(sponsor)
I know what you’re thinking… do we really
INTRODUCTION
need another GPS Navigation software program on the market? There are
so many to choose from already. Well, yes we do. None of the GPS voice
guided navigation programs offer all of the options they should. Especially
not in North America. (Traffic reports integration where are you?)
OnCourse Navigator
4 is the latest addition into the GPS software market and it’s a new
entry for North America. The product is the result of a collaboration
between EasyPocketNav and Navigon to offer a Navigon software based
GPS solution for North America. OnCourse Navigator has a number of new
features that no other Pocket PC GPS Navigation software includes. Combine
these with very accurate Navteq maps, and you could have a winner on
your hands. Navigate on…
OnCourse Navigator is the
WHAT’S HOT
first GPS navigation program to be able to offer
route-based map-creation with Navteq maps in North
America. It’s also the only one to include a
skin-able interface and voice tags for saved
destinations.
Setting up the application is
SETUP
pretty straight forward. You just have to insert the
first CD into your desktop computer and run the
installer.
However, after the installer asks you to switch to
CD 2, it does some more installing and then tells
you to switch back to CD 1. That was a little
annoying. The problem is that the installer
does the desktop software and maps first, and then
installs the Pocket PC software which is on CD 1. If you’re going to do a custom install, I recommend
you install the map data to your hard disk as well
as the application because the Map Export software
will not be able to find the map data on a CD if it
is not installed to the hard drive along with the
application.
As is true with most GPS
PROGRAM FEATURES
Navigation programs, there are a ton of features.
GPS Navigation programs are among the most complex
around for Pocket PCs. When you install On Course
Navigator4, two applications are installed on the
desktop and one on the Pocket PC.
MapExport Software
OnCourse Navigator’s Map Export software offers many
options for creating map data for your Windows
Mobile device. There are a few minor usability
issues however. Such as finding your destinations
can be slow and tedious with the map navigation
tools. Also, it took me a while to figure out how to
find a destination based on address. It turns out
that there’s a third magnifying glass icon that
allows you to search for locations based on address.
It’s the one that does not have a plus symbol or
minus symbol in it.
You can select pre-created map
sets to copy to your device.
You can also create a
corridor-based map set based on a planned multi-stop
route that even spans multiple states. This method
of map-set creation is best for long trips where you
may not need map data for an entire region.
Exporting a map to your Pocket PC
can take quite a long time.
A nice feature in the map export
is that you can choose to store the data anywhere
you want. You’re not restricted to storing it in a
specific folder. This may contribute to the slowness
of the Pocket PC application since it has to figure
out where the data is located every time. Other
Pocket PC GPS Navigation programs only have to look
in one place.
SkinEditor Software
OnCourse Navigator also
installs another Desktop application called
SkinEditor. This program is very interesting since
it allows you to create new themes or skins for the
Pocket PC based Navigator software.
The SkinEditor lets you change
just about all user interface colors as well as the
background image.
It took me a while to figure out
how to change the skins. In the Pocket PC software’s
settings, you have to choose the "Representation" item in
order to change skins. It would have been easier if
they went for consistency and called the setting
"Skins".
OnCourse Navigator 4 Pocket PC Software
Activation is based on your hardware. That means you can do a hard
reset and reinstall the software without having to get a new activation
code. However, you will have to keep track of your serial number
and activation code in order to reinstall. Disappointingly, there’s
no easy way to transfer your activation to a different device say if
you upgrade your Pocket PC and still want to use the software.
OnCourse Navigator 4 installs a Today Screen
item. All it does is launch the Navigator 4
software.
After about 30 seconds worth of looking at this screen,
OnCourse Navigator 4 should load. If it remains on this screen,
the software is likely frozen. This seems to happen when it can’t
find the bluetooth GPS receiver.
You have to accept the safety agreement
every time
you launch OnCourse Navigator.
Then the primary navigation screen
appears.
Pressing the voice recording
button (it’s the one with the person icon with sound waves coming out
of his head) will turn on listening mode. If what you say during that
mode matches a pre-recorded destination voice-tag, Navigator will start
navigating to that destination. This is a great feature that no
other navigation software has yet matched, though it could still be
better.
Choosing "One Destination" gives you some options
for choosing a destination.
Choosing "Contacts"
actually brings you to the Contacts program, instead of listing the
contacts in it’s own interface. It’s unclear how you get the Contact’s
address back into Navigator 4. What you have to do is Tap-and-hold
on the contact name and then choose "OnCourse Navigator" from
the context sensitive menu.
This will bring up a dialog asking you which
address listed for the contact that you would like
to navigate to.
Choosing "Recent Destinations" gives
you a list of previous destinations to choose from. It also loads
the last selected software input method so that you can type in your
destination in the field provided. One obvious problem is the
input panel’s access button is missing, so you won’t be able to switch
to a potentially more appropriate software input method. It also crops
off the bottom part of the last row of buttons.
You can switch to a 9 button numeric style input method
which is nice for one-handed input. However, the "C"
and "123" buttons on the right cover up the edit and delete
buttons for the saved locations; making those functions unusable.
Navigator will then confirm your destination when it’s
found on the map. I don’t know why they list the zip code and city first,
then the street, then the number. That’s backwards from what we
normally use in North America.
Tapping the "Save" button on any destination
will allow you to name the destination as well as create a voice tag
for the location.
Pressing "Select Map" lets you choose to use
a different map that was exported to the Pocket PC from the desktop
MapExport application.
If you want to switch to a different map set that you’ve
created, you’ll have to restart the program. That’s a bit of a pain
as it takes so long to launch this software.
If you choose "Several Destinations"
from the main menu, you get this screen which allows you to to create,
edit, and save multi-stop itineraries. Tapping the Plus icon brings
you to the normal destination screen where you can choose any number
of destination creation methods. The trash icon deletes the selected
destination. The Caclulator icon calculates the route to navigate. After
you calculate the route, you can choose "Show on Map" in order
to see the entire route that Navigator has created for you. This is
very helpful if you do not have GPS reception or you just want to see
the route the software has planned for you.
Tapping the open folder icon lets you load an
Itinerary that was previously saved, or created in
the desktop’s MapExport program.
When you tap "Start Navigation"
from a single destination or multiple destination screen, you are presented
with another options screen allowing you to choose various navigational
settings. I kind of like this way of doing things as you don’t
have to dig through the settings to change these options with each trip.
Then, after tapping "Start Navigation",
Navigator will calculate the route with the given options. It’s
nice that it shows the percentage complete for each destination as well
as the total percentage. However, this initial route calculation
can take a long time depending on the complexity and distance of your
trip.
In the navigation screen you see on the right information
about reaching my next destination and my final destination. On
the left are icons indicating my next two turns, along with a progress
bar of sorts indicating the distance to my next turn.
When you tap the screen, other buttons appear
along the right and top. You see zoom level controls on the right,
and along the top are the panning tool, itinerary listing, north up
orientation, center on current position (blank in this view), and 3D
view. The Auto button removes the buttons on the top and right, and
returns the software to automatic navigation mode.
The 3D view gives you a more interesting perspective
on the navigation map. Your destination flags also appear in 3D with
cute little shadows behind them.
If you Tap and hold on the map, you get the
following dialog.
Tapping on the task option gives you the above
menu.
Executing the search for nearby destinations
gives you another interface where you can choose
many options for searching for points of interest.
Once you find the destination you want, you then
have to go to the same Tap & Hold menu and "Add to
Route."
Navigator can be quite slow redrawing the map if
you’re zoomed out a lot.
The little triangle in the lower right of
the map view brings up the navigation options screen. You can change
the map view from daytime to night time using the icons at the top.
You can also mute the entire system with the crossed-out speaker icon
in the upper right. Note, this does mute everything on your Pocket
PC, so if you’re listening to music on your car stereo while navigating,
this button will mute everything. Most Pocket PC Navigation programs
behave this way, but that does not make it right. The mute button
should only mute the navigation software’s voice prompts. This
options dialog also allows you to Quit navigation, set a new way point
(interim destination), block a certain road, show route list, change
route options, and change the application preferences.
The Route List option shows you all of the turns that
you’ll make. As you can see it’s a bit difficult to read, and
there’s no way to copy this listing as text and paste it into an email
or whatnot.
The Block Road option gives you a list of distances
to avoid the road for. I assume it has to be activated when you’re
on that road. This is useful for creating traffic detours.
The maps look great and even
indicate street direction.
I found an address that Navigator could not calculate
directions to. Strangely, if I changed the type of routing to Pedestrian,
it WAS able to calculate directions as well as direct me to the destination
without error.
OPTIONS
The Preferences button brings you to a series of
screens for changing options.
Map and Route information items
can be turned on and off.
The Volume control preference actually controls
system volume, not the application’s voice prompts
volume. This can be a real pain if you’re also
using your Pocket PC as a media player in the car
since the voice prompts volume will likely be much
louder than the music volume.
The "Representation" preference is actually for
changing the appearance of the application. I
might have chosen a different word for this option.
You can choose a number of different skin styles for
the application. My custom "MCE Style" skin also shows
up here.
The default "Standard" skin was a bit too
distracting and busy for my tastes.
Auto mode options let you change
the way Navigator displays the map while driving.
The Speed Profile options let you
change the type of vehicle you’re driving.
Presumably, the different options will calculate a
route and specify instructions at more opportune
times accordingly.
The Logbook lets you keep track of
your trips for billing purposes. The Keypad options
let you customize the hardware buttons to perform
certain functions while Navigator is running.
The Itinerary options let you turn
on the option that will navigate you to the next
destination automatically after you’ve reached the
previous destination. Format settings let you change
the time and distance measurement units and
formatting.
The GPS settings page is important
for configuring your GPS reciever.
Your Home Address can be edited
here. This will be the address assigned to the house
icon on the main page giving you quick access to
this destination. The Radio-mute setting mutes
the Navigator instructions when you are on a phone
call using a Pocket PC Phone edition device.
OnCourse Navigator 4
HELP SUPPORT
comes with a PDF based manual. The manual seemed to
be a little difficult to use and not as detailed as
I would like. However, Easy PocketNav has created a
nice
support section on their website that’s updated
as the need arises. You can also contact Easy
PocketNav by
email and your questions will be addressed
promptly. Easy PocketNav is very helpful when it
comes to support. They certainly want you to be
happy with their product.
Their website also offers some excellent information
for potential customers. You can view a number of
video demos that let you see and hear how the
software will function. This is very useful and
should be mandatory for any software company who
does not offer a downloadable trial version.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OnCourse Navigator 4 requires a Pocket PC running
Pocket PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003, or Windows
Mobile 2003 SE. The application also needs about
5-7Mb Storage memory and 6-15Mb Program memory. If
you’ve only got 64Mb RAM on your Pocket PC, you
might want to close a few programs before running
Navigator 4. You’ll also need a NMEA compatible GPS
receiver. As for the desktop side, the MapExport and
SkinEditor applications are very greedy when it
comes to your screen real-estate… you’ll need a
1024×768 pixel screen resolution and it will only
run on Windows 9x, 2000, and XP.
BUGS AND WISHES
The
biggest problem with OnCourse Navigator 4 is how
slow it is to launch. This makes it frustrating to
use on short trips where it would take longer to
launch the software and enter your destination than
it would for you to just figure it out by street
signs. Also, it’s hard to tell if OnCourse Navigator
is hung or it’s just taking a long time to load. One
time, I launched OnCourse Navigator with no maps on
the device and no GPS receiver connected. It stayed
on the start-up screen indefinitely. Actually,
I left it there for about 20 hours and it still had
the little multi-color "busy" icon. Only a
soft-reset will make the device re-usable.
There’s also the obvious design flaws in the user
interface where as the proprietary input panel
actually covers up other buttons. The GUI does take
up the entire screen, but there’s a Window icon in
the bottom right (where the input panel icon should
be), which brings back the Windows Mobile title bar
and start menu. I’d rather have the operating
system user interface remain accessible when running
3rd party applications.
The voice prompts are
also very loud compared to the normal volume of the
Pocket PC audio output. This was done on purpose so
that you could hear the instructions better through
the PDA’s external speaker. However, if you’re a
multitasker like me, these extra loud voice prompts
become very annoying when you’re also playing music
via Media Player in your car stereo. If you’re going
to use your Pocket PC ONLY for GPS Navigation, then
that’s not so much of a problem. Also, the
application volume is not independent; it’s system
wide. That means if you change the volume in
OnCourse Navigator, it affects Media Player as well.
Furthermore, OnCourse Navigator will change your
current settings when it’s launched in order to
match the settings used when it was last used. So
that means your volume and brightness settings will
change when OcN is launched.
PURCHASING
You can purchase OnCourse Navigator 4 directly from
BuyGPSnow.com or
OnCourseNavigator.com. The
software only version is about $179.95, but if
you already have another GPS Navigation program, you
can trade it in for a
discount bringing the price down to $99.95. You
can also purchase the
software bundled with any number of other GPS
devices.
PROS
Route-specific Navteq map creation- Maps are
very accurate and look great - Voice tags
for locations - Voice
prompts are timely, accurate, and polite - Skinable
user interface - Extensive
map-set creation tools - One-handed
user interface very easy to use with D-pad
CONS
- Slow boot
time - Volume
control is system wide (interferes with other audio) - Doesn’t
specify side-of-street for destinations
OnCourse Navigator 4 is a great compromise between
OVERALL IMPRESSION
innovative features, accurate maps, accurate navigation instructions,
and a good price. It offers features found nowhere else like Voice tags,
corridor-based Navteq mapsets, and a customizable user interface. OnCourse
Navigator 4 is a great choice for long distance trips since it’s the
only GPS Navigation program to offer cross country corridor-based Navteq
map navigation sets. If you can tolerate the extremely slow boot-up
time, this could be your new favorite Navigation program.
No related post found.
