I found this behavior distracting while driving. If you are an Auto PC software developer, this problem is something to watch for in your software. Make sure that when the user presses a key or issues a voice command that your software gives the user some sort of feedback in a second or less. When operating the vehicle, the driver doesn't have the spare time to keep glancing at the Auto PC to see if the software has responded. This should be true even for keys that have no function in your application.

Finally, one of the features I appreciate most about CoPilot is that the software comes with its own map database and it has far more complete street information, even for smaller towns and rural areas, when contrasted with the Auto PC's Directions application. Furthermore, the entire US map database fits onto two CD's that come with CoPilot. This is a major win for CoPilot over any navigation software that uses the Navigation Technologies map database used by the Auto PC's directions application. The data is not perfect though. I have found a number of addresses in my local area that it got wrong or didn't know about. CoPilot also suggested that I turn the wrong way down a one-way street. The PC version of this product allows the user to correct these sorts of errors so I would expect the Auto PC version to eventually support a correction feature as well.

Send me your questions and feedback
If you have a topic or issue you would like to see me address in one of my upcoming articles on the Auto PC, or if you have a question you would like have answered in a future article, please send me email. If you are a product vendor and want to have your product reviewed in one of my articles, please contact me. My email address is markmo@autopcware.com. My web site is http://www.autopcware.com.

Mark Moeller is a 14 year veteran of Microsoft. After shipping the first version of the Auto PC he left Microsoft to found AutoPCWare, a company focused on helping manufacturers and software vendors build Auto PCs or products for the Auto PC. Mark was the design architect of the first version of the Auto PC and has a number of patents pending or awarded on the Auto PC. You can visit his Web site at http://www.autopcware.com, or email him at markmo@autopcware.com. To read more of Mark Moeller's work for Windows CE Power, visit http://www.zatz.com/authors/authorpages/markmoeller.html.