Organic Maps Turns 4: The Privacy-Focused Alternative to Google Maps
Organic Maps, the privacy-focused, open-source alternative to Google Maps, celebrates its 4th anniversary. The project came to life during Christmas week of 202…
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I'm glad their app is getting traction. I wish all map apps that use OpenStreetMap data loaded this fast (cough cough OSMand)
And I wish that they had contributed all that energy to improving Osmand (a project which AFAICT has exactly the same goals) instead of reinventing the wheel. Then we might already have one amazing app instead of one very good app (Osmand) and a mediocre one which is marginally more responsive.
They are very different tools even if the underlying data is the same. Osmand is powerful and highly customisable but with a much steeper learning curve. Organic maps is easy to use with emphasis on UX/UI. I think they appeal to very different need and users.
OsmAnd isn't exactly eager to accept community help.
Also it isn't being maintained by the community. It is a project done by a company.
Admittedly I had not looked into this very deeply. Seems to be an Ubuntu-type business model.
OsmAnd isn’t exactly eager to accept community help.
Maybe it explains this. Projects tend to be less relaxed about breaking things when they have staff to pay. But it has its advantages as well. For example I have always got replies on the OsmAnd issue tracker. Pure community projects tend to be more chaotic and disorganized.
In any case they don't explain their income very well, I agree that's not a good look.
I don't know what OsmAnd looked like at the time of Organic Maps being started, but IMO based on how they look, OM is much more welcoming to the average user and OsmAnd is for power users. I still keep both on my phone, but I reach for OM first nearly everytime