Rating: 
Summary: Lacking some features for Pocket Maps
Review: (more like 2.5 stars)I travel once and a while for work and have a PDA so I bought this for the Pocket Maps (with good rebates) since the PC portion pretty much does what Mapquest.com can do. However, it does have additional features like telling you where places are to eat, banks, parks, etc. That's a nice additional feature. You can put in multiple locations for planning your route. Another plus over Mapquest. However, I hoping that all of these features would be included in the Pocket Maps part as well. Basically you can copy a portion of the map to your PDA that includes the restaurants, banks, and other points of interest. But it doesn't allow you to copy the route (the step-by-step driving instructions). Sure you can copy the route to a Note or whatever, but it's not intergraded into the Pocket Maps software. You can look up an address on the PDA but can't plan a driving route with it. A PC would be needed for that. That was a letdown. But with all the rebates you can get, bringing the cost down to a few bucks, it's probably worth it for most people that travel and want some a little more info than what Mapquest can provide and having the Pocket Map as part of the package. If I was a true road warrior with money to burn I'd for sure look elsewhere before buying this.
Rating: 
Summary: GPS, NOT
Review: After installing the gps, it started receiving raw data, it wouldnt install in micro soft streets and trips 2003. The tech at MS after confirming the gps was installed ok said there was nothing he could do. He said if it won't install its just too bad, they have a lot of calls with this problem and can't resolve them. They will refund my money including shipping, but after almost an hour on hold, long distance and not toll free, and trying to resolve the problem then copying a page of instruction on how to send back the product, I am still in the hole. Save your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Streets & Trips -- good, but still far from perfect in 2003
Review: As a frequent traveler, one of the main reasons for updating my venerable 2000 version (which I thought would be outdated by now) was the changeover some 2 years ago of Florida interstate exits from sequential progression to the more intuitive mileage marker numbering system. Surprise! Florida exits remain numbered in S&T-2003 exactly as they were in S&T-2000; for instance, the I-95 intersection with US-1 (now exit 339 in South Jacksonville) still is shown as I-95 exit 98 - which, these days, would have placed me nearly 250 miles farther South -- in Palm Beach, to be sure. Little new of practical value has been added in the intervening 3 years, other than more Microsoft (MS) bells & whistles and, admittedly, handsomer screens. But where the rubber really hits the road - updating maps and fixing erroneous cartography - precious little seems to have changed for the better. The 5-page instruction booklet barely gets you started and, as far as installation goes, is entirely silent (perhaps wisely so); instead, in usual MS fashion, it refers you to the Help section which, again in usual MS fashion, is shallow and virtually useless unless you happen to know the relevant keyword; the website, likewise, doesn't go into sufficient detail. For instance, the handy labels attached to pushpins to mark a location of interest can obscure a point of interest. If only one could rotate the marker to point to a different quadrant the annoyance would be resolved effortlessly; that minor irritation seems not to have been addressed as yet - perhaps I haven't discovered the proper 'Help' buzzwords. Need phone help for an irritation like that? Sure, but MS will charge you for what should have been included in the software price. Quibbles and warts aside, this still is the best mapping software package around - meaning that others are worse yet. The price, with the inevitable rebate is modest, installation (WIN-98SE) was painless, and the legible screen presentation quite attractive. Maps print beautifully on a color printer and can be emailed, and for black and white you can select gray-scale or fax mode for perfectly fine readability. The route mapping over major roads generally is reliable (but I wouldn't count too heavily on the printed directions), less so in cities where cartography may not have been updated for recent one-way streets or new suburbs; if you travel where major roads or exits have changed over the past years, I'd take an AAA map along, just to be sure. Clearly, updating every year is overkill; every 3 to 4 years should suffice unless MS forgets the glitz and digs into the basics of accuracy and currency of maps. S&T-2003 rates better than a 3-star average, and has the potential for a 4-star product in years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Do not buy it if your PDA uses SH processor
Review: Do not buy the software, as it does not support SH processor used by HP Jornada 548 and some other PDAs. The misleading "System Requirements" did not mention this at all.
Rating: 
Summary: What was Expected- upgrading from S&T2001
Review: I am a previous user of Street & Trips (2001). I try to upgrade every two years - hoping that the information in newer version will be more up to date ( I mean the mapping information). THere is no way for me to know how much the map data has been updated compared to earlier versions. I am taking a star off because I did not notice a major change in the User interface compared to S&T2001. The zooming control has improved. I like the feature of saving a map as web page, and emailing a map. I ahve a POCKET PC - so pocket streets is useful (& free). I heard the feature of GPS for Pocket streets was added in 2002. Everything else is the same. The upgrade was not painful because of the rebates - in the end it cost me only a few buck[s]!!
Rating:
Summary: 2003? - Not!
Review: I am disappointed that certain highways and a bridge I have been driving on since 2002 do not appear in this version. Further, no dotted lines exist to indicate contruction or planning. So if you need an up-to-date road map, this is not for you. For my use, my Microsoft Streets 98 is as good. Credit the 2003 version with improved eye appeal.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful for Deputies
Review: I did a ride-along with a deputy last night, who used this software to find exact location when dispatched on a call. It worked very well.
Rating:
Summary: Minor updates from version 2002
Review: I have also used Streets & Trips since it was first published. Version 2003 offers some minor map updates from version 2002. I live in an area under heavy development and some of the new or extended streets in our area are finally showing up in version 2003. However, other streets that have been open for over a year do not show up. There seems to be a two- to three-year lag between the time a new road opens and the time Microsoft gets updates from whomever produces their map data. If you use a PocketPC device, version 2003 is a must-buy since it fixes problems with pushpins and also allows you to map addresses from your PocketOutlook contacts. Streets & Trips is so much easier to use and better looking than MapQuest or other online mapping services. For the price, it's a good buy for any PC owner. I have the entire database stored on my hard drive, so I don't have to insert the CD when I want to draw a map. The maps also print very nicely on our HP Photo Printer. Microsoft's software is still at the top of the heap for this category.
Rating:
Summary: Minor updates from version 2002
Review: I have also used Streets & Trips since it was first published. Version 2003 offers some minor map updates from version 2002. I live in an area under heavy development and some of the new or extended streets in our area are finally showing up in version 2003. However, other streets that have been open for over a year do not show up. There seems to be a two- to three-year lag between the time a new road opens and the time Microsoft gets updates from whomever produces their map data. If you use a PocketPC device, version 2003 is a must-buy since it fixes problems with pushpins and also allows you to map addresses from your PocketOutlook contacts. Streets & Trips is so much easier to use and better looking than MapQuest or other online mapping services. For the price, it's a good buy for any PC owner. I have the entire database stored on my hard drive, so I don't have to insert the CD when I want to draw a map. The maps also print very nicely on our HP Photo Printer. Microsoft's software is still at the top of the heap for this category.
Rating:
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I have been upgrading annually for several years. I don't see much new in here that is worth the money.
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