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What I would have given for AstroNavigator when I was earning my Boy Scout Astronomy Merit Badge. With Astronavigator on board and hooked up to a satellite feed, you just face in any direction, and a picture of the heavens will appear on your screen.

You just tap on any object, and a screen appears with information about it. You can search for and locate any star, planet, galaxy, or constellation.

Recently AstroNavigator acquired a new look with animated screens and finger-friendly screen flicking, inspired no doubt by iPhone. In fact, Vito Technology has created a whole family of finger-friendly applications for nose miners.

I was surprised to receive a notice yesterday that Vito Technology has released yet another version of AstroNavigator.

Some of the improvements include the following:

· Database loading time is significantly faster.

· Searches for stars, constellations, and towns, etc. is faster too.

· Information about heavenly bodies and constellations appear in separate windows.

· The application displays animated images of celestial objects.

· You can now view not only objects above you but also from anywhere on the planet.

· T9 is available to facilitate more efficient searches.

· You can change the time and date of the viewing screen.

While all of these innovations are definite enhancements to an already exciting product, the one that shakes my shovel (I’m an archaeologist) is the latter. It has been my greatest fantasy to be able to travel through time and space since I was a little boy. Now I can, thanks to Vito Technology.

The only problem is that I await clear skies to be able to put it to the ultimate test of actual viewing. Meanwhile, I’m having fun playing with it by traveling through time and space and venturing to other locations to see how the night sky appears from various exotic viewing points.

I’m not much worried about writing this piece before I have a chance to use it under clear skies, for I have been using the program for many years now and have complete confidence in it.

This application is a must have for all star gazers or would be star gazers out there. With AstroNavigator, you are certain to become star-struck. It’s a great investment that will advance your knowledge and appreciation of the heavens above us, past, present, and future. How else can you turn into a time tripper for only twenty bucks?

If you want to earn your Astronomy merit badge or become a time traveler, go to www.iwindowsmobile.com and grab a copy. Of course, you can try it free before you buy. I wonder when McDonalds is going to discover this concept?

Tim Hillebrand (105 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook