.NET CF wrapper helps create GPS-enabled apps

location based services

Apr. 12, 2007

In The Hand Ltd. has released software intended to help developers create GPS-enabled applications for handheld devices. "TomTom In The Hand" provides a .NET Compact Framework "wrapper" for use with GPS specialist TomTom International's "Navigator SDK" (software development kit) for developers of integrated handheld navigation solutions.

TomTom says its Navigator SDK lets developers integrate its Navigator GPS software for Pocket PC and Windows Mobile 5 devices with "almost any existing mobile business application." Capabilities of the TomTom Navigator SDK (along with associated Navigator software), as listed by TomTom, include:

• Connect TomTom Navigator to your mobile business applications using the TomTom API
  
• Add your key locations in self-defined categories to TomTom maps using custom icons
  
• Start your own business applications directly from the TomTom NAVIGATOR main menu
  
• Access to a full GPS data stream for external applications which use unfiltered GPS data
  
• Adjust the configuration and settings and tailor TomTom NAVIGATOR to your specific needs
  
• Reference extensive support documentation and sample source code for easy implementation
  

TomTom's Navigator SDK supports a wide range of GPS-enabled devices that run Windows Mobile and Windows CE platforms, from a wide range of manufactures such as Acer, Asus, Dell, Eten, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, HTC, Imate, Mitac, O2, Orange, Palm, Qtek, SFR, T-Mobile, and others.

.NET CF wrapper

In The Hand's .NET Compact Framework (CF) wrapper for TomTom's Navigator SDK is said to make "all the functionality found in the C++ API exposed by TomTom easily accessible from ... managed VB or C# applications."

The In The Hand library is compatible with both .NET CF v1.0 and v2.0 and works with Visual Studio 2005, the company says. Documentation is integrated into the Visual Studio help collection, and a sample application is included that demonstrates using the API to log positions, In The Hand adds.

TomTom In The Hand is available for about $130 from Handango on a per-developer license basis, which permits unlimited redistribution of the runtime dll with developed applications. Developers must also purchase the TomTom Navigator SDK and Navigator software for Pocket PC or Windows Mobile separately, In The Hand notes.

TomTom In The Hand is one of several In The Hand products aim to ease the development of mobile applications utilizing the .NET Compact Framework.

---