STREETFINDER DELUXE FOR

Rating:
Summary: Look Elsewhere - Not Ready for Primetime
Review: I bought this product because I have a Palm IIIxe and wanted a GPS system I could use while traveling. Boy was I disappointed!! The bundled StreetFinder Deluxe 2000 PC software lacks sufficient detail to be useful. (It couldn't find my own address, while other software - notably Microsoft's Street & Trips - has no problem.) Whole neighborhoods are missing! You can download little subsets of your maps to the Palm, but because the PC software lacks detail, the Palm version really leaves a lot out to save on memory space. Going to Rand McNally's website doesn't help - there doesn't seem to be a way to upgrade the maps, so you're stuck with what you have (which isn't much.) I also had problems with the GPS. It is suppose to work on its own battery when fully charged, but I can only get it to work with the Palm when it is plugged into the cigarette lighter. When the GPS does work, the Palm StreetFinder software and downloaded map crashes a lot, requiring a complete system reset on the Palm (not fun to do while you're driving.) You also have to go through the Palm menu system to enable/disable the GPS (not fun while you're driving and the GPS is mounted to your windshield!) I would really stay away from this product, save your money, and look elsewhere. This doesn't live up to the claims. Rand McNally should just stick with paper maps.

Rating:
Summary: You thought cell phones made drivers dangerous...
Review: People attempting to use this thing while driving should have to mount flashing strobes on top of their vehicle. I bought this thing last year (when it was already a few years old) to use with my IIIxe. Why? Because I'm an impulse buying gadget freak. I should have researched more. I only paid [money], as I ordered it new from the marketplace sellers...but sadly, it's not even worth that.

The software doesn't seem to play nice with 98SE or XP...it seems to have a limit on the number of commands you can issue before it crashes out...completely wiping the map you spent an hour customizing. On the Palm, the maps are hard enough to read sitting on the couch...reading them in the car takes some serious visual acuity...we're talking some breed of hawk, here. I had to ask my girlfriend to drive around town just so I could fiddle with the device from the passenger seat.

I don't think I've used it since that day. It just takes up room in my glove compartment. And lastly, no...this thing will not fit in your pocket. Maybe if you frequently carry VHS tapes around in your jeans you won't notice...but I can barely stand my Palm in my pocket by itself. The GPS adds a few inches and about half a pound to the package.

If you really want a GPS, you'll be willing to spend the money on a real one. Stay away from this thing. Just go tear up some money if you have the urge to order it....

Rating:
Summary: reasonable hardware, terrible software
Review: The hardware is frustratingly close to being usable. Unfortunately it forces you to remove the palm cover which makes handheld use challenging. It's often slow to acquire a lock.

The software is nearly useless, a major disappointment. I've tried a number of palm GPS apps (the device is NMEA compliant and works well with all of them), and would rank streetfinder as the worst, for all the reasons mentioned in other reviews, and for others (a 3 CD package intended for use with laptops!).

My favorite palm GPS app is solus pro 2.0, which uses compact vector maps you generate online on the delorme.com website, and can use bulky, unscalable, bitmap maps (and directions) generated using delorme street atlas USA on a non-internet-connected PC.

In summary, if I had it to do over again, I'd get a standalone GPS with a serial cable, and would buy delorme street atlas and solus pro 2.0. That way I could upgrade out of the palm III form factor if I wanted to. I am happy enough with it to have replaced my III with a IIIxe so I'd have enough room for maps.