Windows Phone Thoughts: Finding Your Voice - iGuidance 4 Reviewed

It seems that I've become the "semi-official" navigation software reviewer here at Pocket PC Thoughts. I won't say that I've seen them all… after all, I did cut Jon Westfall some slack recently and let him review DeLorme Street Atlas :wink: . But I have seen a good number of the software packages for North America, each having some features and functionality of its own. So what's left to look for? Well, iNav's iGuidance version 4 brings text-to-speech to the table. In other words, instead of merely saying "Turn right in ½ mile", it says "Turn right in ½ mile onto Capital Drive" or whatever road you're turning onto. So is this the new killer feature for navigation software? Let's take a look.

Installation
The iGuidance installation is a bit "old school" compared to some of the other programs that I've tested recently. I've gotten used to receiving an SD card, inserting it into my Pocket PC and having it install itself, with no activation required. iGuidance comes on a single DVD and you install the program from your desktop computer. Unlike other installs of this type, however, there's no actual desktop application for installing maps. All of the maps are installed to a single SD card, which you must provide. The size of the maps is 1.3 GB, so you'll need at least a nearly empty 2 GB card. The slightly unusual thing about this part of the install, however, is that it's not automated at all. You're required to find a folder on the installation DVD and manually copy it to the SD card. Not difficult, but a bit more involved than most installs.

With an active Internet connection, you can activate the program directly through the application. It requires that you enter the license code that came with your software. When successful, the software will be activated with no further input. You can also activate using a self-serve web page, via e-mail or via telephone. The latter 3 options will provide you with an unlocking code that you must enter into the software.

Creating Routes


Figure 1: The Set Destination menu. You can click on any image that contains a magnifying glass to see a larger version.

iGuidance displays your current position when it first starts up (assuming that your GPS has acquired enough satellites). From that screen, you can tap the Set Destination button (the checkered flag icon) to display the menu shown in Figure 1. The options for routing are comparable to those available in most of its competitors.


Figure 2: Entering the city name.

Tapping the Address button takes you to a screen that allows you to change the current state. After you change or accept the state, the screen in Figure 2 is displayed. Begin entering the city name and the program filters the displayed choices based on your input. When the desired city is displayed and highlighted, tap on OK.


Figure 3: Entering the street name.

You can then enter the street name. The list will again be filtered as you make your entry, and the streets displayed are limited to those in the chosen city. Again, tap on OK when the desired street is highlighted.


Figure 4: Entering the house number.

The program then displays the valid range of house numbers. Enter the desired house number and tap on OK. The program will display the entire address and will calculate a route. Intersections work much the same way… you enter the first street name and then the program displays a list of streets that intersect with it. You can choose directly from that list, or enter the street name to filter as described above.