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Best of the best in GPS apps (continued)
Overall, Google Maps Mobile earns 3 out of 5. It's a decent, fairly accurate GPS map application. But its data requirement can end up being expensive.
OUR RATING: 3 of 5
Microsoft Live Search for Windows Mobile
Like Google's Mobile Maps, Live Search for Windows Mobile is a Pocket PC port of the desktop version. Unlike Google Maps though, it is only available for Windows Mobile.
As you can see in Figure D, although its interface varies slightly from that of Google's application, Live Search offers essentially the same services.
FIGURE D
 
Live Search offers a range of services Roll over picture for a larger image.
In addition to your choice of a map or satellite display, it will show traffic (if available in your area), give you routing directions like those shown in Figure E, as well as a variety of search categories from local activities and government, to restaurants and shopping.
FIGURE E
 
Dead-on routing in Live Search for Windows Mobile. Roll over picture for a larger image.
Figure F below shows some of the search categories Live Search for Windows Mobile offers.
FIGURE F
 
Live Search's search categories. Roll over picture for a larger image.
It even has the dedicated Movies locator shown in Figure G.
FIGURE G
 
Live Search for Windows Mobile's Movie finder. Roll over picture for a larger image.
Live Search Mobile will interface with any available GPS device and provide you with turn-by-turn directions. The directions were quite accurate, without taking you of the way. Sometimes a local resident may know a "better" way to get to a particular location, but in most instances Live Search provided me with the route I would have taken on my own.
Live Search's location results were very accurate. In fact, I didn't know the convenience store a block away from my house carried Pizza Hut pizza until it turned up as a location hit in Live Search. I was quite impressed.
Although it's only available for Windows Mobile devices, Live Search Mobile is an excellent piece of very accurate GPS mapping software. The application itself may be free, but its requirement for a data connection and its data usage could make it cost-prohibitive. I give it 3 out of 5.
OUR RATING: 3 of 5
Earthcomber
The final free application we'll be looking at is Earthcomber. Of the free applications, it has the widest range of availability, with offerings for iPhone, Web-enabled cell phones, Blackberry, touchscreen Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices, and recently, the PC as well.
I actually didn't care for the PC-Web version, and found it to be quite limited in features as compared to the Windows Mobile version. Therefore, my coverage of that particular aspect will be limited to the screenshot in Figure H and this mention.
FIGURE H
 
Earthcomber's feature-limited PC-Web version. Roll over picture for a larger image.
Earthcomber's routing is just as accurate as the other two, but unlike Google and Live Search, as you can see in Figure I, it does not display the route path on the map.
FIGURE I
 
Earthcomber doesn't offer on-the-map routing. Roll over picture for a larger image.
Because the directions are displayed in text form with no voice prompting, it makes Earthcomber virtually impossible to use for on-the-road navigating. And although its maps and POI data is stored on your device (or its storage card), Earthcomber does require a data connection to compute directions.
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