Product: Tube and Tube Pro
Publisher: Visual IT
Web Site: http://www.visualit.co.uk
Category: Software - Travel
Price: $8 - $25 depending on City and Regular vs. Pro versions.
Requirements: Pocket PC:
All Pocket PCs supported
Software:
Microsoft ActiveSync
Desktop Windows 95 / 98 / Me / 2000 / NT / XP

Pocket PC OS:
Windows CE 3.x (Pocket PC 2000)
Pocket PC 2002

Pocket PC CPU:
StrongARM
MIPS
SH3

Memory Requirements:
Regular Version: 300K Storage per city / 700K Program
Pro Version: 2MB Storage per city / 8MB Program

When traveling to a new city, one of the most difficult tasks is learning how to use the local transportation system. Unless you are on an unlimited expense account, taxis can be very expensive and sometime hard to find. In Paris, most taxis will not leave their zone. The city is divided into 4 zones and most will not travel between zones. This can be very difficult if you need to travel more than a few miles. In London, the main difficulty is that all legal taxis shut down after midnight. Unfortunately, so does the “Underground”, but at least it is easier to find a station and you will know what a trip will cost you. Just try to be at your destination by midnight or learn the late night bus schedule. Add to this the fact that in many cities around the world, the taxis have a reputation for taking advantage of tourists, especially if they cannot speak the local language. The most convenient and cost effective way of traveling in any city is to travel the way the local population travels or commutes. In many large cities, that would mean using the subway or inner city train system.

Of course learning how the system works and how to get from one station to another can sometimes be very difficult. Especially, in a city like Tokyo, if you cannot read and speak the local language. Even with signs that contain some English, you will still find it is easy to get lost. I have lived in Paris, London, and many large cities in the US. In addition, I have traveled to many cities in the US, Europe, and Asia. Each new city that I arrive in, it takes days or even weeks to become comfortable with traveling by the subway. Local travel guides are useful, but take time to absorb enough information to become comfortable with the system. In Paris, I found a portable electronic guide that would show which train line to take and where to transfer in order to reach your destination. Unfortunately, it was difficult to use, used codes for each station, and cost over $40 USD for just central Paris. What I always wanted was an interactive guide that was easy to use and gave clear, simple instructions. A product from Visual IT called Tube can now help any traveler find their way around a city with confidence and ease.

Tube comes in two versions.
The regular version features:
A color map of the transport system
A find station utility to locate the station you want
Planning for the quickest route with line changes and estimated travel times
A text list display of the travel directions
A visual display of the planned travel on a graphic map
Additional local information about each station
Available maps for: New York City, NY.
London, United Kingdom
Paris, France
Tokyo, Japan
Washington, D.C.
Boston, MA.
Seoul, Korea
Chicago, IL.
Sydney, Australia
Toronto, Canada

The Pro version features:
Everything in the regular version plus:
A full color, street level map of the city
A find utility to locate any street, place of interest, or station
A detailed reference map of the above ground or extended rail systems that connect to the subway
Available Pro versions are: New York City, NY.
Paris, France
London, United Kingdom
Tokyo, Japan

Once Tube is started, you begin by selecting the map to be loaded. When the loading is complete, you will be presented with a map of the subway system. The map for each system is an exact representation of the official map used by the subway. So you will have a very familiar point of reference. The stylus can be used to scroll around the map. Using the up and down direction pad, you can zoom in and out of the map. Tube supports 5 levels of zoom in and out. However, you will find that anything more than 2 levels of zoom in or out will make the map text unreadable or the map too pixilated. Each map also contains a Legend table of map symbols. Certain cities, such as New York, contain multiple maps that are chosen based on what time of day you wish to travel since the train lines and station configurations are adjusted during the day to meet the demands of the commuters. This is a really nice feature, but would be better if there was an option to automatically load the appropriate map based on the clock time of your Pocket PC.