Routis Vs. Mapopolis:
The Debate Continues…
Harish K
Malhotra
It all started with my
recent trip to Las Vegas where I rented a Hertz car fitted with their famous NeverLost GPS option. I was immensely pleased with its
performance and on returning, thought of having a similar system in my car. However, I was deflated when I came to
know its price tag of $999. In the
present world where the car windows glasses are broken just to steal much
cheaper car stereos (in fact as per one posting in Aximsite, Arkon PDA car
mounts are also a target), I did not want to jeopardize my car’s safety and its
content by installing an expensive gadget like it.
In May of this year, I
bought a Dell Axim basic model for my academic purposes and after visiting
Aximsite and reading glowing reviews of Deluo universal GPS system along with
Routis navigation software, decided to take a plunge. There were many hiccups in its
installation and while I was working with their customer support to fix them, I
downloaded Mapopolis trial version and tried it out. This gave me a chance to test two big
competitors in the Pocket PC category and my review is based on my hands-on
experience. For many of the points
discussed by me later in this review, I myself drove taking verbatim route on
both the systems and recorded my observation.
Comparing Routis or
Mapopolis is like comparing two different word processors. Both are designed as the software’s
tools bringing roadside navigation to the users. Both of have their positive and negative
points and a newbie is always confused to pick up the right one. Many times a product is bought only to
regret later as majority of times returning a product is a big headache as the
purchases are usually made through internet and involves shipping blues. In this review, I am trying to analyze
the strengths/weakness of both of them.
I am also giving marks (0-10) for every feature based on my own
experience. I have tried to be
impartial in awarding numbers and have given 0 only when the option doesn’t
exist at all. My review is confined
to Microsoft PPC2002 version for the Pocket PC. I have used Dell Axim basic and
Deluo Serial GPS as the hardware devices. Routis version
1.00.1880NA and Mapopolis version 4.21 have been
compared.
The entire process of
navigation hinges on four major components
1.
GPS
receiver- it is a hardware
device which detects satellites signals and uses them to give the position of an
object e.g. car in terms of longitude and latitude. There are many different types of them
available e.g. serial mouse, Compact flash card type etc. This information forms the basic input
to the Pocket PC. Fortunately, the
satellites signals are free to use (how so nice) and require no monthly
subscription etc.
2.
Pocket
PC- the
necessary handheld running Windows CE.
3.
Maps- Special digital maps
are required for roadside navigations.
They contain more data and are much bigger in size.
4.
Application
Software e.g. Routis or
Mapopolis etc. Their role is
to accept the signals from the GPS, look into the maps and convert them to
readable road names or locations.
Their role is also to guide you during the journey and provide
turn-by-turn instructions.
Incidentally, it is their output, which makes them useful to us
directly.
Though both Routis &
Mapopolis along with the necessary GPS achieve this goal, however, there are
significant differences between them.
Routis comes as a bundle, which includes maps as well as the application
software. Mapopolis is essentially
a company, which has been more in maps for a pretty long period of time. They provide free application
software, which uses their maps.
As we will see later this is a very important
feature.
1
Size of the Application
Software
Routis takes roughly
3.6 MB to install. Mapopolis takes less than 500KB. Besides, bigger software also needs more
RAM to function. It is a very big plus point for Mapopolis as both storage
capacity and RAM availability is at a premium in Axim (for that matter any
pocket PC). This is clearly
demonstrated by the minimum RAM required to run the application (32 MB for
Routis and 8 MB for Mapopolis).
Dell basic Axim comes with 32 MB RAM, which is just sufficient for Routis
but provides four times extra RAM for Mapopolis. This is a very important point to be
kept in mind particularly if you have Axim basic. On my basic Axim, many a times Routis
just doesn’t come up and I keep wondering whether RAM is an issue. Moreover, I had to remove all my other
useful software’s to create room for it.
Routis 3, Mapopolis
10
2
Future
Upgradeability
In Mapopolis,
application software is free and you pay only for the maps while in Routis both
are sold as a bundle. With the release of PPC2003, the application software may
require some changes while not the maps. So again Mapopolis has an advantage, as
application software anyway is free, thereby, protecting the investment. Though eventually Routis will come out
with a version, which will support PPC2003, but whether it will be a free
upgrade, is a million dollar question.
Routis 0, Mapopolis 10
3
Ease of
Installation
Mapopolis allows you to
install it directly from your Pocket PC, which is helpful in troubleshooting
installation blues as it bypasses the host PC, active sync issues. I personally had a tough time in the
installation of Routis primarily because of less than perfect
installation/uninstallation documentation as well as lack of any error
messages.
Routis 4, Mapopolis 10
4
Trial
Version
Mapopolis has Trial
versions, Routis does not. It is very useful that you see all the features of
software including its ease of installation before you take a plunge.
Routis
0, Mapopolis 10
5
Maps
Availability
Routis has complete maps
for North America and skeletal maps for Canada. Mapopolis has maps for North America,
Canada and Europe.
Routis 7, Mapopolis 9
6
Maps
Accuracy
Maps are probably
Mapopolis bread and butter and as expected they win hands down over Routis. The road on which I live by Routis
doesn’t exist in that city but in a neighboring city. It is very small road probably only a
mile long and I do not see any reason for it to be classified with that of the
neighboring one. Once again this is
very important for the users as you will see later on, this requires me to have
different address in my contact list (more on this later).
Routis 5,
Mapopolis 8
7
Maps
Design
Mapopolis maps have nice
visuals about parks, rivers etc and are closer to the conventional paper maps
with which we all are very familiar.
Routis maps have only roads.
Many times the visual are very helpful in real life navigation. In Routis, minor, major and interstate
highways (there numbers are displayed on a standard blue shield) are easy to
differentiate but not so well in Mapopolis. If you are driving under a bridge, which
has a major highway on top of it, in Routs it is displayed with red color. Besides, its insignia and number is also
displayed. This is helpful in
having an idea about the region.
Routis 6, Mapopolis 8
8
Maps
Inclusion
The way new maps are
included for navigation in your route is easy to understand in Mapopolis as each
map file is different. The file
names of maps follow standard naming convention, which is very simple to
understand. Routis masks the entire
procedure in a dozen odd files and lacks transparency.
Routis 5, Mapopolis
10
9
Maps
Loading
Routis
maps only be loaded through its map loader application running on a
desktop/laptop. This means that on
a cross-country drive where you can’t keep all the maps in your compact flash
(CF) card because of storage limitations, you need to carry your laptop
too. This may be a big problem for
users like me who have only a regular desktop. Another troublesome
thing is every time while using map loader you have to use both of the CDs to do
any maps installation even though the CDs are categorized as East/West zone,
thereby, wasting time and causing inconvenience. Besides, the process is identical
whether you want to add or delete the map.
I hate when I have to spend the same amount of time even in deleting a
state map. Storage requirements for
Mapopolis maps are comparatively less as you can load the maps of only counties
where you are going to halt and the highway maps of the state you are
traveling. Unless you have an
exhaustive iterinary, a feel a common 256 MB CF card should be enough. Alternatively, you can carry multiple CF
cards with necessary maps on them and include them as you move on. You can manage the entire show without
needing your big laptop.
Routis 5, Mapopolis 10
10
Maps
Granularity
Routis includes either
whole state maps or by city.
Mapopolis uses county as the building block unit. One of the major problem with counties
as the building block is that you may not be aware in which county is your
destination. In fact recently when
I thought of visiting my friend who lives 1 hr drive from my house, I had to
call him to know in which county does his address lie. Though feeding the state and destination
city, it is possible to get the required county name on Mapopolis website but
usually it comes out with more than answer. I personally feel a simple county finder
based on zip codes can be designed by Mapopolis. Routis always adds the necessary highway
layer while in Mapopolis, the user has an ability to include it. Many times the highway layer in Routis
becomes too big for the application to handle and the application software just
does not load and as is a typical of Routis it does not tell the real problem to
the user e.g. insufficient memory etc.
I understand they are working on it to reduce the size of it but once
again expecting it to be a free patch is an extremely optimistic
guess.
Routis 8, Mapopolis 5
11
Maps Characterization
& Mixing
I
have been made to understand that Routis
does not allow mixing of State and City maps. No such problem with Mapopolis as each
map has its own distinct file name and can be easily selected by the user on his
PDA.
Routis 6, Mapopolis
10
12
Maps
Updates
Mapopolis buy its maps
from NavTech which apparently is the nodal agency providing the updated
maps. NavTech, hence as expected,
controls the frequency of updates (last year, there were 3 updates). Updates are
available as a download and are charged at discounted price. Routis updates its maps yearly and a new
CD costs approx. 70$ (sorry, no web updates). Currently both Routis and Mapopolis
display the installed software version only. My suggestion to both will be to display
the maps version/ maps-date-of-creation too. Their website should indicate as to
which maps have changed since the earlier version.
Routis 8, Mapopolis
10
13
Maps
Size
Out of curiosity, I
tried to find out the maps size for NY state (Why NY state only? Well, I live
here). Routis size 57 MB (includes
POI (Point of interest) database). Mapopolis 36 MB for maps & 13.4 MB for
POI database (Total 49.5 MB). For
Mapopolis I went to their web site and painstakingly noted down each county maps
size and POI maps sizes in excel spreadsheet and after lot of labor, I came out
with the statistics. There is also
highway map of NYstate map as well roughly 800 K. I believe if you add all the maps of
individual counties in a state, it is included anyway (my presumption) and hence
I am not adding twice. With an
exhaustive POI database as well as inclusion of geographical boundaries and yet
having a 15% smaller map size, Mapopolis has a clear edge over Routis. My analysis is restricted to NY state
only with a belief that other states will follow similar trend though I
encourage users to check for their own state. Since storage capacity is at a premium
in all-handheld devices, I consider it to be an important plus point for
Mapopolis.
A suggestion here for Mapopolis. The algorithm to compress a file in a
zip-format is well known. Why not
add a function in your software, which can read your state zip file and extract
the required county map on a fly?
This will slightly increase the application software size and RAM
requirement but will be helpful to the end users. CF cards prices are falling and shortly
we may be able to squeeze entire US maps on a CF card.
Routis 8, Mapopolis
10
14
Maps
Zooming
Routis
maps can be viewed from 25 miles distance to 100 ft. In Mapopolis, the minimum is still 100
ft but maximum is much higher 1000 miles.
Because of the limited screen size of Axim, watching the display from a
large distance serves little purpose.
At large distances, the roads are masked by much larger size geographical
objects in Mapopolis. This does not
offer much more roadside navigation but an idea about the terrain in which you
are driving. A look from 25 miles
height on a Routis maps (which do not have any geographical landmarks) as shown
in their web-demo contain only the roads which without any geographical
information looks more like a spider’s web and appears more like a marketing
gimmick.
Routis 6, Mapopolis 8
15
3D Maps
Display
Both
lack it and nobody gets points here.
As per my knowledge, presently Destinator and TomTom USA have this
feature and as per the postings on the internet, this novelty wears out pretty
fast and people go back to conventional 2D maps. I have seen the snapshots of such maps
and was personally not impressed enough to open my valet. Besides, I am skeptical about its
additional contribution in real life navigation.
Routis 0, Mapopolis
0
16
Night Color
scheme
Both
have night color display scheme. In
Routis, it changes automatically while in Mapopolis you have to change it
manually (I could configure one of the Axim button for it). I presume that Routis gets the local
sunset time from its Almanac and accordingly switches the color scheme. The color scheme in Mapopolis is
customizable but not in Routis.
Routis 8, Mapopolis 8
17
User Interface
(UI)
Routis
user-interface is optimized for fingers (ideal for car). There are nice extra-large Icons for
selecting almost all options.
Coupled with their Routis keyboard, which is much bigger, attractive and
easier to use, the UI literally stands out. Mapopolis User-interface uses standard
windows screens with standard Pocket PC keyboard, which are better optimized for
stylus entry.
Routis 10, Mapopolis 5
18
Error Messages/User
Input Validation
One of the biggest
problem, which I have noticed with Routis, is that there are hardly any error
messages if something goes wrong, which keep you guessing whether the problem is
in the application software, GPS receiver, maps or the hardware limitations e.g.
RAM. I have noticed Mapopolis does
a better job in it.
Routis 3, Mapopolis 8
19
Outlook Contact Address
as Input
Both Routis &
Mapopolis support Outlook contact address to pick up a destination. However, I have noticed that the Routis
does not always uses the addresses in the same way keeping you wandering whether
the maps are old or if there is some other problem. For example, my friend who stays at xxx
Saddlebrook can only be located if the address is in the Outlook be written as
xxx Saddle brk. Though somebody may
argue that once you change it the way Routis likes it, problem will be solved.
However, it means that you need to keep two copies of address book (one for your
regular post & other for GPS navigation) something, which I personally hate
because of updating headaches. I
did notice similar problem with Mapopolis too, though it was less
common.
Routis 3, Mapopolis 8
20
Route from Anywhere to
Anywhere
Both support it,
however, it is very simple and clear in Mapopolis. Routis does have an undocumented
workaround. It is an important
feature, as I prefer to do all my routing and changes etc. within my home rather
than sitting in my car. This allows
me to spend more time in feeding the destination data and fine-tuning the
route. Once every thing is up to my
satisfaction, I switch off Axim but keep the application running. This way I do not have to hear oohs-aahs
of my family members impatiently waiting for the car to move.
Routis 7,
Mapopolis 10
21
Route
Listing
When a route is
generated in Routis, the route listing option displays the turns directions
graphically, name of the road and distance in tabular format (similar to while
taking directions from yahoo-maps, which is visually very appealing and hence I
like). However, it neither tells
the distance to destination as well as estimated time of arrival, ETA on this
screen. This information is
extremely helpful to the user to change route options (e.g. inclusion of toll
roads etc.) if necessary and rerun the routing accordingly. You have to flip to Map screen to check
distance as well as ETA. Since
speed, distance & ETA share the same spot on the screen you need to tap
repeatedly to get these two important information’s. Mapopolis route listing is a plain
vanilla text messages and does not show graphical direction arrows but shows the
distance and ETA at the end of the listing, thereby, giving a chance to the user
to change route options.
Unfortunately in both of them, route options are controlled through
global settings and it is not possible to change them on a fly like in
Mapquest. Mapopolis, however, does
allow this route listing to be saved as a file.
Another important thing,
which I noticed in Routis, is that during route listing it for small distance,
it uses feet’s. However, its use should be restricted to distances up to 500
feet’s only. Mapopolis uses a single unit of mile or km depending on the
setting.
A bit of suggestion for Routis development team, currently speed,
ETA & distance to destination occupy the same slot (essentially two
rectangles, the top showing the Caption while the bottom showing the value) and
one needs to repeatedly tap to change the display. How about removing one of the Caption
and show both ETA & distance to destination value together. Speed warning should just change the
background color of the above rectangles to red with an audible alarm. The actual speed anyway can be read on
the regular speedometer. This will
provide all the useful information at a glance without touching Routis
screen. In Mapopolis, the last line
nicely shows the time to go, remaining distance and ETA.
Routis 8, Mapopolis
6
22
Accuracy of Estimated
Time of Arrival (ETA)
I have tested the same
only on local routes (essentially driving to my office, a 15 mile distance on
each way) and have found to be within couple of minutes with both of them. I will later on update it with
information about my long distance visits.
Routis 10, Mapopolis
10
23
Route
Optimization
The routing options
(Highways/freeways/toll roads inclusion/exclusion etc.) in both are pretty
rudimentary and have global settings.
If you have little familiarity with the area, you may like to further
optimize the route manually as per your preferences e.g. you may like to route
to include/exclude certain specific roads (there may be construction activity
going on a particular road or the road may not be passing through a nice
neighborhood etc.) etc. This is an
area in which both have to work on.
I have couple of suggestions here.
In the global route settings, there should be an option to minimize the
number of turns in a route being generated. Essentially every turn requires slowing
down the car and worst, there may be a Stop sign requiring a complete stop. So routes having a large number of
turns, which are less than a mile apart essentially, increase the journey
time. Another thing which I will
prefer is to quickly jump from various route options (fastest, avoid highways,
shortest etc.) using tabs, just the way it is implemented in Mapquest with an
additional Tab of user defined.
Clicking on User-defined should open-up all the calculated three routes
(shortest, fastest etc.) in a tabular format including a column for User
defined. Just pick and drag the
roads, which you prefer into your user defined Route column. The software than shall use these roads
to come out with the final route.
Alternatively, once a route has been calculated and you are watching the
directions (not the map) on the screen, tapping on any particular road should
pop up a menu to avoid that road and program should find alternative or make
available alternate roads to pick.
Similarly users should be allowed to select favorite road for a route
where majority of the journey should be planned.
Routis 5, Mapopolis
5
24
Multi-Point
Routing
If you want to go from A
to C but would like to touch B in between is essentially multi-point
routing. Routis supports it through
Stopover option and workaround exist for Mapopolis. In my case, I store all the destinations
in my contact list, which allow categorizing options etc. First I put B as my destination and run
route from A. After reaching B, I
run a route to C. Though people
have used favorites as well but they can’t be assigned a name, which sometimes
may cause confusion (read more about it in contact list). I understand that Mapopolis is working
on multi-point routing and is expected soon and I presume, will be a free
download as well.
Routis 10, Mapopolis 7
25
Routing Map
Display
In Routis, the bottom
line of the screen contain the name of the road on which you are driving while
the top line contains the name of the road where you have to take a turn. The next turn graphical indication and
its distance is shown in a square towards the left hand corner of the
screen. This screen arrangement is
perhaps the best as it gives necessary information without hiding too much of
the map details. In Mapopolis,
usually a thick rectangular band (navigation pane) with white background at the
bottom gives all the necessary information with top line giving the name of the
road on which you are driving and the bottom line gives the name of the street
where you have to take the turn (reverse of Routis layout). It, unfortunately, takes a sizable chunk
of screen and hence the map details (even with large navigation pane option
unchecked). The problem gets worst
if your route requires a sharp U-turn in which case a major part of your route
might get blocked.
In Routis, the GPS trail stands out as it is thicker than
the normal road. In Mapopolis, I
can change the color of GPS trail but not its thickness (I wish, I could) and
accordingly is little hard to view.
In Routis, the position of your car is a circle and a nice arrow in it
indicates the direction of motion.
In Mapopolis, the position of your car is defined by a circle. Only when the vehicle is in motion, an
arrow pops-up in front to circle indicating the direction of motion. In majority of times, I will be able to
view my present position or review the route when I am waiting at a red light
and the absence of arrow at that time sometimes causes confusion particularly if
you are driving on a zig-zag road.
An alternative will be to change the color of the GPS trail, which has
already been traveled.
Routis
10, Mapopolis 8
26
Routing (Local &
within State)
I have found both to be
equally good with comparable routing for local and within the state
routing.
Routis 10, Mapopolis
10
27
Routing (Non-Continuous
States)
For cross-country
travels, Mapopolis routing can be easily configured without loading too much of
unnecessary maps. Starting county
map, destination county map and only the state highway maps (very small in size)
for in between states are all that what you need. In a real cross-country route test, I
ran I route from NY state to that in California adding all the state highways
maps, starting county map and the destination county map. Within no time I had a route extending
2805.8 miles with an ETA of 44 hr 4 minutes. In Routis, I loaded the maps of NY
state, Connecticut and Southern California. I understand in case of non-continuous
states, Routis adds the necessary highway layer automatically. The Software did not even load. This has already been acknowledged by
Routis team. A suggestion for
Mapopolis, how about coming out with the entire US state highway map as a single
downloadable file? My personal
feeling is that the entire US state highway should not take more than 20 MB and
I will be happy to allocate the same on my 256 MB CF card as this way I will
have only one file to worry about.
Routis 3, Mapopolis
10
28
Quick Successive Sharp
Turns guidance
Many a times, one has to
take successive sharp turns. It is
an acid test for a navigation system.
In case of Routis, the voice prompt warns you ahead of time about the
same, the direction arrow, however, points to the first turn and updates the
direction arrow as soon as the first turn is completed. In Mapopolis, both the turns are shown
together on the screen ahead of time.
Unfortunately, these instructions mask a good part of the screen and
hence the underlying maps. In such
complex turns, I expect that the name of the roads where you have to take a turn
is also spoken. Presently both of
them do not support it. This is
important as in complex turns I would like to keep my eyes exclusively on the
road.
Routis 8, Mapopolis 7
29
Rerouting
Routis will try to bring
you back on your predefined route.
Most of the times it will be a plain U-turn, though, eventually it will
do rerouting. Let me try to explain
it with a help of an example. Let
us suppose Routis has designed a route in which your destination requires
driving 1 mile straight on your present road followed by a right turn and
driving another mile. Let us also
assume that there is another road using which you can take a right turn and
drive for a mile, take a left turn and drive another mile upstream (essentially
both are viable routes). If you
decide to take the second route by ignoring Routis directions, it will calculate
how much far you are from you present position with respect to its intended
route. Initially you will be closer
to its old route and so it will keep on telling you to take a U-turn. If you ignore its messages and keep on
driving on the same road, you will eventually reach a situation from where you
will be nearer to destination from your present location by taking the
alternative route (which is in your mind).
Now only Routis too will pick it and show you the revised reroute. Rerouting in Mapopolis is pretty
intelligent and I am yet to see a request of U-turn. My feeling is that anytime you miss a
turn, Mapopolis reruns the entire routing using your current position and the
destination. Even on a basic Axim,
it is pretty fast.
Routis 5, Mapopolis 10
30
Guidance
Screen
Routis
has a guidance screen which zooms in at an intersection to help in taking proper
turn. It is useful in making
complex turns but I have found the guidance screen available in Hertz cars
(Hertz
NeverLost)
best as a quick glance can give you the complete picture. Mapopolis does not have this
feature.
Routis 7, Mapopolis 0
31
Safety
Features
Routis has two nice
safety features, which include speeding alarm (essentially based on road class
definition, it knows the speed limit and will warn you if are speeding). However, I have noticed that it is not
always accurate particularly in those areas where the road has different speed
limits at different stretches.
Similarly, at night it can give you a warning about upcoming 4-way
intersection. Since at night, many
of the 4-ways intersections may not have good lighting, this is a good safety
feature. None of them are present in Mapopolis. Mapopolis does have a uniform speed
limit alarm setting, which probably is best suited for highway driving
only.
Routis 10, Mapopolis 5
32
Voice
Prompts
Routis
has a female voice for prompting, Mapopolis has a male voice. I am not a MCP (male chauvinist pig) and
find both acceptable. The voice
prompts should be crisp, clear and small and accordingly I feel saying “Right turn in point two mile” is easier
rather than saying “Right turn in two-tenth of a mile” as is in case of
Mapopolis. This is a case of
individual preference and I do not give much weight to it. However, the frequency of such prompt is
customizable in Mapopolis but not in Routis.
If any body from Dell Axim side
is reading this review, can anything be done to improve the speaker output in
Axim? Though I can feed the output
of Axim into my Cassette player using a special cassette, I personally hate to
do that because of two reasons, first I loose all the music and second that I
want to connect minimum wires to my Axim, thereby, facilitating quick connection
and removal (my Axim is removed at the end of every trip).
Routis 7,
Mapopolis 9
33
Miles or
KM
Both allow you to select
the unit of distance measurement.
Well, I live at the border of US and Canada and is a good feature when I
have to drive in there.
Routis 10, Mapopolis 10
34
Point of Interests
(POIs)
Mapopolis has separate
maps of them, which are very exhaustive.
Routis contains both together but the content in them is very small. They, however, contain the telephone
numbers of the POI (a really good feature). Surprisingly, both do not have a
category of shopping centers/malls.
Routis 5, Mapopolis
8
35
Creating your own
POIs
Mapopolis has a nice
feature called maplets, which allows you to define your own POIs with neat
categorization options.
Unfortunately, the maplet entry is only through stylus and hence the
inaccuracy associated with it. I
wish I could use one of the addresses from my outlook contact list for it. Routis lacks this option and user is
restricted to define them as Favorites only, which is also available in
Mapopolis. However, the favourites,
which are also called as geomarks, lack categorizing options. Personally I will prefer that Favorites
be allowed to be stored through a nickname, which is much more appealing and
easier to remember rather than an address.
A categorizing option here will be a big plus too. On a bare minimum, it
should be possible to export them in contact list so as to allow user to use its
own customization based on the features available in Outlook.
Routis 3,
Mapopolis 8
36
Cross-Platform
Portability
Routis can be used on a
laptop as well (though with mouse GPS).
Mapopolis is available only for the pocket PC environment while their
Palm version is on the way out. I
used Pocket PC Controller to run Mapopolis even on a regular notebook,
which worked fine. However, as the
name suggests, the controller merely controls Axim using desktop PC resources
(mouse, Keyboard etc) and the display size remains very small. Thus, you need both an Axim as well as
the laptop and personally I was not impressed at all. I am not sure how many such users are
there who will utilize this option because of the associated problem of mounting
a notebook PC in a car.
Routis
10, Mapopolis 6
37
GPS
Information
Both
can receive signals from up to 12 satellites and do provide information about
the number of satellites fixed/locked.
Routis does provide additional Almanac information but I am not sure in
which situations, it will be useful (probably to know sunrise and sunset timings
and hence plan start/stop in a journey).
Whenever you are panning a map, the GPS gets disabled in both of them and
may need manual restarting. In such
type of case, I will prefer an icon right on the same screen to enable the
GPS. Time required for a fix was
also found to be comparable and yes, the car need not be stationary to get a fix
though it is quicker if it is not moving.
Please note that the time required for a fix is a function of a GPS
receiver and not the software and has not influenced the ranking.
Routis 10,
Mapopolis 8
38
Customization
Options
Mapopolis allows
literally everything to be customized according to individual taste including
the colors of the maps. Routis
allows minimal customization.
Routs 5, Mapopolis 9
39
Customization of Axim
Hardware Buttons
Mapopolis allows
assigning Axim hardware buttons in a very simple way. This is again a very useful feature in
real life navigation eliminates the need of tapping the screen with/without
stylus. Routis does not allow this
customization and comes preconfigured with some options on Up/Dn button and
Rocker button (which in my case is useless as my Arkon vent type mount blocks
it).
Routs 1, Mapopolis 10
40
Using USB Card
Readers
The maps are pretty big
and regular transfer to Axim through active sync usually takes lot of time. A better alternative is available in the
form of USB card readers. I could
not make Routis recognize the maps after transferring through it (though it is
supported as per the documentation) and had to rely only on slower active
sync. I faced no problem using card
readers with Mapopolis. Moreover, a
relatively smaller size of Maps in Mapopolis can even be handled easily with
active sync without taking too much time.
Routis 2, Mapopolis 8
41
Context Sensitive
Help
Both are equally good
though I have found Routis help to be more exhaustive and is definitely better
than their printed users manual. In
case of Mapopolis, users’ manual is more exhaustive than the context sensitive
help.
Routis 10, Mapopolis 8
42
Users
Manual
Routis has a 12 page
small format booklet while Mapopolis covers its user’s manual in 30 A4 size
pages all filled with useful information though the last 5 pages are devoted to
licensing agreement. Has even some
trouble-shooting tips sorely missing in Routis manual (though covered in context
sensitive help). I personally like
reading on a paper rather than on a small screen of Axim.
Routis 5, Mapopolis
9
43
Website
One of the most
confusing thing about Mapopolis is its website with variety of choices of maps,
clear navigation etc. Newbie should
first head towards SupportàFAQ just to get an idea of
it. The choices available with maps
are pretty baffling initially (navigator maps are the only one useful for
auto-routing). Routis web info is
pretty good and the demo of Routis is really impressive. However, Routis doesn’t has anything to
offer as to buy/update maps from its website.
Routis 8, Mapopolis
5
44
Ease of Web
Buying
Directly from Deluo
Electronics web site. Very
simple. Except their map packs,
Mapopolis site does not allow direct purchase from them. Their GPS bundles are sold through
PCMALL while CD-maps through Amazon.
Personally I prefer to deal directly with the parent company as it avoids
a middleman and also because of warranty/support issues. Luckily Mapopolis does a wonderful job
at both the above issues. I
personally do not know much about Itransact & Paypals payments options, as I
have never used them though I hope they are safe and secured too.
Routis 10,
Mapopolis 7
45
After Sales
Support
Based on the postings on
Aximsite, Mapopolis support is legendary.
I am not their customer and yet they have been very prompt with replying
to my queries within hours. Routis
support as per my personal opinion is also acceptable though there are many
postings on Aximsite where people had problems.
Routis 8, Mapopolis
10
46
Pricing
Both are comparable
approx. $100 (Routis comes on 2 CD’s while Mapopolis has a map pack available
online allowing unlimited downloads for a year). Mapopolis ver 3.x is also available on
CDs while ver. 4.x CDs are in making, however, maps on the CDs can’t be
updated. I understand that the
exhaustive POI maps of Mapopolis, by default, are not the part of their
map-packs and are available either on outright purchase per county or on a
payment of around $25 for one year of unlimited download. (Technically, one can buy even regular
navigator maps from Mapopolis of each county separately). This makes the cost of the entire
navigation solution (GPS receiver, navigation software and mounting brackets)
exceed the cost of my basic Axim.
Since I am a dollar wise guy, I am restricting 6 marks to both of them in
this category. Since softwares can
be mass-produced at small prices, I wish in future we may see lower prices for
both of them.
Routis 6,
Mapopolis 6
Since accurate maps are a pre-requisite of a
good navigations system, keeping them up to date requires additional recurring
expenditure. For a typical home
user, yearly updates should suffice though even for that a yearly expenditure of
70-99$ is on the higher side.
Compare it with that of anti-virus softwares which we all use, initial
cost is more but the cost of updating the virus-dat files is essentially a
fraction of the total cost. If the
same concept is introduced for map updating (updating cost a fraction of initial
cost), it will be beneficial to the end user. I have been thinking of economical ways
of managing even that and have an idea.
Presently there are 44 million AAA members worldwide with around 1
million in US alone. As a part of
regular membership fee (around 45$), members are provided free paper maps by
AAA. If there can be an arrangement
between AAA and say Mapopolis/Routis whereby an AAA member can have an option of
updating his digital map, the price of which is included in the membership fee
itself (or slightly high for digital maps updating), probably will be the
best. Such a arrangement will be
beneficial to all the three parties (AAA, Mapopolis/Routis and the end-user),
AAA will save on expensive paper maps, Mapopolis/Routis will find a wholesale
corporate buyer and will be willing to have a special rate for him and the end
user will always have an access to latest maps. Such an arrangement will facilitate a
quick acceptance of navigation systems in mainstream. Going by the sheer numbers of AAA
members, a huge business opportunity is waiting to be tapped. Chairmen’s of Mapopolis/Routis, are you
listening??? Jump in, before Bill
Gates does, barricades all the roads and claims roads always belonged to him
(just kidding).
The POI database can not only pay for itself
but can also subsidize the updating of regular maps as well. For this Routis/Mapopolis need to
approach major corporate giants like McDonald, Pizza hut, Wal-Mart, Best Buy,
Hilton Hotels etc. For a yearly
fee, their location as well as phones can be inserted in the POI. Here I have included major players only
as approaching them is much easier, they have large chains and won’t mind
spending little more (after all it may mean more business for them).
Personal Navigation systems help in warning
the driver much ahead of time about the impending turn. This gives the driver ample time to
change lanes, thereby, helping in his and the car safety (no last minute risky,
nasty turns). I do not know for
sure whether Car Insurance companies will acknowledge it as nice safety
accessory and may be willing to lower the insurance premium. This area may be worth probing and if we
succeed, it will be a big incentive.
Again Routis/Mapopolis are in a better position to convince them,
thereby, increasing their business as well as better penetration of their
product.
I seem to have gone off-track from my main
topic (Routis Vs Mapopolis debate) in my above couple of paragraphs. I am sure that the readers will
understand that the issues raised are of general interest which if properly
handled will result in better and cheaper services for
them.
Coming back to the main topic, I am
summarizing the above analysis in a tabular format below with an additional
column, which provides information about the overall impact of the compared
feature in either selecting a product or in real life road navigation. Following conventions have been used by
me, A+ means very important and
desirable, A means important, B means Good to have, C means Cosmetic value only, X stands for user’s
preference.
|
Sr.
No. |
Feature |
Routis |
Mapopolis |
Importance |
|
|
Minimum RAM
Requirement |
3 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Future
Upgradeability |
0 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Ease of
Installation |
4 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Trial
Version |
0 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Maps
Availability |
7 |
9 |
A |
|
|
Maps
Accuracy |
5 |
8 |
A+ |
|
|
Maps
Design |
6 |
8 |
A |
|
|
Maps
Inclusion |
5 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Maps
Loading |
5 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Maps
Granularity |
8 |
5 |
B |
|
|
Maps
Characterization & Mixing |
6 |
10 |
B |
|
|
Maps
Updates |
8 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Maps
Size |
8 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Maps
Zooming |
6 |
6 |
B |
|
|
3D Maps
Display |
0 |
0 |
C,
X |
|
|
Night Color
scheme |
8 |
8 |
B |
|
|
User Interface
(UI) |
10 |
5 |
A+ |
|
|
Error
Messages/User Input Validation |
3 |
8 |
A |
|
|
Outlook Contact
Address as Input |
3 |
8 |
A |
|
|
Route from
Anywhere to Anywhere |
5 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Route
Listing |
8 |
6 |
B |
|
|
Accuracy of
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) |
10 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Route
Optimization |
5 |
5 |
A+ |
|
|
Multi-Point
Routing |
10 |
7 |
A |
|
|
Routing Map
Display |
10 |
8 |
A+ |
|
|
Routing (Local
& within State) |
10 |
10 |
A |
|
|
Routing
(Non-Continuous States) |
3 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Quick Successive
Sharp Turns guidance |
8 |
7 |
A |
|
|
Rerouting |
5 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Guidance
Screen |
7 |
0 |
A |
|
|
Safety
Features |
10 |
5 |
B |
|
|
Voice
Prompts |
7 |
9 |
A+ |
|
|
Miles or
KM |
10 |
10 |
X |
|
|
Point of Interests
(POIs) |
5 |
8 |
A |
|
|
Creating your own
POIs |
3 |
8 |
A |
|
|
Cross-Platform
Portability |
10 |
6 |
X |
|
|
GPS
Information |
10 |
8 |
B |
|
|
Customization Options |
5 |
9 |
A |
|
|
Customizing
Hardware buttons |
1 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Using USB Card
Readers |
2 |
8 |
B |
|
|
Context Sensitive
Help |
10 |
8 |
A |
|
|
Users
Manual |
5 |
9 |
A |
|
|
Website |
8 |
5 |
A |
|
|
Ease of Web
Buying |
10 |
7 |
B |
|
|
After Sales
Support |
8 |
10 |
A+ |
|
|
Pricing |
6 |
6 |
A+ |
|
|
Result (out
of 460) |
286 |
364 |
|
There are two important conclusions to be
drawn from this analysis. First is
that, none of them get 100% marks implying there is a scope for improvement in
both of them. Secondly, it is very
much evident from the above statistics that for dollar to dollar, Mapopolis is a
better buy and wins by a handsome margin.
However, I hasten to say that I do not own Mapopolis and my experience
with it is limited to its one-week trial version. I wish I would have more time to review
the same in much more depth but the trial version has since been expired. Another important thing, which any other
user can do, is to change the numbers based on his/her personal
requirements. For example, I live
just couple of miles away from Canada and so the miles to Km conversion as well
as Canadian maps were an important feature for me. For somebody living in Texas or
California, this may not be an issue at all.
There have been two
compelling reasons for my writing this review. First it will provide a GPS newbie an
opportunity to gain from my experience in making a judicious decision. In the past, I have been greatly
benefited by others experience and expertise at Aximsite.com and felt it
obligatory to contribute something useful to this extremely live, vibrant and
helpful forum. The other goal has been to provide a useful feedback to the
companies making Routis & Mapopolis about their product’s weakness and to
let them know what an average user is looking for. If even 10% of my comments/suggestions
are acknowledged and corrected, I will feel happy and satisfied that my time
(much to the dismay of my wife) has been well spent in writing this review. I also wish to state that the purpose of
this review has not been to credit/discredit any product or company and should
be taken only as a constructive criticism.
It is a big world and people’s choices and tastes vary and one-man food
can be another man poison.
I have been bitten by a GPS bug and
eventually would like to extend this review to include other pocket PC
navigation softwares also e.g. TomTom USA, Destinator etc. if they too have a
trial version for evaluation or are willing to provide a copy. I also would like to update it
periodically as soon as new versions of Routis/Mapopolis come out provided I get
an evaluation copy.
With the hardware prices of Pocket PCs falling with Dell setting a trend with Axim, their popularity will grow in coming future gradually encouraging mass acceptance of personal GPS systems. Accordingly, I see a bright future for both the reviewed navigation systems. This debate, invariably, will continue…
References:
1.
Routis Users
manual
2.
Routis demo at http://www.deluo.com/
3.
Mapopolis Users
manual
4.
Various postings at http://www.aximsite.com/
1.
Jake Rich, Aximsite
2.
Deluo Paul, Customer
Support, Deluo Electronics
3.
Cheryl Kuenzel, Customer
Support, Mapopolis