Dear Ernest,

Thank you for your interest in our Navigator software.

Navigator Turn by Turn allows the user to
a. view maps including Melway [in Victoria] and Sydway [in NSW]
b. search for streets, points of interest and user defined waypoints
c. plan trips from any start point to any end point with user determined priority given to the various road types - eg. avoid tollways.
d. use on a laptop or PDA with GPS unit to give visual and voice directions to a destination.

Use on a PDA requires the uploading from a PC of areas of the map [Map Extents] and any points of interest or waypoints required as destinations.
The Melway/Sydway maps do not display on the PDA.

I have not made a comparison with Whereis Navigation so I cannot give you any information re this.

Navigator's Map Data covers the whole of the particular state purchased. This includes virtually all streets in even small country towns.

Re the Compatibility issues. We have tested the program on a number of PDAs - but due to the variety of models etc available we cannot be sure that the model you have will be compatible. Navigator does require the PDA to use CE2002 rather than CE2003.

The evaluation copy is a complete installation copy and can be simply registered on purchase.

We are able to accept either Mastercard or Visa. Products normally are posted out within 24hours of receipt of the credit card / postal address details.

Currently we are waiting on a delivery of Navigator Turn by Turn Version 2 which should be available for release by 14th December

Stuart Kelly
Director
Osprey Computing
Ph. (03) 5332 2272
Mob. 0417 525 712
www.ospreycomputing.com.au

Dear Ernest,

Re your further questions -

Yes - the Map data for each state covers virtually all roads in the state - with streets even in small country towns. In NSW / VIC we use POIs from Melway/Sydway respectively - And for all states including NSW / VIC we have a further group of POIs from Magellan.

We recommend that the Map Extents used on the PDA be no more than about 15Mb. At this size the whole of Greater Sydney can be done in about 4 Map Extents. These are created by the user so you can determine the area you wish to include. With an SD card or similar you could define as many Map Extents as you wished and then choose the appropriate one for a particular trip. Eg One could cover from Central Sydney to Parramatta say - Another from Central Sydney to Wollongong etc.

The guidance feature works almost identically on a laptop or on a PDA. Major difference is that the PDA must have had Map extents and any POIs to be used as destinations uploaded previously. The laptop also allows the display of the Sydway image during guidance.

Guidance is via a. the path is drawn on the map as a bold line. b. the driver's screen display shows the current street location and current speed, the distance to the next turn, an arrow showing the direction of the next turn and a description of the next turn. c. at an appropriate distance before the next turn a voice prompt is heard [egs 'Turn Left' , 'Veer Right' etc.]

We have not included speed warnings due to the difficulty of ensuring that the speed zone data for various roads was always correct [especially in such areas as school zones where the speed limit varies by time of day and day of the week.]

The NavigatorPDA program has not yet been modified to suit CE2003 - we expect to be able to do this in the first half of 2004.

We hope to have Navigator V2 available by 15th Dec. I would definitely wait for the couple of weeks till it is available.

Version 2 is the same price, the Victorian data now uses Melway edition 31, has a number of data corrections on the base map data, allows the user to switch between using the program on a laptop or on a PDA instead of being locked into one, and the setting of the destination for guidance on a laptop is much easier.

Whether you purchase version 2 as an evaluation copy - then pay and register for continued access after the trial or not is really up to you. We would prefer you to be comfortable with the product - so perhaps this is the way to go. We have in the past given refunds if people found that the product didn't do what they had expected - but obviously we would prefer not to have this happen.

Ordering via email is fine - We can accept either Mastercard or Visa.

Stuart Kelly
Osprey Computing.

umm $948, geez thats more then my carpc setup and just for gps.

OUCH

umm $948, geez thats more then my carpc setup and just for gps.

OUCH