I am pleased to announce the new release (20090912) of the OSM-PH Garmin GPS Map. This release is another important milestone for the OSM-PH Garmin GPS Map project.
Get the map here
This is the second release who graduated from our new release cycle. The general release cycle is every two months (1 month for pre-release testing and 1 month for the regular release). Big thanks to all those who tested and provided feedback.
What’s new in this release
- data as of 20090912, thanks to all the 292 contributors
- 42,900++ kilometers of roads
- new map design (thinner consistent road style, smaller two-tone POI icons)
- compiled with mkgmap version 1173
Known bugs
- Address search is not working
- No polygon for sea areas
- POI icons not visible using 3D mode in some units
Read on for the visual release log of this map.
Visual Release Log
The major highlight of this release is the new look of the map. After several months of experiments and tweaking, I was able to understand Garmin’s cartography styling using typ files.
POI icon improvements
I changed most of the POI icons using a unified brand-neutral-two-tone scheme. Each icon is colored according to the POI category (blue for transport and auto related categories, orange for food and entertainment, etc.). Big thanks to Matt, Marat and the National Park Service for licensing their icon symbols in the public domain.
A different road style
Inspired by Cloudmade’s Fine Line style, I created a minimalistic road style called, well “Minimal”. Most road are thinner from Garmin’s default. At lower zoom levels, all you see is a simple road layout. By creating thin lines, roads are more visible especially on GPSr’s small screens.
Zooming at higher levels, POIs become more visible. For well mapped areas, icons are overcrowded, I used smaller icons (16 by 16 px) in order to pack in more in a small space. One of my favorite is the traffic signal icon on road intersections.
Building polygons and better land use colors
Building outlines are more visible.
As well as, landuse types.
Beginnings of an address database
We are slowly adding address information in Openstreetmap, you can now see them in your GPS. However, “address search” is not yet working on most GPSr.
When there is data, there is detail
While we cannot claim complete coverage for much of the roads in the country, in areas where we have data, there is great detail you can’t get from other proprietary Garmin maps. A few I can mention here are:
Local delicacies. Visit the popular “Banoks Barbecue” in Davao known for it’s great chicken barbecue.
Tricycle stations in Marikina.
Viewpoints and other attraction in Luneta Park. Can you spot the Philippine’s Largest Relief Map?
Not only for road navigation
Openstreetmap data is not solely for roads and cars. Many contributors add data you can use for other purposes. You can use it for:
A leisure stroll around Tagaytay’s Picnic Grove.
Visiting Avilon Zoo (note to for future visitors: please add detail for animal enclosures)
Camping in Mt. Makiling
Explore caves in Biak na Bato.
Hiking and mountainbiking in La Mesa Eco-park.
Mapping tool
You can also use the map to identify data errors. In some areas we imported data taken from various out-of-copyright maps. These roads have been marked with a “FIXME” tag. For safety purposes, I disabled routing on these roads. You can visit and re-trace these roads using your GPS and submit corrections in Openstreetmap.
That’s it! Enjoy! As we prepare for the next batch of improvements, please continue updating the map and report bugs. Happy GPSing!
Get the map here
Posted by maning 
Posted by maning 
Posted by maning 
