SeeYou Mobile: How Steep the Learning Curve?

I always hate to confirm my incompetence even when others already
suspect. But I don' t have the time or patience to learn how to
configure and use SeeYou Mobile on my own.

I've been playing with it for a couple of weeks on an eBay iPAQ 3950
series because although Glide Navigator II does most of what I need,
there are some features I wish it had (e.g., topo maps, final glide
over terrain). SeeYou Mobile reminds me of the first time I tried to
use Photoshop: incredible power and capabilty but about as intuitive
and user friendly as the cockpit of a 747 (and requiring nearly the
same training). I'm nowhere close to having the two map screens
configured to my satisfaction much less being comfortable with half
the things that pop up when my finger taps the screen deliberately or
accidently. I'm playing with it on public transportation to/from work
so the jostling and bumpiness add to the problem, although not
anywhere near as much as being in the cockpit will.

Moreover, do pilots actually use this without the stylus, using only
their fingertips as the input device? I saw a note in the user manual
about selecting TPs for a task using the Windows input screen before
launch. That won't work here in the U.S. where tasks are changed in
the air with minutes to go before the gate opens, though I'm finding
ways to build a task (albeit with the stylus) without the virtual
keyboard.

And the developer touts the benefits of comparing achieved L/D with
required L/D. Great once you're on final glide but not helpful when
setting it up unless I'm missing something, and that means adding
still more nav boxes to the screen.

It also seems buggy. I often freeze the map display in sim mode though
I can usually still use the menu to save my config settings and exit
without losing the map layouts I've laboriously been building.

Pilots claim to be using SeeYou Mobile in contests (although I hear
stories of year-long ramp ups). Does anyone have a cheat sheet for how
they've set up their map screens? Tips and tricks for flying with it?
Shortcuts/hot keys for the most commonly required tasks? Shortest
paths to key data elements or functions? I've pored through forum
postings and gleaned certain things (e.g., using Map2 exclusively as
the final glide screen with large nav boxes) but I guess the real
secrets are being retained by those who've spent a year or two coming
up to speed.

There's a tongue-in-cheek tone in my posting, but also real
frustration. I'm originally an engineer, computer literate, work in
technology every day, and use many applications like Photoshop that
aren't exactly designed for novices. Yet SeeYou Mobile seems to be the
type of app that one must dedicate months and months to--including a
lot of practice this winter on the sim--to even have a prayer of using
next season. At the current rate, I'm not likely to pay to register my
eval copy before deciding I just can't risk spending too much time in
cockpit trying to sort out a problem when approaching a turnpoint or
on a dicey final glide.

I sat across the lunch table today from another experienced contest
pilot to demo what I'd learned so far. After a couple of soft resets
when the map screens froze, I was able to show him my main map screen.
Between the two of us, however, we triggered enough accidental zooms,
pop ups, wind menus, and the like that we were left passing the PDA
back and forth by its edges gingerly, as if it were a bomb.

By comparison, although GNII has many fewer functions and features,
it's practically idiot proof, can be used by someone without the user
manual almost from day 1, and hardly ever leaves you more than one
finger tap away from the main nav screen. I'm left wondering if SeeYou
Mobile is mostly popular with gadget freaks who would rather play with
technology than fly.

OK, SeeYou Mobile fans, let me have it!

Chip Bearden