Navigation software for Pocket PC
Sat, 07/26/2008 - 1:17am
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16 years
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I recently bought a bluetooth GPS receiver for my Pocket PC. It doesn't come with navigation software so I wanted to know if there were any cheaper and nicer alternatives to Garmin Mobile XT (presently $99).
Thanks.
PPC
Try Google Maps.
Allan Barnett - Garmin nüvi 885T/765T/Pharos GPS (bluetooth) w/MS Maps on PPC
Alternatives
Although I've no experience with these since I have no data connection, I've also heard of GPSToday and Windows Live Search.
TomTom 7 and iGO 8 Nav N Go work well for me too.
A Couple of Options
If you want moving maps, a couple of free choices are Google Mobile Maps (http://www.google.com/gmm) and Windows Live Search Mobile (http://wls.live.com) however, both use data plans on windows mobile devices, so I don't know if they could be used on a stand alone Pocket PC. It wouldn't hurt to look at both of them to see if they might do what you want.
A couple of very reasonably priced products that have voice navigation, auto route recalculation and other features are Delorme's Street Atlas (2007, 2008 or 2009; depending on your store of choice) and Microsoft Streets & Trips. The problem with Microsoft's product though is that they stopped shipping Pocket Streets, so you'd need an older version to get the pocket streets version. I've used 2007 and 2008 recently, and the newest ones have some good features.
On the upper end are several products, including ALK's CoPilot Live 7 (http://www.alk.com), iNavCorp's iGuidance (http://www.inavcorp.com), Tom Tom's software (http://www.tomtom.com), and TeleType's GPS software (www.teletype.com) to name just a few.
Of course, Garmin has a product for Pocket PC's too.
Pharos Ostia is another product I like (http://www.pharosgps.com)
If your wish is to stay below the garmin price tag, you might want to look at the DeLorme Street Atlas USA. You can find it at many retailers, including your local Staples Office Supply Store. (not an employee or compensated endorser of Staples) I think I've seen it at Sam's Club as well. Street Atlas is usually under $40. The "Plus" version is around $60 and includes phone numbers and more information.
ChartCross has a free GPS utility called GPSTest that can be used for some basic things (http://chartcross.co.uk/) that I find useful.
Hope this helps a little.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled forum - already in progress . . .
Wow, thanks for the
Wow, thanks for the responses guys. I'll definitely look into those. The DeLorme software, in particular, sounds promising.