Re: Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 with GPS Locator vs. DeLorme Earthmate GPS Receiver with Street Atlas USA 2005

From: R. Dale Shipp (dale_at__delete_min.net)
Date: 09/21/04 

Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 01:31:32 -0400

In article <aVK3d.614266$Gx4.45412@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
walkerjd1@worldnet.att.net.net says...
> I don't agree at all that Street Atlas is a toy. It is a complete
> functioning GPS navigation program. I have about six thousand miles of
> successful navigation with it and I was really depending on it. I have used
> SA 7, 2003, and 2004. DeLorme isn't perfect, but if there is a better one
> out there I haven't found it.

  I recently bought Delorme's SA 2004 and was quite disappointed with it
for a variety of reasons (which I posted on the Delorme's forum site).
They just came out with a 2005 version. I decided to give it a try and
am quite impressed with the improvements. Not all of my objections got
solved, but many of them did.

Specifically, the new " automatic back on track" feature is very good
for navigation purposes -- and is something that was noticeably missing
in the 2004 version. I did a trial run with the 2005 version, and
deliberately chose a different path back home than 2005 had set for me.
As soon as I got a few hundred yards off track, it spoke to me and
showed a new route home based on where I had gotten to. This happened
at least five times (I was doing a significant diversion). I'll swear
that by the fourth time I heard an audible "sigh" before Microsoft Sam
gave me a new course.

One major flaw in the 2004 version was that the computer spoke turn
instructions based on coming within a threshold distance of the turn,
even if you had diverted and were coming from a totally different
direction than planned. It also got very confused if you had a route
which doubled back in close proximity to itself (e.g. visit grocery
store, then back track over part of the route and go to blockbuster).
That did not happen on my trial run -- which did have a back track
segment to it.

Another flaw noted in the 2004 version was that often the speech would
break up in mid sentence. Once, it quit all together. In our single
test of the SA2005 version, we did not detect any broken up directions.
I'll note that in this test, we did not use voice input commands. That
lowers the demands on the computer, which are probably one of the things
contributing to the early termination of spoken directions (as well as
the occasional false positive recognition of a spoken command).

The feature of having a "next turn" display at the bottom of the route
map is very nice. 2005 version added a "turn after that" display, even
better.

I have also gotten the new MS S&T 2005. It is good, and I will use it
for planning purposes. But it does not come close to SA 2005 for
navigation purposes. Basically, all it does is follow your location on
the planned route on the map. It does not give you any dynamic next
turn indications, etc. 

-- 
R. Dale Shipp
dale@_delete_this_min.net

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