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EBRANTA Home : Products : TopoPointUSA for iPhone

TopoPointUSA To purchase, please vist the iTunes App Store

Introducing TopoPointUSA, the first GPS enabled cell phone application for displaying United States Geological Survey (USGS) high resolution topographic map images and your GPS position whether you are online or not!

USGS topographic maps contain the highest detail of any map suitable for wilderness travel within the United States. Detailed map features can include USGS survey markers, minor pack trails, creeks, springs, wells, alpine/vegetation area boundaries, and backcountry campsites. Even abandoned structures or mining equipment are commonly found on these maps. Topographic contour resolution can be as high as 20 feet, or even 5 meters in flatter areas.

These USGS maps are available for the entire United States, including all parts of Alaska and Hawaii! (please see multiple map scale support section below)

TopoPointUSA features:

Get the TopoPointUSA user manual.

• Multiple map scale support with "pinch and zoom" viewing.

TopoPointUSA displays 1:250k, 1:100k, and 1:24k USGS maps for the entire continental United States, including all parts of Hawaii! TopoPointUSA also displays 1:250k, 1:100k, and 1:63k scale maps for Alaska! Simply tap the numbered scale indicator button to select a different map scale or resolution.

• Conserve device resources by only downloading useful map data.

TopoPointUSA's selectable map scale resolution feature enables complete user control over downloaded map data. The user is NOT forced to waste device space, battery, and time downloading and viewing map data that is not useful for their particular purpose. The user selects from a choice of five available map resolutions. Two map resolutions are available for both 1:24k, and 1:100k scale maps. One resolution is available for 1:250k scale maps. The user also has complete control over which resolution is displayed. TopoPointUSA will NOT unexpectedly switch to a different map scale or resolution while zooming - this prevents unnecessary reloading of map data into the main view.

• Offline Map availability.

Simply download maps of your choice directly to TopoPointUSA's Map Case before departing the cellular data service area or WiFi connection. Your maps will be available anywhere and viewable in the main screen! TopoPointUSA eliminates the need for a computer to usher map data between the Internet and your iPhone. The map name is chosen by the user and displayed on the main screen when in use. To browse a saved map in the main screen, just select it in the map list and return to the main TopoPointUSA screen. Map data size is displayed in kilobytes (KB) for each map in the map case.

• Robust scrolling main map view that moves seamlessly across quad boundaries.

As your GPS position changes the map will automatically track in the direction you are traveling. "Swipe" scrolling away from your current location invokes browse mode. Pressing the 'locate' button resumes tracking of your current GPS position. Coordinates are displayed in decimal degrees format.

• Automatic offline or online operation.

When located within a cellular data service area or connected to WiFi, TopoPointUSA will automatically download and display map images for your current, or browse location. When offline, TopoPointUSA will automatically display stored maps in the main screen. When in locate mode, the GPS position indicator will automatically display your position on offline saved maps in the main screen.

• Main view GPS Position display with accuracy and map scale information.

TopoPointUSA features an innovative GPS position indicator with integrated radial map scale and GPS accuracy information. Scale and GPS altitude can be displayed in English or Metric units. The inner scale circle is 100 yards or meters from the location, the outer circle is 200.

• Powerful Browsing capabilities with position display.

TopoPointUSA also includes advanced main view browsing capabilities. Detailed Latitude and Longitude coordinates are displayed when browsing map images away from your current location. A precise browse position indicator with map scale is also displayed when browsing.

• Real Compass dislpays Heading.

TopoPointUSA uses the iPhone/iPad compass capabilities to display true or magnetic north. USGS maps are displayed in true north convention so using magnetic north is not recommended. When set to true north, the compass needle will not be displayed if the iPhone hardware cannot determine true north. Moving the iPhone in a vertical and horizontal circular motion will aid in calibration of its internal magnetometer, and improve true north calculation performance. The iPhone hardware/firmware determines heading values and magnetic declination in "real time" and is not affected the earth's magnetic field "drift".

• GPS Motion overlay display! Great for skiing (see Tip below).

Pressing the 'M' (motion) button on the main screen displays an overlay view containing GPS course, horizontal and vertical speeds. The motion button can be hidden by disabling the feature in preferences.

• Fully featured Waypoint capabilities, with automatic timed Waypoint creation "Tracks".

TopoPointUSA creates Waypoints with a single main screen button press. Current GPS location or browse location is recorded by simply tapping the coordinate display text button in the bottom toolbar. Waypoints can also be entered manually. UTM coordinate and creation time are also recorded for each Waypoint. GPS altitude is recorded for Waypoints created with GPS position. Waypoints are stored in user definable Waypoint Sets and can be emailed via the iPhone's mail application if a user account is set up on the iPhone.

Enabling the 'T' (Track) button allows automatic creation of timed Waypoints based on a user defined interval (1-60minutes). Waypoint sets can contain a maximum of 240 waypoints each. If this number is exceeded, a new set is automatically created with a numbered suffix. New timed, or on-demand Waypoints will then be added to the newly created set.

Waypoints can be copied directly between waypoint sets.

• Map cache management feature allows precise control of device memory usage.

In order to provide optimum performance, TopoPointUSA employes a map cache to store map data that is not currently in the map case. This cache can be cleaned without removing downloaded maps that reside in the map case. Please see the TopoPointUSA user manual for details.

• 'Go' Screen allows quick jump to any coordinate.

Coordinates can be obtained by browsing an arial/street map view (see below), or searching the USGS feature name database. Latitude and Longitude values are set in the 'Go' screen fields when searching or browsing is complete. Pressing 'Go' will then 'jump' the main screen to the Topographic map of the area.

• Browse to Area using arial/street view!

Browsing to an area using the arial/street view can be used to jump to a coordinate, or when downloading a map to the map case. The view can scroll and zoom to any location in the world, just like the iPhone's native map application.

When invoked from the map case view, the '+' button is displayed. Pressing the '+' button will open the standard create map view, with the topographic preview centered at the browse location.

System requirements:

GPS features require a device with GPS capabilities.

Compass feature requires a device with Compass capabilities.

iOS version 4.3 or later.

Please Note:

The USGS raster graphics map images displayed by TopoPointUSA are only available for locations within the United States. This application cannot display maps for locations outside the US.

While USGS topographic maps are excellent for wilderness travel, they are not intended to be road maps and are not suitable for roadway use.

Please also be advised that this application is not intended to be an automatic "turn-by-turn" navigation system, and cannot replace common sense wilderness navigation skills. We encourage users to gain proper wilderness navigation and safety training before traveling to remote areas.