Wayfinder Access
European License: £240.00, €285.00, $395.00 Buy Now
The European License includes: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
USA and Canada: £240.00, €285.00, $395.00 Buy Now
Australia and New Zealand £240.00, €285.00, $395.00 Buy Now
South East Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia) £240.00, €285.00, $395.00 Buy Now
Southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe) £240.00, €285.00, $395.00 Buy Now
India £150.00, €185.00, $250.00 Buy Now
To read Current version 2.5 release notes Click Here.
A navigator that facilitates the everyday life of the visually impaired.
Through the use of a wireless blue tooth GPS receiver, a Nokia Symbian enabled cellular mobile phone handset and Wayfinder Access GPS navigation software, individuals with a sight impairment are able to effectively, securely and confidently operate in both familiar and unfamiliar surroundings unaided.
Whilst not a replacement for the traditional white stick or Guide dog, what Wayfinder Access can do is to enable a dramatically improved sense of confidence and self assurance to the user when particularly in unfamiliar surroundings. Ensuring that the user gets to where they want to be effectively and most importantly without the necessity of regularly asking for directions or assistance from passers-by.
Wayfinder Access also has distinctive benefits for users who wish to know more about their surroundings, whether in a known location or else where, read further down this document for more extensive information about this feature.
Many visually impaired individuals already own other high tech equipment that is capable of performing the role of GPS navigation, however, these units are expensive, often bulky and a potential security risk as they could be seen as a target for thief’s.
Wayfinder Access is discrete being installed onto your cellular mobile handset, portable even when out shopping or socialising, far cheaper than alternative accessible alternatives and arguably a more comprehensive and functional tool. PDA's are a very good business tool, however whilst walking, travelling or simply socialising you need something much more convenient that can be carried in your pocket. The cellular mobile phone has become something we have all built our lives around and is the one item you would never leave home without, so why not leave your note taker behind and appear more natural, but at the same time be able to plan routes and know exactly where you are?
Wayfinder, one of the World’s most prominent satellite navigation software solution providers have partnered with the visually impaired community to produce Wayfinder Access. The world’s first bespoke navigation solution built specifically with the user group in mind, but importantly that works on a mobile phone and not a PDA. It boasts many impressive features primarily though the fact that it has been designed for the community user group in mind is though by far its biggest asset.
Wayfinder Access comprises all the features that you would expect from a leading GPS software package, with the following map regions available:
Europe,
North America (USA and Canada),
Australia,
South East Asia: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand & Malaysia,
India,
Users can purchase an activation licence code for any map region, for those who travel frequently between licence regions, for a smaller fee a user can purchase additional map access to enable them to travel even further with just one licence – which can be done permanently or for short term periods e.g. holidays.
Wayfinder Access Features:
A where am I feature:
At the press of a button whether you are in route mode or simply walking about Wayfinder Access can give you specific information about the local environment. This is as with other products such as Trekker 3. The types of information that you can receive is dependant on the vicinity view that you are using, see below for more details on the various vicinity views available. In general though you’ll be able to find out what street you are on and other such useful details.
Viewing routes in advance:
With Wayfinder Access as with Wayfinder Navigator users can plan, prepare and view a route in advance prior to taking that journey. This is very useful to get an idea of where you are going and the various places of interest on that given journey.
20,000,000 points of interest (POI):
Wayfinder Access has an expanded database of points of interest, increased from Navigators 3,000,000 to 20,000,000; this means that you have a much greater chance of finding just what you are looking for without having to know the specific address.
The point of interest feature is also highly useful when in an unfamiliar location, for example find out your nearest restaurant, or find a museum or hotel when you are away from home. So many more useful and diverse applications exist for this feature we can’t possibly list them all.
A “What is in my vicinity” option, telling you local Poi’s and other useful information:
This option is perfect for when you are out and about for example travelling on a train, no route needs to be planned in advance and you can simply have your phone announce to you points of interest as they come into a given range. See below for more details on the vicinity views available when using Wayfinder Access.
A pedestrian and vehicle navigation option:
Wayfinder Access can be used in both pedestrian mode for when you wish to walk about with your phone in your pocket, but can also be transferred back into vehicle mode for when a friend takes you out in their car etc., a major plus if the person doing the driving doesn’t know where they are going and doesn’t have a satellite navigation system. Or of course make sure that your taxi driver is genuinely taking you the quickest route!
An increased benefit with Wayfinder Access is that when passenger car is selected as the method of transportation, Access reverts back automatically to Wayfinder Navigator. Whilst it works still fully with Talks this gives the added benefit of speed camera warnings updated free of charge and that the traditional Wayfinder classic female voice for audio direction prompting will be heard. Additional services include traffic avoidance features from Traffic Master Etc.
NOTE: - If Access is used in pedestrian mode the classic Wayfinder female voice is by default muted for directional guidance, and instead your screen reading application takes over this functionality, promoting a more streamlined and seamless approach to the delivery of audible information whilst on route.
Users may though for either mode of transportation elect to have either screen reading synthesiser or Wayfinder’s voice narrating the journey instructions, or a combination of the two.
Routes dictated in metric or imperial:
As with most satellite navigation systems, and with Wayfinder Navigator, Access can be set to dictate route information in either imperial or metric measurements.
Route planning options including fastest by speed or distance and the option to avoid motorways etc:
As with other satellite navigation systems and Wayfinder Navigator, Access can be set to take you on the quickest route by either speed it should take to make that journey or quickest by distance, i.e. the shortest physical route. Obviously for pedestrian mode we would recommend fastest by distance as the alternative option, fastest by speed is really only relevant for vehicle mode.
Save favourite locations and even share them with your friends:
Wayfinder Access as with Navigator can store your favourite locations; these can be uploaded to Wayfinder’s server, enabling a safe backup of your favourites to be kept. Additionally, when using the `myWayfinder` service you can use and see your favourites online.
Full postal code finder:
Wayfinder Access can find full postal codes or ZIP codes using its search facility, so you don’t have to type the full address information in. Alternatively users can type in all or part of a street address with option of a door number etc. Either the town or part of its postal / ZIP code can be then entered.
Other Features:
Traffic avoidance services including Traffic Master,
Safety camera warnings updated free of charge,
27 European countries supported within the European version,
Complete USA and Canada coverage for the North American version,
17 language choices available,
If you have used Wayfinder Navigator then some of the key distinctive differences between Navigator and Access are;
Seamless integration with Nuance Accessibility software including Talks and Code Factories mobile speech software.
Where am I function: - by pressing the number `8` key the road that is currently on as well as the town information is announced, i.e. Smith Street, Ardwick Greater Manchester. This option as with products such as Trekker 3 is not route specific, i.e. you can use it anytime without planning a route.
Visually accessible: - Maintains all the visual familiarity of Wayfinder Navigator, so that sighted people can still use the product and assist where necessary. Also existing Wayfinder navigator users will find the product easy to use and familiar.
Four new additional vicinity views
Crossing View: - This view tells the user how far they are to the next turning point and at what direction they will be making that manoeuvres i.e. 25 metres turn right 90 degrees etc. This information is presented within a list style of view.
Points of Interest POI: - Now with 20,000,000 Poi’s Wayfinder Access is more like a mobile directory as well as a navigation aid. Within the POI view the user can be told of Poi’s that are on their route within a set radius of their position. The types of Poi’s mentioned is discretionary allowing the user to choose which type of Poi’s they are informed of. The information is presented in a list format and again the direction is stated as a degree of angle. Note that Wayfinder Navigator only has 3,000,000 Poi’s.
So whilst the user is on route to a given destination or simply walking around not in route mode, they will be notified of specific Poi’s on route within a set radius of their location and told which direction it is within. This view is one of the most impressive new features, and can be used to aid the user whilst they are on the train for example, as stations that are passed through can be announced.
Favourites: - This view is the same as the POI view but shows any favourites that are stored, along with their direction shown as a degree of angle.
Mixed Vicinity View: - Poi’s, Favourites and crossing information is all given to the user simultaneously within a list view.
Additionally, users can have Access lock onto a specific location of their choice and be told information about that locations distance and direction with or without a route being plotted. This can be useful if you wish to freely walk but with a rough destination in mind. Alternatively, for example, if you wanted to drop some letters in a post box on your way to work, you could plot a route to work and lock to the post box which was stored in your favourites. AS you walk the route to work, Wayfinder provides information on the route as well as to enable you to find the post box.
Other operational benefits include that Wayfinder Access can tell you your altitude, position as a longitudinal and latitudinal measurement, direction you are travelling in degrees, speed worked out constantly, GPS satellite network coverage as a percentage, highly intuitive to use and there are many more features.
Licensing:
TalkNav is proud to offer a life time licence to all its customers for use with Wayfinder Access, the life time licence is a licence that gives the user unlimited access and use of the software. They can change their phone handset whenever they wish as often as they wish.
NOTE: - The life time licence is a licence for the specific version of software that is on public release at the time of purchase. Thus in the future a client may need to upgrade their licence to continue to be able to use the software on a new phone handset that they purchase. This will only happen when for example the licence that they hold for a given version is not compatible with their latest new phone handset.
Data Usage
We recommend you use Wayfinder Access in the 'Guide View' where possible, and not the 'Map View', switching only to vicinity views, such as 'Points Of Interest' only when you require such information, as this will keep usage of data to a minimum. Using Wayfinder Access in this manner shows an average data usage of around 10-20KB per hour.
Typical data usage for different usage scenarios is show below:
Guide View only: 5-10KB per hour of walking.
Mixed View, mainly using 'Guide View 70%, but switching to Vicinity Views 30% :40-80Kb per hour of walking.
Vicinity Views only, not using 'Guide View': 100-150Kb per hour of walking.
You can check with your mobile phone provider as to their charges for downloading GPRS data, but as a rough guide most providers will charge about £2 for 1Mb. Other lower and greater use tariffs are always available, and we advise you to consult your network provider for more information. *It is the customers responsibility, before purchase, to ensure that their network carrier supports and will permit them to use GPRS data for the purpose of Wayfinder Access on their handset.
Additional information about how Wayfinder Access works can be found by visiting the pages covering Wayfinder Navigator on this site, as Access is based on its operation.
To place an order please click here.
Prices shown are ex-VAT. For those who are outside the EU and those within EU who are registred blind/visually imparied VAT is not applicable.
