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Q: Google Alternative Apps
This is old news, but recently the Chinese government has put a block on all Google activity.
Now, for most [people this is not an issue, but for a foreigner in China, who speaks very little Chinese; This is a big issue. In terms of web-browsing and email, this is not an issue. My email works just fine, and I now Bing everything, instead of Googling.
What I wanted advice for was to find alternatives for Google Translate, and Google Maps, as I rely on these apps on a daily basis. I have an ancient Galaxy S2, which does not have access to using VPNs (which I don't have!) It's an android phone.
Google Translate was ideal, it would translate whole sentences for me, and give me both Chinese characters and Ping-yin. Now I use Baidu translate, which although can translate whole sentences, and sometimes is better in translating; It doesn't give me the pingyin. So my Chinese doesn't improve when I use Baidu translate. Pleco is good, it gives me both pingyin and Chinese characters. However it cannot translate more than a couple of words at a time, and my Chinese is not good enough yet to string whole sentences. Which translation app should I use instead?
Also Google maps, whilst not perfect (locations weren't great), did allow me to navigate around China in real-time. It gave me both English and Chinese, so that I could give the Chinese to taxi drivers and as I cannot read Chinese characters, I needed the English for my own benefit. I've tried Baidu maps but everything is just in Chinese. What map apps are foreigners using to get around in China?
All your answers will be appreciated, as this has been bugging me for a while now.
Terry
for the translator app I prefer "camdictionary"
translates and shows pinyin as well...
and for maps I didnt try finding an alternative because I havent needed access to google maps in a while. But when I need it I just use VPN on my cell phone..
For maps, I've been using both Baidu and CityMaps2Go from Ulmon Pro. Both have their pros and cons. This is on an iPhone, I assume CM2G has an android counterpart.
Baidu Pros: seems to keep their maps updated better than others, free
Baidu Cons: no English, no Pinyin
CM2G Pros: This is an offline map. You download the maps you need in advance. Generally you can find all the provinces and larger cities in China. Therefore, you won't need a data connection for it to work. Has English, pinyin, and the occasional Chinese characters as well.
CM2G Cons: Not free, but not terribly expensive either. I paid 2 usd for it, but that's been a few years ago. Smaller cities and more remote areas will have less details. Up-to-date-ness is random, but before google maps got completely banned, CM2G was more up-to-date.
mike695ca:
baidu is horrible. It does have the routes but In Guangzhou especially with all the overpasses, it gets confused everytime you drive under one. Thinks your on a different road , re- routes. Its as half asses as everything else in China.
I tried to use it last week to go to the Canadian Consulate and it pissed me off so back, i threw my phone in the bank and just drove around untill i found it. And im certain I still got there faster than I would have if I followed that horse shit.
cooter:
Yeah, I've never tried using Baidu for live turn-by-turn navigation. I try my best to plan my route in advance, sorta like how it had to be done back in the good ole days of paper maps, before gps. The GPS system in my gf's car works pretty good though, but after only 2 years of ownership, it's already outdated and oftentimes shows us driving off-road lulz.
Otherwise there are working free VPNs on Android, GAEproxy is one of them, I use it, you need to create a Google AppEngine account first but it's full speed and up to 10gb traffic per day, you can use Google Apps, watch Youtube and everything using it.
