Routis
"Routis 2004 is the same as iGuidance 1.1. Routis used to be made by Deluo but they no longer make Routis. There is not going to be another Routis in the future. iGuidance is the only brand name this popular software is being sold under as a stand alone product."
Delorme Street Atlas USA 2005
Pros - Decent maps, voice guided turn by turn directions, voice control of interface, POI Radar, good POI database. Auto rotating map, special high contrast "mobile" mode that helps with sunny environments.
Cons - Interface is NOT TS friendly with very small tabs and buttons, no OSK, can be difficult to integrate into a front end because of the way it names its windows. No 3d view.
Members had this to say about it:
"The info in the GPS/Navigation pane (bottom of the screen) is large enough that at standard carpc resolutions it should be fairly easy to read.
Text to speech directions are somewhat understandable. but dont bother using anything other than Microsoft's default tts voices. i tried AT&T's natural voices and it ended up messing up some parts such as reading "st." simply as that rather than "Street"
Did pretty good as to reading off directions early based on your speed and distance from the next direction"
Copilot
Pros - Good maps, OSK, 3d view, zooms in on turns when approaching. Driver safety view that places next run/distance in large text when over 10mph
Cons - Does not embed in front end software (although there is a menu setting to allow you to keep the taskbar visible to enable switching to another application). Auto-complete for street names not as good as others. Expensive. Odd movement of cursor and map.
Comments by members about Copilot:
"I think CoPilot really is a "copilot" whereas others (I use Destinator as an example a lot because I used that prior) are GPS-Mapping softwares. CoPilot says, "Give a destination. I'll give you directions to your destination. The map is optional." whereas Destinator might be described as, "My primary job is to show you a map. If you give me a destination, I'll draw your path on said map."
Microsoft Streets and Trips
Pros - Great PIO Database, has the ability to update construction zones via internet, great maps, auto rotates map, great trip planning, calculates gas stops based on MPG of your car, etc. One of the best at showing the "breadcrumb" trail where your car has been.
Cons - NOT TS friendly, small text, no turn by turn voice guided directions, no 3d view, trouble intergrating it into CF, no OSK. Requires you to manually start the GPS tracking each time the program is launched. No way to change bright map colors, making it wash out in sun.
Member comments about MS Streets and Trips:
"Streets and Trips really isn't a GPS navigation program. It's a mapping program that lets you plan your route and print it out. Features have been added to permit you to track your position using GPS but there is no direction given to turn by turn routing or rerouting if you are off track."
"I found the D3 PIO DB to be more descriptive.. and easer to find things.. but nothing compares to the PIO DB of MS Streets and Trips .. too bad it sucks for incar use.. "
Microsoft MapPoint
Pros - Fully programmable, can be used to build custom mapping applications, accepts plug-ins.
Cons - Not as many features as Streets & Trips
For all intents and purposes, MapPoint is identical to Streets & Trips. However, MapPoint is aimed at businesses and professional application that require customized mapping solutions. It can be programmed to do any number of things including driving fully customized navigation applications. However, as a standalone navigation program, it is not really intended to compete with some of the other products.
Members had this to say about MapPoint:
"MapPoint is a commercial/business-oriented version of Streets & Trips. It has tools to do area plotting and such. I tinkered with it a bit at a company I worked for in California. To be quite honest, I didnt' use any more functionality than Streets & Trips had."
"There is no MP 05, only MP 04, and since S&T 05 added several GPS related features, S&T is now more attractive for most GPS related uses than MP. Still though, MP is programmatically controllable and accepts plug-ins (AGPS comes to mind
http://www.techgt.com/AGPS/ ). S&T is not programmatically controllable."
OEM (Original Equipment Manufature) GPS'
Many cars come with GPS antennas already installed in the car. It is possible to tap into an OEM antenna and use it for your car PC. These involve a separate GPS module (serial or USB) that have an external antenna. (A thread on how to do connect to an OEM GPS is
here. )
These have the advantage of having a external waterproof antenna, eg the stock Audi or BMW Sharkfin, and the modules are quite often better at obtaining locks - e.g. cold start in as low as 30 seconds which is only just coming out in GPS mouse style solutions.
A few members who used the Garmin 15L (low voltage) OEM module on this site have shared some of their information to make an RF solutions one. Other modules are available and there is also the possibility of new dead reckoning systems from companies such as Tyco Electronics.
A little bit of electronics work is needed to convert the TTL output to serial level and to provide a battery backup and power to the reciever but this is quite simple.
Compact Flash (CF) Receivers
There are also CF type receivers that can plug into your PDA's Compact Flash slot, or your PC's PCMCIA slot with an adapter. CF is same as PCMCIA only smaller. They can come with an external waterproof antenna. Some have observed that a PDA seems to gets a lock much much faster than the PC with a CF GPS in it.
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What is the best GPS receiver?
Do you mean best, or most popular? Nearly all of the GPS receivers work reasonably well. Main differences come from speed to initial lock, ability to log where you've been, sensitivity to GPS signals, etc. Many users use the Rikaline and BU-303 models with great success.
Here is a thread that compares recievers side by side:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...t=gps+receiver
Gaaaah! When I plug in my GPS to my serial port, my mouse starts running all over the screen, randomly clicking things!
Your operating system has mistaken the GPS for a serial mouse.
Disable the serial mouse.
I love my GPS! It rocks! But now I want to use it to feed more than one application simultaneously. Is that possible?
Yes. GPS is addicting and once you start being able to pinpoint your location, you start to collect applications that do various things with GPS and require simultaneous access to your unit. Unfortunately, if your GPS is serial, you can't share the com port between two applications like iGuidance and Netstumbler. Fortunately, there are a few solutions for this.
First, if you haven't purchased your receiver yet, some Bluetooth receivers permit more than one connection at a time. If you plan on using bluetooth, this may be of help for you.
Second, there are two applications that may help.
GPSgate is a commercial application that allows you to share your ports with more than one application. It has a 14 day trial download.
Xport by our very own member Curiosity, also allows you to share access to your GPS.
Here is a thread that discusses sharing a single GPS unit with more than one application.
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That's all I can muster for the moment. If you add stuff to this thread correcting errors or adding info, I'll incorporate it.
(cool icon btw).
Linear Mode
