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View Full Version : Google Maps for Pocket PC Released


Janak Parekh
02-02-2007, 12:30 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/real-world-testing.html' target='_blank'>http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007...ld-testing.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"User feedback is always an important part of our product development process, and for our latest version of Google Maps for mobile, we decided to put ourselves in the driver's seat. Hailing from London, I recently hopped across the pond with my fellow software engineer Jonathan Dixon to help test out the new features on the Windows Mobile(TM) edition of Google Maps for mobile while visiting the Mountain View campus. I focused on staying on the right side of the road while Jonathan, oblivious to the sights around him, focused on trying out the satellite imagery on his mobile phone."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20070201-GoogleMapsMobile.png" /><br /><br />A very oblique reference to the fact that, yes, Google Maps for Windows Mobile has been officially released today. That's a pic from my Treo 700w, including traffic information on the infamous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Bronx_Expressway">Cross Bronx Expressway</a> (and as usual, it's backlogged through the Bronx). Overall, a nice app -- since it's more official than Virtual Earth Mobile, I think it feels a bit more polished. If you're curious, hit the link above to download a copy, or just visit google.com/gmm on your Pocket PC and download the CAB from there.

Sogarth
02-02-2007, 01:05 AM
I haven't had a chance to install this yet, but in case somebody else has answered this before I do: what's different, what's better, what's worse than Virtual Earth Mobile 1.69?

Eugenia
02-02-2007, 01:31 AM
Usability is much better than Virtual Earth. It is also MUCH faster as an application. VirtualEarth has major compatibility problems with Win2003SE devices (really slow to drag around the map). These problems don't exist on the Google app.

Here are my screenshots of Google Maps, grabbed from my Dell PDA and it shows that the app fully supports the VGA mode:
http://eugenia.blogsome.com/2007/02/01/google-mobile-maps-for-ppc

bdavidson9554
02-02-2007, 02:59 AM
This app works great with my iPAQ hw6945 with the built-in GPS. It maps from my GPS coordinates to my destination then shows my progress along the way, while showing traffic conditions. All it needs is to announce turns and it would completely obsolete paid navigation programs (maybe).

Brian

Coreburn
02-02-2007, 04:33 AM
I've got a Cingular 8125, and originally Google Maps didn't work very well on it. I had to run it in that MIDlet Manager, and if I tried to switch to the satellite view it would give me an error stating that my phone didn't support jpgs.

This version works MUCH better! First it gave me the option of installing to my SD card instead of the internal :) And now both map &amp; sat view work perfect. Oh and using the stylus to move the map is nice. :) And esp if you use a wireless connection it seems to run pretty smooth, and traffic works too.

krypticide
02-02-2007, 05:54 AM
Still not quite as good as Windows Live Search Mobile, I think:

http://wls.live.com/

Sogarth
02-02-2007, 06:18 AM
I haven't had a chance to install this yet, but in case somebody else has answered this before I do: what's different, what's better, what's worse than Virtual Earth Mobile 1.69?
So, I've had a chance to compare Google Maps (Windows Mobile native) to VEM 1.69 and... I'm not impressed.

Pros: Maps load fast. A lot faster than VEM. Which I suppose isn't surprising, considering that Google probably throws more servers and bandwidth at mapping than Microsoft does.
The usage instructions are more intuitive. On VEM, there's no clear indication of how to handle numbered marked points. You need to press a number key to be able to jump through the marked points (which isn't intuitive)... which is a little difficult on units that have no keypad/keyboard (I assume it was originally developed for a SmartPhone). Meanwhile, Google Maps displays two arrows (on the display) that you can press to jump between its numbered marked points.
Google Maps keeps a history of searches in a drop-down menu.
Ambivalent: When you perform a search, Google Maps shows all of the locations it finds directly on the map. This becomes a little bit more complicated if the locations are further apart, this means that you're going to have to load the maps for all those locations if you want to just look at their basic information (in contrast to VEM, which has a text-based drop-down menu that you can peruse through initially, with a Map All menu option).
Cons: There are little signs all over the place that it's not designed to be a Windows Mobile application. The fonts used in a lot of the dialogs aren't a standard size, so don't look right. Every time you run it, you get an informational dialog box that pops up first. The zoom in/out buttons, along with a few others, are sitting on the screen, making it difficult to do one-handed operations (since you need to keep poking the screen). The action button does absolutely nothing on the main screen.
There's no ability to set where your cache is. It's always on your main storage in \Application Data\GoogleMaps, so it can easily eat up all of your storage space without you realizing it.
Even for map sections that you've viewed on a different resolution, Google Maps display the "unknown map" background while you're loading it from the servers. If you have a slow connection (say, GPRS only), this is a letdown compared to VEM (which scales the map pieces you've seen).
On searches, Google Maps displays a maximum of 9 locations. Compare this to VEM's 30.
When you obtain directions, there's no way to get a listing of the directions. VEM's approach is somewhat strange, although it works - it pastes the directions into an e-mail.
For those that like it, Google Maps doesn't support the hybrid mode, whereas VEM does (the Road and Aerial mode).
This is about all I can find at the moment... I can't actually address whether or not scrolling is significantly faster than VEM, since, well, I don't have a WM 2003 device....

All said and done, I would have to respectfully disagree with Janak, and say that although this is a very good first pass, it doesn't feel more polished than Virtual Earth Mobile - it actually feels less so. There are some areas where it's definitely better than VEM, but there are also some ways in which it's noticeably worse. I would personally prefer something that combines the advantages of both. :wink:

Sogarth
02-02-2007, 06:29 AM
Still not quite as good as Windows Live Search Mobile, I think:

http://wls.live.com/
Figures. This is what I get for not having gotten around to checking out Windows Live Search Mobile. :roll: Why? Because it's better than Virtual Earth Mobile for the second (usability) and third (history) Pros listed for Google Maps, and it also seems to be faster than VEM (partially addressing the first). The biggest catch is that you can't search for your contacts... (which is actually a pretty big bummer). Other than that, it loses no ground to VEM on any of its advantages (except that it has a maximum of 25 locations to VEM's 30), as well as having a number of other features that VEM doesn't....

ricksfiona
02-02-2007, 07:31 AM
Usability is much better than Virtual Earth. It is also MUCH faster as an application. VirtualEarth has major compatibility problems with Win2003SE devices (really slow to drag around the map). These problems don't exist on the Google app.

Here are my screenshots of Google Maps, grabbed from my Dell PDA and it shows that the app fully supports the VGA mode:
http://eugenia.blogsome.com/2007/02/01/google-mobile-maps-for-ppc

Man, that's beautiful...

stllhogan
02-02-2007, 07:44 AM
with my cingular 8525 (HTC hermes) I couldn't use it with wifi, only cellular. it would not find a connection. i was hoping i could hit faster speeds with my wifi to properly test it out, but no connection at all. anyone else have this problem or something similar?

Eugenia
02-02-2007, 07:50 AM
>Still not quite as good as Windows Live Search Mobile, I think:

The beta of Live search has dragging support, but it's slow slow (especially on Win2003SE). I think GMaps responds faster.

Demens
02-02-2007, 11:27 AM
I only have two problems with it.

First, it doesnt allow me search anywhere or anything in Finland. Hell, they even do have the required map-data, but i am not allowed to search it.
(i can even get informational directions, but no search)

Second, it keeps popping up a somekind of information screen that keeps telling me that connection has been lost. I tested it with wifi and EDGE.

DaleReeck
02-02-2007, 03:02 PM
Here are my screenshots of Google Maps, grabbed from my Dell PDA

Mmmm. I miss having a VGA PocketPC.

Jason Lee
02-02-2007, 06:29 PM
I've got a Cingular 8125, and originally Google Maps didn't work very well on it. I had to run it in that MIDlet Manager, and if I tried to switch to the satellite view it would give me an error stating that my phone didn't support jpgs.

This version works MUCH better! First it gave me the option of installing to my SD card instead of the internal :) And now both map &amp; sat view work perfect. Oh and using the stylus to move the map is nice. :) And esp if you use a wireless connection it seems to run pretty smooth, and traffic works too.

Did you look to see where it actually installed?? I told it to go to the storage card and every bit of the program went into main memory. :(

Lost Cause
02-02-2007, 08:35 PM
Works a treat BUT... GPS is only supported for users of WM5 :cry:

JonnoB
02-02-2007, 09:01 PM
The biggest catch is that you can't search for your contacts... (which is actually a pretty big bummer).

Actually, you can search for contacts.
From the main screen, soft-key 'Menu' then Options, then 'Lookup Contact...'
It is buried I guess and should be on the main next to 'Find Location'

ctmagnus
02-02-2007, 10:12 PM
Did you look to see where it actually installed?? I told it to go to the storage card and every bit of the program went into main memory. :(

Same here. Cache and all. I haven't used either one extensively, but that's one area where Live Search excels.

dcler
02-02-2007, 11:05 PM
I was running it on my Sprint PPC 6700 connecting to a Bluetooth GPS. The GPS works fine with other SW such as Ostia or Windows Live Search. With Google Maps, there is no setting for the COM port for GPS so GPS doesn't work for me. I believe this should be the same for any other PPC running Windows Mobile 5. Or did I miss something ?

JonnoB
02-02-2007, 11:09 PM
I was running it on my Sprint PPC 6700 connecting to a Bluetooth GPS. The GPS works fine with other SW such as Ostia or Windows Live Search. With Google Maps, there is no setting for the COM port for GPS so GPS doesn't work for me. I believe this should be the same for any other PPC running Windows Mobile 5. Or did I miss something ?

Some of the WM5 devices need a registry change to expose the GPS control panel applet. The software, like many new GPS apps will use the virtual GPS com port and not the COM port directly. Your device (6700) has the capability to enable this feature which your carrier probably disabled to avoid confusion.

Open registry editor
Go to HKLM\ControlPanel\GPS Settings\
cancel the Hide=1 key
Add a Dword Value
Group = 2 (DWORD decimal)
Soft-reset

There are hack tools that do this for you if editing the registry makes you squeamish.

rk325
02-02-2007, 11:10 PM
This is my first experience with maps on the Pocket PC, and all I have to say is that, this is great!!!!! It gave me directions to places inmediately. The only thing is that....I live in a remote place I guess, the satellite view still shows no construction where my house is......Louisiana meadows!!!!

dcler
02-02-2007, 11:43 PM
Your trick works like a charm. Thanks for the help.


I was running it on my Sprint PPC 6700 connecting to a Bluetooth GPS. The GPS works fine with other SW such as Ostia or Windows Live Search. With Google Maps, there is no setting for the COM port for GPS so GPS doesn't work for me. I believe this should be the same for any other PPC running Windows Mobile 5. Or did I miss something ?

Some of the WM5 devices need a registry change to expose the GPS control panel applet. The software, like many new GPS apps will use the virtual GPS com port and not the COM port directly. Your device (6700) has the capability to enable this feature which your carrier probably disabled to avoid confusion.

Open registry editor
Go to HKLM\ControlPanel\GPS Settings\
cancel the Hide=1 key
Add a Dword Value
Group = 2 (DWORD decimal)
Soft-reset

There are hack tools that do this for you if editing the registry makes you squeamish.

davea
02-03-2007, 07:48 AM
I have the same problem with my T-Mobile SDA. I am trying to use my
DELL X51V ( with GPS control Panel) to work with my Bluetooth GPS
and wifi enabled for the Google maps. Under Settings > System > GPS, I
have GPS Program Port - com1; with Access Tab I've tried both checked and unchecked for "Manage GPS automatically. In Google Maps when I "Track Location (GPS)" it gives me error message that my GPS receiver is not responding. (My GPS works great with these setting on Pocket Streets and GPS Tumer

Anyone get such a combination to work with Google Maps? My current preference is WIndows Live Search (map where my GPS interacts wonderfully)

Thanks, in advance.


I was running it on my Sprint PPC 6700 connecting to a Bluetooth GPS. The GPS works fine with other SW such as Ostia or Windows Live Search. With Google Maps, there is no setting for the COM port for GPS so GPS doesn't work for me. I believe this should be the same for any other PPC running Windows Mobile 5. Or did I miss something ?

Some of the WM5 devices need a registry change to expose the GPS control panel applet. The software, like many new GPS apps will use the virtual GPS com port and not the COM port directly. Your device (6700) has the capability to enable this feature which your carrier probably disabled to avoid confusion.

inteller
02-05-2007, 07:35 PM
I done care for google maps in general, but they are getting it right with this app. Microsoft better not lose the home field advantage on this. They need to get VEM shored up and out the door.

L.Rentz
02-05-2007, 09:19 PM
I have a Cingular 8125 (HTC Wizard) and a Wintec bluetooth GPS receiver. It is working excellent with Google Maps. I have it set to connect directly to the hardware COM port: COM6 instead of the virtual COM port. I have no problems at all. Connects instantly.

Lrentz

TMAN
02-07-2007, 11:39 PM
I done care for google maps in general, but they are getting it right with this app. Microsoft better not lose the home field advantage on this. They need to get VEM shored up and out the door.

Out of curiosity, what is the difference between VEM and Live Search?

Janak Parekh
02-11-2007, 06:32 AM
Out of curiosity, what is the difference between VEM and Live Search?
Live Search for mobile is a newer, official Microsoft product for Windows Mobile devices. You can download it here (http://mobile.search.live.com/client/download.aspx). One of the slickest mobile apps Microsoft's ever written.

--janak