(sponsor)
INTRODUCTION
We’ve been watching the growing patterns of iNav iGuidance (or variations thereof) for quite | some | time. And here we are, one year later, taking a look at the newest iteration, version 3.01. With an upgraded interface, but essentially the same application, could fiddling with a good thing prove to be a negative? Or are these changes simply another phase in this routing software’s evolution into something even more efficient and usable than before? Read on for the review!
UPGRADES, UPGRADES
There is an extensive list of changes from version 2.x to version 3.x (found here under the v3.0 More Information link – direct link was incorrectly named, and thus may cause issues in the future), first up on this list to discover, and almost certainly the one you would notice the earliest would be the updated GUI (Figure 1). Larger buttons with what is fast being considered a Web 2.0 feel, the new layout and size does make an impact. UMPC and Car PC support has also been added to the mix, and is available right out of the box for no additional cost.
Figure 1: The new main menu.
The main map view also has been upgraded and now includes more transparency effects (Figure 2), giving the application a much less cluttered feel.
Figure 2: Fullscreen with new buttons and features.
The GPS info page (Figure 3), has been changed, although more is missing than added (no more satellite location map and no NMEA data).
Figure 3: Upgraded GPS Info view.
Another new and very useful feature is the Shortcuts menu (Figure 4). Here you can set where your home location is (for easier access), or even use the built-in shortcuts to places such as Gas stations (Figure 5), ATMs, or the nearest hospital.
Figure 4: Shortcuts to customizable and built-in locations
Figure 5: An example Shortcut list (Gas)
Information about ones current location is now available, but it isn’t dynamically updated (you’ll have to reload the page each time). There is also an option to save this data, if necessary (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Current location information.
Overall, the whole of the application has been modified to this new styling, but in some situations, the text does overrun the box (Figure 7). Thankfully, not enough to be more than a superficial issue.
Figure 7: The new destination screen.
TRAVEL ON
Navigation in this new version is relatively the same, but with some new tweaks and capabilities (square screen support, for example). The default keypad now has a separate screen for alpha versus numeric characters (Figure 8). This does require some extra tapping, but I wouldn’t want to give up the larger buttons now that I’ve used them.
Figure 8: The new trip status box in action.
The trip status change from a box that one had to tap, to a status bar that includes all the pertinent info, is a welcome one (Figure 9).
Figure 9: The new trip status box in action.
Zooming in and out is a much more efficient process with the inclusion of the large plus/minus buttons on the side of the screen (Figure 10). You can still use the d-pad to zoom, if you choose.
Figure 10: Big zoom in/out buttons.
I really like the new ‘quick step’ feature. In prior versions, if you had a turn, and an immediate instruction to follow, it was announced audibly, but often happened so quickly that no visual indicator was available. In this version, the second instruction is placed below and to the right of the current instruction, along with its respective distance indicator (Figure 11 and 12). First time around, I did a double take, and almost emitted an audible gasp. But I figured it was just a lucky turn (and something I doubted I would be able to capture). But then it appeared more and more often as I used the routing capabilities. Each time it appeared, I found myself smiling at the simplicity of the feature, wondering why this hadn’t been considered before.
Figure 11: Quick steps are now shown in sequence.
Figure 12: Another quick step.
The itinerary list is a much needed feature, recently added in this version (Figure 13). You simply add destinations, and as you reach each point, you have the option to continue to the next stop (Figure 14). You can easily move these locations up or down the list. The problem I ran into is that this list would slowly grow as I added destinations – next thing I know, I’ve got a huge list that has to be deleted. Minor in the scale of things, but still an annoyance.
Figure 13: The itinerary list.
Figure 14: Continuing on the itinerary.
You can also set three separate Trip computers, calculating your average distance, speed, and start/stop times (Figure 15).
Figure 15: A new trip computer.
LANDSCAPING
The landscape view has also been overhauled (Figure 16). While there is still some overrun issues, generally everything fits a lot better than in prior versions. Since I didn’t have a square screen to test with, Chris will be giving his comments on that aspect a little later.
Figure 16: Default landscape view.
The large buttons fit nicely into the landscape view, but the graphical issues increase (Figure 17).
Figure 17: The main menu, in landscape mode.
With the display options menu, however, the buttons actually fit better than they do in portrait mode (Figure 18).
Figure 18: Landscape display options.
PURCHASING
You can purchase iNav’s iGuidance 3.x here for approximately $109 USD (or upgrade for $79).
type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
CONS
PROS
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
Once again, iNav has given us a great product, and a worthy upgrade. The new buttons are easy to read, and easy to use, there are numerous bug fixes and map updates, and now even UMPC and Car PC versions are included with the now standard Laptop/Pocket PC combo. Yes, there were some graphical layout issues (text that just doesn’t fit quite right in the buttons), but minor issues to say the least. That said, we give iGuidance 3.01 the following score:
No related post found.
