Driving - best offline / online GPS navigation mobile app or buy a GPS device ?

[JandM]

Yes, you can.

[Bozeman]

If you load your route in advance, the GPS function on your phone will continue to work even if you are out of 3G/4G coverage.

[farfaraway]

Are you talking about Google offline map?
Have you tried it?

[Bozeman]

I'm talking about loading the route with an internet connection and then using those directions with no internet connection in place. Once the route is loaded, the phone is relying only on GPS, which is not internet-dependent. I've followed a route as long as 500+ km in this way. Try it.

[sakitran]

I installed maps.me on my iPhone, downloaded relevant maps and could travel well with that application in many cities such as Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Beijing. An advantage is that iPhone screen is always on when I use that application.

[farfaraway]

We ended up in buying Garmin LM60 for 239 NZD

The reason is my Android phone is getting heated and sometimes GPS signals are received too slow, I mean it takes 5 minutes for the satellites to be detected.
It does not help if I am in a heavy traffic conditions , and state of urgency. If there is an incoming call, then the the application is minimized and does not get back to the previous state easily.
Hence we bought Garmin.

It is really super fast device, and big screen, and bright too. Maps are accurate. We dont need to worry about charging the battery or signals. Just plug it and leave it there. It simply works great.