Category Archives: seoul

Yongin Everline opens in Seoul

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The much-delayed Everline has opened in Yongin, Seoul. It’s a fully automated, elevated rapid transit system, connecting the Everland amusement park with the rest of the Seoul Metro System.

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There are 15 stations in the initial phase, connecting Giheung station on the Bundang Line to Jeondae-Everland station. There are also stops at various points of interest in Yongin including City Hall-Yongin University.

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Yongin, a city neighboring Seoul, has rapidly expanded in the last decade, and is now home to almost 1 million people. The opening of the Everline improves public transportation in the city, adding to the existing DX Line and extension to the Bundang Line.

Don’t forget to check out our Seoul map for iPhone, Android and online.

We got Seoul: Introducing Explore Seoul for web and Explore Seoul 9.0 for iOS

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We’ve just launched some great new updates for our Seoul Subway maps! Our Explore Seoul iOS app has been updated to version 9.0. It includes lots of great new updates like point-to-point directions and search for tips.

iPhone 4-Inch Screenshot 5We’ve also added several new metro lines which have recently opened. The Suin Line connects Songdo and Oido, with connections to Seoul Metro Line 4 and Incheon Subway Line 1. There are also new extensions to the Bundang Line and Gyeongui Line.

iPhone 4-Inch Screenshot 4

You can also now view our Seoul Metro map on the web, at http://seoul.exploremetro.com/ – this includes many of the great features of our apps, like route-planning. You can also view the Seoul Subwaypedia, with pages for every station, for example check out the page for Euljiro 3(sam)-ga.

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We’d love to hear your suggestions and improvements for Explore Seoul. Get in touch via our feedback portal!

Zoom in with our latest Android metro map updates!

The most popular request on our feedback forum has consistently been to add zooming to our metro map apps for Android. Today, we’re making that happen with version 2.0 of our maps for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.

There are three easy ways to zoom:

  • Use the zoom buttons to zoom in or out
  • Double tap to quickly zoom in by one zoom level
  • Make a pinch gesture to zoom in or out

 

We’ll continue to make improvements to the map based on your feedback.

And we have a bonus feature for everyone running Android 3.0 or higher! When you tap on a station and choose a street map, you can now choose between a Google Map, and a offline street map, provided by OpenStreetMaps. So now, even if you’re offline, you can still quickly check the area around a station.

If you like the new features, we’d really appreciate your reviews in Google Play!

 

Go ad-free with ExploreMetro VIP on Android

Since we launched our apps for Android on Google Play they’ve been available free, in order to reach as many people as possible! To help support the costs of development, we included an ad banner at the bottom of the screen.

Lots of people sent us feedback to let us know they wouldn’t mind paying a few dollars to remove the ads. So we’ve launched Explore Metro VIP for Android! It’s really simple to use:

1. Update any existing ExploreMetro map map apps you have already downloaded from Google Play to the latest version, that’s version 1.1

2. Visit http://exploremetro.com/vip or go to Help > Remove ads to download our VIP app.
3. Now you’re a VIP!

One purchase means you can enjoy all seven of our metro maps ad-free (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore) for one low price!

How do I become a VIP?

Download the app from Google Play at exploremetro.com/vip

Once I’ve installed the VIP app, what do I do?

Bask in your awesomeness. You can then download and install any of our Android apps, and the ad banner will be gone! Please leave the VIP app installed so we know you’re a VIP!

I can’t download the VIP app from Google Play?

The VIP app is a paid app, and Google restricts which countries are allowed to download paid apps. For example, the United States and Singapore are OK, but China doesn’t currently allow paid apps.

I installed the app, but there are still ads?

Make sure you have version 1.1 installed of the metro map apps (Help>Version to check). If you uninstall the ExploreMetro VIP app, we won’t be able to detect that you are a VIP. You’ll need to download it again.

Coming soon: step-by-step routeplanning and sharing in our iPhone apps

We’ve been busy this summer preparing a new version of our awesome metro maps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Version 7 will be available soon – but here’s a sneak preview, as well as information on how to get the new version first by joining our beta-testing program.

Route-planning is a really useful part of our apps: in fact over 15,000 routes are planned every day using our iPhone apps! In the current version, the fastest route is shown directly on the map like this:

In version 7, we’re adding written step-by-step directions, like this:

Every step of the way, you have clear instructions of which line to take, and which direction. What’s more, you can easily share the route instructions, by email, SMS/iMessage, Twitter or copying to clipboard:

We even automatically shorten the route directions to fit more easily into an SMS message.

If you’d like to try out the new routeplanning features, sign up to our beta-testing program.

And there’s more! Once iOS6 is launched later this year we’ll be adding more great features, including:

  • Point-to-point directions integrated into the built-in Maps app
  • Sharing via Sina Weibo

 

Faster loading, faster route-planning on our beta metro maps

We’ve just launched some more incremental improvements to our beta metro maps for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei

  • By popular demand, you can now drag between two stations to plan a route (this is how route-planning works in the classic version). You can also use the new method of clicking on the first station, choosing “Plan route” and clicking on the second station.
  • It’s also now quicker to plan a new route after planning your first route – no need to dismiss the route-planning bar
  • Finally, we’ve improved the caching of the map tiles, so the map should load much faster on repeat visits

 

We’ll continue to work on fixing bugs and making improvements in the beta version until they surpass the classic versions :) If you spot any errors, or have any feedback on how to improve the beta versions, do let me know in the comments, or via our support page.

Coming soon: all-new online metro maps

Since 2007 we’ve been providing interactive Flash metro maps at exploreshanghai.com and for four other cities. While recently we’ve been focused on apps for iPhone and Android, our popular online maps at  are starting to look a little dated. It’s time for a fresh start, so I’ve been redesigning the online maps from the ground up. The goals of the redesign are:

  • No more Flash: as an increasing number of devices don’t come with Flash Player installed
  • Make the design responsive – that is to say, it should display well on any screen size, from a mobile phone right up to a large desktop monitor
  • Allow users of mobile devices who haven’t got our native apps to access basic mapping functionality on all devices for free
  • Add online maps for Seoul and Taipei
  • Add some features from our native apps, like more intuitive routeplanning, and zoom in/out

We’re still testing the new maps, but here’s a sneak preview of things to come (click to enlarge):

Soon, you’ll be able to opt-in to use the new version when you visit one of our sites. Stay tuned for updates!

The Joy of Six: introducing the new, faster Explore Seoul 6 with tips

We’re proud to announce that Explore Seoul is the sixth of our award-winning subway maps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to reach version 6.

With version 6 we re-wrote the map code from the ground up to be faster. The app now loads quicker, and zooming in and out should be smooth, even on older devices.

The other big new feature is tips.

Ever wondered what points of interest are close to a subway stop? Now you can tap on any station, then tap on Tips to see what’s nearby. Tap the thumbs up button on any tip which you find useful.

You can also view a list of the most popular tips for the whole city. And if you know a great local restaurant, attraction or a clever shortcut, you can add your own tip:

Explore Seoul 6 is a free update for existing users. Not got Explore Seoul yet? Download it now from the iTunes App Store.