Friday, May 30, 2025

GPS Camera 55. Public beta 4.6 is now available with new drawing tools: Arrow, Rectangle, Circle (Ellipse) + adjustable line width for the drawing!

 Before version 4.6, the photo editor tools included photo crop, resize, tilt, and freehand drawing on the photo. Starting from version 4.6, the complete list of drawing tools is:

  • Freehand drawing
  • Rectangle
  • Circle (Ellipse)
  • Arrow
  • Cross pointer


Here is an example showing all tools used on one photo:


More information on new drawing tools:

http://hdocs.blocoware.com/en/geocamera/drawing-tools/

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Final touches on Map collections before the public releases. Speedo 55, Compass 55 and Planimeter 55.

The documentation for Map Collections in the upcoming app versions is now ready in all supported languages!

We’re down to final optimizations—currently improving ground image overlays by adding thumbnail images for use in lists and preview screens.
For example, here’s a historical map of Tokyo from 1799:



The thumbnail is just 47KB, while the full ground overlay image is around 80MB:





Quite a difference!

Documentation links:

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Map Collections – Your Mission, Your Map.

Speedometer 55 PRO version 5.5.
Compass 55, version 5.0.

Now in the public beta version.

http://hdocs.blocoware.com/en/speedometer/map-collection/


Allowing you to build a custom map setup—from the base map to a configurable set of map and image overlays—tailored to your mission. Switch between map collections with a single tap when your task demands it. 

You can now also import KMZ image overlays directly within the app: http://hdocs.blocoware.com/en/speedometer/v55/

Speedometer 55 PRO in the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/speedometer-55-gps-speed-hud/id557871911

Compass 55 in the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/compass-55-map-gps-kit/id1120906807

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Looking back at the app’s feature roadmap from mid-2023 to the end of 2024: Speedometer 55, Compass 55, Taximeter, GPS Camera 55.

 

What has been done:

Taximeter 55. 

AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/taximeter-gps-taxi-cab-meter/id1038944803

Integrated SumUp payment provider/POS so you can payments and print receipts via SumUp and use SumUp terminals.

Pre-trip calculator. Pre-trip calculator results can be stored as a taxi trip.

Trip start/end dates added to the taxi trip receipt start and end fields (option).

Customizable color for buttons so they are well visible under all possible lightning conditions.

Compass 55.

AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/compass-55-map-gps-kit/id1120906807

Integrated BLE Cyclo sensors (heart rate, cadence, speed).

Advanced options for the photo title pattern for the camera tool.

Text based SK-42 and OSGB coordinate converters with options for high precision conversion.

Customizable color for buttons so they are well visible under all possible lightning conditions.

Handling overzoom and underzoom for the offline maps.

Re-worked integration of Siri Commands.

GPS Camera 55.

AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gps-camera-55-field-survey/id1439730560

QR and text scanner added into the Notes Editor, enabling you to populate note fields from the scanned QR code or simply text found in the camera view finder.

Browse photos left/right in the photo preview. Show stamped or original photos by default.

Export/import/share all of the app settings so you can easily switch to the different watermark, note settings profile or share with the new colleague at work.

Pattern based photo title.

Customizable color for buttons so they are well visible under all possible lightning conditions.

Pattern based photo file name for export or sharing.

Text based SK-42 and OSGB coordinate converters with options for high precision conversion.

Options for external control and automation with Siri commands.

Speedometer 55 PRO.

AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/speedometer-55-pro-gps-kit/id530829008

Schedule for the automatic tracking function, so you can let automatic driving tracking work or not per weekday and hour schedule.

Completely re-worked rally computer.

Integrated BLE Cyclo sensors (heart rate, cadence, speed).

Re-worked track fields editor for easier changes to start/end address and track category.

Text based SK-42 and OSGB coordinate converters with options for high precision conversion.

Handling overzoom and underzoom for the offline maps.

Evolution of Siri commands that allow you to set speed limits by your voice and keep your hands on the wheel and attention on the road.

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Compass 55: Beta version 4.2 with OSGB and SK 42 (СК 42) converter is now available!

converter-latlon

Re-designed free-text coordinates converter is available from version 4.2 of the app. You’ll find it in several places:

  1. MENU > Coordinates converter.
  2. On the map, in the map search > Coordinates.
  3. In the point editor, to the left of the Done button or in Lat/Lon, UTM, MGRS rows.

New coordinates converter adds support for OSGB and SK 42 coordinate systems, in addition to current Lat/Lon, UTM, MGRS. More coordinate systems will be added with time.

We started with OSGB and SK 42 as they both represent some unique challenges that we wanted to solve before looking at more generic conversions:

  • OSGB. The app provides options for both approximate conversion and precise conversion with usage of a grid shift file. By default, approximate conversion is used (as in most online converters and apps). In the OSGB conversion settings section in the converter screen, if you switch to a precise conversion, the app will ask you to download grid shifts file (about 15MB). After that you can use the precise conversion and avoid error of 0..±5 feet which happens in case of an approximate conversion. OSGB settings also provide an option to insert space between coordinate components or not.

  • SK 42. Former Soviet Union standard (covering area from Germany to Japan) that a lot of Eastern European users still have maps for. The app provides precise zonal conversion for SK 42, where different parameters are used for each zone and thus accuracy corresponds to sources like EPSG iself or SK42.org.

This probably makes the app one of the rare ones that can provide offline precise conversion for OSGB and SK 42 systems.


You can enter free text in the top coordinate input text box and the app will do its best to parse it as a coordinate.

For WGS84 latitude, longitude (d, dm, dms), UTM or MGRS input you have an option to switch format between these coordinate representations. Use the Format button:

converter-format


For the point editor, converter button is available on top of the screen and in Latitude/Longitude, UTM, MGRS input rows:

converter-point

The above screenshot also shows that you can have different button colors from Version 4.1

The top converter button starts with coordinates in either Latitude/Longitude, UTM or MGRS - dependent on your choice of a default in Settings > Coordinate format.

Buttons in the Latitude/Longitude, UTM or MGRS rows start with respectively with Latitude/Longitude, UTM or MGRS.

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Still working on a new free-text coordinates converter (adding OSGB and SK 42).

A short preview for how this new converter will be used in the Point editor. This is recorded with the Compass 55 app, but will be available in the same way in GPS Camera 55.



Here is current documentation, work in progress:

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Taximeter 55: Added documentation page for the soon coming options for creating a taxi trip directly in the Fare Calculator.

 http://hdocs.blocoware.com/en/taxi/v42/

Adding support for creating a taxi trip directly in the Fare Calculator (MENU > FARE CALCULATOR).

  • In the fare calculator select the preferred route, tap on ‘Create trip’ button:

fare-estimator-trip

  • Now add/manage extras for the trip, use Receipt button to adjust the total, note or collect the payment.
  • If you don’t need the calculated trip, swipe on the delete button to delete the trip.
  • If you keep the calculated trip, you’ll find it later in the trips log (MENU > TRIPS LOG). This should enable new business scenarios when you need to give a fixed price estimate and issue a receipt exactly for the estimated price.

Fare calculator