Patent ID: 8363065

Claim:
A method of displaying a map on a wireless communications device, the method comprising: downloading map data from which the map is to be rendered; rendering portions of the map for which map data has been fully downloaded; identifying a portion of the map for which the map data has yet to be fully downloaded; determining attributes of a map feature that has been previously rendered in the portion of the map for which the map data has yet to be fully downloaded; graphically overlaying onto the portion of the map for which the map data has yet to be fully downloaded a graphical indication to indicate that further map data is being downloaded for that portion of the map, wherein the graphical indication comprises hatch marks so as to be partially transparent to enable underlying features and labels to be viewed through the graphical indication as the map data is being downloaded, and wherein the graphical indication is varied based on the attributes of the map feature that has been previously rendered by varying an angle of the hatch marks to avoid obscuring the underlying features and labels; and progressively removing the graphical indication as the further map data is progressively rendered, wherein hatching the portion of the map comprises: determining angles of features and labels rendered in the portion of the map for which the map data has yet to be fully downloaded; and varying the angle of hatch marks in the hatched portion of the map based on the angles of the features and labels.