familiar with the whole tizen eco system, but reading your post is making me think that you should go for another watch.
You said, that your '"home" are google services. There may be workarounds possible, but you will always have to deal with these.
I would really consider to exchange it if possible

S-voice is a weak point of the Gear S2, and there's no way I know of to replace it with google now voice recognition. There are nav apps, both the Samsung-supported Here we go and some 3rd party ones that optionally use google maps data like Gear Navigator. If you make sure to check Google and Google plus apps in the list of notifications, you can get cards and related info from google sent to your watch. And the music controls on the watch allow you to control most music apps on the phone (google music, spotify, podcast apps, etc.); you have to set the app on the watch to play music on the phone, instead of tracks stored on the watch. So there's a lot you can do, but it's true that if you want seamless integration with the google universe, android wear will deliver much more.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-gear-s2/599771-list-apps-work-gear-s2-please-add-here.html
ElectroPulse said:
Hello, all!
I was given a Gear S2 for Christmas today! Very polished, and nice UI. Also the battery life has been quite acceptable, with constant use and tinkering all day.
It was actually a completely unexpected gift... I'd been thinking of getting a smartwatch of some kind, and was looking to probably get one next year. As such, I hadn't researched them any.
My ideas of what I could do with a smartwatch, was basically using it as, of course, a watch, in addition to the functions of Google Now (reminders, music control, navigation, etc., as an extension of my phone).
Unfortunately, this nice little piece of technology seems to be 100% devoid of anything Google-related (and that is the eco-system I like, am familiar with, and have been using).
Is there any workaround to get Google Now working on it? I've got the "Wearable Widgets" app, and that allows me to call on Google Now when the phone's screen is on, or if it's plugged in. Also, I've been unable to find out an easy way to use navigation on the watch.
Any ideas if these things are possible? If I can get it working the way I imagine, that would be ideal over trying to get an exchange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

What phone are you pairing it with.

Two months on is it worth purchasing?

So I initially bought this watch on release and unfortunately had to return it due to massively overspending that month. I only had time to have a quick play with it but I loved the screen and the look (Classic) and am now really tempted to repurchase.
One thing I did note at launch was that the selection of apps was pretty woeful, basically everything was a watchface and there wasn't even Spotify, Uber etc. at least not in the UK app store. Has this situation changed at all? Is there any way of seeing a list of current available apps?
Secondly, one of my main reasons for buying would be tracking distance, pace and calories for runs using the watch as a standalone - can anyone tell me how reliable this is and if it works well?

I will post here what I have already said elsewhere on the Gear S forums, because it's relevant to your question,
People complain about there being more watch faces and not enough apps on the Galaxy Store...
well firstly there are hundreds of apps on the store! but just how much do you expect to be doing on your watch? I mean essentially it's for time and date function, relaying of notifications, messaging, call taking/making, health tracking, weather, news and navigation. All these functions are covered out of the box.
So what are you expecting? Microsoft Office? Minecraft? Photoshop? Hello... it's a watch!! and considering that you will be looking at the time more than anything else on the watch, having a huge choice of watch faces is not only a GOOD thing, it's essential!
Now I have downloaded various apps:
Voice Memo
Guardian News
Speedometer
Gear Navigator
Calculator
Cooking Timer
Xenozu (YouTube videos)
Spotify
Gear Browser
Flashlight Premium
Brrr (disconnect warning)
Yelp
Stopwatch
Timer
Hangman
And you know what? I hardly use any of them! So I wouldn't worry about the app situation.
Also, Spotify is available in the UK
and S-Health will track your performance and upload to your Samsung account, so it will sync with your phone(s) when reconnected.