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| Delorme Street Atlas USA 2008 Plus [Old Version] | ![Delorme Street Atlas USA 2008 Plus [Old Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2Bfp8YpkML._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | From: DeLorme
Category: Software
List Price: $59.95
Buy New: $17.00
You Save: $42.95 (72%)
New (9) Used (2) from $16.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 3524
Format: Cd
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows Xp
Media: DVD-ROM
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.8
MPN: ao-7808-203
Model: AO-7808-203
UPC: 019916006105
EAN: 0019916006105
ASIN: B000PIFU8E
Release Date: May 15, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: new in box
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 22 | | NEXT » |
 Extremely Outdated May 12, 2008
I have a GPS in my car, and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005. I saw this product today at Office Depot, and it looked like it might be easier to use to import data points, so I thought that I'd give it a try. It was the newest version in the store. It was more than twice as expensive as the new version of Microsoft Streets and Trips.
I was searching for about 20 points this evening for a business presentation. Almost none of them were found by this software. The maps are very outdated. In fact, Microsoft S&T 2005 was much more up to date. The DeLorme product had missing addresses for major buildings that had been in place since 2002. Fully one half of one city (Frisco, Texas) was missing (including it's professional soccer team and stadium) that has a population today of 100,000.
Buy an outdated used copy of Microsoft Streets and Trips. Better functionality, newer maps, and probably almost free these days.
 Great for Sales and Real Estate Professionals - Data Layers are Key March 7, 2008
I've used this software for one year and think it's the best-in-class for sales and real estate professionals. I switched from Microsoft Streets & Trips (MS&T).
If you are looking for a simple toy or tool to help you get to your Uncle Bill's house, this is likely not the program for you. MS&T is more intuitive and appealing to the eye. However, MS&T has significant limitations regarding data management and presentation that many professional map/GPS users will find frustrating.
The key to DeLorme Street Atlas' power is the ability to create separate data layers and routes that can easily be viewed in combination or individually (clents vs. prospects, sales vs. listings, leads for product A vs. product B, store locations vs. distance radii from store, etc). The possible layers are endless, which helps greatly in managing multiple clients, projects or concepts on a single map. The function is much like drawing layers in a draftsman's CAD file. Need to show an outsider your store location but don't want them to see where your prospect new sites are? Simply click-off the "prospect" layer. No need to manage redundant maps for different viewing classes.
You can easily mark different groups with different shaped and colored icons. It's easy to strip-out only one layer of data and update with new data without disrupting the other data in your map(s). This is great for professionals that get routine updates from corporate regarding client locations or territory delineation. The "Steet Atlas Plus" software also links very easily to spreadsheets and databases, where it's generally much easier to search and update data. You can also query from within the map view any map point data you've linked-to, a very useful tool when on-the-go (Where's my client ABC Company located?). MS&T comes nowhere close in this regard. All data is held in a single layer and I never found a way to extract and replace only one subset of data after imported into a map.
The interface is cumbersome and takes determination to master. The graphic appearance is adequate, but inferior to MS&T. The search functions are very robust but awkward and VERY slow, especially compared to the ease and speed with which Microsoft handles search. DeLorme should work tirelessly to improve the interface and search speed.
The program offers a wide array of commenting, notation and measuring tools. For any marker you create or import, you are able to define at what zoom level it expands from a pinpoint dot to a full-size icon or text box on the map, a huge benefit if you work a large territory but need to note data at the block-by-block level. State and City views aren't cluttered by text boxes and large icons. MS&T doesn't have this feature.
As for data accuracy, it's okay, not great. Many new roads and subdivisions are not shown. But you can easily add roads. And if you use w/ GPS, it's as simple as driving down the road and tracing your GPS trail to draw the new road.
The GPS is great. I use w/ the GPS device from MS&T, which I prefer to DeLorme's GPS because it is smaller, faster and allows me to replace the USB cord separately from the GPS device. Zooming in and out and panning the map on screen are very easy once you learn the key-strokes and shortcuts.
The load-up time when launching application is ridiculous! I keep program running for days at time. Saving files is very easy, including backup and "alternate version" maps.
If you're serious about mapping needs as a professional, there is no better program in this price range.
 Buy this now February 9, 2008
This is the best mapping program for the price (or any other price). Delorme is the premiere mapping company in the USA. Buy this to run on your laptop or desktop and you will never be lost again. Much better than Microsoft Streets and Trips I use GPS equipment and software on a daily basis at work and this program is as good as it gets.
 Hard to use January 13, 2008
I recently purchased a new computer with Windows Vista and needed new mapping software. I did research on the Internet and concluded from reading reviews, mainly professional reviews that magazines issue, that Delorme Street Atlas USA is the best mapping software. Much higher rated than Microsoft Streets & Trips. So I bought it. What a mistake. I am not happy with it because it is so cumbersome to use. I have used Microsoft Mappoint for years prior to buying Delorme. There was a little voice in the back of my mind saying don't buy Delorme, because I had Delorme 10 years ago and didn't like it. But I bought anyway because of the reviews. Now I'm going to buy Steets & Trips and go back to having fun using mapping software. One other thing. The best place to read product reviews is at Amazon.com.
 OK for laptop...disaster for PDA January 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought SA2008 for use on my Palm Treo 650 with a Holux M1000 GPS. First of all, I should say that if one were using it on a laptop, it wouldn't be too bad, since you can have the entire nation at your disposal, and, if you install the 150 million phone listings, you actually have an incredible resource, even if they are not all perfectly up to date. Furthermore, although we didn't try to use the GPS with the laptop version, it appears to have most of the necessary functionality for navigation, etc.
However, using this combination on a Treo 650 was NOT a pretty picture. First of all, as one of the other reviewers mentioned, you have to download map segments that you are interested in. And, you apparently can't download very large areas without incurring some sort of performance issue (though it was not described specifically.) One of the issues is certainly not having enough memory on your Treo to happily run SA2008 and also maintain a bluetooth connection to the GPS. I tried repeatedly for a week and never managed to maintain a connection for more than about 30 minutes. Essentially, the bluetooth would lock up. The vendor from whom I purchased this combo actually eventually said that they don't recommend SA2008 for the Treo... (thanks...after the fact). And, while it was clear that part of the problem was the blue tooth connection, it was also partly the SA2008 since when I started clearing apps out of RAM and onto an expansion card, the performance did get better, but I eventually has about 9MB free (out of 24 or so) and the system would still not stay connected. The Delorme tech support people did discuss this problem but had no ideas about any adjustments to make.
Of course, even if there had not been this problem, the truth is that the handheld version of SA2008 is unexpectedly poor. Some examples: a) it is not possible to ask it to take you from where you are now to a destination--the nearest restaurant for example. Instead, you have to disconnect from the GPS, build a route from where you are now to where you want to go, reconnect the GPS, and then follow the route by "tracking". There ARE limited voice directions, but they are not nearly sufficient to follow without looking at the map or with the aid of a helper. b) It doesn't know enough to stay on roads. Example--things like access roads are not in the system, so if you start from a parking lot, it's anybody's guess as to how it will decide to get you onto the route--usually it involves some sort of driving through a building or two... c) It will tell you that you are off the route, but, it doesn't recalculate. This is probably the biggest shortcoming. There are times that you can't avoid going off route (construction, missed turn, etc.) so you REALLY need to have it automatically recalculate. d) There were a couple of times that the route that it calculated actually retraced itself, wanting me to get off of a freeway and then get right back on... NOT.
Bottom line is that for the price, I would say that using SA2008 on a laptop might be a decent solution (I DID connect to the GPS with a Bluetooth adapter, and it seemed to hold that connection fine, even though we didn't do any navigation.) However, if you want to even THINK about navigating with your PDA, I would definitely go elsewhere.
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