The data is downloaded from the MSN Virtual Earth servers that power http://virtualearth.msn.com. Unlike many other mapping programs, the map data is not preloaded onto the device; it is downloaded on demand. The disadvanatge to this is that an internet connection is required. The advantage is that you do not need to decide what maps to preload, and you need very little storage space. VEM will cache map data as you view it, which improves performance, and allows you to view cached maps when you do not have an internet connection.

The Virtual Earth servers contain detailed images only for the United States at the moment, though I expect that to change over time.

VEM is not digitally signed, therefore if you have a Smartphone that does not allow unsigned applications to run (for example, the Pantech PT-S800, Sprint i600 or Sprint i930), it will not run.

Navigation:
When viewing a map, you can pan the map north, south, east, and west using the directional pad (also known as the D-pad, or the arrow keys). The Action button in the center of the directional pad will zoom in one level. On a Smartphone the * key will zoom out and the # key will zoom in.

Menu items:

• Address - Lookup an address: Brings up a map of a particular address, for example, "429 Columbus Ave, Boston MA". You can also enter the name of a place, for example, "North Dakota".
• Go to Lat/Long: Brings up a map of latitude/longitude coordinates you specify.
• Map type - Change the map type: Allows you to choose the map type, either "road", "aerial", or "road and aerial". "Road and aerial" is a hybrid type that overlays roads on top of an aerial or satellite photograph.
• Zoom - Set the zoom level
• GPS - Global Positioning System: Brings up a map of your current location, as reported by a GPS device. Obviously, this requires GPS hardware. Use the GPS control panel on the Pocket PC to specify which COM port the GPS device is connected to. There is no corresponding control panel on Smartphone, so this will not work on Smartphone. I hope to have a control panel available soon. Currently, the GPS feature is only enabled on Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, because it uses a new feature only available in 5.0. It is disabled on 2003 devices.
• Find a business: Enter either the name of a business ("Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe") or a category ("Restaurant") and VEM will show you a list of all such businesses that are located within the area viewed by the current map. You can then pick one and VEM will show you a street-level map of that business.
• Find a contact: Pick a person from your Contacts list, and display a map of that person's address, as listed in your Contacts. Currently, this feature is only enabled on Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, because it uses a new feature only available in 5.0. It is disabled on 2003 devices.
• Options: You can set the maximum amount of storage space on the device to use for downloaded maps. A larger amount means better performance and the ability to view more maps when not connected to the internet. You can also specify where the downloaded data should be stored: either in the built-in storage of the device, or on a removable storage card (an SD card). If you specify a removable storage card but no card is in the device, the built-in storage will be used instead.