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INTRODUCTION
After trying
many GPS applications over the years I always found myself saying “Why
doesn’t it do…?” It can be irritating to make a bet on an
application only to find that it keeps missing the ball when it comes
to usage. MuskokaTech’s PathAway GPS 4, up from v3.3 that we reviewed in 2004, has stepped up to bat to
see how it performs as GPS software for your device. Read on to see if we liked it!
WHAT’S HOT
PathAway GPS 4 has many new features over PathAway GPS 3. The highlights of the new features are:
- GoTo Location – enter a new location by address lookup, coordinates, etc
- PocketMode – disables hardware keys and turns the screen off so battery power conserved while tracking continues
- Multimedia Points – great
when sharing databases, you can add pictures from an image file or by
capturing with your devices camera, sound files, notes, etc - Multiple Alarms – everything from GPS fix lost and acquired to Off Track, Turns and Location Received
- Customizable hard keys for the functions used the most
- Many more features to help achieve navigational nirvana
SETUP
There is a windows installer
as well as a .cab file download available. The minimal install weighs
in at 3MB, the full install including the PathAway PC tools and user
manual sits down at 7.7MB.
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The If you Clicking PathAway Whilst firing up PathAway GPS 4 for the first time you are greeted with this splash screen and then the default screen. If you Menu PathAway GPS 4 Standard and Menu > Options > Web Maps The Find Location feature works quite well and even allows for address lookups. Once a location is found it can be added to a route, as a point, shown on the map, or set as the destination. Remote Location Sharing is only available in the Professional Edition but it is very robust. The An Another
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Overall I am
PathAway PC tools are primarily a map converter/calibrator and an icon
manager for editing your own. The user’s manual is very thorough. 
are new to GPS apps on PocketPC devices pay attention here. Once the
PathAway GPS 4 is setup on your device their are some settings you are
going to want to take care of right away. 
‘next’ and ‘accept’ (for the license agreement) will you bring to this
screen. Vista users do not be swayed the ‘install via activesync’ still
works with Windows Mobile Device Center. Once you are finished install
from the desktop a handy readme opens showing you the next steps in
getting started. 
GPS 4 does work just fine from the storage card (a must for any app
these days) So we choose our install location and we’re off!
are using WM5 then the first thing you are going to want to do is turn
on the soft key menus. Click on the PathAway Icon (left most icon) >
View > Select Toggle Text Menus. Voila! Soft keys! The right image
shows the tap and hold menu which is accessible and customised on
all screens.
> Options > Preferences will bring you to a plethora of options
to change. Almost everything in PathAway GPS 4 is configurable. Right off the bat turning off the
alarms will make the first play time a bit more enjoyable, then turn
them on one by one so you can distinguish between them. Selecting
‘Edit’ will enable you to play the current sound for the event or
select a .wav file of your choice (highly recommended by this writer).
If you are running a less beefy device in the way of processing power a
visit to the System tab is suggested, set the Event Timout to 500ms
‘just in case’.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Professional have tons of features and excellent operation. The
developers really listen to their customers in the forums and the
update cycle is short (sometimes a week between updates with new
features). Aside from customization, PathAway GPS 4 comes with some
very handy features that work together very well. 
brings us to an important and useful feature. At the time of this
review there are two sources and five types of web maps available.
Google Maps and Satellite Photos as well as TerraServer-USA
topographic, grey aerial photos and color aerial photos. Each has their
own use and application. The download speed is dependent solely upon
your connection. You can also cache the maps, be sure to set the Cache
Folder to your storage card as it will fill up fast.
send addresses can be another Pocket PC Phone or a web script to collect
the data. PathAway has their own script available for you to use. There
are various formats that the location can be sent in as well as
different options for frequency. Retrieving locations is just as easy
and you can even use the PathAway script to retrieve locations of
friends using PathAway. Again customization shows up in how you want
the remote locations displayed on your device. 
example of the FindMe script PathAway Provides. Friends, Family, YOUR
boss can all see where you are if you want them too. It is also
possible to post a location that you are not physically at to show
someone a different location if needed. This interface can also be
wrapped in iframe tags so you can dress it up for your travel blog,
etc. 
handy feature is the ability to export or import points. Exporting to
.kml files was recently added so you can send a track to someone using
Google Earth. Testing this out, it worked beautifully and the ‘Play
Tour’ in Google Earth flew through the tracks without a hitch. At the
writing of this review, importing files from Google Earth is not as
seamless and requires some additional third party programs.
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HELP
SUPPORT
manual provided with PathAway GPS 4 is very thorough and if you can not
find the answer you are looking for in the manual the PathAway
forums are very responsive.
OPTIONS
important to emphasize setting the cache folders early on as the web
maps will eat up your device’s memory.
SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS
required
to run the software so the sharing of points and remote location
tracking is still available. PathAway GPS 4 supports the majority of
GPS devices on the market today. The program uses about 2MB of system
memory while running and requires about 3MB storage space. Maps require
a lot of space so a storage card is recommended. This was tested on a
200mhz device with little memory, the program did not tax the devices
resources.
BUGS
One
AND WISHES
major annoyance with PathAway GPS 4 is after making any preferences changes
you must exit the application in order for the changes to be saved. If
for some reason the device is reset before exiting, any changes are
lost. A
minor bug is there is very little differences between the default
sounds provided with the software, so it is hard to distinguish between
events.
Screen Map View does not work as a simple switch. Further it is tedious
to switch to through the menus. Many devices today have more than 4
hardware keys and this application only supports 4 in addition to the
soft keys.
as easy as exporting them (which you can do).
remote locations is only possible through sms and http, the ability to
send a location as a clickable link (or user configurable) through an
email would be invaluable to any traveler. PathAway
PC Tools should support point and route creation along with the ability
to send these to a device via sms, email or remote server. PathAway GPS
4 does provide driving directions for the address lookup function.
PURCHASING
This
review was performed on PathAway GPS 4 Professional Edition which is
available from MuskokaTech’s site
for $95 USD new or $45 USD for the upgrade. The standard edition does
not include the 2-way tracking features and is available for $59.95 USD
new or $29.95 USD for the upgrade.
PROS
Multiple
web map sources
Two
way tracking and remote location capabilities
PocketMode
Actively
developed from user input
CONS
Menus
are not intuitive
Does
not import in .kml format
Switching
to full screen mode is not easy
Value
Ease
of Use 
Features
Overall
OVERALL IMPRESSION
impressed with
the Remote Location Tracking and web maps, they worked flawlessly. The
functionality of PathAway GPS 4 Pro is very impressive and valuable to
a traveler or work force. The responsiveness of the developers to their
clients, and the turning out of updates is wonderful. Even though there
are some software annoyances and ease of use issues, there is faith that MuskokaTech will fix them with
updates. If you are going to place bets on GPS software, put $95 down
on PathAway GPS 4 Pro because MuskokaTech has hit a home run with
PathAway GPS 4 Professional.
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