Reviews: Atlas

Users say:

Jason Moss
The ability to download a map via vicinity using the Tungsten and a T68i over GPRS in a few seconds is amazing. Great feature.

HandAnGo review by Stefanos Dris from Athens, Greece, December 2002
For those of us who live in GPS-map challenged countries, programs like this are essential. Unfortunately there isn't a good manual to accompany this program. The on-line guide is somewhat brief given the program's capabilities. It took me a while and trial and error to answer some of the basic questions I had. On the positive side, making your own maps is fairly straightforward once you get the hang of it. The ability to have multiple maps that can be put into one database is great! Even better, each of these maps can be calibrated on the Palm *individually*, so you don't have to worry about calibrating them with the desktop application (if you don't have GPS data for your maps that is). I found this a wonderful feature, and it was something NEVER mentioned in the guide. Once all the maps are calibrated, they seamlessly work together, as if they were one huge map. The ability to have several small maps is essential, since often custom maps may not be exact, and calibrating one part of a huge map can make it very inaccurate for other parts. With smaller maps, only small errors are likely to occur. I also like the fact that you can zoom in and out of the maps. The program is simple, fast (on my m505), and user friendly. Calibration on the Palm is extremely easy. I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for one feature missing... Perhaps I would have not noticed if it weren't for one of its competitors that has it. The competitor's app allows you to calibrate in more than the two ways that GPS Atlas does (i.e. entering GPS info for Top Left and Bottom Right, or for two arbitrary points on the map). If GPS Atlas had these nudge controls –have been added in the 5.1 version-, it would blow the cumbersome and not very intuitive competition out of the water...

HandAnGo review by a reviewer from Sydney, September 2002
Once you get a handle on the slightly non standard interface this program is terrific. Using the included cartographer software you can easily add any digital map and you are in business. It is a lot of fun to scrounge a map form the net and within minutes have it loaded to the Palm, calibrated and actually showing you very accurately where you are. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who connects a GPS to their Palm.

PalmGear review by Tony D. Guzewicz, April 2002
If you live outside the U.S. and use GPS this is an absolute essential application. Before purchasing I had many questions and constantly sent the support team many messages. Every time my questions were answered within 24 hours and I hadn't even purchased the software at that point! That is service. I live in Tokyo and now I can scan any map of Japan regardless of the language and have excellent maps with me everywhere. Excellent job.

PalmGear review by Anthony Jameson, July 2000
I've been using this program (together with its free companion "Cartographer") for several months. I've used the two to import maps from a variety of sources: the WWW and several mapping programs available on CD-ROM. On the whole, the program is remarkably robust and flexible, allowing you to handle a large variety of maps and situations (including both standard and Earthmate GPS receivers). Especially for those who live outside the U.S. and therefore can't use the many U.S.-centric mapping programs, GPS Atlas seems to be by far the best option available. A few minor usability improvements would help, but on the whole the designers and developers have done an admirable job of fulfilling their users' requirements.

sci.geo.satellite-nav posting by Tom DeVille
Connecting Garmin 12XL to Palm III: GPS Pilot Atlas
GPS Atlas is a very nice program for anyone looking for an alternative to Delorme's Solus. It is a moving map program for the Palm Pilot series and uses any raster map. It has two components. One is the actual Palm program. The other is Windows program to assemble individual maps to be downloaded to the Palm. It is worth looking into if you have a Palm and a GPS.

John Peterson
Thanks, Really like your atlas product, much faster that Rand McNally, Keep up the good work !!

Nathan Bond
I recently flew from Dallas to Paris ( still here, lucky me... ) and was quite the site with my GPS and cables strung out hooked up to my Palm. The flight attendant was impressed that I was tracking where we were headed, and wrote down the speed, heading, and current location, and then got on the intercom to the pilot to confirm it all. This was on American Airlines. It was GPS pilot software. I use Cartographer. to make the maps, and Atlas to track the progress. I like Atlas, as it is very easy to make my own custom maps, without having to rely on someone else's maps. They are bitmaps, not vectors, but it's still pretty cool.

comp.sys.palmtops.pilot posting by Steve Carey
GPS Pilot "Atlas" - Brilliant!
After just one message and two days of searching on here for a good GPS/Mapping/personal Navigator, Annie Chabert of GPS-Pilot (http://www.gpspilot.com) told me about their "ATLAS" software. I tried the demo version and after and in a few minutes decided that it was the best auto plotting GPS-map reader around. You can even make your own maps of anywhere in the world by downloading, scanning or from CD- Rom. You copy a .BMP or .JPG image into "GPS-Pilot's" Cartographer program and convert it to a .PDB Palm format. The whole operation takes just minutes and in no time at all . . . . I have my own data-base of European maps. I Am now working on detailed Nautical Charts, starting from just an outline based on the Mediterranean Sea!
With a GPS connected to your Palm, the software automatically follows the map showing your position highlighted in the center of your Palm's screen.
Brilliant piece of software!

Press and awards:

Atlas and Cartographer reviews (in Spanish)
by Juanma Menéndez Frías, June-July 2003

Eurocool   Hanan Shamir
I'ts great, just what i've been looking for !
It's very accurate if you give the right coordinates for the entered map.
I recommend that you gather some coordinates first, then insert a map, and adjust it to those coordinate- for best results

by Bengt Agert, February 2001
Why spend a fortune on one fancy Navigation system in the boat and one in the car and one Handheld GPS in the forest ? Be smarter than your neighbor and combine simple available portable technology in one system for all applications with the same excellent practical accuracy ( same satellites! ) .Make your own charts and maps instead of more expensive special systems where map costs could be high! Everything can be found and bought on the internet!!

December 2000.
Atlas fonctionne avec son Binome gratuit: GPS Pilot Cartographer
GPS Pilot Cartographer permet de formater toute carte (scannée, du web, ou d'atlas électroniques, ...) afin d'être installée sur le Palm. Atlas permet ensuite de visualiser ces cartes et si connecté à un GPS, de visualiser en temps réel votre itinéraire. Idéal en mer ou en randonnées: Une simple carte IGN bien scannée vous suffira!! A noter que Atlas est compatible avec les Palm en couleur et tous les GPS fonctionnant avec le Palm.
Un incontournable pour tous les fanas de GPS qui ne veulent jamais manquer une occasion de s'en servir par manque de cartes.

GPS et palmtops: l'union fait la force by Sascha Burkhardt, Juillet/Aout 2000
[...] En revanche, le logiciel le plus connu reste Atlas, disponible en version de démonstration sur [www.GPSpilot.com]. Son principal avantage réside dans ses options d'importations des cartes, grâce aux logiciels Cartographer et Topographer; qui permettent d'être employé partout dans le monde [...]

The world in your Palm by Steve Litchfield, July 2000
[...] Which is where Atlas, by GPSPilot.com, comes in. First of all, there's its desktop component, Cartographer, which seamlessly constructs image tiles [...].Back on the Palm, Atlas then intelligently stitches them all together as you scroll around. (more...)

ZDNet 5 Stars Editor Pick GPS Pilot Atlas, February 2000.
GPS Pilot Atlas is a GPS (Global Positioning System) application for the Palm. You add a map appropriate for your OS (including color if your Palm supports it), plug in your GPS receiver, and Atlas co-pilots you to your destination by pinpointing your position and scrolling the map in real time. It also allows you to add your own reference points. You have complete flexibility, because you can import maps from the Internet, or simply scan them on your home computer. Calibration of new maps is simple. Maps are easy-to-read and the included tutorial makes the program a snap to learn. You can easily change the units of measure, zoom in and out, or even beam your map to a friend's Palm. The title bar displays navigational information such as current heading, speed, and altitude. A link to the author's Website is included that shows you how to connect your GPS device to the Palm. This demo version gives you only a "keyhole" view of the maps, the registered version provides the full view. For travelers with a supported GPS receiver, Atlas is a very useful program.
System Requirements: Palm OS 2.0. Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $35 if you decide to keep it.

Navigating with a Handheld by Dave Johnson, April 1999
Atlas ($35) from GPS Pilot (www.GPSpilot.com) fills a void -most GPS atlas software ends at the U.S. border. This program lets you see your position on maps from around the world. [...]
Flying Pilot, another product from GPS Pilot, is an $80 GPS tracker designed for general-aviation pilots to perform automated flight planning on their Palmpilots.

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