Thursday, May 4, 2006
Pharos Traveler 525 GPS Part 2 - Ostia 7.5 Navigation Software
Posted by Don Tolson in "HARDWARE" @ 08:00 AM
But wait, there’s more! If there aren’t enough options for you here, there’s also a screenful of other options available to configure the Ostia software.
Figure 23: The Options screen – available from the Go/Menu/Options buttons.
Most of the screen shots in this review have been in what Pharos calls the modern interface. For those who prefer the more classic interface with menus at the bottom of the screen, Ostia can be configured for this as well.
Figure 24: Ostia’s Classic interface – notice the menu options available at the bottom of the screen.
Figure 25: The buttons available when you press the Go button when using the Classic interface – lots more functions available.
While the classic interface is not as usable when actually traveling (it’s difficult to touch those menus with your fingers!). I find I’ve left the classic interface on since it gives me much more direct access to the features I want most in Ostia.
Conclusions
I haven’t had experience working with any other navigation software, but from reading through the reviews of other products both here and on other sites, it seems that Ostia can stand up very well with the rest of the pack with regard to the features provided. Using the navigation software provided is reasonably straightforward and it was kind of fun putting it through its paces. The Ostia navigation software is good around the cities, and the later versions of the maps were much better on highways and in the outlying areas. (It even had the streets in the village at the ski resort marked and named!). As I noted before, I would not depend on the voice prompts alone to get me from point A to point B, but in combination with the text directions at the bottom of the screen, it very reliably got me to wherever I needed to be.
Don is an Associate Director of Systems Development and Project Management with Fujitsu Consulting. You know, now I have an excuse for not getting out of the car and asking directions. :lol:
