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View Full Version : REVIEW: Family IT releases World Outline, a vector graphics-based worldwide map app


Menneisyys
02-05-2007, 04:21 PM
Family IT, the previously unknown Pocket PC developer, has just released a full-world map / GPS application covering all countries.

http://www.winmobiletech.com/022007WorldMapIBEBackupUSBModem/WourldOutlineMainEurope.bmp.png
Another screenshot here (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022007WorldMapIBEBackupUSBModem/CountrySelector.bmp.png) showing the main country selector.

Availability, compatibility

The developers don’t seem to have a homepage of their own; currently, the only source you can download their app from is Handango (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&jid=7C6X49617A8B49X727DCE558EFEABXB9&language=english&platformId=2&N=96806%2034&productId=203309&R=203309). I encountered no problems running it – except for it being TOTALLY incompatible (there is not even a scrollbar to scroll) with devices working in Landscape mode.

It’s priced at $14.95. The trial can only be started five times.

Review

Interestingly, while the app has checkboxes for displaying towns with even 1000 inhabitants, having such small towns / villages was definitely not the case with the maps I’ve tested. For example, it doesn’t list the Finnish Sonkajärvi (appr. 5000 inhabitants in 2005 (http://www.sonkajarvi.fi/?deptid=15093)): the database only seems to starts to display towns with inhabitants starting around 20 000 as is, for example, the case with Iisalmi (http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iisalmi) (22 500 inhabitants). In this case, some of the alternatives (for example, iGo) are MUCH better, as far as country-level maps are concerned.

Also, it only lists towns, nothing else – no roads, nothing. Some example screenshots (still with the Finnish town Iisalmi): with full zoom-in (screen width: 1km), all I got was this (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022007WorldMapIBEBackupUSBModem/WourldOutlineMainIisalmiFullZoomin.bmp.png). With capital of Finland, Helsinki and its neighborhood, I didn’t have much better luck either (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022007WorldMapIBEBackupUSBModem/WourldOutlineMainhesaFullZoomin.bmp.png).

Pros

It covers all countries
Cons

No Landscape support
Very slow!
eVB required (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&title=an_important_note_on_the_application_you&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1) (which MUST be installed into main storage on WM5)
no Hi-Res support in any way (neither in forced nor in native VGA (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022007WorldMapIBEBackupUSBModem/WourldOutlineMainNatveVGA.bmp.png) mode) on VGA devices


Verdict

Not recommended – it’s just too slow, too expensive, too bloated, too incompatible (Landscape), too too. Use Google Maps, iGo, TomTom etc. instead – they (or a combination of them) are FAR better choices for most purposes.