I like playing with GPS devices and software.  I’ve written many reviews on the subject, including reviews on a popular GPS website.  I’ve even written reviews on previous versions of Space Machine’s Pocketmap Navigator.  Pocketmap was one of the first PDA navigation apps that allowed you to reliably calculate a nationwide (U.S.) route.  But after their Pocketmap 2004 (v3) release, they kind of disappeared.  They left us without support for the then new Windows Mobile 5 or VGA displays. Most of us thought they were permanently gone from the market, which had increasingly moved toward PNAs (personal navigation appliances).

Enter 2009.  Without major announcement, Pocketmap has reappeared with a new v4 application.  What’s new after 4+ years?  Read on, gentle reader, read on….

First and foremost, Pocketmap Navigator v4 now operates on WM 5 and WM6 devices.  Although they do not specifically list VGA support, I sucessfully ran the program on a device with a VGA display.

The new version is similar in many ways to the previous version.  The map graphics are very much the same as they have been since the last version, but there’s a slightly cleaner look about the main display.  The overlays for navigation (turn notification, etc.) have altered.  The visual turn instructions are definitelyly clearer than before.

 

The old menu system is gone.  It’s been replaced by a simplified system that is, generally, more finger-friendly.  There are still quite a few things that are not finger friendly, so you still have to periodically use the stylus.

Route selection and calculation is reasonably fast (as is rerouting when necessary), but the routes chosen are sometimes not optimal (even when tweaking the settings).  There is a choice to prefer highways vs/ side streets, for example, but no choice for simply the “Fastest/Quickest” route.  In their simplification, they actually removed some of the variables you used to be able to choose when determining the nature of the route to be selected.  It’s simpler, but at the expense of customization.

For users of earlier versions of this program, there really aren’t many “new” features other than the finger-friendly approach and the use of Navteq maps. I think this version is more about cleaning up and simplifying the interface – a common trend these days, making the app available to operate on Windows Mobile 5 and 6, and making the move to Navteq maps.

The Navteq maps, while generally considered to be better in the U.S. than TeleAtlas, actually had a number of errors in my home area, especially in the speed assignments on road segments.  This creates some small problems with the routing algorithms used, because the assumptions about road speed are incorrect.  These are generally minor problems, though.  But with the overall improvements in TeleAtlas maps over the past couple of years, I’m not certain that the shift in map suppliers was necessary or even all that helpful.  Your mileage, as they say, will vary.

The old version of the application used to have supply voice navigation with TTS.  While this didn’t always do a great job reading off street names, it was there.  Now we get the voice instructions, but no TTS.  The road names are no longer announced.  But instructions like “turn left”, “go straight”, etc.  are still delivered in a voice announcement as well as indication on the map display.

Another item I found interesting is that this program, despite the elimination of TTS support, and reduction in customization options, the new version actually seems to consume more RAM than it’s predacessor – or maybe it just utilized it less efficiently – I’m not sure.  In any case, I had a lot more difficulty getting it to operate stably on a 64MB RAM device than I did it’s predacessor.  If you have a 128MB RAM device or better, this shouldn’t be a problem, though.

What I Liked: I like the finger-friendly controls.  I like the clear visual navigation instructions and the colorful display.  The program is very straightforward and easy to use.

What Needs Improvement: The program still needs some corrections in its maps and possible tweaking os some of its routing algorithms.  For example, I was told on one route to make a left turn that was impossible due to a road median.   Also the navigation instructions tended to make announcements like “turn slight right” when going through a perfectly straight intersection without even the slightest bend in them.

Also of note – the app really should have run better on a 64MB RAM device.  I had trouble even with all other applications (including today screen mods) removed.  I’d like to see the app play a little nicer in a base Windows mobile device.

Overall: I like PocketMap Navigator.  This version, however, doesn’t offer any major new features, it simply makes the move to Navteq maps and offers compatability with Windows Mobile 5/6.   In addition, you lost the old TTS functionality and it seems to be MORE memory sensitive on 64MB devices than it’s predacessor!.  In my opinion, you even give up a little overall functionality in the process, but gain some finger friendliness.  For fans of previous versions of this app, or people used to the feature sets of TomTom or iGo products, I think they will be a little disappointed.  For navigation newbies, this is an excellent app with a solid base feature set, but lacking high-end features like TTS (text to speech) directions or 3D building graphics/landscapes.

There is supposed to be an update being released in the near future, but I am not certain what is slated to be covered in that update.  Hopefully it will include improvements in the memory utilization.

PocketMap Navigator is available from the PocketMap store.  The price is $99.95 for the full USA version or $50 for the upgrade version (you must provide your 3.x license code).

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