The idea behind Route 66 Navigate 7 is to allow owners of handheld PCs running the Windows Mobile 2003 operating system to turn their gadget into a satellite navigation device.

The Route 66 Navigate 7 comes in a couple of guises, either with or without a GPS receiver.

Adding a receiver costs £137. It will work with any Pocket PC-compatible GPS device, whether connected using wires or Bluetooth.

Installation of the software was simple. We simply popped the supplied memory card in our Pocket PC ­ an Acer n311  and it detected and installed the program.

The supplied maps are available in versions for the UK and Europe. All the directions supplied during our testing were accurate.

The voice instructions were also good and, like most satellite navigation systems, it was able to recalculate a route after a diversion.

It’s worth noting that it won’t work with Windows Smartphones such as those offered by Orange. Route 66 says that a compatible product will be available later in the year.

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