Database Users

10/16/2008-Golf Gps .30beta 700 Courses and growing!

3/3/09--
No program update (yet) but we now have over 700 courses world wide mapped and still growing! Mapping a course takes less than 5 minutes and is so easy! I am working on a small update to add a few new items to the program, and to make searching the course list easier. Check it out!
10/16/08--
Made some pretty serious changes to the golf gps program.
Wrote about it HERE
Download it HERE
10/7/08--
If you don't play golf, no need to read this.
I have a program that I have been on and off again working on for the last few years. It is a simple gps distance program written in C# on the .NET Framework (3.5 to be exact). I am keeping the code closed for now, but it is 100% free for the taking.
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The other thing I have been working on is a course editor. My old Windows Mobile 2003 program had a seperate program that used Yahoo maps to make the gps files, but thanks to google maps, it is now online:
Golf Gps and the course maker can be accessed from http://www.gudensoft.com/golfgps. I would post it here, but it is much easier for me to update the site. I have only personally tested this on the Titan with the built in GPS. Others have had success with a bluetooth puck on other phones/PDA's. As long as you have WM5 or higher and the .NET Framework 3.5, it should work just fine. let me know of any suggestions, improvements, etc.
Thanks
Gudy

Version .26beta released
Added some minor fixes and a new Hazard distance. read the full release notes at http://www.gudensoft.com
Thanks
Gudy

Will download and try it out before the season ends! Thanks.
Doh! Got excited too soon, no courses available in my area... giggty..

Then make one! The course maker is a breeze! Takes less than 5 minutes to map a course.
Gudy

Just wanted to say thanks for this app......it's gone straight to the top of my list of must have software on my Touch Pro....
Course maker is very quick and easy to use....5-10 minutes for each course (I've already made two)....
Used the app for the first time today....really helped, particularly as I was playing a brand new course, and you never know how accurate the yardage markers are....
Will be donating shortly.....
Keep up the good work!
Thanks
Andy

This app looks very nice...i will hopefully be trying it today on a course i just made. One thin i would like to see added is the option to do driving range distances and ultimately overhead shots of the greens for each hole. that would make this app complete imo. keep up the great work

Thanks!!! How would you like the driving range distances set up? Add like 5 points under driving range that you can add, something like that? Just not sure how that would look, but could certainly be added.
Keep the courses coming!! We are almost at 100!!!
Gudy

Seems to be a nice program...Haven't downloaded it yet but already made a map for my local golf course. Looks very promising and very easy to use....great job!!!
Already see it up on Freeware for Pocket PC!!!!

looks like a cool app. just finished making a map and will get a chance to test it this weekend. thanks and will def provide feedback

mjg7876 said:
Thanks!!! How would you like the driving range distances set up? Add like 5 points under driving range that you can add, something like that? Just not sure how that would look, but could certainly be added.
Keep the courses coming!! We are almost at 100!!!
Gudy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have it stored in the same files as the course but have like you said 5 targets for farthest to longest or something like that. (for ranges that change the tee area every day this would be nice) I work at a golf course so i got to compare this to the yardage markers as well as a sky caddy(model 2.5) today. This is very accurate until you get close to the target...within 15yards its not that great but chances are you will not need it if you are this close...this does become a problem when you try to set the front, middle and back part of the green within the app though. other than that it was within a yard of the sky caddy

1loudsvt said:
have it stored in the same files as the course but have like you said 5 targets for farthest to longest or something like that. (for ranges that change the tee area every day this would be nice) I work at a golf course so i got to compare this to the yardage markers as well as a sky caddy(model 2.5) today. This is very accurate until you get close to the target...within 15yards its not that great but chances are you will not need it if you are this close...this does become a problem when you try to set the front, middle and back part of the green within the app though. other than that it was within a yard of the sky caddy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about I add another section to the course file for a driving range (optional of course)? then, in the program under file, a selection to view driving range distances on another window? This would not only be easier to program, but might be more user friendly since there would only be one file per course.
Interesting about the distance issue up close. I have not experienced that at all, in fact I can usually get within 1 yard of a said target. What device are you using this on (and gps device if app.)? Also, what accuracy did the program report to you (ie good, very good, great etc).
Gudy

Cool program
For some reason it doesn't seem to work with the kaiser (at&t tilt to be exact)
Program loads fine, but doesn't seem to be able to use the built in GPS
always says "No Fix" even when I have another GPS program running with a good fix.

a good feature that other golf gps apps have is the ability to measure your distances, like how far you hit your drive. I also think saving an image of the hole/green would be nice.
I actually use a paid for program, but before i got it, i used freecaddie and it was very unstable. Always crashed and you had to restart the program. i will test out your program to compare to my paid for app and give you feedback.

mbritten, not sure about that, could you tell me your settings under connection, external gps, the port numbers for in and out, and if you have manage gps by windows? Also, if you have a touch screen, press and hold on the accuracy and a menu will come up, select it and it will output some current gps data. does it have a device name? what is it's status?
Joshrys--I agree with the distance idea, and need to add that. I had it in my first version of this, but haven't put it back in yet. The image thing will be down the road, but is certainly possible. Is the paid one intelligolf? If so, it is cool, but too busy if you ask me. Any and all feedback is accepted!!
Gudy

New Version Bump

just got a chance to use it at my local course. the program is great!! my buddy was actually tripping that i had the course distances on my phone. no need to get an expense gps device for the course now thanks, you made my day. did notice that it drained the battery pretty fast though. maybe its just my device.

kwill said:
just got a chance to use it at my local course. the program is great!! my buddy was actually tripping that i had the course distances on my phone. no need to get an expense gps device for the course now thanks, you made my day. did notice that it drained the battery pretty fast though. maybe its just my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I played 18 yesterday, and still had 65-70% battery(titan) when done using it nearly every hole. Not sure why yours would be more demanding. It will recover from sleep, did you allow it to sleep like normal?
Gudy

yeah, figured it had to just be me as no one else said anything about battery life. didnt really monitor if i let it go to sleep like normal. pretty sure i did as i only looked at it when needed. oh well, ive been thinking theres something wrong with my battery anyways

Works GREAT on my Tilt. Wow. Only request is that you have the ability to "name" the hazard.
Thanks! Uploaded my local course. Havent tried it on the course, but seems to lock in quick and work fine. Keep it up.

dealwagon said:
Works GREAT on my Tilt. Wow. Only request is that you have the ability to "name" the hazard.
Thanks! Uploaded my local course. Havent tried it on the course, but seems to lock in quick and work fine. Keep it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you like it. I agree with naming the hazards, played 18 the other day and couldn't remember what I marked. This will be added in a future release!
Thanks
Gudy

GL Maps - View your world in 3D - GSensor Enabled - Open Source!

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Well, Klaxon is pretty much complete except for a few bug fixes.
So, I'd been toying around with a new idea, a 3D Map viewer that is accelerometer enabled. That means you can turn your device and see other parts of the map. You need to try it to understand, it's very cool.
I got that done and started adding a couple things just to test it out. The Red "bubble" in the screenshot is where I live, and the buses are the real time locations of buses in Seattle.
I'll eventually be adding driving directions and search to this too.
Head over to my website for the CAB download.
I'll make a video shortly of this application, but you gotta try it out yourself for fun.
Upcoming VERY SOON
More Map types (traffic, satellite, terrain)
Directions Plugin
Search Plugin
Early Beta 10/12/2008
Fixed random crash bug.
Created GL Maps Plugin SDK
Created open source "standard" plugins
Source Code:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/2008/12/gl-maps-goes-open-source.html

WOAH DUDE! JUST WOAH! This was an awesome idea... i'm gunna try it out now... keep it up!!!!!
EDIT: Just tried it and it is looking GREAT! The panning is super smooth... it closed after a couple minutes of playin and zooming, but this is just a concept i understand.
can't wait for the real deal with all streets and options!!!!

itsallsubliminal said:
WOAH DUDE! JUST WOAH! This was an awesome idea... i'm gunna try it out now... keep it up!!!!!
EDIT: Just tried it and it is looking GREAT! The panning is super smooth... it closed after a couple minutes of playin and zooming, but this is just a concept i understand.
can't wait for the real deal with all streets and options!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just found that bug
I'm pretty excited about this application, so stay tuned for a lot of updates this weekend!
I'll probably be releasing an API to this as well, so developers can make add their own map overlays. For example, someone could implement search, or GPS, weather, or bus schedules etc through this API.

Koush said:
I just found that bug
I'm pretty excited about this application, so stay tuned for a lot of updates this weekend!
I'll probably be releasing an API to this as well, so developers can make add their own map overlays. For example, someone could implement search, or GPS, weather, or bus schedules etc through this API.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is wicked man! I just wish i knew how to develop... really, i'm in the quicksand when it comes to it
but keep this up, this will definitely be my #1 and ONLY map prog!!!
Thanks a bunch

oo, an idea i just had:
The black area on top of the map, if you could make it look more blue, or even have like clouds...??? maybe?

Another great app!
Still working on Omnipresence?

koven said:
Another great app!
Still working on Omnipresence?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, I got kind of bored with it, so I quit working on it for now. I'll probably start working again on it someday!

Posted this up at ppcgeeks so people will swarm you with dropping jaws lol...
this is great man... here's the thread over there http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=454611#post454611
Thanks!

Is it feasible to consider integrating google street view? I saw a nice video of something like that running on android.

uniqueboy said:
Is it feasible to consider integrating google street view? I saw a nice video of something like that running on android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm working on a Plugin architecture right now so people can overlay whatever images they want on the map. But, yes, this is one of the first ones I'm going to try to implement.

real time bus locations
...I wonder if that could work for London?

merrica said:
real time bus locations
...I wonder if that could work for London?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think there would be a delay!

...so does this get the tiles from some source or still it is a "concept" where you have some preloaded tiles?
Edit: I see it DOES load from a source (is thie google or microsoft?)
I see it is just a concept yet at is preset to load that bus thing. I trust you plan to make those options on/off (and add others)?
Also why QVGA?
(btw, please man don't forget Klaxon yet... it has some way to go, not just bug fixing)

uniqueboy said:
I think there would be a delay!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you intimating that buses in London are less than prompt?
....and I just thought it was some weird space-time continuum thingy that made a 'bus due in 2 minutes' sign on a bus stop in London actually mean a 10 to 15 minute wait

so where are those updates??? were still tuned

This is a really cool app.... i hope you will make a GController-like app (send keystrokes to active windows, games included, through g-sen)
However, have you ever seen the Microsoft live maps?? they have also a 3D view, i think VERY GOOD to give a gear to your new app
You can also switch to ibrid mode, and channge all the 4 angles of view; btw choose the map to use would be the right solution
...remember to add a quick way to activate/deactivate the g-gestures

Yes, currently it is pulling from Google maps. But I can make it pull from any tile server source, such as Live Maps, Yahoo, Mapquest, etc.
kultus said:
so where are those updates??? were still tuned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very close to releasing the API! Don't worry!
The first release of the open source plugins I'll be releasing (so other developers can learn how to make them too) are:
GPS
Geolocation (from WiFi and Celltower)
G-Sensor control
Nav Sensor zoom
I'm hoping that other developers help drive this project, and not just me.

I've been spending the past few days fleshing out the GL Maps API: my goal is to allow any developer to view, modify, or add content into the map. That's the approach Microsoft and Google have taken with their JavaScript/web clients, but neither of those run particularly well on a phone. And they're not 3D and accelerometer savvy either! So, I'm hoping that other bored engineers at XDA-Developers decide to write their own plug-ins and help make this a great application.
So, to foster that, I'm open sourcing the "standard" plug-ins I've written so far:
GPS and Google Gears Geolocation Plug-In:
This requires that Google Gears be installed on your phone. Download the CAB from http://dl.google.com/gears/current/gears-wince-opt.cab
Nav Sensor Plug-in
Seattle Metro Bus Tracker
Head over to my website for the download for both GL Maps and the SDK (including source code to the standard plugins).

this progress is great already! got a quick gps lock and absolutely love the accelerometer lock!

Anyone know how this can be done for Toronto Subways in Canada?

DIY mapping - perfect for X1

Useful set of freeware software from a Dutch company specialising in navigation software. Primarily used for marine mapping but can easily be used onland as well.
Basic concept is that you scan in your map to a picture file on your PC, then using the calibration app you triangulate three known GPS coords, and then you have a usable map to download to the mobile app running on the X1.
http://www.stentec.com/en/support/downloads
DKW Builder 1.2.4.1 Lite - calibrates the scanned map
DKW Manager 1.3.11.0 - manages map sets, and the loading to the phone
WinGPS 4.0.7.0 Mobile Lite - the app to be loaded on the phone
I have used these for some time, originally with XDA and bluetooth GPS.
Copy satellite images, stitch these in with road maps etc.
Enjoy.
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Efficasoft GPS Utilities is way better for this, since you don't need a PC app to load the map. You can directly load any picture file and it only takes 2 points to calibrate (Which makes sense to me), so you also have the possibility to actually walk to a point you know on the map and use your GPS reading directly. It also comes with compass and stuff - the only disadvantage is that you have to pay for it and there is no keygen (so far - I hope there will be one soon).

Tks Firewall for this pointer to Efficasoft GPS, it looks like a neat tool, with tons of features. As with both apps, I much prefer maps loaded on the phone rather than the continuous online loading from Google or Multimap.
The Stentec set of apps are more elaborate as they are targetted for sailors who need greater level of detail, and are dealing with multiple sets. As freeware I think Stentec give a great level of functionality. Their pro versions are in the 100's of euro.
Whether you walk to a point to get the GPS reading or copy a known ref point from Google Earth it doesnt really matter. Google will allow you to quickly pick distant points on the map which ultimately give you better accuracy. It will also allow you to prepare you map in advance, you dont want to spend time when you hit the ground driving/walking just to calibrate a map, me thinks.
For calibration it is much better to have three ref points, and the further apart the better. A triangle will provide a more accurate dimensioning than a straight line. Any minor error close in, is exploded further out.

There's also GPSvp which is opensource and available via google code..
It does use google or live maps, and openstreetmap, but it caches them so you don't always need a net connection when you're out and about.
It also can use garmin maps, which is good as there are some free ones around in that format.
It also has a desktop version, which means you can download all the "tiles" you need on the pc then transfer them across to the x1 for field use..
It's now being updated pretty regularily as well which is great .
http://code.google.com/p/gpsvp/

pokdub said:
For calibration it is much better to have three ref points, and the further apart the better. A triangle will provide a more accurate dimensioning than a straight line. Any minor error close in, is exploded further out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I use geological/survey mapping for a living. There are a number of specialised, proprietary programs on my device, but a generally available one is PathAway (now version 5). You need a 3-point calibration from Google or more accurately digital topography maps as sold by Govt Departments, but you can then use JPG's or ECW's as a base map to keep the size manageable.
But the z-value (altitude) from PDA's is not really accurate at all. x,y-values are good to about 2m generally.

Of course it depends on you whether it's better to load maps from your PC or from your PDA. If you really are a sailor and you have to set up a big region, the PC is your friend - my reason for using such an application however is different. I don't have a boat, so for street navigation I rely on Garmin XT Mobile. I would use tools like Efficasoft GPS Utilities for example if someone gives me a map of a specific region - offroad. Say for a treasure hunt or something like this. You can take a Snapshot of the map with your camera, then load the picture, walk a few meters to determine two well-known points and you're ready to go.

gpsVP looks to be a fantastic project. I have installed it onto the X1 and will try to get to grips with it over the following days.
First thing is to read a dummy-guide.

pokdub said:
gpsVP looks to be a fantastic project. I have installed it onto the X1 and will try to get to grips with it over the following days.
First thing is to read a dummy-guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol yeah, but it's pretty logical to play with.

First issue with gpsVP is similar to the one I had with the Wayfinder app.
If the app is active when the phone is turned off, the GPS keeps active and drains the phone battery overnight. And it is not a graceful discharge, it takes every ounce of power and requires some recharging before I can even power up the phone again.
Lesson: dont leave a GPS app active when you turn off.

pokdub said:
First issue with gpsVP is similar to the one I had with the Wayfinder app.
If the app is active when the phone is turned off, the GPS keeps active and drains the phone battery overnight. And it is not a graceful discharge, it takes every ounce of power and requires some recharging before I can even power up the phone again.
Lesson: dont leave a GPS app active when you turn off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL yep, phone is separate to the functions of the PDA..

Ultimate VoIP-Discussion: Best VoIP-Client (SIP) for Jade

Dear all,
I´ve been trying out quite a lot VoIP-Clients on my jade and would like to share my results with you. Maybe some of you have some more experience or other good feedback, which I would appreciate!
My VoIP-Provider is www.sipgate.de. They offer a free German landline... So my results are based on sipgate (and their "coding"?), maybe the bad results depend on the mixture with the client and the provider...
All tests were runned while using a fast WiFi connection.
AGEPhone
I tried ageet-AEGPhone. On my side the sound quality was ok, but the called person said my voice came with a lot of small interruptions so the phonecall had a non acceptable quality. So AGEPhone is out.
WM61 VoIP
As well, I tried to activate the built in VoIP of WM61 like explained in this thread. It generally worked, but the result was the same. The called person only heared a very bad quality of my voice, with a frequent, repeated hacked sound... Too bad.
PortSip
PortSip, sorry to say, same result. The sound-quality on the other side was very bad.
Skype Beta
Skype Beta 3.0.0.100 runs good as well. The sound quality is quite ok, even on 3G/UMTS (be aware! flatrate recommended!)
As well you can "register" your mobile number as caller-id, and sms-sending is supported as well. Pretty cool!
Disadvantages are, that it only runs with the backside speaker (or headset) and you cannot access the phonebook (so you would have to add your contacts manually in advance...) Told the support already and they want to try to work on it in upcoming versions. And, if you do not have a skype-in-number, no one can call you...
Fring
At least for me, Fring is the only app where the sound quality is acceptable for both sides, me and the called partner. You can use the regular phone-speaker, not the backside one!
Another advantage is, that it grants access to your phonebook, and you can decide if you want to make a VoIP-Call or a regular call with your mobile phone. Fring is basically all you expect from a VoIP-Client. Currently, at least for me, its the app to use.
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Be carefull if you want to use VoIP in a foreign country. If you use it with the internet of the roaming-provider, it might get very expensive!! (Happened to a friend of mine, Nokia Communicator, 5 days in Budapest: 250€! ). So be sure to have the app NoData installed while travelling in other countries. With this app you can deactivate all connection points so the phone wont connect to the internet with the roaming-provider, only wifi will be available...

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
I must say I had a very similar experience. After a couple of unsuccessful experiences the only software that works with a minimum quality is Fring, despite people on the other side complain that they heard me with dificult.

hey, thanks for the review. I am also searching for ages for a perfect SIP client and tried a lot too. for me,
AGEPhone is atm the best choice. I even bought the full version. I love how responsive the UI is, although I have to add that there were some crashes after or during long calls.. the sound quality is pretty decent, I hear the other party cristalclear, but that seems to depend on my luck. sometimes I can barely hear the other one. hm.
tried WM61Voip often, also with my old Prophet, and it never worked well. I hate it that MS is not implementing SIP in WM6/6.5, but I guess thats a network provider thing..
I never tried PortSip, but for both Skype and Fring I felt the audio codecs seem to be to complex for my little Jade. its always getting hot and at least for my side, I felt that the audio quality of AGEPhone was slightly better.
Actually I must add that I also prefer standard SIP Voip over Skype on my PC, at least for calling PSTN and not PC2PC.
--
I guess there's no perfect VOIP client atm. Depending on your network and your home country (and your ROM, probably), there's always some differences in the tools. I for myself are German too, using also sipgate, but reside in Beijing for work at the moment. Still, the connection to the German Sipgate servers is pretty stable. I always use AGEphone in the starbux around (sometimes they block SIP, sometimes not), but after your review, I'll install Fring again and try. Been a while..
A question here:I heard Fring is not working on wm6.5?
thanks!

Thx to both of you for your feedback!
@S200guy,
I am really surprised that for you AGEPhone is the best app atm. Maybe you can share your settings with screenshots with us? I only tried it with the "out-of-the-box" settings, and I was unwilling to RTFM! On my side, the soundquality was pretty good. I tested it with my mom, and she was pretty pissed about the quality (even after I tried to explain to her that it is VoIP and it cannot be like Telekom in the old days... blablabla... Parents! )
Another thing, as you reside in China, check out http://emuneee.wordpress.com/eeenno/Speeed-Reader/ . Its an app for reader.google.com
I lived in Vietnam for about 3,5 month and faced some internet censorship problems... With google reader I have been able to read all rss-stuff, even the blocked one, as google is fetching the stuff.
Finally, I found another app, Talkonaut. http://www.talkonaut.com/
But for me it was impossible to register. So I cannot say if - as long as registering works - the app works fine.

Forget TomTom, you may want to try this..

I was fed up trying to get TomTom working on my TP2, and after a lenghty process of talking to their technical deaprtment, and them finally saying that it is not compatible with the TP2 (load of boll*x) i needed to find an alternative.
Just by chance, HTC were giving a free 15 day trial of the Co-Pilot. Downloaded it, and within an hour i paid for the full blown version, and at only £25.00 it is just as good, if not better than TomTom, and at a fraction of the price.
Maps are easy to buy, and none of the crap that you get when trying to buy and download them from TomTom.
Try it for yourself http://www.alk.com/htc/uk/

Note, you cannot uninstalled co-pilot later if you decided not to use it. You have to end up hard reset in order to get rit of it.
Good luck

Ok ok, i know, im thick.
I downloaded this, followed the instructions on the HTC website, and cant start the app.
There appears to be no .exe, and no entries anywhere for it in the OS ?
Would someone with grey matter care to enlighten me please ?

Jimllfixit said:
it is just as good, if not better than TomTom, and at a fraction of the price.
Maps are easy to buy, and none of the crap that you get when trying to buy and download them from TomTom.
Try it for yourself http://www.alk.com/htc/uk/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no fan of TomTom's board of directors, or it's marketing and sales department. I am, however, impressed with TomTom's software. I've been using TTv6 on my old PDA/Phone for over two years, and it's never steered me wrong. I will not, however, be parting with my hard-earned cash for an updated version of TomTom because of TomTom's intransigence and ignorance of their original customer base. as a result, I'm testing various competitors products for myself...
I've been trialling CoPilot7 (there's no v8 trial atm), and my experiences most definitely do not match yours.
I have found:
The routings to be questionable - TomTom is better at routing.
The vocal instructions are lacking in some VERY important places.
Its handling of POI files, and particularly Safety Camera file imports (Pocket GPS World camera files) is appallingly managed.
It cannot accept custom POI icons.
One of it's main safety features is buggy - auto switching from day to night maps is not handled at all well - in many cases, the changeover has been effected AFTER light levels have effectively fallen to near night levels.
I have no idea what the brouhaha over it is, it's not at all what I was led to expect, and about the only positive pair of things I can say about it is that the maps were up to date, and the maps were at least clear and easy to understand.
I have three more days of the ALK CoPilot 7 trial left. I will not be purchasing it, and will be deleting it, and removing al registry entries relating to it, once the trial is over.
I'll be testing navigon next.
Oh, and if you want to see my full experiences over the testing period, look at my blog (see sig strip)

try igo
I have IGO 8 a very nice and simple nav softvare in basic mode.
there is a lot of options when you switch to pro mod.

Garmin all the way
I just use Garmin, installs and works like a charm with no effort what so ever.
Here are some screens
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Navigon's the next package I'm testing...
Here's a tricky one then, and I can't see it in the FAQs over on the Navigon site - how the heck do you run Navigon Navigator 7 once you've copied all the runtime files onto your storage card - it doesn't have a dedicated CAB file, and thus doesn't get assimilated into the WinMob device registry, and thus doesn't appear in the program listings?!
Are they seriously telling me that I have to run File Explorer, go to the Navigon folder on my storage card, and find and run the main program executable file in there, EVERY time I want to run the software package on my TP2?
Either they're having a laugh, or this is gonna be of of the shortest trial runs in history...

marian933 said:
I have IGO 8 a very nice and simple nav softvare in basic mode.
there is a lot of options when you switch to pro mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only problem with iGo8 is the limitation on the card used to run the package - 2 gig non-transferable. In these days of increased storage capacity, that's a pretty feeble attempt at Corporate Humour.
OK, so limiting the card size helps them prevent software piracy, I can follow the logic - they issue the card themselves, and can thus make sure that the package looks to particular places on the card for particular run-time files. Common sense there. Copying the card will change the address on the card of those files, and thus render the software useless. No arguments there, but hells bells, surely they could figure out a safe way to allow users to migrate the package onto a larger size storage card for ease of use with other data as well?
That's the ONE sticking point I have with iGo8 - the card. Not the package - the reviews I've seen look excellent. It's the storage limitation. Without a satnav package on it, the 16 gig card I currently use is already pushing 4 gigs of saved data, from MP3s to video files, documents of one form or another, imagery (photos and diagrams) and so on. Adding a satnav package to THAT card makes sense - I don't wanna be forever changing out cards willy-nilly.
THAT'S the limiting factor, and thus the deal breaker as far as I'm concerned.

RogerStenning said:
I'm no fan of TomTom's board of directors, or it's marketing and sales department. I am, however, impressed with TomTom's software. I've been using TTv6 on my old PDA/Phone for over two years, and it's never steered me wrong. I will not, however, be parting with my hard-earned cash for an updated version of TomTom because of TomTom's intransigence and ignorance of their original customer base. as a result, I'm testing various competitors products for myself...
I've been trialling CoPilot7 (there's no v8 trial atm), and my experiences most definitely do not match yours.
I have found:
The routings to be questionable - TomTom is better at routing.
The vocal instructions are lacking in some VERY important places.
Its handling of POI files, and particularly Safety Camera file imports (Pocket GPS World camera files) is appallingly managed.
It cannot accept custom POI icons.
One of it's main safety features is buggy - auto switching from day to night maps is not handled at all well - in many cases, the changeover has been effected AFTER light levels have effectively fallen to near night levels.
I have no idea what the brouhaha over it is, it's not at all what I was led to expect, and about the only positive pair of things I can say about it is that the maps were up to date, and the maps were at least clear and easy to understand.
I have three more days of the ALK CoPilot 7 trial left. I will not be purchasing it, and will be deleting it, and removing al registry entries relating to it, once the trial is over.
I'll be testing navigon next.
Oh, and if you want to see my full experiences over the testing period, look at my blog (see sig strip)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roger,
You dont work for a consumer watchdog do you? LOL

PMSL, no Jim, I just get very hacked off with firms that ignore the very custiomers that made them what they are when it's convenient for them to do so. Not only is it very poor customer relations practice, it's shoddy business practice, and frankly insulting to those customers. Gets my goat, somewhat, as you might've noticed
So, I fire back with whatever I have in my arsenal, which is mainly, as the small bloke on the street, my gob The fact that I can stick together a few words here and there and produce a coherent sentence along the way is merely a by-product of a reasonable education and a very poor attitude *evil grin*
Oh, and Navigon does, it appears, have a cab file... just took forever for my TP2 to "see" it, which it only just did, some six hours after I installed the software, lol

I know there are pro's and com's for every product out there, but can someone do some market research on the cost of these products?
I know that TomTom can be purchased for about £90.00 for UK and ireland maps, and even more for European ones, But Co-Pilot can be purchased for £26.00, correct me if im wrong, but you dont go and buy a Ford Fiesta and expect it to go 200 miles an hour!!!!!
You do pay for what you get, and this must be taken into consideration.

26 quid? dunno where you got that price, mate, but it may not be the "live" version you're looking at, which is £55.99 direct from ALK themselves. - http://www.alk.eu.com/buynow/cpl7_hd.asp
Interestingly, the one product I WANT to try, which is NavMii, and IS dirt cheap compared to TomTom (45 quid near as dammit), and allegedly has CoPilot beat hands down even in it's current early version, doesn't have a trial version...

RogerStenning said:
26 quid? dunno where you got that price, mate, but it may not be the "live" version you're looking at, which is £55.99 direct from ALK themselves. - http://www.alk.eu.com/buynow/cpl7_hd.asp
Interestingly, the one product I WANT to try, which is NavMii, and IS dirt cheap compared to TomTom (45 quid near as dammit), and allegedly has CoPilot beat hands down even in it's current early version, doesn't have a trial version...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it was the full version (Live) FOR £26.00
Taken from my bill
-----------------------------------------------------------
ORDER SUMMARY
-----------------------------------------------------------
1 CoPilot Live 7 (UK+Ireland Maps) @ £25.99 Each
Key: ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
CP7-SW-DIG-UKIRE-HTCTA
Item total: £25.99
Order Total: £25.99
-----------------------------------------------------------
QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR ORDER
-----------------------------------------------------------
Our Customer Service Team is available to answer your questions via email: [email protected]
Thanks again for shopping at ALK.eu.com.

I'm using McGuider 2009 atm. Instead of TT7 it does have lane assist. http://www.mcguider.com

I tried Navigon after the TomTom bluetooth fiasco. I liked the 30 day free trial, and the spoken street names.
I didn't like the fact that it appears to only have an ABC style keyboard, it took forever to start up, and for some reason, even longer to shutdown. It wanted to warn me that I was exceeding the 30mph limit for the 50mph dual-carriageway I was on every few seconds, and that its route planning decided that the best way along a test route from A-B was through the centre of a town, rather than via the by-pass (it was set to fastest route option). The menus seemed clumsy.
Comparing Navigon with TomTom, I would buy TomTom anyday, and rip the bluetooth files from the cab before installing.
I would like to give Garmin a go since I have a rather old, standalone Garmin sat-nav, and trust it fully. However there seems to be no free trial option, and with the way software seems to not play well with the TP2, I'd rather not take the risk!
Be intersting to see others feedback of comparisons.

marian933 said:
I have IGO 8 a very nice and simple nav softvare in basic mode.
there is a lot of options when you switch to pro mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the North American version of IGO8 (OCN8) on my Touch HD (maybe soon Touch Pro2). OCN8 is a feature packed program with nice graphics, but it's a memory hog. It's slow when my HD with Onkolog's custom ROM has 130 MB (150MB at boot!). From what I've seen, the Pro2 has 90MB at boot making me ask the question; which GPS application for North America will run well on the Pro2?

I use IGO 8 on a 16GB miroSD card...so the free space is not a problem.

mdalacu said:
I use IGO 8 on a 16GB miroSD card...so the free space is not a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obvious question... HOW did you get it onto a 16 gig card? Nav'n'Go only supply either 2 or 4 gig cards, and state you can't copy it to a fresh card or it'll stop working?!
http://www.navngo.com/pages/global/eng/igo_8_description

RogerStenning said:
Navigon's the next package I'm testing...
Here's a tricky one then, and I can't see it in the FAQs over on the Navigon site - how the heck do you run Navigon Navigator 7 once you've copied all the runtime files onto your storage card - it doesn't have a dedicated CAB file, and thus doesn't get assimilated into the WinMob device registry, and thus doesn't appear in the program listings?!
Are they seriously telling me that I have to run File Explorer, go to the Navigon folder on my storage card, and find and run the main program executable file in there, EVERY time I want to run the software package on my TP2?
Either they're having a laugh, or this is gonna be of of the shortest trial runs in history...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to put a shortcut in the \Windows\Start Menu\Programs Folder. Can't remember if the option to paste shortcut is available in the standard explorer as I use resco explorer. But if it is, just copy the MobileNavigator.exe file from the navigon folder and paste shortcut into the programs folder, or straight into the Start Menu folder if you want it as one of the fixed shortcuts on the windows start menu.

igo 8
right igo use only 2 - 4 gigs sd.
it seems he use a cracked version....