Offline maps on Android in China

[felix]

Firstly, a million thanks to Slabo for making me aware of Mobile Atlas Creator. Preloading offline maps into my phone was something i had been wishing for for a long time but had no idea was possible.

There are many great apps for android that allow loading of offline maps (maverick and oruxmaps are two good ones) but in China they all suffer from the dreaded "offset of death", which renders them useless for city navigation. Now though i think i have finally found something that works.

Big Planet Tracks actually has a feature where you can offset the map any amount you want. Apparently this was included specifically for use in china. You shift the map with two sliders which are not very accurate but you can get close enough to your true position. It can also load and record tracks (brilliant) and do a few other things, no turn-by-turn navigation (don't care).

There is a write-up here to explain how to save offline maps using mobac.

So far this is the only solution i know of to use offline maps on android in china without the offset of death. If you guys know any other way to do it, post it here and this thread could become a useful resource. The internet is currently quite lacking in info on this topic.




[EDIT 08-26-2010] Though this app has the most convenient way to correct the offset, i don't really recommend it as it was very unreliable in my experience. There is a way to correct the offset in Oruxmaps too, and although it is a bit tedious, this is the one i would recommend. Details are on page 2 of this thread.