Google Maps Alerts: Legality and Functioning in Designated Areas
In the world of navigation and safety, two popular apps stand out for their speed camera detection features - Google Maps and TomTom AmiGO. While Google Maps offers crowd-sourced speed camera alerts in several countries, including Australia, the USA, and the UK, TomTom AmiGO provides a dedicated, global speed camera and navigation tool.
Google Maps speed camera alerts can be enabled during navigation by tapping the menu to enable safety alerts such as speed cameras or speed traps if available in the region. The alerts appear during active navigation and rely on reports from other users to warn about speed cameras ahead.
On the other hand, the TomTom AmiGO app, a free offering from navigation device manufacturer TomTom, is a dedicated speed camera detector and navigation tool that offers real-time alerts for speed cameras, red light cameras, and navigation features globally, including in countries such as the UK, Australia, and the USA. The app boasts a global database of over 100,000 speed and red light cameras and provides real-time notifications on approaching speed cameras with distance and direction information.
One of the key advantages of TomTom AmiGO is its ability to operate in the background, alerting users even when the app is not open on the screen. This feature is particularly useful for those who prefer to keep their primary focus on the road.
Moreover, the app benefits from the display overlays feature of Android, allowing app functions to be added as windows without constantly switching back and forth. The placement of the info box on the display is also customizable, ensuring a user-friendly experience.
In essence, TomTom AmiGO is an effective third-party app to enable speed camera detection on Android devices if you want dedicated speed camera alerts beyond what Google Maps offers natively.
Here's a comparison of the two apps:
| Feature | Google Maps | TomTom AmiGO | |-----------------------------|--------------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Speed camera alerts | Yes, crowd-sourced, built-in | Yes, dedicated global database | | Countries supported | Australia, USA, UK, among others | UK, Australia, USA, and globally | | Activation | Enable safety alerts in app while navigating | App built specifically for alerts, runs in background | | Platform | Android, iOS | Android (and iOS) |
If you desire a speed camera detector function outside Google Maps, using the TomTom AmiGO app on Android is a viable and popular option. Google Maps itself already supports speed camera alerts but they are user-reported and may not be as comprehensive or focused as AmiGO’s dedicated service.
The TomTom AmiGO app, different from Google Maps, provides a dedicated, real-time speed camera detector and navigation tool that operates globally, including in countries like the UK, Australia, and the USA. It runs in the background, alerting users even when the app is not in use, which is particularly beneficial for road safety.
On the contrary, Google Maps offers native speed camera alerts in several countries, such as Australia, the USA, and the UK, but they are crowd-sourced and may not have the same global coverage or focus as TomTom AmiGO's dedicated service.
