Skobbler brings ForeverMap to Android

Skobbler has ported ForeverMap, its Google Maps competitor, to Android. Previously an iOS-only offering, the app provides maps for Europe and differentiates itself from Google Maps with full support for offline usage. That’s because maps are fully downloaded and stored on the phone rather than relying on a persistent connection to the Cloud.

Curious, however, is Skobbler’s business model for ForeverMap on Android: Two versions exist, a free and paid-for (£1.37) offering. The latter providing faster downloads with the former relying on potentially slower peer-to-peer.

That said, the possibility of offering a free version altogether comes courtesy of the do-it-yourself nature of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) data that powers ForeverMap. As previously noted, the ‘Wikipedia of maps’ project relies on volunteers – users – to plug any missing gaps in the maps themselves, which can be a little hit and miss in very remote areas, apparently, although it’s a growing project that’s improving all the time.

In addition to those European maps, which can be downloaded independently, ForeverMap on Android offers offline search, location finder, route calculation, along with points of interests.