here is An (almost) complete guide to GPS applications... from
http://forums.pinstack.com/showthread.php?t=35525which will serve as a helpful manual to nav4all gps
it was written for the blackberry, but i edited parts of it to suit the htc magic
During download, the software will ask you to set the language to be spoken
(a great variety including U.S. and U.K. English).
Once downloaded, clicking on the icon brings up a splash screen with a beautiful
(probably German) blonde who is obviously excited about the software.
Pressing any key brings up the Start Menu, which has the following options:
Photo (presumably to replace the blonde);
Continue Navigation;
Navigate To;
View Route;
Map;
Where am I?;
Flag It;
POI;
Settings;
Plan from A to B;
Compass;
GPS Information;
Remember my Location;
Remember my Parking Space;
Driving Style;
World Cities (demo);
Tracking and Tracing;
and Exit.
Clicking on Navigate To lets you set a destination address from:
Home (previously set);
Office (previously set);
My Nav4all Addresses;
Address Input (key in);
Favorites;
Previous Destinations;
Address Book;
POI;
Coordinates;
Map Point;
and GPS Position.
I have not explored all of these options.
Assuming you click on Office, a confirm screen comes up.
And here is where the significant problem with Nav4all becomes big:
the screen is configured for a cell phone
so the Next and Abort buttons are not reliably accessible.
But assuming that you roll the track ball to the Next and it works,
and the GPS is turned on,
the distance and direction to the first turn is displayed.
Distance can be set to miles/yards or km/m.
However, the current street and the street to turn to are not displayed.
A voice prompt ("to the left" or "to the right")
comes through the speaker as the turn is approached.
However, the turn is not always declared enough in advance to avoid missing the turn.
Also, I find the "yards" estimate meaningless
(how do you picture "yards" in a car moving at 45 mph?)
If you press the menu key,
the software brings up an options screen with:
Stop the Navigation;
View Route;
Display Map;
Alternative;
Block;
Flag-it
or Start Menu.
Pressing View Route lets you either get a time and distance estimate to the destination;
a turn-by-turn list;
or a map showing your current location
The map can be zoomed in and out.
If you miss a turn or decide not to follow the calculated route,
the software recalculates a new route very quickly
(faster than Mapquest Navigator).
Overall experience: the application is good,
but has flaws that make it second behind Mapquest Navigator.
The primary flaw is the screen setup,
which as discussed above somtimes hangs the application.
It is set up primarily for a European user,
and consequently has many options
that a casual U.S. user might never use
(and which I have not tested).
On the other hand, it can also be used when walking or hiking,
because the Compass feature
shows the general direction and distance to the destination.
The maps are not as clear as in Mapquest Navigator
because of the color scheme used:
it is difficult to read the street names.
hmm... another day, another gps for the gphone
this time, a honest-to-goodness turn-by-turn voice activated gps
free for 6 months
you can download it in the free android market or from
http://nav4all.com/site2/nav4all.com/eng/handset_blackberry_8100.php?m=8100on installation, it will prompt you to d/l the language
then the voice
the developers are working on a gui (graphic user interface)
but even without it, it is quite easy, fast and accurate
try it out at lunch, and it works great
need to tweak it a bit, esp to get more voice prompts
on yes, make sure you go to settings
and set the light to be on throughout the usage
try it - great stuff
http://www.cyrket.com/package/gmb.APP
Author
