Best in-vehicle navigation | DeLorme Street Atlas USA Plus 2009

This is not a TomTom. | DeLorme Street Atlas USA Plus 2009

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	• DeLorme Street Atlas USA Plus 2009 Windows \| DeLorme, 2008 average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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Street Atlas Pluss 2009

As with any software, the true value and appreciation of its capacity depends on what the primary application is used for. I purchased this software because I enjoy making custom maps of my own creation. This software is able to process the information I want to map and then create a map for me. I do not own GPS equipment so at this time I cannot really say how well this software performs as a GPS interface.

Street Atlas also comes with the ability to download aerial photos which really do not do muych more than add dimension to a map. There are other sites on line that offer aerial photos so this is not really a strong selling point for Street Atlas 2009. But I do plan to continue creating my custom maps if for no other reason than I enjoy doing them, and Street Atlas 2009 ought to be able to meet my needs.

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Best in-vehicle navigation

If you just want a GPS to throw on your dashboard to say "turn right" or "turn left" then don't bother reading any further.

Over the years, I've done a lot of navigation, whether in a car, on foot in the mountains, or in a cave. Sometimes this is done in the context of a search, a rescue, or a disaster. (Indeed, I can say with assurance that Street Atlas USA has made a major contribution - very, very major, though I'm not at liberty to disclose details - to the response to Katrina and to the four-hurricane summer before that.)

Handheld GPS units are great - I have a Garmin GPS60CSx and very happy with it for navigating while on a trail or bushwhacking. Even if just hung by its cord from the rearview mirror (just wrap the cord around behind the mirror a few times, just like a "tree wrap" anchor for a static rope for rappelling or rescue work, the friction will hold it in place) it tracks quite well. And, you can connect view the USB cable to a laptop.

To connect to the laptop via USB, however, I prefer the iGPS offered by Maptech ([...]) - indeed, I have one permanently attached to the roof of my Land Rover, with the USB cable coming out of the dash.

While expensive mobile GPS units with a graphical screen are all the rage now, and I've used some of the better ones (which usually means Garmin), there is no comparison to using a laptop as the "GPS unit." The screen is bigger, so you can see enough of the map to actually get a feel for the area. This situational awareness is what makes using a laptop and Street Atlas navigation, as opposed to what you get with most GPS units, which is just directions.

And, if you use a product like Street Atlas (the best, compared for example to Microsoft Streets and Trips), you have a great deal of flexibility - once you get comfortable with it (I recommend using it frequently), your wife who's driving can say "we'll be passing Bridgeport in an hour, I've got a taste for Indian food" and you can find a Indian restaurant a few miles off the highway, and easily navigate to it and back to the highway again. And, if you use Street Atlas in your car regularly, you have the _confidence_ to get off the highway and wander through back streets in Bridgeport. It also means you can, before you leave, spend a few minutes reviewing the route and tweaking with a few "vias" to use those shortcuts you have learnt or heard about from others. I even use my laptop/Street Atlas to plan my days full of errands. (On the other hand I live in Pittsburgh, which is certainly not for the navigationally-challenged; it's a 3D maze, and as people here say, "there are at least 6 ways to get from A to B, they all are complicated, they all take the same time, and at least three - but who knows which three - are under construction.)

I admit that this is a lot easier with a small and light laptop - I have a Panasonic CF-W5 - but doable with a larger one as well. Indeed, I've been doing this with about five generations of laptop now. With the ultralight laptop, though, I just put five little bits of sticky hook Velcro on the bottom of the laptop and covered the top of the jottodesk with 2" pile Velcro. I just place the laptop on the Jottodesk and it sticks, no need for any straps. This even worked fine a couple of weeks when - on a nice dry evening - I picked a different route back home from the annual meeting of the Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference and spent 30-45' in four-wheel low on what, on the map (not just Street Atlas's!) like a normal West Virgina county road. (Remind me not to take that "shortcut" again.)

Get a Jottodesk (jottodesk.com) and mount it in your vehicle. Slap an iGPS magmount USB GPSon the roof, plug the laptop into a car-power adapter (I use an iGo Juice 70) and get a laptop hood (I got mine from [...] but you can find what looks similar on Amazon - Kantek-Adjustable-Monitor-Visor-Screens)

If you're really industrious, get some nonsticky Velcro or mounting-style cable ties, and mount your power supply under the Jottodesk, and you can even wire in a 12V illuminated toggle switch from Radio Shack on the front to control the power supply.

Oh, and if I forgot to mention - if Street Atlas weren't so good, I wouldn't have spent so much effort either mounting the laptop in my truck (my wife's Outback also has its own Jottodesk) or using Street Atlas all the time. Street Atlas certainly isn't perfect - they could use a dose of user interaction design expertise from cooper.com or Google. But still, for navigating as opposed to following directions, there is nothing better than Street Atlas on a Jottodesk in your car.

The only reason it doesn't get a full 5 stars - despite it being the best option for in-vehicle navigation right now - is that Delorme really, really needs to spiff up their user interaction design with more drag-and-drop, integrating the Address Book into the main program design, and the like. Still, highly recommended.

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This is not a TomTom.

This is not a program that you use to go to the store and back. Go buy a TomTom. You have to learn to use this program properly. I use this program to route delivery trucks, calculate mileage and to travel. This product is great for the delivery driver, RV'ers, outside sales people and over the road drivers. You can track and save multiple routes. It allows you to arrange stops in the order that you want. Stops can be put in the most direct route with either the fastest travel time or shortest mileage. There is A GPS log that shows the actual route or routes that were taken. Must purchase a GPS unit to use this feature. Delorme sells a few. I highly recommend it. Every route and every log can be saved.

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When you're driving in the car and you get lost, don't you ever wish you didn't have to deal with a bulky atlas? Or when you're walking around in an unfamiliar city, don't you wish you didn't have to deal with a huge map? Now you don't have to with Street Atlas USA 2009 PLUS. You can put these maps on your GPS, PDA, PC or even your UMPC. Know where you're going with street-level detail of the U.S. and Canada, and also highways and main roads in Mexico. There are over 4 million places of interest in the U.S. and Canada for when you're looking for something specific.

Versatile, flexible editing and print capabilities Application included for mapping, routing, and GPS navigation Incorporate aerial imagery into your maps and routes - download for free Share customized maps, routes, and directions with others via a secure Web link GPS-accurate placement for individual locations in 90+ chains in the U.S. and Canada Truck stop data with extended information about service offerings 900+ malls and access roads Airport access roads Major sports venue - college, professional, NASCAR Translucent route highlights to better display underlying map data Support for multiple monitors Put your contact manager listings on the map - Import an unlimited number; Display their map locations Print large-format wall maps Link photos, documents and URLs to the maps Get 150 million U.S. and Canada residential and business phone listings - Import up to 1,000 at a time; Query by Yellow Pages headings and create your own databases; Right-click on a street and get all its phone listings Delete duplicate records from Yellow Page phone search results

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