You can download G-Integrator for KML Android app from Google Play Store.
The idea to create this application came to me, while I stood near the Tokyo Skytree Station, looking for the location of my Airbnb rental.
We just arrived to the Japan. Behind our backs was 15 hours flight, then waiting in line to pick up our pre-ordered railway passes, and almost 2-hours trip (with 2 connections) from the airport.
And now there was a final segment: 10 min. walk to the rented apartment. And I’ve already spent 30 min., trying to figure out how to get there.
I was well-prepared to navigate in Tokyo: I had Google Map, and, in case I will not be able to connect to the network, I had offline map. Two of them actually.
The problem was, that I had saved location of the apartment in the Google map, and, by some reason, my US phone was not able to pickup the cellular network in Tokyo (later I’ve figured it out). And Google map did not allow to pre-load data for offline use in Tokyo, so, currently, it was useless.
I also had location saved to one of my two offline apps, but this particular app has been recently updated and there was a bug, so I was not able to start it up.
I also had the address of the apartment, printed on paper in plain Japanese. And, of course, I was not able to use it to navigate – I know a few dozen of Japanese words, but cannot type it.
So, finally, I’ve given up and rented a cab, and in a few minutes we were at the apartment.
The Tokyo SkyTree Tower, as we have seen it for the first time.
Two weeks in Japan were fantastic, and, after returning home, I’ve started work on my first Android app (but not my first app at all – of course: I have 25+ years experience of the software development).
The idea is very simple:
- You save all your waypoints in the KML or KMZ file. These are formats for Google Earth and Google Maps.
- You copy this file to the phone and load it into G-Integrator.
- You can see loaded waypoints on the map on your device (and, if you are offline, you can use the cached map, so you still will be able to see it).
- You can click on the waypoint, see its description and picture (if available), and send the location if this waypoint to any map/navigation application installed on your device, online or offline – Google Maps, Waze, Sygic, etc.
Today, in August 2017, after about 1 year of development, 68 releases and almost 2500 installations by the customers from over the world (I love you, guys – you make me feeling connected), it can much more – see help page for details. I use this app in all my trips, and after each trip I add some improvement. So stay tuned – it will be fun!