Routing in Islamabad, the Naqsha way!
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Come to think of it, no matter how ‘planned’ Islamabad seems to be, it really isn’t that easy to navigate around in. The only good thing about this city is that it has signboards everywhere, so you know where you are at least. In order to alleviate problems, some companies decided to take it upon themselves to setup a digital map of the city. Naqsha.net was one of the pioneers in this field with a map offering using Adobe SVG viewer. Their data was quite accurate, upto 90% accurate according to some people i know, yet it was their reliance on the Adobe software which made it very hard to use.
No longer are we, the citizens of this fine city, limited by the clunky adobe software! Naqsha has taken their map offerings to the next level by integrating it with Google Maps! I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the overlays they’ve created for the google maps api is very professional and extremely useful. They go down to a maximum zoom level of 1000 ft, which is close enough to give you street numbers in all sectors.
The routing function is also available, even though i wasn’t able to utilize it properly. However, for what i needed, an address in I8/2, it quite possibly saved me not only 10-15 minutes of being lost and burning fuel, but also a considerable amount of frustration! Definitely something people on the road could use! they’ve also got quite a few other cities online as well and are not just limited to Islamabad.
4:37 pm
Dear Nadir & Ali,
Any progress with the Japanese preinstalled car navi “format hunt”. Iam sure lot of us would be interested in the maps for the Japanese generic hardware in their vehicals, instead of buying a Garmin hardware.
regards
Dr R H Malik
4:29 am
Sir I have garmin gps 176c and wanted to upload map . how can I get this .
6:17 pm
Dear Nadir,
I am also quite interested to know progress. Toyota has a Nav unit from Pioneer’s Carrozzeria lineup and like a alot of people who own jap imports in PK we can’t use it due to lack of maps.
Regards
Firdous
12:30 am
i want to have gprs system in my car regarding Pak cities,is it possible for me to have it
10:30 pm
Dear Mr Gul,
Let me chip in my one cent;
I presume you are looking for GPS(global positioning system)system for your vehicle.
If your car is Japanese imported one, and came with a DVD/Navi hardware, then this unit will not work with the local street level maps. These maps(software) is designed to work only with Garmin(hardware) or they also work with windows mobile running the desired Garmin application.
However Garmin has sold OEM rights to Kenwood for last couple of years. So now one can install a double DIN Kenwood DNX8032 or DNX7320 etc in the vehile. Download the local maps on an SD card, which plugs in behind the LCD face panel. And you have an english language menu car entertainment system plus Garmin usable maps.
BTW Both of these units are not imported by Kenwood dealer for Pakistan. ]
regards
Dr R H Malik
9:06 am
Hello Dr. Malik,
Have you tried using maps from pkforums.freeforums and used on your kenwood?
It would be really interesting to use only 1 ken wood to fulfill all your car needs.
6:42 pm
Dear Mr Saleem,
Yes i have tried Islamabad street level map from pkforums.freeforums, on my HTC touch diamond (windows based phone). I had to install a Garmin application before i could use the maps. I works brilliantly.
I do not however have a Kenwood car DVD/Navi yet, but i am sure these maps should work with with DNX models of kenwood.
Regards
Dr R H Malik
11:21 pm
Hi,
I checked Kenwood device, it says its GPS ready which means that Garmin GVN 53 needs to be installed. I hope it works. Kenwood model is DDX5032
11:26 pm
Hi,
Does anyone knows price of car navigation from trakker.com.pk
3:52 pm
I m doing work in real estate company.If u need any kind of rental space in islamabad.Let us know. I will wait for ur reply.
YASER
5:00 pm
Hi all,
Need guidance for some fit software for using GPS in my Nokia e-71. Please give me a call at 03454005764 if possible ….
7:39 pm
Real Estate development in Islamabad is wonderful.
10:24 am
hello mansoor can you send me *.kml file by which i can synchronize naqsha.net with google earth i will wait for your reply
Email
sohailkashif@yahoo.co.uk