Suggestion: Combining offline use with traffic information (hybrid mode?)

[CD130]

Offline gebruik combineren met verkeersinformatie (hybride modus?)

De app lijkt steeds beter in staat om volledig offline te werken. Dat is ontzettend handig in gebieden met slecht bereik, bijvoorbeeld in de bergen of bij landsgrenzen.

Herberekenen van de route is onmogelijk wanneer de app op online staat en er geen verbinding is. In die situaties kies ik daarom graag voor de offline functionaliteit.

Wat ik jammer vind, is dat de actuele verkeersinformatie alleen beschikbaar is wanneer de app volledig online is. Tijdens ritten met een combinatie van snelwegen, bergpassen en landsgrenzen raak ik regelmatig de mobiele verbinding kwijt. Op zulke momenten kan de route niet opnieuw worden berekend, waardoor de app soms onbruikbaar wordt. Ik gebruik de app dan offline en mis daardoor op plekken waar wél verbinding is de verkeersinformatie. Op die momenten moet ik vertrouwen op mederijders die andere systemen gebruiken en wel over verkeersinformatie beschikken.

Ik weet dat de vergelijking met Garmin niet helemaal eerlijk is, maar bij de Zumo zijn de kaarten offline beschikbaar en wordt de verkeersinformatie opgehaald zodra er verbinding is. Valt die verbinding weg, dan kun je nog steeds offline herberekenen. Dat werkt echt ideaal.

Zou iets vergelijkbaars ook in MRA mogelijk kunnen worden gemaakt?
Een soort hybride modus waarbij de kaarten offline beschikbaar zijn, de verkeersinformatie wordt opgehaald zodra er verbinding is en de app automatisch schakelt tussen offline en online gebruik.

Of misschien nog slimmer, vergelijkbaar met de Google Maps app:
Wanneer de kaart offline beschikbaar is, gebruikt de app die kaart.
Wanneer de kaart niet offline beschikbaar is, haalt de app hem online op, mits er mobiele data is.
Verkeersinformatie wordt opgehaald wanneer er verbinding is, en anders niet.

Op die manier hoeft de gebruiker nergens meer aan te denken.
Het telkens moeten wisselen tussen online en offline in het menu is dan verleden tijd. De app regelt alles op de achtergrond.

Kort samengevat:
Offline met verkeersinformatie: kaarten downloaden en rijden maar.
Volledig offline: kaarten downloaden, mobiele data uitschakelen en rijden maar.
Volledig online: kaarten en verkeersinformatie online beschikbaar, mits mobiele dataverbinding actief is.

Ben benieuwd of dit technisch haalbaar is en of meer gebruikers hier ook behoefte aan hebben.

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Combining offline use with traffic information (hybrid mode?)

The app seems to be getting better and better at working completely offline. That is very useful in areas with poor coverage, for example in the mountains or near country borders.

Recalculating the route is impossible when the app is set to online mode but there is no connection. In those situations, I prefer to use the offline functionality.

What I find a bit unfortunate is that live traffic information is only available when the app is fully online. During rides that include highways, mountain passes and border crossings, I often lose my mobile connection. At those moments, the route cannot be recalculated, which sometimes makes the app unusable. I then use the app offline and as a result miss the traffic information in places where I do have coverage. At those times, I have to rely on fellow riders who use other systems that still provide traffic information.

I know comparing Garmin and MRA is not completely fair, but with the Zumo, maps are available offline and traffic information is retrieved whenever there is a connection. If the connection drops, you can still recalculate offline. That works perfectly.

Would something similar be possible in MRA?
A kind of hybrid mode where maps are stored offline, traffic information is retrieved whenever there is a connection and the app automatically switches between offline and online use.

Or maybe even smarter, similar to how the Google Maps app handles it:
When the map is available offline, the app uses that map.
When the map is not available offline, the app loads it online if mobile data is available.
Traffic information is retrieved whenever there is a connection, and skipped when there is not.

That way, users do not have to think about it anymore.
Having to switch between online and offline in the menu would be a thing of the past. The app would handle everything in the background.

In short:
Offline with traffic information: download the maps and start riding.
Fully offline: download the maps, turn off mobile data and ride away.
Fully online: maps and traffic information available online if a mobile data connection is active.

I am curious whether this would be technically possible and if other users would also like to see this feature.

[Con Hennekens]

In theory I agree, in practice I don't trust the HERE traffic info anyway...

[CD130]

Agreed… but better than nothing

A few years ago, when I was still using my Zumo without a data connection, I ended up in a massive traffic jam and complete road closure on the highway near Stuttgart. It caused about one to two hours of extra travel time.

We were riding in small groups, and some of the other groups did have access to live traffic information, including a few Garmin (Here) users. They were able to take a good alternative route and had far less delay as a result.

That was the moment I started using traffic information on highways. Ever since then, I have even trusted HERE for that purpose

[Con Hennekens]

@CD130, I understand. I am usually not into guesswork, but I assume that using traffic info in a calculation is a feature of online calculations. I doubt that traffic info can be "downloaded" for use in offline calculations. But only @Corjan-Meijerink can definitely answer this. Please mind that offline maps are used, even when navigating online. So in practice I don't think much gain in data saving can be gotten from a "hybrid" solution like you proposed.

[Rob Verhoeff]

@Con-Hennekens is data saving still an issue with the current tariff plans of the providers? If I speak for myself, it’s not.

[CD130]

@Con-Hennekens Thanks for your reply! Data usage isn’t really the issue for me personally. My main wish is to have traffic information (when a data connection is available) combined with offline recalculation near country borders or in areas without coverage. Ideally, this would all happen automatically, without having to dive deep into the menu to switch between online and offline modes.
I hope that makes sense, but please let me know if it’s not clear
I can imagine this might be quite a challenge for the developers, but I still wanted to share the idea here.

[Con Hennekens]

@CD130 said in Suggestion: Combining offline use with traffic information (hybrid mode?):

My main wish is to have traffic information (when a data connection is available) combined with offline recalculation near country borders or in areas without coverage.

I think you will be satisfied with the new version 5 when it comes out

@Rob-Verhoeff said in Suggestion: Combining offline use with traffic information (hybrid mode?):

is data saving still an issue with the current tariff plans of the providers?

We in the EU, probably yes, but the app is used worldwide

[CD130]

@Con-Hennekens said in Suggestion: Combining offline use with traffic information (hybrid mode?):

We in the EU, probably yes, but the app is used worldwide

Good point, but is separate from my suggestion I'm curious if and how version 5.0 works better around my suggestion

[Rob Verhoeff]

@Con-Hennekens said in Suggestion: Combining offline use with traffic information (hybrid mode?):

We in the EU, probably yes, but the app is used worldwide

I don't think worldwide

[M. Schrijver]

@Rob-Verhoeff
It is not only the tariff plans but also connection losses (typical in rural Germany). This can cause issues also.

[Rob Verhoeff]

@M.-Schrijver When I’m in areas with weak or no data coverage, I’m most likely driving a beautiful route. Whether traffic information is available or not doesn’t matter to me one bit at that moment. I want to drive that route as planned. Any issues I encounter along the way, I deal with on the spot. When I’m driving from A to B, I’m most likely on my way to that beautiful route and I use Waze for navigation. Even abroad, that app has never let me down on the main roads. Switching between apps is of little importance to me — as far as I’m concerned, Waze is still unmatched in that regard. I know it’s a bit like swearing in church…