Magic Lane

Key takeaways

Magic Lane belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Magic Lane to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Magic Lane from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Magic Lane Ltd. (formerly Route 66 Geographic Information Systems B.V.) is a privately held company headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Route 66 was founded in 1992 and specialized in navigation software for PC and mobile devices (PocketPC). and released for iOS and Android devices in 2015. The company has been rebranded as General Magic in 2018 and then again rebranded in 2022 to the current name, Magic Lane Limited, in part as a continuation of the Magic Earth brand as well as a reference to the founder and CTO Johan Lanen. Magic Lane is the developer of Magic Earth, a common proprietary navigation application, first developed by Route 66 in 1999 for PC and mobile devices (PocketPC) and released for iOS and Android devices in 2015. It is now developed by the Dutch company Magic Lane. In 2016, Route 66 Navigate was discontinued and replaced by the pro version of Magic Earth. Notably, since 2018 it has been included as the default navigation application for the /e/ Operating System, a privacy-focused alternative to Android for smartphones.

Route 66 Route 66 was founded in 1992. In 1999 the company opened a software development center in Brașov, Romania. In 2005 the company moved all its research and development operations to the aforementioned location, which at that date employed 45 of the company's total of 65 employees. In 2008, the company announced 2.4 million euros in revenue. In 2010, the company had 92 employees, of which 65 were software developers. The Nokia 6110 Navigator delivered with Route 66 was the first mobile phone with on-board navigation installed as standard, apart from smartphones with their significantly larger dimensions and heavier weight. The current founder of Magic Lane previously developed the Route 66 route planner in the 1990s, which was among the first navigation products for Macintosh, PC, and early mobile phones. They established General Magic to rebuild their software, focusing on privacy, offline functionality, lightweight hardware usage and multi SDK support. Their end user product was Magic Earth, which was used as a testing ground for their developments on Android and iOS platforms.

Route 6 Navigate In November 2013, Route 66 launched Navigate 6. The continuation of Route 66 Navigate was carried out after the company rebranded as General Magic, with the introduction of the navigation app Magic Earth as a testing ground for Android and iOS, made first available in 2015 on Android. In 2016, Route 66 Navigate was discontinued completely and replaced by the pro version of Magic Earth.

Magic Lane Ltd. Magic Lane Ltd. was founded in 2022 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as a continuation of Route 66. It provides a platform to other companies enabling navigation for their apps and platforms. Magic Lane's Software Development Kit (SDK) allows companies to add mapping, location, and navigation functionality into vehicles, apps, and online platforms in several programming languages. The SDK is for iOS, Android, JavaScript, QT, Linux, Flutter and C++. Magic Lane's datacenters are located in Europe.

Magic Earth Magic Earth is built on OpenStreetMap (OSM) data with a focus on privacy and around 2,000 data sources to calculate routes for pedestrians, cars and bicycles. It also provides turn-by-turn navigation for driving, biking, walking, and public transportation. The application also works offline, with offline OSM data for 233 countries and regions. It can display 2D, 3D and satellite maps as well as location data for parking and details like route surface, difficulty and elevation. Navigation includes speed camera alerts, live traffic updates, and speed warnings in supported regions. The app also includes a speedometer that remains on even when not navigating. Magic Earth works on Android and iOS devices and supports Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Apple Watch integration. Magic Earth does not collect personal data. Revenue is generated through a subscription fee of €0.99/year and developer SDK sales. The /e/ Operating System, which aims to be a privacy-focused alternative to Android, uses Magic Earth as the default navigation application, with the explanation that Magic Lane provided the /e/OS developers sufficient documentation about privacy behavior to include the application in the OS. The application is sometimes confused with Magic Earth Inc., a gas and oil industry data visualization software company.

See also Comparison of satellite navigation software OpenStreetMap OsmAnd Organic Maps CoMaps DeGoogle

References

Other sources Lim, Andrew (February 28, 2006). "Route 66 Mobile 7: Use your mobile for satellite navigation". Crave.cnet.co.uk. Retrieved October 23, 2021. Catanzariti, Ross (May 10, 2007). "330 Auto Navigation". Pcworld.idg.com.au. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2011. Noordhuis, Maaike (February 18, 2011). "TomTom Falls 11% on 'Broadly Flat' Earnings Forecast". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2021. Virki, Tarmo (September 15, 2010). "HTC unveils new smartphones, pushes into services". Reuters. Retrieved December 29, 2011. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Magic_Earth#Resources

External links Official website http://www.magicearth.com Route 66 Mobile 7 for Nokia Series 60 Mobile Phones Launched in North America – from Geekzone

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Magic Lane

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Magic Lane claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Magic Lane before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Magic Lane ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Magic Lane

In research: Magic Lane appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Magic Lane in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Magic Lane is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Android (operating system) software, Automotive navigation systems, Dutch companies established in 1992, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Magic Lane outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Magic Lane in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Magic Lane means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Magic Lane out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Magic Lane in simple terms?

Magic Lane Ltd. (formerly Route 66 Geographic Information Systems B.V.) is a privately held company headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Why does Magic Lane matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Magic Lane?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Magic Lane.