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POIAlert indicates so called POIs (Points of Interest) by voice and display output. A POI can be any point with known GPS coordinates (danger place, restaurant, gas station etc.).
POI data can be loaded e.g. from several Internet sources. At present especially red light and speed cameras are supported.
At first POI data are imported from a file into an internal database (RecordStore). At runtime POIAlert loads all POIs within a radius of 5 km into a cache. During a journey the cache is being updated automatically. The current position is permanently compared with the positions of the cached POIs. This comparison depends on the current speed. As soon as the GPS receiver is near a POI, a voice and an optical information will be given. Since the voice output may be quiet depending on the type of the mobile phone, a hands-free speaking system or headset are recommended.
POIAlert runs on all phones which support at least CLDC 1.1 and MIDP 2.0 and allow access to Bluetooth (JSR 82) or the serial interface (data cable) and to the local file system (JSR 75). That applies to nearly all current mobile phone models. POIAlert requires significantly more CPU power than the other applications on this website. Since reliable comparisons of the CPU power of the several mobile phone types are not available, it is necessary to test POIAlert on the desired phone. Among others POIAlert has been tested successfully with the Nokia devices 6110, 6131, 6288, N73, N82, and N95. But a Siemens S65 is so slow that it can be used only with a small number of POIs.
GPS receivers with Bluetooth or serial interface are supported, which provide the NMEA 0183 sentences GGA and VTG or RMC. That nearly all at the market available might be. In the connection mode "Network/Internal" the Location API (JSR 179) is used. In this case no external GPS receiver is needed. The location is determined by the internal GPS receiver or by the network provider. The latter is obviously supported however in Germany so far by no provider.
POIAlert is Shareware. The download version is fully functional and runs 5 days. Afterwards the input of a license key is required, which can be purchased online on the download page or be requested via the feedback form. The license key is valid also for all subsequent versions and costs 19.99 EUR.
Before usage, you should catch up on the legal situation in your country of residence.
POIAlert.zip on a PC and install
the application according to the type of your mobile phone. Further
references you can find in the FAQ.Data inbox. This folder normally already
exists on Siemens phones. On other mobile phones this folder must
be created at a suitable location. POIAlert looks for it in the
roots of the file systems, i.e. also on a possibly existing memory
card, as well as in the standard folders for pictures, tones,
videos, and others. If it cannot be found, it will be created
automatically in one of these folders during the first access.The file system access is extremely restrictively implemented in the operating systems of the mobile phones for security reasons. On non Siemens phones the file system access might be refused by default without further inquiry to the user. Therefore please make sure to setup your security settings in such a way that the user is asked before file system access.
Data inbox.RecordStoreFullException).
The progress of the import is indicated by a bar and a counter of
the imported POIs. The procedure can be interrupted at any time.
Optionally the file can be deleted after the import. Depending on
the type of the mobile phone, the file type, and the number of
POIs, the import can take a very long time. At the beginning of an
import all old POI data are being deleted first.
The indication takes place in blue, if no connection to the GPS receiver exists and red, if the GPS data are invalid (no free view to satellites).
By repeatedly pressing key "*", the format of the coordinate values can be changed. Indicated can be degrees, degrees and minutes, or degrees, minutes, and seconds.
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| License key | License key for use after the test phase |
| Connection | "Bluetooth", "Cable", "Network/Internal", or "none". With "none" no GPS data are read, makes sense during data import. |
| Baud rate | Baud rate of the serial interface (NMEA default value 4800 Bit/s) |
| Illumination | Lighting level of the device’s backlight |
| Voice output | Voice output if on, otherwise tone sequence (see also FAQ) |
| Background | If on, the application is set into backround after an alarm. This improves the cooperation with navigation programs running in parallel. |
| Volume | Volume of the voice output |
| Δ (0 km/h) | Distance to the next POI, at which alarm takes place at 0 km/h |
| Δ (100 km/h) | Distance to the next POI, at which alarm takes place at 100 km/h |
| URL | URL of the connection to the GPS receiver (informative only) |
| Folder | Full path of the folder
Data inbox (informative only) |
The distance to the nearest POI, below which the user is alerted, can be adjusted speed-dependently with the Δ options. The faster the vehicle moves, the rather a warning appears (linear correlation).
Push the "OK" button to save the options. If this function is not directly accessible on a function button, it hides behind the button "Options."
