just installed from -devel and can confirm above. when started from the app mgr it just dissapears. start as user from xterm gives:

~ $ modrana
/usr/bin/modrana: cd: line 2: can't cd to /opt/modrana/
python2.5: can't open file 'modrana.py': [Errno 2] No such file or directory
~ $

running from xterm as root works fine. app itself looks very good at first glance though, will give it a good try soon, but routing, UI and options all look like it should be the best mapping app for maemo once you get around to adding eSpeak support. Thanks for a great start!