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On the other hand, and
back to the reverie, there are benefits to being a little computer, almost
a mass consumer electronics item. In the photo on page 48 you’ll
see more of the accessories I’ve acquired from among the hundreds
available. The nicely made waterproof case (see www.aquapac.net)
is good enough for kayaking, let alone cruising or hiking. The folding
keyboard lets me use PocketPC’s stripped-down Office even though
I’ve never had the patience to master its handwriting recognition
capability.
What you can’t
see are all the other nifty applications I’ve found and loaded.
For instance, a program called Pocket Stars (www.nomadelectronics.com)
gives me a terrific map of the heavens, lets me check moon phases and
other ephemeral data, and would even calculate sextant readings if I dusted
the old thing off. Navman’s SmartST street mapping software is particularly
noteworthy, making use of the GPS with a level of automated plotting that’s
well beyond what even geeky boaters are used to. Pick a destination from
its highly detailed maps or huge database of street addresses, and it
will whip up a route and guide you along with nicely phrased, and amazingly
accurate, instructions. The display screens and controls are well-designed
to work even as you negotiate congested traffic.
Experiencing high-quality
programs like these led me to the notion that PDAs attract and challenge
exceptionally talented developers. Meeting the author of Maptech’s
Outdoor Navigator, its newest PDA software, confirmed the theory. Jeffrey
Siegel started writing code in his early teens and in his 20s founded
the company that first allowed doctors to work with CAT scans and MRI
images on their PCs. That was the early 1980’s, and there have been
more FDA-approved products, more companies, and even brief retirements
since. Siegel’s latest FDA-approved creation is the ActiveECG, a
Walkman-size cardiac monitor that outputs to a Palm PDA and drastically
reduces the equipment’s normal size and cost, of particular value
to rural ambulance volunteers (like Siegel).
He’s also an avid
cruiser and had to see what he could do with the increasingly faster,
and now color, Palm OS hardware. The machines still aren’t as quick
as their PocketPC competitors, but Siegel came up with a sophisticated
compression technology that presents Outdoor Navigator’s charts
almost as nicely as Pocket Navigator’s. He also developed an interface
that most any boater or busy doctor will understand quickly. In fact,
both of Maptech’s PDA programs are outstanding, and it’s probably
more than coincidental that Pocket Navigator’s developer also worked
first in medical imaging.
Now the challenge for
Maptech is to help consumers differentiate between the two products. The
obvious distinction in OSs will go away when Siegel finishes Outdoor Navigator
for PocketPC. The real difference is beyond the PDA. Instead of relying
on digital charts you already own, Outdoor Navigator will include a year’s
unlimited access to Maptech’s 65,000 charts and maps on the Web
for an initial $100. Once downloaded, they are yours forever, and if you
want added or updated ones, a renewal subscription will be $30 a year.
This cartographic cornucopia is a dream for PDA navigators who travel
widely in North America, but I’d still miss how neatly PocketNavigator
relates to its PC module. Maptech tells me that in the fullness of time
the two programs will likely become one, offering both modes of chart
downloading.
Meanwhile, the PDA industry,
and our little marine segment of it, is getting increasingly lively. Check
out the new products in this section, and know that formidable companies
like Nobeltec and C-Map are also working on PDA products. Both Palms and
PocketPCs are being married with Web-capable cellphones into single devices,
and we’re seeing the first wireless GPS receivers using Bluetooth
short-range wireless technology that’s becoming common in high-end
PDAs. Siegel’s eyes light up imagining a cell/PDA simultaneously
getting position from a little stand-alone GPS antenna on his cabin (or
car) top while downloading the latest map. And Microsoft just launched
a major push toward tablet computers that seem to combine an easy PDA-style
interface with ten- or 12-inch displays quite suitable to a boat bridge.
PDA navigation is intriguing
and ripe with possibilities, but bear in mind that none of the hardware
noted here is designed for life at sea. There is an alternate world of
handheld GPSs, some now offering color screens and detailed charts, all
tougher than any PDA yet built, but none as multitalented. And, lest you
forget the frustrations I’ve mentioned, I’ll close with words
of one PDA chatboard wag: “Being on the cutting edge sometimes hurts.”
Maptech Phone:
(978) 792-1000. www.maptech.com.
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