Microsoft Streets and Trips 2010

November 13th, 2009

Microsoft

Customer Rating: Rating 4.0 out of 5

(163 Reviews)

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Product information Brand: Microsoft
Publisher: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
Release Date: August 31, 2009
Format: Dvd-rom
Model: B17-00492

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Features

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2010 makes trip planning easy with street level maps of the U.S. and Canada
Send your route to your GPS device; connect a GPS device for spoken directions
Share trip details or itineraries with friends and family
Save time by setting your map to always start at a particular location
Choose specific roads to use on your trip just by dragging and dropping the route

Editorial Reviews

Product Description: Streets &Trips 2010 Minibox

Amazon.com Product Description: Microsoft Streets & Trips makes trip planning easy, so you can relax and drive with confidence. Whether you are traveling across country or across town, Streets & Trips has the easy-to-use tools to help you get there. Streets & Trips requires no Internet connection and includes more than 1.7 million points of interest to choose from--plus additional listings that you can view when you're connected to the Web. The perfect trip is at your fingertips.

Get accurate driving directions to just about anywhere in the United States and Canada. Click to enlarge.

Send your route to your GPS device. Click to enlarge.

Product Features

Includes updated street level maps for U.S. and Canada
New--Send your route to your GPS device
Calculate fuel usage and costs before you leave
New--Share trip details or itineraries with friends and family
Get free construction updates to avoid potential delays
New--Save time by setting your map to always start at a particular location
Personalize your maps with comments, phone numbers and notes for planned stops
New--Easily delete or hide groups of pushpins
Find special savings in restaurants, hotels and events with Entertainment Online trial offer
Improved--Choose specific roads to use on your trip just by dragging and dropping the route
Include multiple destinations and stops to refuel
Improved--Comes with more than 1.7 million points of interest including post offices, pharmacies and more
GPS Ready--connect your GPS device to your laptop to get spoken directions including street names, automatic re-routing and large on-screen directions
Improved--Streets & Trips now includes more than 300 unique pushpin images to choose from

Microsoft Streets & Trips makes trip planning easy.
Accurate maps and route-planning options help you get nearly anywhere in the United States and Canada. Customizable features let you plot your course down to the last detail. Once you've planned your trip, you can send your route to your GPS device for navigation on the go.

A Great GPS Companion
Streets & Trips is a great companion to GPS devices. Use Streets & Trips to plan the perfect trip, including multiple stops, points-of-interest, and start and stop times. Then export the route to a personal navigation device for easy navigation along the way.

No DVD Drive? No Problem!
If your computer doesn't have a CD or DVD drive, you may still purchase Streets & Trips. Find out more at www.microsoft.com/activate today.

Calculate your mileage, trip costs and arrival time before you leave.
This is a great planning tool, especially for comparing different routes you're considering.

More than 1.7 million ideas for stops along the way!
Looking for an Italian restaurant in Des Moines? A hotel in Vancouver? Streets & Trips comes with detailed information on over 1.7 million locations--ATMs, hotels, restaurants, post offices, pharmacies, gas stations and other points of interest. No Internet connection required.

Comparison to online mapping
Streets & Trips delivers a mapping solution that offers much more than online mapping solutions. It doesn't require an Internet connection to use, and there are no distracting ads. You also get options to customize your trips by start and stop times, driving speeds, or even road types.

Access street-level maps and personalized directions.
Updated street-level maps and turn-by-turn directions make it easy to stay on track. You can also add personal notes to your maps. With addresses, phone numbers and other notes alongside your planned stops, you'll have all the information you need in one handy place.

Spoken street names and automatic re-routing.
With a GPS receiver, Street & Trips can provide spoken directions and street names as you drive. It can also put you back on track if you make a wrong turn!

Customer Reviews

Overpriced as an update, reduced usefulness for new users

by William S. Grigsby 2009-12-10, 80 people found this review helpful

I've used MS S&T since it was initially offered (pre-affordable GPS) and gradually watched it decline in usefulness as the net and technologies evolve. With this current version, even with the few improvements over the 2009 version, I wouldn't recommend it at all to a new user and only would recommend it as an upgrade if your version is more than 2 years old (unless you can find it for less than twenty bucks).

While netbooks (and to some extent the new generation of energy efficient processors just coming out this Xmas) have extended the life of this product, it is just not as functional while traveling as a good GPS unit. I still use it for planning, but more and more I find other online mapping tools more useful as wifi becomes more ubiquitous and 4G broadband adds coverage. The maps are not updated (I find major local errors still uncorrected after 4 years here in Ohio and on a trip to California, numerous serious flaws in Sacramento, the Napa Valley, and the Sonoma Valley - not to mention an abrupt loss of functionality along the way).

I like (and have) the GPS version while on the road at night (using the night map) and also use it while traveling to find side trips of interest (one thing not a strong point of auto GPS devices). But our Garmin GPS is much stronger for routing and seems to have a much better POI dataset. In fact, the online mapping services also have better POI info and MS S&T is unlikely to improve unless it is integrated with Bing or something.

Overall, licensing restrictions (1 machine - should be at least 2 including a laptop/netbook), lack of adequate data revision/updating, and the availability of cheaper GPS units and wifi, I'd say - give this one a pass unless you have a very compelling reason to use it.

Edit 7/12/2010 - Somehow I got the licensing wrong, actually S&T DOES allow 2 installs. My bad.

Good product,,,, BUT....

by A. Voll 2009-12-24, 58 people found this review helpful

The new "Streets and Trips" can only be used and registered on one computer.
Would not buy it again for this reason.
Shuts off the second computer automaticly after a 60 days trial. Since I need to use Streets and Trips at home and on my web book while driving its useless for me.
All the older versions could be used on multiple computers. Microsoft should have put a warning sign at the outside of the package about their policy change.
Alfred Voll

Typical Microsoft Update

by Jerry Mattson 2009-11-02, 46 people found this review helpful

While the updated data base was the desire and achieved purpose of getting the latest version, it sufers from classic Microsoft update. Ease of use is severely impacted. My favorite means of navigation was to selct a region and tehn zoom in, you can't do that any more. Now you have to center and zoom, then re-center and zoom, not nearly as easy or effecient.

Also, as a program that needs to be "activated" it is no longer convienent to have on multiple computers. This substantially degrades the value of the product.

Very disappointed

by R. Johnson 2010-01-01, 14 people found this review helpful

I had an older version of this and liked it. The "2010" version is not up to date. A local freeway that is at least 3 years old is not even on the map! In addition, the software can only be installed on one computer, so I can't have it on my laptop and desktop unless I buy it twice. If I had known these two facts, I wouldn't have bought it.

Dated and slow, but still useful for when you have no internet connection

by Jonathan Birge 2009-11-25, 12 people found this review helpful

To hopefully help you make a decision on this, I'll start by summarizing: This program is, in almost every way, inferior to online offerings such as Google maps, but may be of great use to you if you find yourself needing access to mapping and routing away from an Internet connection.

REASONS TO AVOID

Relative to online maps, the S&T maps are less informative, less visually appealing, not as current, and the business and waypoint info is not as up-to-date or complete. This software is getting old; despite a few tweaks and a few bells and whistles added each year, the mapping engine is largely the same one Microsoft has used for about a decade. The maps are non-antialiased, with blocky patterns and awkward label placement.

The map data is provided on a far courser scale than what you'll get on Google maps, which means that roads often look like they take sudden angles. Looking at a curved road in Google maps shows, well, a curved road. Looking at the same in S&T often shows a road that appears to take several sharp turns. While all of these detractions are probably necessary to allow the program to fit on a DVD (with the possible exception of the dated and ugly map engine) the bottom line is that Google maps or MapQuest provide far better maps and faster routing. Amazingly enough, Google maps is able to redraw maps over the internet quicker than S&T can on your desktop, and adding stops to existing routes on Google is far more intuitive, and the resulting reroute is done in realtime.

I don't mean to be too harshly critical of this program, as most of the limitations are a direct result of the need to fit the program on a DVD (with the possible exception of the dated map engine). However, it's quite clear that while Google and others have made great strides with online mapping, Microsoft has been content to let this program languish. If they wanted to, they could leverage the power of desktop graphics to make a truly compelling map experience to justify a desktop mapping program. However, they've let this program atrophy to the point that Google is able to make a faster, more responsive map on a browser!

REASONS TO BUY

There are two situations where I can see this software being a good fit, despite the above criticism. The first is if you expect to often have a need for routing and mapping away from a good internet connection. It is rather nice, on occasion, to have a map of the entire country available to you when on the road. Second, if you have a laptop mount in your car and a USB GPS you can use this as an in-car GPS system with turn-by-turn directions. I haven't been able to try this, as I don't have a car-mounted laptop, from what I can tell from playing with S&T, it would make a very powerful and flexible in-car GPS.

Decent software, but doesn't offer much that you can't get free from Google

by Computerdude1032 2009-11-26, 9 people found this review helpful

I remember back when they started making this software, and it was legitimately the most amazing thing ever. While they add a few new features every year, the basic formula is the same as when I started using it 12 years ago. As you may have guessed, the big feature of this software is the ability to get driving directions. Unfortunately, you can also get the same directions (and better maps I should add) from Google's map website. The Microsoft software has the ability to calculate things that online sites don't do (such as fuel usage, and the most fuel efficient route), but chances are for most people that shouldn't be worth a purchase. I give the product 4 stars because it is nice software, but despite the 4 star rating, I still wouldn't recommend buying it. Maybe as twenty dollar software I could recommend it, but for 40 bucks there isn't enough that isn't available for free elsewhere. I'm guessing this software will only be out a few more years before Microsoft wises up and discontinues it.

Took Streets & Trips to Texas and Back and Liked it Fine

by Ken Douglas 2010-01-28, 4 people found this review helpful

I recently got both Microsoft's MapPoint and Streets and Trips to review. I am a Mac guy and these are PC programs. However, since Vesta and I were getting ready to go on the road, Texas our destination, I was eager to try the programs out. Fortunately Vesta understands Windows. and got a Dell Laptop for a song and a dance and a bit of money from her sister last month. However, that alone wasn't going to do the trick, because the programs came without a GPS unit. We opted for a Bluetooth GPS receiver and in no time she got it mated with her laptop. Then she installed both programs.

We've never had a GPS system in the car, it's a 1989 good as new Dodge Radar, so knowing where we were all the time was going to be fun. I knew would be. And it was. We found the cheapest gas along the way and that alone would have paid for S & T had we actually paid money for it. MapPoint, on the other hand is a bit pricy.

Although MapPoint does everything S & T does, S & T seems to be like MapPoint Lite. The good news is, if you're like me, you probably don't need all the features you can get in MapPoint. S & T can calculate your mileage, you expenses, ETA, tell you of a zillion points of interest and give you turn by turn directions. MapPoint goes a lot further. You can load data into it and analyze sales trends for specific areas. You can make maps based on census or other data and export them to Word or other programs. You can visualize your data in numerous ways and you can use the data to plan business trips.

Okay, I didn't do any of that data stuff with MapPoint. Truth, we used S & T almost exclusively. We did occasionally use MapPoint because we had it and I needed to write this review. It is for sure a five star product, if you have a use for it. If you don't, then S & T will certainly suffice. If you have a newer car with an onboard GPS you might not need either. I've never used one of those, so I don't know if they have access to all the points of interest you get in these two fine Microsoft programs. I don't know if onboard GPS can show you to the cheap gas or if you can print out discount coupons or if you can visualize your maps the way you can in these programs. I know having Vesta's big laptop screen was a plus for my old eyes. All in all, I've giving both these programs five stars.

Horrid customer support, problems with GPS devices, better than yahoo maps

by Thomas Wikman 2010-01-12, 4 people found this review helpful

My wife has a GPS system in her car (it is not compatible with this software) and I have a Garmin 255W which I rarely use but that is compatible with this software (supposedly). I have a good sense of direction and I like to look up my own route and memorize it or print maps. I typically use Google maps or Yahoo maps for that. This has worked most of the time for me. I am not in great need for this software but I found one feature quite valuable (Find Nearby Places).

The good

One of the primary features of Microsoft Streets and Trips is getting directions and creating routes. At this Microsoft Streets and Trips 2010 is better than Google maps and Yahoo maps. For example, Google maps and Yahoo maps will often include toll roads in the route despite the fact that the trip would be shorter and quicker and cheaper without the inclusion of the toll road. Microsoft Streets and Trips 2010 do not have that quirk. I have also found that Yahoo maps are often wrong. "Microsoft Streets and Trips" is configurable to your driving habits and calculates fuel cost and other things. You can also save and reload your routes (open it as a file). On the other hand Microsoft Streets and Trips maps are fuzzier than Google maps and not as good.

My favorite feature is "Find nearby places". By selecting stops along a route or by simply typing in an address and then click "Find nearby places" you can get extensive lists of restaurants, hotels, bed and breakfast places, ATM machines, attractions, parks, public transportation and more. I have found that this feature is fairly complete and helpful. You also get coupons.

Not good

As mentioned I am not GPS kind of guy, however, I decided to at least try using Microsoft Streets and Trips with my new Garmin 255W. Unfortunately the GPS device could not be detected by Microsoft Streets and Trips via the USB port because of a missing device driver. I downloaded the device driver and installed it successfully according to the wizard and I restarted the computer. However, the device driver still did not show up as it should in the device manager work and Microsoft Streets and Trips could still not detect the GPS device. So I tried to figure out why and that is when I got disgusted.

There was no information about this anywhere in the help but I found information about it on-line. I tried the remedies suggested on-line but it did not help. So I tried contacting support. Contact support was strangely enough listed in "About" but not in "Help". It turns out they really don't want you to contact support. They wanted me to pay $35 for customer support which is as much as the product itself. Almost everyone else offers customer support for free.

I should also add that I think it was "stingy" that this software only came with only one license for one PC. It should have been at least one user three PC's. Seriously do you really want to pay $36 for one license?

Summary

People who have GPS systems probably do not need or want this software. People who just want directions probably do not need this software either. However, this software is somewhat useful to people (like me) who plan their own routes but want more then just directions (finding nearby points of interest). But is it worth the money for one PC license? No.

Good Product, But Not Entirely Necessary

by John Keitz 2009-11-24, 3 people found this review helpful

This is my first experience with a Microsoft Map program of any kind, and it is pretty impressive in its feature set. You can set up multiple pushpins which mark places you want to remember. It offers suggestions for lodging, entertainment, etc. I live in a pretty small town, and it even had some listed in my town. The program integrates with GPS receivers (or if your laptop has one, then it works on the laptop) and it will text directions to your phone. It also integrates with Bing maps online.

All this is great, but I found myself wondering why buy this when it does pretty much the same things as Google Maps does for free? I happen to like Microsoft, and I want to support them, but most of this program is already covered in Google Maps, and the parts that aren't, I cannot use. For example, I don't have a GPS receiver. Further, I use a smartphone (Treo) so I don't text. Why bother to text directions when I can just pull up the Google Maps app on my Treo? Then I get directions and a map.

I think I might use this a bit when at home in front of my desktop and planning a trip. Otherwise, I'll just stick to Google Maps for my directions.

Streets and Trips 2010

by Sally Sutherland 2009-11-16, 3 people found this review helpful

I have tried Map Quest and others before, but I always go back to Streets and Trips. On Map Quest for instance, you only get a small map of what you want, but on Streets and Trips, you get the whole map. You put in a start address and a town, or address, and it shows you both spots on the map and you just click the button asking for directions and it pulls up the directions for you to take. It even has an update button so you can get updates right on your computer and then you can ask for it to tell you where you will have road construction, so that you can try to avoid these locations or plan another route to be able to bypass them all together.
Thanks, I will buy this product again.