Mapping

Ratings and Reviews of Maps and Mapping Software

Maps and Mapping

Going to "hit the road" and need a route that avoids construction, tons of traffic or two lane roads crowded with semis? On the

road and need a quick route to your local Starbucks? Maps and mapping software - some of it integrating GPS (Global Positioning System) technologies - is what you need!

There are a couple of things to consider before you purchase software in this area.

Do you need GPS integration for your card, handheld or laptop? Make sure that the software you purchase supports GPS - and the device you've chosen!
Do just want to send routes to your handheld? Make sure your software supports your handheld and handheld OS before you buy!
Do you want to integrate maps and routes into your contact databases or web site? There are applications out there that do just that - but you'll need to read the "fine print" to ensure compatibility and your satisfaction!

Ready to hit the road?

Some vendors offer more than one package in this category. We'll review them in table format within that vendor's detailed review.

Maps and Mapping Software Review

Maps and Mapping Software*

(Rankings - best, 5 symbols, worst, 1 symbol)

Company	Best For*	Simple Start-Up	Cost	Time Savings	Ease of Use	Works With	Support	Features	Overall Rating
Adept Computing Solutions	ARP	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY1/2	ppp	iiii	%%%1/2
ALK Technologies	ARP	¹¹¹¹	$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY1/2+	ppp	iiii1/2	%%%%
DeLorme	ARP	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY1/2	pppp	iiii1/2	%%%%
Google	P	¹¹¹	$$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYYYY	ppp1/2	iiii	%%%%
Microsoft	ARP	¹¹¹¹	$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY1/2	pppp1/2	iiii1/2	%%%%
Pharos	ARP	¹¹¹¹	$$$1/2	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	pppp	iii1/2	%%%1/2

* A = Amateur, R = Rookie, P = Pro

Adept Computing Solutions

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

The Street Wizard and Business Finder lines of mapping software are easy to install and use.

Cost - $$$$

Street Wizard Standard is priced at $29.95, Street Wizard Professional is $139.95, Street Wizard Navigator is $159.95. Business Finder product have custom pricing, contact the vendor for more information.

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
Street Wizard Standard 9	$29.95	Windows 9x, ME, 2000, NT	Mapping Software	Locate places and addresses in the U.S. (Alaska not included) Automatic routes and text directions Stop over feature Plotted route on a map and printed directions, showing every turn, the distance from each turn to the next and the street you'll pass Total mileage covered and approximate driving time Change sizes shapes, symbols and colors on the map. Add lines range circles, text and graphics 30 million streets and one million points of interest Select a street and get corresponding address range or zip code Save or customize map, paste it into another application Print wall maps, pin maps, trip maps
Street Wizard Professional 9	$139.95	Windows 9x, ME, 2000, NT Windows CE and Pocket PC	Mapping Software	All the features in Street Wizard Standard 2-way link ACT! and Goldmine 2-way link to databases to map out customers, deliveries, homes for sale or other data Download to a laptop, Windows CE or Pocket PC device Map current contact or filter Map in circle (radius) and create regions Create routes to contacts with text directions Geocode your database Map out customers, deliveries Look up addresses Address to address routing on Windows CE and Pocket PC devices Toggle between a route map and turn by turn directions Work on application from CD or hard drive	Act!, Goldmine, Access, dBase, Fox Pro, Excel and 50 other database programs
Street Wizard Navigator 9	$159.95	Windows 9x, ME, 2000, NT Windows CE and Pocket PC	Mapping Software	All the features in Street Wizard Professional GPS integration - links to most NMEA standard GPS devices Includes annual GPS usage license Plots your course and tracks your vehicle as you move toward your destination You are informed of upcoming turns through a Navigation Screen, and spoken directions (laptops only).	Act!, Goldmine, Access, dBase, Fox Pro, Excel and 50 other database programs
Business Finder Basic	Contact Vendor	Windows 9x, ME, 2000, NT	Mapping Software	Place 25 customized maps on your web site at no cost Create maps by typing in an address and zip code Customize shapes, symbols and colors in map Add lines, range circles, text and graphics
Business Finder Gold	Starts at $2,500.00 per year, $500.00 start-up fee	Windows 9x, ME, 2000, NT	Mapping Software	Creates easy-to-read, customized maps for web sites Customize maps to include logo, nearby points of interest Proximity search capability 30 million streets and one million points of interest
Business Finder Platinum	Starts at $6,000 per year, $500.00 start-up fee	Windows 9x, ME, 2000, NT	Mapping Software	Create easy-to-read, customized maps and directions for web sites Customers get a plotted route on a map and printed turn-by-turn directions as well as total mileage covered and approximate driving time Customize maps to include logos and nearby points of interest 30 million streets and one million points of interest

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you've ever gotten lost on a business trip - you know how much software like that from Street Wizard can help! Business Finder can put your location "on the map" within your web site and give customers and partners directions to it.

Ease of Use - @@@@

The Street Wizard and Business Finder software applications are all very easy to use and understand.

Works With - YYY1/2

Street Wizard and Business Finder software is designed for the Windows, Windows CE and Pocket PC environments only.

Support - ppp

Adept Computing Solutions has FAQ and software download areas on their web site. If you need additional help, your only option is email.

Features - iiii

Everything you'll need to map out your route or add maps and other geographical data to a customer database or contact management program. Business Finder software allows you to generate maps and directions to your or another location on your web site.

Overall Rating - %%%1/2

Based on your individual requirements, any of the Street Wizard software is a sound investment. You'll save tons of time getting to your destinations quickly and efficiently. If you want to add directions or maps to a web site, the Business Finder software solution is a good one - but can be expensive if you want all the "bells and whistles".

ALK Technologies

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

All of the CoPilot software iterations are straight forward to install and begin using. PC*Miler is logistics software for transportation firms and requires significant expertise to implement.

Cost - $$$1/2

ALK offer a diverse product set - software only or bundled with GPS systems. Pricing is detailed below.

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
CoPilot Live/Pocket PC 7	$199.00 with 2GB MicroSD card with MiniSD and SD adapter $299.00 with Bluetooth GPS, 2GB MicroSD card with MiniSD and SD adapter, in car charger, device mount, Y-splitter cables, home charger	Windows 2000, XP, Vista Windows Mobile 2003, 5.0 or 6	Mapping Software	Customizable display - current road, crossroad, current time, speed, elevation, nearest town Lane change warnings Side of street notification Waypoint selection Points-of-interest import Regionalized points-of-interest (6 million) Routing options - auto quickest, auto shortest, RV quickest, RV shortest With mobile phone connected to your Pocket PC, two-way messaging between vehicle and home or office, vehicle location and itinerary updates Dynamic route guidance - spoken, turn-by-turn directions Text-to-speech Automatic route recalculations Detour and selective routing 3D map display Step by step address entry with type ahead Night mode RV friendly routing 12'6" and 13' height clearance, walking, cycling Speech engine with voice directions in over 20 languages 2D and 3D map views Change map theme Route preview CoPilot Central Desktop Software One GPS Navigation Software for Pocket PCs and Smartphones
CoPilot Live/Laptop 10	$149.00 software only $199.00 with WAAS-enabled Philips 2.0 USB GPS receiver $249.00 with WAAS-enabled USB GPS receiver with a SiRFstarIII chipset $249.00 with WAAS-enabled CoPilot Bluetooth GPS receiver with SIRFstarIII chipset European Map Data (Regional - Benelux, Central Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain & Portugal, UK & Ireland, Eastern Europe) $99.00 European Map Data (Complete) $179.00	Windows 2000, XP, Vista	Mapping Software	Optimized menu items Customizable display Zoom modes Text message support Real-Time Tracking Itinerary updates Text-to-Speech Over 7 million miles of roads, 100 million addresses, 3 million points of interest included Optional coast-to-coast street-level coverage of Canada including rural regions 830,000 miles of roads, 10 million addresses and 6 million points of interest including phone numbers Avoid/favor roads Approaching points of interest notification 3rd party GPS support (any NMEA receiver) Draggable maps Add points of interest to any category 3D map display Step-by-step address entry with type-ahead Scenic routing Propane restrictions Map turn arrows Night mode Speed alerts Real time traffic enabled nationwide RV routing with 12'6" and 13' height clearance option Speech volume increases with increased speed of vehicle Toll Road alerts	NMEA GPS receivers
CoPilot Navigator 9	$99.00	Windows 2000, XP	Mapping Software	Automated voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions to any destination in the U.S. Includes Philips USB 2.0 GPS antenna 6 million miles of road 3 million points of interest including gas stations, restaurants, hospitals and hotels 3D, 2D and Driver Safety map views with Mileage Markers, Moving Maps, auto-zoom and turn arrows Customizable preferences including routing type, stop optimization, fuel cost estimates
CoPilot Truck Laptop 9	$199.00 software only $299.00 with USB GPS receiver and SiRFstarII chipset $399.00 software with WAAS-enabled CoPilot Bluetooth receiver	Windows 2000, ME, XP, Vista	Mapping Software	Dynamic route guidance Text-to-speech Automatic route recalculation Detour and selective routing Avoid and favor roads Exportable state mileage report and fuel cost calculator Lane change warnings Save current location PCMiler Truck-specific routing - practical, shortest, toll avoidance, national network 53' trailer, HazMat includes 6 million miles of road in US, 830,000 miles in Canada, 100 million US addresses, 10 million Canadian addresses, 3 million US points of interest, 5,500 Canadian points of interest PCMiler truck restrictions - 13'6" height, 80,000 lbs. weight, 53' trailer, HazMat, 42,500 US zip codes Points of interest import - custom delivery locations, truck stops, weight stations 2-way messaging Real-time vehicle tracking Remote dispatch 3D map display with mileage markers, moving maps, turn arrows that highlight the way ahead Change voice on the fly Night mode Map turn arrows Speed alerts with visual and/or audio warnings
CoPilot Truck PocketPC 6	$199.00 software only $249.00 software pre-loaded on 1GB SD card $299.00 with CoPilot Bluetooth GPS receiver with SIRFstarIII chipset, in vehicle mounting hardware, 12-volt in-vehicle power adapter $349.00 with street-level map data for U.S. and Canada pre-loaded on a 1GB SD card and Bluetooth GPS receiver with SIRFstarIII chipset, in vehicle mounting hardware, 12-volt in-vehicle power adapter	Windows 2000, ME, XP Windows Mobile 5 or 2003 (first or second edition)	Mapping Software	Dynamic route guidance Text-to-speech Automatic route recalculation Detour and selective routing Avoid and favor roads Exportable state mileage report and fuel cost calculator Lane change warnings Save current location PCMiler Truck-specific routing - practical, shortest, toll avoidance, national network 53' trailer, HazMat includes 6 million miles of road in US, 830,000 miles in Canada, 100 million US addresses, 10 million Canadian addresses, 3 million US points of interest, 5,500 Canadian points of interest PCMiler truck restrictions - 13'6" height, 80,000 lbs. weight, 53' trailer, HazMat, 42,500 US zip codes Points of interest import - custom delivery locations, truck stops, weight stations 2-way messaging Real-time vehicle tracking Remote dispatch 3D map display with mileage markers, moving maps, turn arrows that highlight the way ahead Change voice on the fly Night mode Map turn arrows Speed alerts with visual and/or audio warnings
CoPilot Live FleetCenter	Contact Vendor	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista	Mapping Software and Fleet Mgmt.	Real-time multi-vehicle location tracking 2-way messaging with driver or entire fleet Over-the-air job dispatch and remote itinerary updates Send web-tracking invitations to customers Find nearest vehicle Exception reporting Historical reporting Enterprise integration 7 million miles of North American roadway including over 6 million street-level miles and 756,000 highway miles with over 350,000 miles of commercial truck and RV restrictions 140 million U.S. and 10 million Canadian street addresses 3 million Point of Interest including restaurants, hotels, service stations, golf courses, banks and sports arenas 27,000 highway exit numbers Every five-digit U.S. Zip code County name designation for every location in U.S. Most recent North American road openings, name changes and construction updates
CoPilot SDK	Contact Vendor	Windows	Mapping Software Devel-opment Kit	TCP/IP-based messaging system allow applications to communicate with a running instance of CoPilot Live Event Subscription APIs - obtain real time updates of the distance to the next turn (with mileage countdowns), receive turn instructions, obtain map images of current location and upcoming turn that are adjustable - zoom levels, pan, image size, request real time updates of the NMEA sentences Trips/Text Messaging APIs - automatically send text messages and stop itineraries from applications to CoPilot without drivers having to enter addresses manually, update existing itineraries by appending or inserting new stops or replacing current itinerary, enforce routing profiles of drivers or force drivers to not take specific roads, generate exception alerts based on ETA variances reported by CoPilot, optimize trip itineraries via CoPilot by distance or time GUI Control APIs - start CoPilot in minimized view and disable any CoPilot prompts or dialogs, change customizable options in CoPilot - mute/unmute speech option, pan the map to desired location, zoom the map to specific stop/address, toggle between CoPilot and applications
PCMILER Connect*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista Unix (AIX, HP-UX, SCO, Sun-Solaris), Linux	Mapping Software	Interfaces PC*MILER routes, mileages and reports with transportation and logistics management software systems Web-enabled, allowing developers to provide information over an Internet, Intranet or Extranet connection Provides COM interface for integration with OLE-enabled development environment like Visual Basic, Visual C++, Delphi, Active Server Pages (ASP) Java Native Interface (JNI) layer Generate reports in HTML format
PCMILER Multi-Version Switch*	Contact Vendor	Windows 98SE, 2000, Server 2003, ME, XP AS/400	Mapping Software	Integration tool to support multiple versions of PC*MILER that are installed on one or several servers Serves as main connection point for transportation management system Calculates accurate mileage No manual route source entry
PCMILER Web Services*	Contact Vendor	Browser-based	Mapping Software	Hardware and software agnostic interface to PC*MILER Integrates web-based applications using XML and SOAP over an Internet Protocol Backbone developed in Microsoft .NET
PCMILER TCP/IP*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Unix	Mapping Software	Provides way to interact with PCMILER and PCMIELR Interface Products via TCP/IP
PCMILER Spreadsheets*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista	Mapping Software	Access PC*MILER database from within spreadsheet application
PCMILER Mapping*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista	Mapping Software	Interfaces PCMILER routes, mileages and reports with fleet management, supply chain management and operations analysis software Graphically displays PCMILER's geographic data for integration with real-time dispatch and operations analysis programs Web-enabled
PCMILER BatchPro*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista Citrix Metaframe, Windows Terminal Server UNIX (AIX, HP-UX, SCO, Sun-Solaris), Linux	Mapping Software	Batch-processing tool that permits simultaneous processing of large volumes of PC*MILER Origin-Destination pairs entered as city/state combinations, ZIP codes or latitude/longitude coordinates Create large ASCII database of Origin-Destination records using a spreadsheet program, text file editor or other application
PCMILER Streets*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista Unix (AIX, HP-UX, SCO, Sun-Solaris), Linux AS/400 and CICS/MVS IBM Mainframe	Mapping Software	Provides commercial street-level routing, mileage and mapping for dock-to-dock driving directions over truck specific routes
PCMILER HazMat*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista Unix (AIX, HP-UX, SCO, Sun-Solaris), Linux AS/400 and CICS/MVS IBM Mainframe	Mapping Software	Point-to-point highway routing, mileage and mapping with nationwide hazmat-compliant mileages and driving directions Routes can be generated for hazardous materials including: general, caustic, explosives, flammable, inhalants, radioactives
PCMILER WorldWide*	Contact Vendor	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, Server 2003, XP Citrix Metaframe, Windows Terminal Server AS/400	Mapping Software	Point-to-point routing, mileage and mapping for entire international highway network including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania Generates exact U.S. Department of Defense distances Calculates an unlimited number of routes and point-to-point mileages, trip time and cost estimates, generates mileage summary of states/provinces and countries traveled
PCMILER Fleet-Commander*	Contact Vendor	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, Server 2003, XP	Mapping Software	Fleet tracking and optimization system Converts raw data from transportation management and mobile communications systems into real-time business critical information
PCMILER FuelTax*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP	Mapping Software	Fuel and mileage tax reporting software Tax forms and rates for all jurisdictions Automates fuel and mileage tax tracking, calculation and reporting
PCMILER Fuel Optimization 21*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista	Mapping Software	Optimized fuel purchase plans based on daily fuel prices integrated into PC*MILER's routes, reports and driving directions
PCMILER Tolls*	Contact Vendor	Windows 2000, Server 2003, XP, Vista Citrix Metaframe, Windows Terminal Server AS/400	Mapping Software	Calculates the exact toll amount required for each route for both cash and discount toll program transactions
PCMILER Rail*	Contact Vendor	Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, Server 2003, XP	Mapping Software	Routing, mileage and mapping for the North American rail network Can be used for rate negotiation, equipment management, rail car mileage auditing, carrier selection, ad valorem tax reporting Determines actual operating or short-line (tariff) routes and mileage using city/state abbreviations or commonly used geographic codes 240,000 miles of rail line, 49,857 freight stations, 3,400 unique junction interchanges, 699 railroads
eMILER.com	Contact Vendor	Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, Server 2003, XP	Mapping Service	Generates commercial truck-specific routes, maps and driving directions across North America
PCMILER Canadian Postal Codes*	Contact Vendor	Windows	Mapping Software	Adds six-digit Canadian Postal Codes to PCMILER, PCMILER Streets or PC*MILER WorldWide Includes 807,000 Canadian Postal Codes
PCMILER Standard Point Location Codes*	Contact Vendor	Windows	Mapping Software	Adds Standard point Location Codes (SPLCs) to PCMILER, PCMILER Streets or PC*MIELR WorldWide Includes 112,700 codes
PCMILER* infoUSA Points of Interest (POI)	Contact Vendor	Windows	Mapping Software	Includes 6 million POIs from infoUSA's U.s. business database Locations are categorized into 23 major categories ranging from major/minor airports, dining facilities, educational facilities, businesses and lodging Add locations to PC*MILER and locate them on the map or search for them through the Location Radius feature

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you've ever gotten lost on a business trip and wasted tons of time getting back on track, you know how software like CoPilot Live can save you from being late for meetings (and reduce your level of frustration!).

Ease of Use - @@@@

Anything that "tells" you where to turn is easy to use.

Works With - YYY1/2+

CoPilot Live is designed for the Windows and Pocket PC/Windows CE, Treo 700w and Motorola Q smart phone environments.

Support - ppp

ALK has a nice technical support area on their web site that includes FAQs, updates and patches and user manuals. If you need more help, email is your only option (they are available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern and state that they respond to all queries in 24 to 48 hours).

Features - iiii

CoPilot Live has lots of customization capabilities and route selection options. We especially like the lane change warnings and the two-way messaging. Your folks at home or in the office will always know where you are (if you want them to!). PC*MILER products are for the transportation professional/company.

Overall Rating - %%%%

Impressive technology at a very competitive price. A CoPilot purchase is cost effective and will, we expect keep you on the right path!

DeLorme

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

Delorme's mapping software products are all easy to install and use.

Cost - $$$$

DeLoreme pricing is outlined in the table below.

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
Street Atlas USA 2008	$39.95 $139.95 with Earthmate GPS BT-20 GPS, $69.95 with Earthmate GPS LT-20	Windows 2000, XP, Vista Palm OS 3.5 and later Windows Mobile 2003, 5.0 and later	Mapping Software	Street-level maps for U.s. and Canada, highways for Mexico Address-to-address routing GPS navigation controls 4 million points of interest Bring static maps on photo-capable iPods and other portable media players GPS driving directions announcing street names and exit numbers GPS voice commands Add new local routable streets Submit map corrections directly to DeLorme Aerial imagery that can be worked with MapShare online map and directions sharing with family and friends, online social networking site Eartha Community Atlas	DeLorme Earthmate, GPS Tripmate or any fully-compatible NMEA receiver from GARMIN, Magellan, Brunton, Rockwell, Conexant, Lowrance, Eagle or Trimble
Street Atlas USA 2007 Plus DVD	$59.95, $149.95 with Earthmate GPS BT-20 GPS, $119.95 with Earthmate GPS LT-20	Windows 2000, XP, Vista Palm OS 3.5 and later Windows Mobile 2003, 5.0 and later	Mapping Software	Street-level maps for U.s. and Canada, highways for Mexico Address-to-address routing GPS navigation controls 4 million points of interest Bring static maps on photo-capable iPods and other portable media players GPS driving directions announcing street names and exit numbers GPS voice commands Add new local routable streets Submit map corrections directly to DeLorme Aerial imagery that can be worked with MapShare online map and directions sharing with family and friends, online social networking site Eartha Community Atlas 150 million residential and business searchable phone listings located on maps xData import for geo-locating Excel, ACT!, and other data formats Embed photos, diagrams and web URLs within maps
Topo USA 7.0	$99.95 National, $239.95 with Earthmate GPS BT-20 and Street Atlas USA 2008 Plus, $199.95 with Earthmate GPS-BT-20. $149.95 with GPS LT-20 and Street Atlas USA 2008, $159.95 with Earthmate GPS LT-20	Windows 2000, XP, Vista	Mapping Software	Complete U.S. coverage Automatic trail or street routing Add routable roads and trails Split-screen 2-D and 3D side-by-side map viewing Instant elevation profiles of routes, roads, trails Vector-based topographic maps Street-level road detail of the U.S. 300,000 miles of trails including national parks and ranger districts Track your position using a GPS receiver Includes free NetLink download of recent 10-meter color satellite imagery Free download of $50 worth of Aerial Data Packets including up-to-date aerial photos, 10-meter color satellite images and scanned USGS 7.5-minute topographic maps ($50.00 = 50-square kilometers) Aerial imagery of national places of interest Access and download campground information 3D views Download GPS track files as routable roads or trails Updated trail data from 50 national parks and forests Automatically route on trails for more than 50 miles GPS Sun/Moon tab for outdoors usage Auto-start GPS, auto-magnify map, enable WAAS and LED on USB Earthmate Link pictures to maps Link documents and web URLS to maps Copy maps to the clipboard Print screen function Split-screen views Draw on an aerial image Wildlife management units for ID, IL, ME, MI, MN, MT, ND, NM, TN, UT, WI, WV 1:1 million scale public land data, BLMs for the U.S. via download USGS Digital Elevation data All state parks represented as a point or polygon $100 of free Aerial Data Packet downloads Retains file name, comments and custom symbol sets when exchanging or creating for GPS Exposes contents of waypoint and track layers Download tracks from GPS device and turn into routable road or trail Full-screen 3D views Support for geocaching site file formats .gps and .loc Geo-Tag digital photos Profile athletic GPS wrist computer data with supported devices from Garmin, Suunto and Timex	DeLorme Earthmate, GPS Tripmate or any fully-compatible NMEA receiver from GARMIN, Magellan, Brunton, Rockwell, Conexant, Lowrance, Eagle or Trimble
3-D TopoQuads 2.0	$99.95 per state	Windows 2000, XP, Vista	Mapping Software
XMap 5.2	$199.95, with street level data $239.95, $1,499.95 with USA Topographic and USA-Canada Street Level Data, $1,945.90 with USA-Topographic Data 2007 and PN-20 GPS, $1,199.90 with USA-Topographic Data 2007 and PN-20 GPS (many more bundles available)	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Mapping Software	Import wizard Document linking Supports plotters and large format printers Annotation tools Geocoding Automatic routing 2D, 3D, with or without shaded relief, contour lines, road data Five coordinate systems - State Plane, Military Grid, UTM/UPS, Degree, Minute, Second, U.S. National Grid Measuring tool Split-screen interface GPS support Interface tab manager Info tab with Census 2000 demographic and economic data Add-on module support Display GIS layers on Earthmate GPS-PN-20 Export MrSid and GeoTiff imagery file formats to PN-20 Import field collected GPS data	ACT!, Goldmine, Excel, text files NMEA compatible GPS receivers

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you've ever gotten lost on a business trip and wasted tons of time getting back on track, you know how software like DeLoreme's can save you from being late for meetings (and reduce your level of frustration!).

Ease of Use - @@@@

The DeLorme mapping software is very simple to use is compatible with most GPS systems on the market.

Works With - YYY1/2

DeLorme software is designed for the Windows, Palm and Pocket PC/Windows CE environments.

Support - pppp

DeLorme's tech support area on their web site includes tutorials, troubleshooting, enhancements and updates. Email and telephone support are available if you need more help. Phone support, after initial installation, is available Monday through Thursday 8:30 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern time and Friday from 9 AM to 4:45 Eastern. Phone support is priced at a rate of $2.50 per minute with a minimum $25 charge per incident.

Features - iiii1/2

Lots of functionality and data integration (if you'd like). The Street Atlas Plus software is especially well suited to real estate agents, market research and other businesses that require information linking location, Census data and telephone data.

Overall Rating - %%%%

A ton of good software for business folks. Good for travelers and researchers, the DeLorme solutions supply a wealth of information and time-saving capabilities for home-based business owners in many fields.

Google

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹

Google Maps is an "enterprise" solution designed for integration with enterprise applications using a JavaScript-based API.

Cost - $$$$$

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
Google Maps	Free		Mapping Software	Ready to use geographic dataset Overlay of customer data with JavaScript-based API Integration of maps into web-based applications Coverage of the US and Canada Satellite images for detailed views of the Earth

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

Companies seeking to add geographic data and views to their web sites can use Google Maps as a "quick" way to integrate their application data with mapping data.

Ease of Use - @@@@

Once the applications are integrated - the standard look and feel, and ease of use, of Google Maps.

Works With - YYYYY

Google provides a standard JavaScript-based API to integrated with web-based applications.

Support - ppp1/2

Google offers a customer support site that provides a range of help options including discussion forums, support documentation, software updates and release notes. If more help is required, email is the method of interaction.

Features - iiii

The power of Google Maps online services tailored for the web builder to construct web sites with integrated mapping.

Overall Rating - %%%%

For the application developer or larger size company only.

Microsoft

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

Microsoft's mapping software is easy to install and use.

Cost - $$$$

Pricing for Microsoft mapping software is outlined in the table below.

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
Streets & Trips 2008	$39.95 , $149.95 with GPS locator	Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003	Mapping software	Detailed maps of the US and Canada Map out multiple destinations Includes points of interest database Print point-to-point directions Email directions to a friend Use live search to find more places Select driving speeds and route start and stop times Mileage, time and expense calculations Construction updates Identify one-way streets Point-to-point driving directions Cost summary based on fuel price Optimize route Import contacts into maps Spoken driving directions Full screen navigation with driving guidance Reverse route option Compatible with NMEA 2.0 compliant devices Low fuel warnings	Outlook, Access, Excel
Streets & Trips 2008 with Connected Services

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