OS Mapping App is Immediately Popular
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OS Mapping App is Immediately Popular

Ordnance Survey’s first official mapping app is proving popular with nearly 40,000 downloads in the first two weeks. The app includes overview mapping at no charge, with the option of purchasing more detailed 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 scale mapping in small, easy-to-use accessible 100-square-kilometre tiles. For the first time, mapping will be updated at no extra cost for the lifetime of the app, meaning users will always be able to obtain the most up-to-date mapping data using on their mobile devices.

Since its launch on 10 January 2013, almost 12,000 100-square-kilometre tiles have been downloaded with the most popular tiles being of London, the Peak District and Lake District. Tiles of OS Explorer mapping at 1:25 000 scale have proved most popular, accounting for six out of the top ten maps downloaded. This scale is ideal for walking and exploring as it shows pathways, bridleways and other public rights of way.

OS MapFinder commercial manager Alastair Tinker said that he was delighted with the initial enthusiasm. It is clear that people have been waiting for a long time to be able to access the official Ordnance Survey mapping on mobile devices. OS mapping has long been recognised for being the most accurate and up-to-date mapping, and now users are able to download it and have it updated for free.

Describing the benefits, he said that customers now have the comfort that they will have the most up-to-date mapping available, both at the time of purchase and for the life of OS MapFinder. Furthermore, since the mapping is cached on the device, there is no need to rely on signals or WiFi connection.

He explained that people using paper maps often do not check to make sure they have the most up-to-date version, which can lead to problems, especially if the area has undergone significant change. In contrast, the app will send updated files of the tiles purchased, meaning this is much less likely to cause problems in the future.

Ordnance Survey collects and maintains the authoritative mapping for Great Britain and the accuracy is among the best around due to a team of 230 surveyors and 2 aircraft making over 10,000 changes every day. With 220 years of experience of mapping the country, the new OS MapFinder app is another exciting chapter in the organisation’s history.

There is no additional cost of providing updates to tiles which have already been purchased using the Ordnance Survey app. And once purchased, users can download tiles to every device registered to their iTunes account.

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