Hello Everyone, In 2005 I purchased my first GPS solution; it was the Trekker/Maestro Del 51 PDA from HumanWare. If memory serves, among other difficulties, the PDA did not have an Off button. When not in use, it had to be plugged into a charger to prevent power loss. Be that as it may, it was the most amazing piece of technology I had experienced.
Back in those days, I was using a Motorola TimePort which was an upgrade to the Star Trek Motorola phone. Of course, these phones had virtually no accessibility but, still they were usable. Sometime in 2007/2008 I switched to my first Windows Mobile phone. That was to be the beginning of a lot of changes in my life not the least of which was my subsequent association with Code Factory. Enter Mobile Geo; this onboard GPS software solution put the power of true independent GPS navigation for the blind and low vision on a cell phone. So, I put away my then outdated Trekker/Maestro PDA. Then, of course, came yet another game changer; the iPhone. For whatever reason I thought that either Code Factory's Mobile Geo or Humanware's Trekker would find its way to iOS. This, obviously, did not happen. As a result, since iPhone 3GS, I have purchased virtually every iOS GPS navigation software app in hopes of bringing the power of Geo or Trekker to a single mobile device. I shutter to think of all the money I have spent on this endeavor (smile). As far as off-the-shelf iOS GPS navigation solutions are concerned, I hold that A T & T Wireless Navigator is the most accurate and easy-to-use app on the market. Recently, they added the ability to download the maps to your phone so you can now travel without benefit of a active satellite connection. I believe that the monthly cost for Navigator is $9.95. As wonderful as Navigator is, it falls short of meeting the one criteria I demand in order to recommend it, or any GPS app for that matter, as a solution for true independent navigation by the blind and low vision; said criteria being the ability to have streets, cross-streets, etc automatically announced without engaging any kind of route function or without having to touch, shake, or otherwise interact with the hardware device, itself. Until this past Thursday, my solution, when traveling independently, was to fire up my old beloved Samsung Epix, running Windows 6.1, and launching Geo. I could go on and on about how much of a pain this was given that I can hardly remember any of the Mobile Speak commands as I just don't use my beloved Samsung Epix anymore but I will spare you the gory details. Add to this the fact that I also had to fire up my GPS receiver and connect a special headset adaptor as the Epix does not have a standard headset jack, as many of the models in that era did not. ON Friday, I received my new Trekker Breeze from Humanware; thus, I have come full-circle, as the saying goes. Suffice me to say that the Breeze is every bit as marvelous as the original Trekker and Geo were with the advantage that one does not have to become a software geek in order to be up and running in a matter of minute. It works right out of the box. The Breeze is roughly the same size as the iPhone 4 S but just a little thicker. What an iOS world we live in; even before I powered on my Breeze for the first time, I turned the audio CD files that are included in the package into an audio book complete with cover art and placed it on both my 4 S and Nanno. Then, I converted the user guide and quick start guide into iBooks and placed them on my 4 S. This took only a few minutes. Only after performing these iOS-centric tasks did I power on the Breeze and begin yet another chapter in my GPS navigation life. Mark -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
