Wednesday, July 11, 2007
OnCourse? Of Course! OnCourse Navigator 6 Reviewed
Posted by Doug Raeburn in "SOFTWARE" @ 08:00 AM
Product History and Installation
The most recent versions of OnCourse Navigator prior to OnCourse Navigator 6 (henceforth referred to as OCN6) used Navigon, a navigation product marketed in Europe, as their foundation. OCN6 features a new foundation, that of iGo, another navigation product marketed in Europe. As you might expect, that makes OCN6 a completely different product from its predecessors.
Ease of installation is a hallmark of the latest generation of navigation software, along with the elimination of the desktop component. As with TomTom Navigator 6 (henceforth referred to as TTN6), the entire product installation, including maps, is included on a single 2GB micro SD card. A micro SD to SD converter is also included. You simply insert the card and the program automatically installs and the maps are immediately available. Another giant step toward ease of use is made with the fact that there is NO activation required. This contrasts to the clumsy and byzantine activation routines required by many of OCN6’s competitors.
Setting Up a Route
Figure 1: The Main menu. You can click on any image that contains a magnifying glass to see a larger version.
When you first run OCN6, you probably won’t be surprised to encounter the ubiquitous legalese screen, on which you promise to use the product safely. When you run it in subsequent sessions, however, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that the legalese screen does NOT appear. Instead, you’ll be brought to the main menu screen. Menu selections consist of:
Figure 2: The Find menu.
To start your journey, tap on Find & Go to bring up the Find menu. Here you’ll find all of the options that you’d probably expect… selecting a destination as an address or a Point of Interest (POI), selecting from a History List and entering coordinates directly. Many nav programs include the ability to preset your Home location… OCN6 goes them one better by allowing you to preset your Work location as well.
Figure 3: Entering the city name.
Figure 4: Results of the city search.
Selecting a destination by address uses the wizard-like approach common among most of these products. First you specify the city in which the destination resides. As you enter letters, only keys for valid letters for the next position are available. If no more letters can be entered, the program will jump to the city list, from which you can choose the desired city.
