Open Nav Systems Revisited: Fugawi Google Plug-in
Some time ago I wrote a post about “open†navigation systems and lamented how most navigation systems were limited to a single source for maps and navigation data. In that post I yearned for a system that would seamlessly integrate with tools like Google Earth™ for the latest maps and navigation information. Well, it seems that my wish may finally be coming true.
The Fugawiâ„¢ Global Navigator is a PC-based navigation software that boasts support for a wide variety of digital maps and features PocketPC and Palm versions as well. Not only does this system have the advantage of not being tied to a sole source for maps and data (or hardware for that matter) but the company has just released a free plug-in for Google Earthâ„¢.
The plug-in—listed as an “experimental feature†in the company’s website—allows users to display Google Earth™ maps in split screen within Fugawi™. Additionally, users can display Fugawi™ GPS position on the Google Earth™ map and “synchronize Fugawi map area with the Google Earth map†(whatever that means). Finally, users can import/export routes, tracks and waypoints to/from Fugawi and Google. This last feature seems extremely useful as Google Earth™ is a great tool for planning but may not be practical for use en-route as slow and/or expensive download rates over mobile data networks still limit the use of online tools on the go.
It is not clear how “seamless†the integration between Google and Fugawi is. For one, the transfer of data from Google to Fugawi is accomplished through Google Earth™ KML files, which implies the extra step of saving the Google data then importing it into Fugawi. Since Google Earth™ does not support export of data to external devices (even in the $20 “Plus†version) this may have been the only option left for Fugawi but it does make exporting slightly more cumbersome. Despite these drawbacks, the simple fact that Fugawi™ supports various map formats, has me thinking that it may be worth the $119 purchase price. Some interoperability with Google Earth™ is just icing on the cake.
