GPS on Windows Mobile

[This article was prepared with the able assistance of the following members of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine's board of experts, including Russ Terrell, Al Harrington, Tim Hillebrand, Remzi Turer, Lutz Bendlin, and Jerry Stevens. (Jerry is not a member of the Board of Experts, but he is experienced with GPS and we value his comments.)]

This article reviews the top GPS navigation programs developed for Windows Mobile devices. To take full advantage of this software, your device must be equipped with a GPS receiver. If your Windows Mobile device does not have a GPS receiver built into it, you can purchase one as an accessory. Some of these receivers are described in our Accessory Guide and also in the previous (October 07) issue, in an article titled "GPS Hardware and Accessories."

The last full review of GPS navigation solutions was published in last year's Buyer's Guide (smartphonemag.com/_archives/Dec06/GPSSolutions.aspx). Since then, Mapopolis, a perennial favorite, was discontinued. ALK's latest CoPilot Live version 7 wasn't released in time, but we did receive and review the beta version of the program. When it becomes available, we will publish a review of the final release (version 7) on the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine blogs (smartphonemag.com/blogs). The latest version of Destinator has a beautiful new interface with large, easy to press buttons and added functionality. Large buttons are particularly important for in-vehicle use so that you don't have to fumble with a stylus. I'm pleased to see that this is standard on most of the programs we review. I also appreciate the fact that more programs are including the ability to program hardware buttons so that when they are pressed, a verbal status report is played, telling you how far it is to the next turn and giving you other information. This is an important advancement, further eliminating the need to look at the screen while driving.

My repeat personal favorite, iGuidance, now includes text-to-speech capability to announce street names and upcoming turns as you approach them. Unfortunately, it also now requires that you load the entire North American map file on your device, which occupies 1.3 GB of storage. Practically speaking, that means you'll need to purchase an additional storage card with at least a 2 GB capacity. In addition, because of the size of the map file, it takes longer to load the map into the program when you first start it.

Developers of GPS navigation software continue to enhance their programs, making them more functional and easier to use. They've also enhanced security to prevent software privacy. This makes installation a little more complicated, but ensures that they can afford to continue improving their products for the benefit of all of us.

CoPilot displays your position on maps in 2D (left) or 3D views (right).

ALK CoPilot Live 7 (beta)

• More info/purchase: alk.com
• Available for: Windows Mobile touch screen and non-touch screen devices; Windows PCs