TURN-BY-TURN VEHICLE NAVIGATION TO RECREATIONAL GPS HANDHELDS

Navigation, a leading global provider of GPS solutions including Magellan consumer and Thales Navigation professional products, is demonstrating the first turn-by-turn, audio-prompted, street-routing and guidance software specifically designed to provide vehicle navigation functionality on a rugged handheld GPS receiver. Magellan MapSend DirectRoute allows many Magellan customers who use GPS technology for recreational purposes - like hiking, hunting and fishing – to now gain travel routes to city street addresses and thousands of points of interest in the continental United States and Canada.

The creation of MapSend DirectRoute ushers in a major advance in mapping software that enhances the versatility of Magellan handhelds and complements the advanced built-in functionality like never before. The software is a direct response to Thales Navigation’s research that revealed more than half of Magellan customers want to use their handheld GPS receiver for occasional street navigation in addition to pedestrian and recreational activities. With MapSend DirectRoute, those users now have access to topographic maps, marine charts and street navigation – all on a single Magellan receiver.

Sold alone or pre-packaged with a Magellan handheld GPS, MapSend DirectRoute features a database with more than 35 categories of downloadable points of interest for the United States and Canada, including restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, hotels, parks, airports, tourist attractions and more. With access to the most current, sophisticated map data, users can upload any map area they choose, within the limits of the available memory in the receiver or a total of 64 MB on a memory card.

Users have three easy ways to route: by moving the cursor to a destination on the map screen, by entering an address, or by searching points of interest by name. MapSend DirectRoute calculates the shortest time street route, then provides visual guidance and audible prompts to notify the user of each maneuver. For more information, on the latest GPS News see satellite recievers.

Author Notes:

Alexander Cornvell contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.handheld-gps-reviews.com.  A wealth of information about Global Positioning Systems for commercial or personal use.