Geoportal 1.2.0

GĂ©oportail for Android is a good application to consult geographic information on the national territory, but also in Europe and worldwide. Even if the choice of cards is more limited than the web portal and despite some slowdowns, the application remains very interesting for personal and professional needs. To try !

Launched since summer 2005 by IGN, the National Geographic Institute, GĂ©oportail is a web portal available in Android application allowing access to numerous resources and geographic information on the whole of French territory.Geoportal

What to do with GĂ©oportail?

Developed with the support of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, the service makes it possible to search for a place, in France or in Europe and to consult the various geographic data, recent maps as old and plots throughout the territory. The platform was designed with the aim of making administrative and geographic resources public and above all to face competition from private mapping services such as Google Maps.

What does GĂ©oportail offer on Android?

The Geoportal Android version offers navigation within 6 maps using geolocation, which must be activated on the device, or via the integrated search engine which allows you to find a municipality by name or code postal.

The controls allow you to zoom, center the map on the current geolocation, view the scale and display the current geographic coordinates. On this last point, the application has several coordinate systems: geographic, Mercator, Lambert 93 and Lambert 2 extended.

It is also possible to share the current map by e-mail, Twitter and Facebook.

Geoportal

The different cards available

If GĂ©oportail offers a less extensive choice than the version available via the web portal, the Android version has 6 maps to choose from:

  • Aerial view worldwide with an increased level of detail in France and Europe. The aerial views are rather recent and allow to visualize a place or a house with precision.
  • Roads available in the European Union and allows you to view the main roads, departmental, national and highways as well as cycle paths. Only the legend is missing to better understand the colors of each route.
  • Cards displays countries around the world as an atlas map. Depending on the zoom level, the map display changes and displays more and more precise details, down to the detail of each dwelling.
  • IGN map to display a world map in IGN format. The details are more precise on French territory, but the hiking trails are unfortunately not available.
  • – The Cadastral parcels throughout France to view the layout and numbering of each plot of the cadastre. A handy card for acquiring real estate.
  • – The Staff map brings together the cartographic data established between 1820 and 1866 and which have remarkable historical value for discovering the layout of roads and dwellings in 19th century France.

Geoportal
All of the available maps can be used in a personal setting, for hiking, establishing a building permit, documenting the history of one’s home and for discovering local and global cartography. The application can also be practical for professional needs, in particular for carrying out market and field studies.

A simple application to take in hand

Even if the application encounters some display bugs depending on the zoom levels, GĂ©oportail for Android is still easy to use to discover recent and old cartographic data in France and around the world. Note also that GĂ©oportail requires an internet connection to display the maps, offline mode would be welcome.

In terms of functionality, the Android application however provides few functionalities in comparison with the web portal which offers more maps and measurement functions.