Gaia GPS

Update, March 2016: Trimble has discontinued all of their apps as of March 26, 2016. They list Gaia GPS as a recommended replacement for all Trimble and MyTopo apps.

At first glance, you might think that comparing Gaia GPS vs. Trimble Outdoors on iOS would be a good battle, but after looking through Trimble’s many identical apps, I see Gaia GPS casts a long shadow. This is reflected in the relative reviews and sales on the App Store, despite all the resources of a billion dollar corporation.

I’d welcome anyone to try out a Trimble title, and also try Gaia GPS, risk-free on our end. You can always send us an email at support@gaiagps.com for a refund, for any reason.

In summary, I think Gaia GPS has better maps, and a cleaner UI. Below, I also call out how Trimble paid apps clutter the main UI with buttons that prompt you to buy additional things, which I find a little annoying in apps intended to be tools.

Gaia GPS has Superior Topo Maps

When Trimble acquired MyTopo maps years ago, we were using MyTopo maps, and they were the best USGS topo maps you could get on mobile. But, we had to get resourceful and fund CalTopo’s effort  to put together a nationwide set of the most recent USGS topo maps, after Trimble unceremoniously booted us from their topo map server. Because of that effort, I think the topos we provide in Gaia GPS are better than MyTopo in every practical way.

Compare for yourself the topo maps you get in Gaia GPS, against the topo maps you get in Trimble apps. These days, we still have the best maps, and even provide many map layers beyond these basic USGS topos – public land, forest service maps, river charts, and much more. We also present the maps better with our technology, letting people layer maps together, overlay rainbow tracks, and pan and zoom a complex map quickly, which we believe is a requirement for any good app.

Gaia GPS has a Cleaner UI

Beyond the map deficiencies, there are glaring visual bugs in Trimble, the maps flash around oddly, and the apps rarely get updates. Notice the obvious visual problems in the top right, and on the left where the top toolbar meets the side panel. Also, the blue and white toolbars are hard to read. On top of that, the controls are thrown together haphazardly – some oddly detailed images, and some blank colored backgrounds that don’t match. It feels to me like we’re not seeing a cohesive team, constantly working at the software.

If you like that, also check out Backpacker Map Maker Lite, which appears to be exactly the same app, maps, and in-app purchases, but with an even worse color scheme. Here’s the same screenshot, different app, same oddities:

You can’t read those toolbars, black on gray as they are, and that’s indoors. On the trail, you wouldn’t be able to read it at all.

If there is a difference between those two apps above, I’ll have to dig deeper to find it. And here’s that app again, this time called “Trimble GPS Maps.”

I think this strategy of having a dozen identical titles, with a dozen identical free apps, must be hampering their ability to otherwise make the app better. While I haven’t pulled screenshots from the iPhone apps, they employ a similar strategy on small screens as well.

I like to think we do our pricing and productization more elegantly, with one initial app purchase on iOS or Android, which funds our development of the apps for each platform, along with one optional GaiaPro (across all platforms), which unlocks some special maps and tools. It’s easy to understand, matches our costs, and people seem to like it.

We also have different titles for a boating version of our app, or a simple topo app, but we do that only with good reason. I think the competition is just trying to cram the shelves, and perhaps don’t realize it creates a maintenance and development nightmare, along with confusion among customers.

Embedded Lures

Perhaps what I found least appealing about using Trimble apps is the way the app asks you to buy stuff when you start pressing buttons from within an app you ostensibly already paid for. I find this to be so egregious that I’m surprised it passes Apple’s review process.

On the iPad app map screen, in their paid MyTopo Maps Pro version (not the free version), they show at least 3 buttons that will try and get you to buy some more maps. When you buy this app, you are basically buying a big advertisement.

Conclusion

For the best outdoor GPS on iOS, I can easily say, just buy Gaia GPS. The title makes no difference, because the apps are all the same, and the confusing array of in-app purchases are as well:

• Gaia GPS vs. Trimble GPS

• Gaia GPS vs. MyTopo Maps

• Gaia GPS vs. Backpacker Map Maker

• Gaia GPS vs. Backpacker GPS Trails

• Gaia GPS vs. Trimble Navigator

• Gaia GPS vs. GPS Hunt

I will cover Android Gaia GPS vs Trimble apps in a different post. This is just for iOS.

Big sale today!

You can get Gaia GPS at $9.99, which hasn’t been possible on iOS since 2012. On top of that, you can also get a GaiaPro subscription for $9.99/year, and you’ll get to keep subscribing at that price as long as you want.

So, today, you can get the best outdoor GPS app, that works across all of your iPhones, iPads, iPods, and computers, for a great low price that you probably won’t see again for a long while.

For this installment of Gaia GPS vs. the world, I want to compare Phil Endecott’s app, Topo Maps, against both Gaia GPS, and against our own simple topo app, Offline Topo Maps (OTM).

While Topo Maps once reigned as a great app, I don’t think it’s worth buying in its current state, and this post will lay out why in a fairly straightforward fashion. As always with these posts, I encourage anyone to try out our apps vs. Topo Maps, and write to us for a refund if you prefer Topo Maps, at support@gaiagps.com.

Better Usability

Without getting into the features, Gaia GPS does the core functionality well, while Topo Maps struggles:

1. Map UI – Gaia’s map is smooth and touchy-feely, while Topo Maps doesn’t have predictable map interaction. When you flick, the map sometimes doesn’t move, and sometimes it coasts oddly.

2. Clunky Downloads – With Gaia GPS, you can queue up downloads and forget about it. With Topo Maps, you have to wait to download each map, one by one, blocking using the app otherwise.

   

3. No Seamless Maps – In Gaia, the topo maps are a continuous quilt. With Topo Maps, you have to view each topo map, individually, and switch between them.

My basic argument here is if you want a simple topo app that does these things well, then buy our app Offline Topo Maps. If you want an app that does all of this, plus lets you record tracks, sync data between devices, and share links, then you can upgrade to Gaia GPS too.

Active Development

I think it’s worth pointing out that the development of Topo Maps has stalled. What you see is what you get, and the app hasn’t been updated in years, except to fix it when it breaks on a new operating system.

Gaia and OTM, in contrast, are updated continuously, both to accommodate new devices and operating systems, and to take advantage of state of the art mapping techniques and new features we develop.

More and Better Maps

It also goes without saying that the maps you get in Gaia GPS are vastly superior to the maps you get in Topo Maps, based on years of work and listening to users. Gaia GPS includes the USGS topos you get in Topo Maps, plus USFS topos, plus international topos we license, and tons of specialized map sources. See for yourself on our maps page.

Conclusion

Topo Maps is a bit of zombie app, that still sells largely on the strength of its name, search positioning, and past reputation. Gaia GPS and Offline Topo Maps have come to dominate Topo Maps both in terms of sales, functionality, usability, maps, and everything else.

I’m sure there are a few die-hard Topo Map fans out there that have used it for years and are familiar with quad-based topo maps, or love the distance rings feature in Topo Maps, but I just can’t say the nice things about Topo Maps that I can about other competitors.

Just buy Gaia GPS.

We were delighted to learn today that Gaia GPS won the Best Smartphone App category in Trailrunner Magazine’s Gear of the Year contest.

Gear up for a good trail run with some new sneakers, Gaia GPS, and a Mophie Juice Pack to keep your phone charged.

Gaia GPS v5.2 for Android is a big update. In fact, it’s such a big update, that I thought it was time to share my thoughts on Gaia GPS vs. Backcountry Navigator as well.

Notably, this version brings layered maps and GaiaPro to the Android app, which is something that distinguishes Gaia on iOS. With a GaiaPro subscription, you can download and display multi-layered maps, and access premium satellite and road map sources.

The layered maps feature is particularly useful if you want to use some of the overlay sources we serve, like property boundaries, game zones, terrain, and more.

Even if you don’t want a GaiaPro subscription, we added several other great improvements to Android! In the Map Layers menu, you will now notice a slider to control a weather radar overlay from Wunderground, which gives you a sense of weather on the map.

By popular user request, we also added an option to set the bottom map controls to include a pause/resume button for tracking, and you can now enable that by pressing and holding the stat to change.

You can also now log in and register for GaiaCloud with your Facebook account, and there are a few other bug fixes and tweaks as well.