A New Buyers Guide to the ExplorOz Traveller App: Advanced Mapping Tools for Everyday People

Navigate the outback and offroad adventure like a pro with just a tap of a screen. This episode is your guide to mastering the ExplorOz Traveller app, with our step-by-step guidance on using the power of EOTOPO 24 maps. We delve into the simplicity of app purchase and the long-term benefits of a one-time purchase, ensuring you're well-equipped for any journey now and in the future. We'll show you how family sharing keeps your entire group on the same page and why downloading maps for offline use is so useful for uninterrupted exploration. Plus, we'll share details on the ExplorOz membership perks to help enhance your planning experience with web app access for a bigger picture of your adventure.

Join us as we recount our latest Aussie escapades, putting the ExplorOz Traveller app to the ultimate test in Australia's most remote corners. Sharing our story of how the app has transformed our travels with its robust Places system, seamless Tracks, and reliable Track Logs. 

From tips on navigating the app's features to personal anecdotes of our  service dedication, this episode equips you with the knowledge to confidently venture into the wild with technology in hand and a supportive team at your back.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:03

Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of the Explorers podcast. Today we thought we would touch on a good summary of what it means to use our maps, the EO, TOPO maps. Now that we've just launched the 24 map set, I thought I'd just do a bit of a summary covering some of the frequently asked questions. So, as a mapping publisher, we are producing a new map set almost annually. So the 24 map set that's just released now is our latest and greatest.

Speaker 1: 1:34

And to use the maps you need to use our app, Explorers Traveler. So the Explorers Traveler app can be put on a phone, a tablet, a head unit, an iPad, a laptop, any device. You just need to use the app store that using the app store icon that sits on your device. So if you've got an Apple device, you just tap the app store icon and you go straight into the app store, go into the search type in Explorers Traveler and there you'll find the app. Now the app is a $59.99 purchase, the one-time purchase, and once you own the app you've got an unlimited license to download that app to any future devices on that same platform. So same operating system. So, whether it's an iPhone, an iPad that you have now or in the future, and you can also use the family sharing options within some of those stores.

Speaker 2: 2:28

So your partner or your kids can also download the app and use it under the same $59.99 purchase.

Speaker 1: 2:36

Yeah. So some people aren't quite sure how the family sharing works. Basically, the person who has purchased the app, and this is through the app store. In your app store account you can set up family sharing and what that means is you allocate other people that you allow to have access to download the same apps that you have, whether they're free apps or paid apps. It works the same way. That's got nothing to do with us as the app developer. That's all handled through the app store. If you need help about that, just jump onto the Apple or the Google support pages and that will explain what to do.

Speaker 1: 3:09

So, once you have the app installed, you have access to all the online maps that we make available within the app, and that includes the latest version of EoToppo. So at the moment you'll straight away get EoToppo 2024 available for the whole of Australia available online. There's also a satellite map and a street maps view, so they just give you a different base map view and then the overlays, which is the places, the treks and the track log content which we provide through downloadable offline content, and also you can create your own. They are overlays on top of that base map, so it means that you can change your map source depending on your particular circumstances. So obviously it comes with the online maps. If you're just in the planning stages and you're not really going traveling anywhere, that 59.99 purchases all you need to do and you can start using the app straight away. So to show your location on the map there'll be a blue arrow that shows where you are and that tracks you as you move. That's just coming from the location services in your device. So if you're online, it's using online location services through your mobile data in your phone, for example, just like you're used to with your Google Maps.

Speaker 1: 4:30

But when you're offline, a lot of people don't realise that your phone actually has a built in GPS receded chip and that's how the app will work when you're offline. But there's the missing link. Here is when you're offline is you have to have downloaded some maps and that will show your position on a map image. So we sell the same EO Toppo mapset that you're able to view when you're online as an offline download. So in the app you'll see that you can download a map set called EOTOPPO. So the EOTOPPO map set for 2024 is available now. You'll see that in the app purchase. It's $49.99. And again, that's a one-time purchase for that edition of maps and if you have other devices so if you have a phone and a tablet your login to the app will enable you to download the maps that you've already purchased from one device. It'll enable you to just download them in the app on the second device.

Speaker 2: 5:32

There's one other thing that Michelle missed just there, and I'll bring it up. If you're wanting to have a play, if you don't have the Exploros Traveler app and you don't know much about it, there is another option to getting access to the app without using the stores, and that is that you can buy Exploros membership Within our membership program. Whilst the membership program does not include maps it doesn't include any access to the app for free or free map updates or anything like that. It gives you additional benefits. One of the additional benefits that it gives you is that it gives you access to the web version of the Exploros Traveler app. So, like Michelle was saying, you can run it on your Windows devices and you can run it on your Android phone and tablets and iPads and iPhones and bits and pieces like that. You can also just run it with inside a web browser, and so those web browsers can actually be on the phone and the tablet and or on your computers and PCs at home. The web app was really designed to work on your PC. For accessing it with your PC or your larger MacBook or whatever at home, where you've got a bigger screen, you can use a mouse or a touchpad and you may find that it's a lot faster to navigate around the map and do various things. So you can get access to the app by buying the Exploros membership and that's a $49.99 purchase and $49.99 full-time purchase if you don't qualify for the reduced price membership purchasing, which happens if you already own the app or if you're a previous member. So if you just wanted to have a play and you think the web app would be useful to you anyway, you can just get the web app. Just go straight onto the Exploros website, go to the shop, buy the membership product and immediately you'll open up the Exploros Traveler web app access through the account menu. It'll just automatically appear there. As soon as you have your membership registered and validated, you'll be able to access it.

Speaker 2: 7:45

So that's another way and obviously is an online product. It's designed. It doesn't allow you to take offline maps. You don't need to buy EoTopo to do that. It comes with EoTopo online already running in it, just like the same as your devices do when you buy the app and you haven't put on the offline map license. So you can do all of the features. You can see the whole app in operation. You can start planning things. You can build routes and treks and you can import data from any other products or programs that you may have used in the past with the GPX file imports and that sort of stuff. So you can use it straight within the app on a device or you can use it within the web app. And again, if you're buying the product for your devices, one of the choices, one of the options in the online, in that purchasing section there will be to purchase the Exploros membership if you don't already have it. It does give you a few other benefits With inside the app. It gives you an upgrade to 2,500 personal places and it gives you the access to the tracking systems.

Speaker 2: 8:52

So one of the other parts of the app that a lot of people like is the tracking component. Now, the tracking component has it's a two sort of this two parts or two things that you might use it for. One, just to automatically back up all the data that you collect as you're driving around. So as we're driving around, we have our tracking turned on. We've got a few devices running and each of them also has tracking turned on in various combinations, but in our car head unit we have the tracking switch turned on inside the Exploros Traveler app. It's in the left hand side menu just near the top.

Speaker 2: 9:28

You can turn on the tracker if you have membership, and what that does then is that every position that is recorded in the car is automatically transmitted to the web, to our servers and stored for you. So not only is it stored within the device, which every position you record while you're moving around with the app running, it's stored in your device, in a positions database internally in your device that we create. It's also being sent to the server and stored on our server. So there's two parts to that. One, it's making a backup of everything you do should your device get lost. You know you've got a backup of everything on our service. But two it can become.

Speaker 2: 10:05

You can then publish it to an online map. You can set the privacy and you can let people view your online map, and so people can track and follow you on your trip as you're moving around, using either the tracker app or using the website to view where you are. So you know there's a few features and few options in there. One that family and friends you know advice and alert to let them know where you are. Obviously it's transmitting positions when you're in service. It captures all the data when you're not in service and sends it through as soon as service comes back on.

Speaker 2: 10:39

So that's another one of the features of the membership program. So there's quite a lot of features and functions in the membership system, but I'll repeat again that they don't include free maps or free updates or anything like that. So they include the additional services, the tracking, the extra numbers of places and a few site benefits and things like that. So if that's of interest to you and you can also obviously use the web app and gain access to the web app before you purchase the primary app, if you want Another thing that you can do, if you want to really have a look at things before you even spend any money and do anything all the data that is within the Explorer Os Traveller app is all available on the website.

Speaker 2: 11:21

It's all freely available on the website. In the various places that are provided for within the app, there is a Places system. If you go into the Destinations menu on Explorer Os, you'll see Places, you'll see Tracks, you'll see Track Logs. They are all the same places that you get in the web app or in the app. The data that's in all of those areas is all the same. And also, if you go onto the Products tab, you'll see EoToppo and you can go in there and you'll have a full screen map viewer of the entire map, which you'll also get in the Places, tracks and Track Logs system as well. You'll see the exact same maps and map viewer using the EoToppo 2024 map set. So you can see everything that is available to you, everything that you're going to get within the Traveller app, before you even spend a cent.

Speaker 1: 12:11

Just in a different layout, just in a different layout.

Speaker 2: 12:13

It doesn't look the same, it doesn't work the same, but it is the same data, one represented in a web based system, that we had years and years before we even created the Traveller app. So you've got lots of choices, lots of options. No, don't confuse them.

Speaker 1: 12:31

There's not lots of choices and lots of options.

Speaker 2: 12:33

Well, there's lots of choices and options into how you view and how you get involved and how you get into the product.

Speaker 1: 12:40

I think this is the thing that we do offer this ability to look at the content before you purchase. But if you do want to purchase and use maps offline, it's very simple. There is no option. It's basically you buy the Explorals Traveller app from the app store. You buy that first. That will cost you $59.99. There are no subscription fees. There is no more to pay for the app.

Speaker 1: 13:05

It will continually get that update when we add new features, so that will always stay up to date. You don't need to pay to keep using the Explorals Traveller app one time purchase. Then, if you want to use offline maps, you do have a second purchase to make and then you buy the current available offline maps at Eotopo. It will be in the app as a button. You just press the button. It will guide you through what to do. It's a $49.99 purchase.

Speaker 1: 13:34

We actually offer that on a four year licence because, whilst we are producing new maps each year, we know that really, once you've got a set of maps, you don't have to update your maps every year. If you're only travelling once a year, that may not be a value proposition that satisfies you, so we allow you to keep that same map set that you've purchased for up to four years. However, we'll keep producing new map sets. Should you choose to purchase and update to the new map set, then that's your new licence and you get another four years on that one. So at the moment we have people that are using both the 21 map set, the 23 map set and the 24 map set, and so it doesn't matter which of those three licences you have. You've got use of offline maps in the app and you're not paying a subscription fee. You just pay for the licence that you want of that edition of maps.

Speaker 1: 14:33

Yeah, and the membership that we've mentioned before is not required for ongoing use of the app. It is not required for maps. You don't get maps with membership. The membership is extra services that enhance your use of the system, particularly with the use of the web app, which is using the app on a different device and auto-syncing it to your portable devices, and also the use of the live tracking service. They're the two really big key reasons for the membership, and more than 50% of our app users are going for the membership because they do find those services very practical. But you can make that decision at any point.

Speaker 1: 15:19

There is a button inside the app just beside where you see the purchase eotopo. There's also the option to purchase the membership, so you can buy it then and there, or you can buy it at another time. It's completely up to you. So the things are quite flexible. They're broken into individual price points so that user only pays for what you really want, rather than a bundling everything into. Yes, it could be easy one purchase, but you would pay more and not everybody wants everything every year. So that's why there's a breakdown and hopefully that helps explain it for you. Any questions? You can go to the Exploros Traveler page, which is on our website and there's a section that says Costs. If you open that tab, it summarises everything that I've just said.

Speaker 2: 16:02

There's also an FAQ and our help desk. Access to our help desk is all available through the website. We're very proactive, very active with our customer support. Michelle does a terrific job. We do get very good reviews and lots of positivity from people when they communicate with us about stuff.

Speaker 1: 16:24

It's because we don't use any other staff. We don't use yes, we use this term help desk, but that is actually helping you and helping me help you.

Speaker 2: 16:33

It's a trucking, it's a ticket tracking system, and so it's the help desk. But You're only going to get answered by Michelle or I.

Speaker 1: 16:41

You ring on the phone and you're only going to get answered by Michelle or I.

Speaker 2: 16:44

So it's very personal. It is us. You know when you ring, there's no bots, there's no things to get in the way.

Speaker 1: 16:54

We know everything about the app that you could possibly know, so if we can't fix it.

Speaker 2: 16:59

It can't be fixed.

Speaker 1: 17:01

We just don't want people to feel that they're stuck. So we want to be really available to you to offer you the support, because we believe in the product. We use it for our trips. We're travelling around now and always, use the app every day and we do some pretty serious travelling. And we're offline, online, doing absolutely everything, pushing the limits of what the app can do and the mapping and the tracking.

Speaker 2: 17:23

Adding new places in the syncing multiple devices.

Speaker 1: 17:25

We're pushing every boundary. If there's a bug, we'll find it before anybody else does, and we're out here with the capability to fix, to update, to add new features, and that's what this is all about. So, look, we really appreciate your support, guys. Thanks for listening into our podcast again. Hope you've picked up some tips about how to get onto the new EO Toppo 2024 Mapset through the Explorers Traveler app.