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The Palm and its hardware cousins are small units that can substitute for a graphic display device and storage device to augment the capabilities of a GPS or can provide other portable navigation features. They have a relatively large 160x160 gray-scale display screen for map display and additional memory and processing power. For some users this may span the gap between a fully contained gps unit that does everything and a unit attached to a full laptop or desktop computer. The Palm units are as portable as a gps itself and don't add too much bulk for use even when hiking. Here is a collection of Links to palm OS compatible gps software and hardware that are related to navigation topics. There is also a listing of non-gps aware navigation software products as well. They are in no particular order except that they have been divided between gps capable software packages and software that does not support gps devices. Note that a gps capable program may also be quite useful without a gps device attached. I am starting a comparison review of items on this page. The description is based on visiting the web site and in some cases using the demo product. In addition there a detailed technical reviews of some products. Some folks wonder why they would even want to use a Palm and a GPS together. If you are in that group check out some of the Pros and Cons. |
Palm Tungston T is the first release of the new Palm hardware which runs OS 5. While many of the Palm version 4 software products will run on the Palm Version 5 hardware they generally will not be able to take advantage of the hardware specific features such as the 320x320 color screen. Similar problems exist for some Sony units with 320x320 screen displays and for HandEra units with 320x240 screen displays. There are also units with 320x480 displays as well and products may or may not take advantage of the increased real estate but will always be able to work as a 320x320 device. These units usually feature a virtual graffiti area that uses the extra screen space. The user will need to verify the features to ensure that the software selected will meet their needs. For GPS use there is a problem with the serial port on version 5. Older Palm OS apps expect the serial library to be preloaded after boot up. In Palm OS 5 and the Tungsten T this lib is not loaded after boot up. This free program will help you running older palm apps that use the serial port.
Maps take a significant amount of memory so it may be important to have support for external cards. External cards are now available for most palm hardware configurations but not all of them will work with the mapping software listed below. Be sure and check, preferably by downloading the demo and trying it out, before you buy a program where you are expecting this to work. There are several things to consider. Some external cards and software only support read only access so the program cannot write to the map. Surprisingly this is a bigger problem that you might think since some programs store preferences in the maps themselves. Beginning with Palm OS release 4 there is support for VFS (Virtual file system) but many vendors have added this software support for older units as well either directly by the manufacturer or from a 3rd party vendor. VFS requires specific support from the software and only a few of the mapping programs have VFS support so far.
Warning: There are significant changes in the 3.5 version of the OS for palm devices. It is likely that some of the software listed below may require changes to support 3.5. Some of it is known not to work or to have some minor problem due to the 3.5 release others may only work with 3.5 or later particularly if they offer color support. Check with the author or support group if you have questions about this as they often either have a work around or a patched program.
Another big change happened at 5.0 with a processor change. Again check the specific application to ensure that it supports 5.0 and above. Note that some of the programs below are specifically designed for 5.0 and above and will not work on older processors.
| Reference | Description |
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Interface cables, interface from SA series 5 and up and TOPO USA. All products are US centric. |
The interface cable works with any gps, Delorme products and
most of the products listed below as well.
Delorme Street Atlas Handheld 2006 provides support for US street level maps and can route on the PDA. It also supports the Delorme topo 6.0 product to add topo maps and aerial images. |
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Rand McNally currently only offers wireless support. |
The 1999 version of Street Finder can download organizer data to a
palm unit. This includes reservation data and turn by turn
instructions. The 2000 version added maps and gps capability.
The 2001 version has improved the maps with an active route that includes gps capability. It still has full turn by turn instructions for a downloaded route (routing on the pc requires internet access) as well as POI data with map references. Maps are full zoomable vector data using gray scale. This will work with the Rand McNally gps units as well as standard NMEA serial port gps's. A free demo is available. Color is supported. There is a review of this product. Rand McNally has no current product and only has wireless support now. |
| A moving map display program covering the USA | This is a vector mapping program from Marcosoft that permits the downloading of street level data into the palmpilot and can be used with a gps for realtime display applications. It features the ability to use gray scale display capabilities of the Palm Pilot to enhance readablility. You pick from a host of individual maps to download, currently the USA and its territories. The latest version also includes standard gps screen displays, maps that can rotate as your drive to keep your direction at the top, and waypoint support. A demo is downloadable. I have done a review of this product. |
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GPS tracker, Flying Pilot, Atlas, Cartographer, and GPS Compass. Supports color and 16 level gray for maps. TripPilot for turn
| GPS tracker looks similar to the map page on a
standalone gps. It provides track plotting capability to gps
units that don't have their own. It also has a waypoint
database capability and an independent tracklog. Supports maps.
Tracks may be download to a pc.
Flying Pilot is an aviation planning tool with a moving map display. GPS Compass provide a page that has similar data to the Garmin or Magellan position page for units without this capability. Also useful just to check the interface. Atlas is a raster mapping display program that permits gps navigation. This is one of the best general purpose raster programs available for the palm. You supply your own maps. Cartographer is a pc program to convert and maintain maps for the above programs. It supports 16 level gray scale, color, map compression. Map calibration is done on the pc. There is a review of these products. Trip Pilot is a new application that provide point to point instructions with maps. Supports wireless direct access, palm modem access, and home computer internet access for route planning and route calculation which is downloaded to the palm. The download includes maps, detailed instructions, and poi data for the North America and Europe. Multiple screen resolutions and multiple languages are supported. All map products provide the ability to directly download maps from the web on wirelss units or even units with a modem. These downloaded maps are precalibrated for gps use. |
| A Raster Map Program | This program supports raster maps that you can make yourself. It has support for waypoints, routes, tracklogs. You can design your own waypoint icons. A 10 day trial version is available. Requires Palm OS 3.5 or higher. There is a review of this product. Note that PathAway has released version 3.0 of their product. This version in considerably improved and supports higher resolution displays and OS 5. They have also release Garmin iQue support. |
| Raster Topo maps of the US. | This program supports a gps interface and contains the complete topo maps of the US in raster form. This is based on the National Geographic Atlas. In addition it supports the Topo state series to provide 1:100K through 1:24K USGS maps for you palm. Multiple scales of an area can be downloaded simultaneously providing zoom capabliities. |
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GPS capable route/map navigation for US/Europe | The latest products for Tom Tom include the TomTom Navigator
for the USA. These are available through palmOne for Tungsten units (OS 5).
They do street level autorouting and navigation. Door to Door
routing with voice prompts are the major features of this product.
Older products include road map and route planning package like Route USA and Route Planner Europe. They have extended their road maps down to street level in many of the cities in Europe. There are two editions available, one for every city in Great Britain and a second that covers 30,000 cities on the continent. Separate routes are calculated based on whether you are walking or driving. A free demo is available. They use TeleAtlas maps. A review is available for this product. These are older products for OS 4 and below. |
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They have withdrawn from the business. |
Mapopolis Navigator was a product for Palm OS 5 only. It takes advantage of the new Operating system with specific features only available on this hardware such as voice support. You may be able to find old copies but they are no longer supporting this product. Mapopolis Platinum Edition features turn-by-turn directions, and allows you to select start and end points from the current GPS-provided location, Palm Address Book contacts, or points of interest. The new software also includes support for GeoMarks, which allows users to easily view recently used addresses or points of interest and quickly mark locations on the map for later return. They maps for the entire US and some provinces in Canada and western Europe They have a database of business locations as well using navtech maps. Some of the maps are really large approaching one meg or larger and may not fit in a Palm III. Most are full counties. Most mapping products have gps support and all have VFS support. Some free demo tiger maps at the basic level are available. They have qualified their software on OS 5. |
| Handmap Deluxe and Handmap Pro mapping program. |
Handmap is a vector mapping program that has Tiger based maps for most of the US. City maps with POI data are available for many cities in the US and the UK. A major feature of this product is the ability to make your own maps using the MapIt product. It integrates well with the Palm address book. There is some international support for maps from 3rd part developers. A lite version is available for testing. |
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A mapping program | An alpha version of a program with promising features. It has a monitor mode, map mode, compass mode, cruise control mode. |
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A Mapping/Routing Application | Features Navtech maps and provides routing and turn by turn instructions. Covers more of Europe including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, BeNeLux, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Sweden, Norway (Oslo), Finland (Helsinki) and Denmark. They now have color support and support OS 5. They even support BlueTooth devices. They also have an add-on of voice for palm's that can do this (Some Sony and OS 5 devices) |
| GPS access library supports Java, Waba | This library (and sample programs) run on PC's (JVM) and PalmOS (Waba VM or Jump native executable) without a line of code being changed. You will need the WABA runtime package to use it on your palm. Executables are included in the sample so you don't need to be a programmer to try this out. |
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mapping program for bitmap maps (waba) | This is a promising program that displays your position on a bitmap map that you supply. It is unique in that the same source code works with both winCE and Palm by the use of a WABA runtime package. The program source is a kind of Java like language. You need to have a copy of waba installed plus the package from Hans. Currently he does not have full support for the palm since he uses winCE so encourage him to finish this. |
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A mapping program for the US and Puerto Rico | The software features a bundle with HandyGPS (see hardware page for details on this unit) for the Visor Units. |
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Maps for Europe | They have electronic maps, available for purchase in their web site, covering the most important European cities, and their regions. The maps feature unique icons for buildings and POI's. You must also purchase a viewer call MapMaster. |
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Mapping plus waypoints tracks and routes. | Fugawi is a full featured PC program that supports primarily raster maps but does include full map databases in selected areas such as the US. They have recently added the ability to select map areas from their pc product and download these maps to the palm with full gps navigation support. Their products includes maps for US and European cutomers. They support the Garmin iQue. |
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Mapping (in German) | Falk is on of the most well known mapping companies in Germany. They have released a new product for the palm called PocketRoute, with city maps of germany, austria, switzerland. It offers GPS support. |
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Mapping in Europe, USA | NavMan offers two mapping products, SmartPath Trip for road trips, and SmartPath City for street level detail. Both offer detailed routing and turn by turn instructions. They use European maps by TeleAtlas and seem to be tweaked versions of Tom-Tom. |
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Golf Course Mapping | Take your golf game to the next level. This product your Visor or Palm into your own personal caddy. It will tell you distances for each shot so you can make accurate club selections. Golf course data files are portable, so they can be swapped among GolfwareGPS users. Shareware. |
| StarCaddy software displays a digital map of the golf course on your PDA, using GPS to give you the exact distance to the green, doglegs, sand traps, water hazards or any other course feature. | |
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| Another Golf program for your PDA. Shows distance to the pin (front, center, and back of green). Has 4 player score card |
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A pair of programs to make your own maps | This set of two programs will allow the palm to use a gps to collect a tracklog, waypoints, and areas. This information can be hotsynced back to a pc and the included program on the pc can be used to turn this data into a map. This data can be exported to ArcView. |
Marine | A marine oriented program that supports Navionic vector charts. A free version is available but you must buy any detailed charts. |
MapSonic (GPS) MapViewer |
Maps of Europe. MapSonic has GPS support. MapSonic, the navigation and map display software product, transforms your PDA into a genuine on-board navigation system. It has a voice guidance system. MapSonic is now available for Europe, covering over 100,000 towns in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. POI's are included as is a pc based program suitable for a laptop or desktop. |
For other mapping products that do not support gps click here.
| Reference | Description |
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Companion A program that performs like a standalone gps | Nav Companion is a free program to introduce users to the Palm gps companion product from Magellan. It has a similar interface as other Magellan receivers with special features for their hardware. It can be downloaded from the Magellan web site. (Find the one for the Visor version and download it. The program is the same for Palm V, Visor, and M500 products.) There is a review of this product. |
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Features waypoint management and tracks | This program provides display of NMEA data that can be used for navigation. It has most everything you need short of map support. It also records a tracklog. It supports waypoints as well and can export them in xml format. It can log your position to a memo. Companion products on the pc can read the logs and waypoints. And its all free. A recent addition for Garmin users is the ability to upload and download waypoint data. It supports OS 5 and even iR ports. They have also release Garmin iQue support. |
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A complete field recording system for a Palm. | This is a set of field proven programs that can be used to collect data in a field environment. It was used for animal behavior studies in Africa. It has a gps interface. (Click on software.) Free! |
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Behavioral Biologist recording system | A suite of tools for the Behavioral Biologist. PC analysis plus field gathering programs for the Palm. Products include: Collector to collect animal data, Spectator Go! to collect behavioral data, and Outdoor Explorer which is a data recorder. Some catorgization and analysis is on the palm but further detailed analysis can be done on the pc by importing the data from the palm. |
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GPS Navigation for Aviators | This software gives Bearing, Track, Radial From, Distance TO, Ground speed, and ETE TO the waypoint. Also is the only Navigation Software that fully emulates a 10 degree deflection OBS. Has Direct-TO feature which centers the CDI on the current radial. Has TO-FROM flag, zone of ambiguity and Both Degree X-Track and Distance X-Track. It includes US and European Databases. |
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A gps data logger | The GPS Logger is a free data logger. Click on Palm Pilot to find it. It is designed for glider use but should be usable for lots of other applications. It will log lat/lon, altitude, time, date. This can be downloaded to a pc using the supplied program. It will also provide a flight log and supports the IGC standard waypoint interface. |
| GPS almanac viewer position solution |
A free program with source that views the gps almanac. An updated version is available here. It adds significant functionality include real time position, tracklogging and more. |
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Monitor specific NMEA sentences | A tab for each NMEA sentence received will appear when the tool is started. Click on sentence to view. Two buttons on top of page allow you to start and stop acquisition. |
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Aid in satellite acquisition | This is a free program from Rand McNally that permits you to see the current almanac and display a satellite screen. It will also show a compass display shows your track while walking. It is primarily to aid in acquiring satellites for Rand McNally palm units however it does work with other NMEA units. |
| Palm Pilot Can be used as a compass if you can see the sun or moon | A great planetarium program that can be used for navigation as well. If you know your current location you can use the Sun or Moon as a compass. Supports true north or magnetic north. With the 2.0 release you can also hook up a gps and find Sun, Moon, planet, and star positions from your exact current location. Shareware |
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Jogman for joggers gpstime to set palm time | Two programs from Luke Klein-Berndt that work from NMEA data. gpstime will set your palm to the correct time based on gps output. Jogman will create a log of a run or hike and create statistics and a map. The computed speed doesn't seem particularly accurate. |
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Trax is a track recording program | Another program from Luke Klein-Berndt that work from NMEA data. This one records a tracklog that can be analyzed later. Some analysis can be done on the palm itself but it also includes a conduit that downloads data and converts it for analysis on a pc. (The conduit causes a hotsync error on my system but transfers ok.) This program is also available at palmgear and is free. |
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Congestion Avoidance | This program uses a wireless palm and a gps receiver to provide estimated arrival times. Estimates are based on current conditions and historic data. It requires a service to provide realtime traffic updates and 45 minute ahead forcasts. Uses a web browser for real time graphic display. Includes navigation routing. Alerts can be via cellphone voice or SMS messages. |
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Log Dive data | This program provides a Dive log and dive management software for SCUBA divers. It includes gps support for recording your dive location and a pc product to read your log on the pc. It can also import dive data from popular underwater dive computers. |
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gps speed warning system | This program uses a gps to provide warning of upcoming traffic cameras. It basically implements a proximity alarm to tell you when you are close to the location of a radar site. This is a subscription service. |
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Calculate acreage | This program will compute acreage of an area traversed using a gps. It will also compute an odometer output, perimeter that can be output to a memo. |
| Calcualte acreage Gather data | A German program from D and F that computes acreage of an area traversed using a gps. It will also compute distance and gather route and point data for analysis on a pc. To read the web site in English try this. |
field database gathering | The Vector Control Management System (VCMS) is a database, GIS and mobile field data collection system designed for mosquito/vector control organizations, public health agencies, and other firms involved in arbovirus surveillance, pest control and integrated pest management (IPM) activities. |
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for data acquisition | The CyberTracker field computer is designed to be quick and easy to use in the field, even by non-literate users. A user-friendly interface developed for PalmOS computers allows field workers to record more than 300 observations per day. The Palm or Visor can be linked to a GPS. Design your own database and gathering tool with no programming skill. |
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for geocaching and hiking | GeoNiche provides many of the functions of a standalone gps receiver and is aimed at geocaching, hiking, cycling, campers, etc. It can beam waypoints and routes to other users and provides navigation capabilities. It has waypoint icons. It can do paperless geocaching. |
| This is an NMEA compliant program for Palm devices used in Sailplanes. It provides speed, logging and other essential data for use when Soaring. It will project your range from current data. The program is free. | |
| This program from blackfish software computes the distance to the pin from your current location on a golf course. | |
geo cache nav | This program is designed to provide all of the features of a non-mapping gps receiver that might be needed to locate a geocache. It also provides some nice addtional features like DOP data and area calculation. This program is free. |
from DataWiz | This is a database program but they have a plugin that provides GPS support. You can use this to custom design your own GIS system.) |
For other navigaton products that do not support gps click here.
The section below is devoted to programs that support Garmin GPS receivers. Primarily this section is for standalone GPS receivers. But, in addition, Garmin makes a new Palm unit called the iQue 3600. It does not currently support NMEA mode so most programs listed on this page will not work with it unless they have been modified specifically to support it. Some programmers have released programs that only support this platform which are listed here. In addition there are several programs in other sections that have been modified to support this feature as well. Check with your favorite program vendor to see if the Garmin iQue is supported.
| Reference | Description |
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| | A program specifically designed to support the new iQue 3600. It adds features missing from the Garmin release like the ability to export Waypoint data, record an export a tracklog, and provides NMEA data from the GPS in the iQue to the serial port. It is from Mobile Geographics. |
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A full Garmin/Garmin protocol program with waypoints, show routes, tracks. | A great cardware program. (Send him a postcard). Edit waypoints, upload and download waypoints, routes, tracklogs, sync pilot time to gps. Also supports Garmin host mode. Can sort waypoints and translate datums. Uses pilot catagories to keep data separated. Supports G-12 icons. |
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A utility to extend the tracklog. | The program is cardware. It can download a Garmin tracklog to the pilot for storage and then later you can download the tracklog to your computer. Reported not to work with the latest palm software release. |
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Garmin protocol program Supports waypoint editing a stores routes and tracks. | Includes source, executable, and documentation. This program supports multiple databases so you can have different sets of waypoints for different purposes or different gps's. You can save but not modify routes and tracks and transfer them using Garmin host mode to a pc. This program is free and released under GPL. Has support for etrex waypoints. |
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Click above to download program | A free program that supports etrex waypoints and perhaps emap. Note that the final version may not be compatible with the database of this version. It is based on the same source as PalGar and is by Tom Lovell |
| A fully functional program with no nag screens that provides waypoint, tracklog, and route capabilities in Garmin mode and a map display screen navigation mode that works in Garmin or NMEA mode. Fee required for support and suggested otherwise. Product is in russian and english. | |
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| The Cetus GPS package described above also supports Garmin mode for waypoint management. |
| A Raster Map Program |
The 3.0 version of this product now supports upload and download of waypoints in Garmin and Magellan modes. Many other added features including large map support, better data management tools. |
| Garmin Map Download |
Tap the language of your choice and then download to get the Palm program. This program permits you to store Garmin maps on your palm for download to a Garmin mapping unit. You cannot view or use the maps on the palm itself. Requires a Palm with an SD card. |
For other navigation products that do not support gps click here.
There are some products that have been developed that run on pc platforms or are web based but their main purpose is to support palm databases or products.
waypoint translator | This is a free windows program that translates and stores waypoint data in a wide variety of formats thus permitting waypoint interchange. Supported formats include GPX (XML exchange format), GEO (geocaching), Magellan including the palm versions, Garmin, GPSMan, GPSUtil, Tiger, CSV (comma separted values), Delorme Xmap, MapSend (Magellan poi format), PCX5 (older Garmin format), Cetus, GPSPilot, PSP (Pocket streets and trips), MXF (Maptech), DNA (Navitrak), OZI, Holux, with more being added all the time. |
| This is a web based program (formerly called SVGPS) that can read CETUS gps tracklogs and plot them graphically on the screen. The plot can be overlaid on a map. This program also supports GPX (XML exchange format) and other database formats. It may be used free of charge. |
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By: Dale DePriest
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