Pocket Streets for Smartphone by Microsoft Corporation

[Guest squall]

encece pointed me toward this release from microsoft on handango

Take a map with you wherever you go with Microsoft® Pocket Streets for Smartphone, the street-level mapping guide for your Windows Mobile-based Smartphone.

Overview  

Pocket Streets for Smartphone offers great map guide functionality right on your Smartphone. Locate addresses, intersections and points of interest or customize locations by inserting your own pushpins. Download maps of cities in the US, Canada and Western Europe from the Pocket Streets web site, or create your own maps using Microsoft desktop applications MapPoint, Streets & Trips or AutoRoute.   Once your maps have been synced to your Smartphone you can access them when you need them most, when you are on the go.  

Price: $24.95 + Vat !!

>> SEE HERE <<

[Guest squall]

Street-smart mapping

Once you have copied a map to your Smartphone, search the map quickly by using the Find Address or Find Place functions. If you don't know the entire address, Pocket Streets accepts a partial address or company name and returns a list of possible options.  You can also visually roam around the map and look for the "Points of Interest" icons. Pocket Streets maps contain many types of points of interest including ATMs, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, even shopping centers and auto service centers, that can be located visually or by using the Find Place feature.  

 

Find the nearest cash or ATM in a flash

Pocket Streets has an extensive list of bank ATMs and public transportation sites built into the maps. To turn on the Points of Interest categories that you're trying to locate, simply select Menu, Points of Interest, and then check the ones you would like to be displayed. Or use Menu, Find Address to enter your current location. Zoom out until you see the first icon that represents what you're looking for (say a train station) and that's the nearest one!  

Let your Smartphone guide you to dinner

If you're having trouble deciding where to eat, select Menu -> Find Place and type in whatever you're craving. Entering "Italian" will return a list of restaurants with "Italian" in their name, and entering "pizza" will return a list of pizza places in the neighborhood.

Requirements

Requires 350 kb on device. Storage card recommended for maps. Microsoft ActiveSync® 3.6 or later.  

[Guest Palindrome]

I like the idea of this, loads of functionality and features, but it's a shame there isn't a trial version. It's not an increadibly cheap buy, around £13, so I'd rather try it before coughing up the dough just in case it doesn't work as well as advertised.

[Guest squall]

yeah could do with a review i think. so if anyone has bought it...

[Guest mcwarre]

The cheeky Gits add VAT on top of the $24.95 so even after a plus discount of 10% it comes to $26.38.

This is even more cheeky when you already have a copy of Autoroute which comes with a free copy of Pocket Street (albeit for pocketpc not smartphone).

[Guest nickcornaglia]

It's very cool that Microsoft have finally released this. It shows they are attempting to port some of their PPC apps over to the Smartphone...FINALLY. Very exciting sign of their commitment to continually expand the device's usage.

I'll give it a try. I hope it's worth it as Mapopolis is already doing a fine job with the inclusion of GPS functionality.

Next I hope Microsoft ports MSReader and MicrosoftMoney to the Smartphone. Then I really wont miss anything from my PPC days.

[Guest sponge]

So how does it work? Do you pay for the application and then get unlimited map downloads?

[Guest A.Hughes]

Theres no trial version, but the maps are free and lots of them.

http://www.microsoft.com/mappoint/business...anguage=english

I think its worth the investment, although mapopolis and the gps function might just be the one, but then again the E200 dont have GPS functionality!!!

[Guest Dectomax]

It does now!! :)

[Guest drblow]

HOW??? :shock:

[Guest A.Hughes]

thats what i thought drblow??????????

[Guest ferret]

I think Dectomax means the inclusion of some BT profile that allows the e200 to connect to a BT enabled GPS receiver, in the latest update / downdate (depending on your view, me? personally it's the later anyway, back on topic ....)

That's what I understood reading various mapopolis / update threads, have to confess I've only started playing with BT and I have a standalone GPS.

[Guest ferryrich]

can't you use a serial cable to a GPS?

[Guest rhaleuk]

Hi,

I downloaded it this morning. Played with it for about 30 minutes. Mainly on the New York / Manhatten map because I'm off there next week. I know NY pretty well and the maps are excellently represented.

Speed on navigation is quite good, but certainly not instant. Everytime you move or zoom you do get the egg timer, but its very brief. You can zoom in and out to extreme lengths. On the New York maps you can zoom in enough so that one block fills the whole screen, or out so that you have the whole island of manhatten.

What I'm most impressed with are " Points of Interest " - you can add things such as hotels, resaurants, shops, landmarks etc etc - and on the New York maps there are THOUSANDS of these items, and including them on the map doesnt seem to slow the map down. I even found my hotel just off Times Square, and had a look on 5th Avenue, and even individual shops are included.

I've also had a very brief look at a map in Connecticut, where I am also going, and it seems acurate, but I dont know the area nearly so well as New York. I can say that navigation is much quicker though - I guess because there isnt so much detail required.

On early impressions I'm quite pleased. It will be a valuable tool when I'm on holiday. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I'll try and answer :)