Reviews (1)

GoodAuto Routing, Not So Good Database
I've been using a Garmin E-Trex for some driving navigation (not it's main purpose) for some time.Having wanted something better for driving, I saw this as an inexpensive solution to use my laptop and have large screen GPS navigation.In short, the active navigation direction (including voice) work pretty well, the large display (my laptop) is great, but the database and route management tools lack.

Having only used this H/W & S/W (the included Street Atlas) for a few days, I'm sure I haven't figured it all out.Still, I quickly found that the database only knows about one of the several Home Depot stores in my area.I looked for the hotel I'll be staying at on an upcoming trip, and it is not in the database.A two year old street in a newer nearby residential street is not present.In each of these cases, my Garmin MapSource s/w had these elements, and the level of detail and accuracy are better, too.I've found work arounds by creating waypoints where I know things I'll be going to are located (Delorme won't let me move an existing waypoint that I've created, so if it's not right, delete and recreate).I'll probably use it for such things as our RV traveling, but when I want to find the nearest hardware store... well most anything, I'll pull out my little E-Trex. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Create address-to-address routes anywhere in the U.S. on Pocket PC andPalm OS handheld computers using XMap Street Atlas USA: Handheld Edition. Thismust-have map collection includes street-level maps for the entire U.S., fromrural roads to detailed city streets. Sync all the maps and software you'll needfor your next trip, or, depending on your PDA's storage capacity, bring theentire database with you. Quickly find address book contacts on detailed maps,plus locate 4 million points of interest--including restaurants, hotels,attractions, and more. Connect to DeLorme's Earthmate GPS receiver (availableseparately) and track yourself in real time on street-level maps anywhere in theU.S. You can even bring topographic maps with you using DeLorme's Topo USA 4.0software (also available separately), so you'll never get lost again. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Buyer Beware
I liked the PC version, but the handheld version is expensive, hard to use and not that much value. When compared to MS Streets and Maps it is not even in the same league. The Bluetooth feature is problematic and the tech support is poor. In both versions there seems to be a bug that introduces a position error of about 200 feet. This seems to be problem for both the hand held and PC editions. If this keeps up I expect DeLorme to be out of business within 2 years. Too bad---It has the potential to be world class.

If you are computer literate at all you'll love it.
This program is awesome!!! You install the software on your PC and choose how much you want to sync to your PDA. You can sync detailed maps or just highways and interstates. My wife works at a flower shop and sometimes delivers. Type in the address and it will take you their.
Syncing the the maps can be a little difficult the first time but I didn't even need to look at the instructions. I highly recomend this product.

Looking for a PDA map program???? Keep looking.
Xmap version 1.3 keeps causing 'Fatal Errors' and 'Memory Chunk' errors on my m125 running PalmOS 4.0.1. Delorme states this may happen with routes but I'm only using it to see their 'Sample' map that came with the product. I loaded their downloadable fixed version 1.4 but it has the same result.
I live in the Dallas, Texas area and would like a map of Dallas and Fort Worth. Unfortunately, the program locks up my computer every time I try to create a map of that area. I then followed the procedure Delorme recommends to prevent so called 'other background software' from halting their product. Guess what? That procedure made no difference. The program usually locks up at more than 50% of creating the map. Once it got all the way to 84% before it halted. At that time, the file was well over 9 MB!!! I'm not sure I need THAT much data. I just want the streets. Rand McNally's Streetfinder does this same area in about 2MB but it has MAJOR DEFECTS also and I definitely don't recommend it (see my other review).
I have been using Mapopolis with some maps I downloaded a couple of years ago, but the price now is a little prohibitive since I need maps for spur of the moment travel somewhat infrequently and don't always have time or access to the web to download them. I can't afford to download maps for all places I MIGHT go. Mapopolis works perfectly, even with memory cards, and I recommend it if you can afford the maps. I guess I will continue to use my laptop until something better comes along. I write software. It is a shame I don't know more about map databases so I could develop my own program and tell these guys where to go.

Not User Friendly
I have used the regular PC Versions of Street Atlas for years and love it. This software for a PDA need to be pulled from the market by Delorm before it gives all their software a bad name. They are trying to load too much secondary travel info into the PDA and not what is really needed. Which is easy to use maps or areas that can be easly loaded and navigated. Something like their Street Atlas for PC's Ver. 01. Who needs the names of hotels, places of interest, and eating establishments on a PDA. All you want to do is find out where you are and where you are going.

Lots of info but hard to get to
The handheld app is apparently aimed mainly at GPS users, and I can't comment on that part. I bought it as a simple roadmap and location-searching tool. It does have an amazing database, covering every square inch of the U.S. and containing many thousands of "points of interest" including businesses with phone numbers.

As others have noted, if you want to put an entire metropolitan area on your PDA, it pretty much has to go on the memory card, which slows performance to a crawl. The search function is powerful, but there are a few gotchas. Any match of three or more letters is displayed, so if you search on "Eagle" you also get "Seagull", and a search on a name that contains a common string can result in hundreds of hits (but they are sorted by best match). You can search for any address in your address book just by entering the name associated with the entry; but unless the address is in your book in the expected form (e.g. 123 12 St, not 123-12th St.), the app won't find it. It also doesn't seem to know much about house numbers, and generally won't resolve the address to the correct position on the street.

The maps are pretty good, but there's no support for hi-res. Street names are displayed only sporadically, so it's difficult to orient yourself without touching the map for more information (displayed at the bottom of the clunky interface).

I don't regret buying the app if only because it does give me a handy "pocket yellow pages" for my area, but it's certainly no substitute for a paper map. For better-labeled maps that look better on the hi-res Clie screen, Mapopolis is an alternative; but the one "enhanced" Mapopolis map I have purchased contains very few points of interest, not even labels for most parks and malls, and has a few other problems of its own. ... Read more

Product Description

Never Get Lost Again! Holux USB GPS receiver is a better choice than Delorme's original Earchmate with its high sensitivity Sirf II LP shipset andwaterproof design and magnetic base and suction cup. Making it easier to mount to car roof or windshield. Real-time GPS tracking Street Atlas USA 2005 software with high-contrast map settings enabled. You are selecting the most detailed and powerful travel planning software available. DeLorme pioneered the category in 1991 with the first release of this product, and today this software continues to be the standard by which all others are measured. DeLorme cartographers are constantly updating the maps using a variety of trend-setting techniques, including new GPS mapping and aerial imagery techniques developed at DeLorme. Unlike other mapping software providers, who tend to all use the same data. Automatic back-on-track settings that you control so you can determine how far off track you are willing to go before being offered new directions When you have a route created, the Next-Turns window shows large arrows with accompanying brief text for your next turn as well as the turn after that. The large Center-on-GPS button on the main interface lets you leave your current GPS position on the map without turning off the receiver, so you can scout ahead for exit services and other amenities without the map always re-centering on your GPS position The GPS Radar Search finds places of interest from your current GPS Position and shows directions and information for each. Not only does the software provide spoken prompts about upcoming turns and services, but you can also issue spoken commands and receive spoken responses ... Read more

Features

• WAAS capable (Wide Area Augmentation System), which is a free correction system that narrows the accuracy of the GPS receiver to within 2 to 5 meters
• Full U.S. coverage on street-level maps with included Street Atlas USA software
• Voice-recognition technology for issuing spoken commands and receiving spoken, turn-by-turn driving directions by voice and visual
• Address-to-address routing (no Web access required); rapid real-time GPS signal updates (1-second intervals)
• NMEA-compliant waterproof Holux GPS receiver w/magnet powered by USB laptops

Features

• Create address-to-address routes anywhere in the U.S. directly on your handheld computer
• Includes street-level maps for the entire U.S., from rural roads to detailed city streets
• Includes Canadian primary and secondary roads
• Quickly locate on detailed maps your address book contacts
• Store the maps on removable-media devices

Reviews (9)

Do Not Purchase - Major Flaws
I unfortunately purchased the Delorme USA 2004 Handheld Street Atlas. I can't believe Delorme would release such a third rate product.

What is good. The maps are ok, some pretty good POI, but I found them to not be placed correctly on the maps, in some cases up to a mile off.

What is bad. Quite a bit. The maps are slow to load, you can't re-calculate a route if you take a wrong turn (which makes the program pretty much completely worthless), Locations can't be saved on the PDA, so you need to re-type them every time you want to make a route, the app does not take advantage of the Clie long screen. Street level detail is lacking when zoomed in at the lowest level - simple things like street names. When traveling, the cursor that indicates your location is usually off - this once again depends on finding the correct zoom level.

Door to Door directions is a bit misleading if you ask me. Searching is horrendous. It does not allow for saved searches, so once again, you need to type stuff over again and again.

I hope the 30 day guarantee still applies. I wish I read these reviews before I bought this.

A flawed product
I'm returning this product. I couldn't get out the starting gate because of poor documentation. It was very unclear how to transfer maps from a PC to a Palm T3 SD Card. Other reviewers point out that you can't do address lookups on the PDA which limits the usefullness of this package. I was planning to use this software with Delorme's Earthmate GPS receiver. I'm now looking at the TomTom T3 GPS offering instead.

It's so un-user-friendly
This is the second mapping software I bought. The first one is Pharos GPS for pocket pc, it was a waste of money, very hard to use and the map disappears on its own. This one is not much better either. I'm returning it.

Don't let the "Handheld" in the title fool you.
Bought this and was hoping that it would live up to it's name, a Street Atlas to be used on a handheld. Don't believe it. It's just a map viewer.

When I'm out driving and I need to find an address, I need a handheld app that will let me search for it. This won't. That functionality is only on the desktop half of the software, when I'm sitting at home. If I could foresee in advance all the addresses I would need to use when I'm away from home, I could search and save maps and routes in advance. Then sync them with the handheld, and then I could use them. Who uses map software like that?

The worse thing about this lack of functionality is how they hide that from you. It's not clear in the documentation available BEFORE you buy it. Worst of all, it's not really available in the documentation AFTER you buy it. You have to wrestle through a very poorly designed user interface to try to figure out what the software does and doesn't do. Not only is it not functional for me, it took me over an hour of my time and all that money to find that out.

Save your money. If you need a true handheld street atlas, keep looking.

Stick with SA9 or lower
It works like no other program you have ever used. Get ready to re-learn even something as simple as opening and saving a file. The program is slow. The maps lack detail until you are zoomed in nearly all the way. Printing is not as good as SA7. All in all it is a big step backwards.

Don't Bother. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Never Get Lost Again! The Earthmate GPS Receiver is a high-performance, easy-to-use link to the satellite navigation technology of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Earthmate and a laptop PC will show your location on detailed Street Atlas USA maps. An arrow shows your position in real time on street-level maps, so you always know where you are and where you need to be.Earthmate features a durable housing with a moisture-resistant seal and is designed to withstand a wide variety of road conditions. Unlike many other GPS receivers, Earthmate can be powered by four AAA batteries. This is especially important when using Earthmate with handheld or laptop computers in a car where available power is already being used. ... Read more

Features

• Faster satellite acquisition times and outstanding performance
• Arrow shows your position in real time on street-level maps
• Durable housing with a moisture-resistant seal, designed to withstand a wide variety of road conditions
• Pick any 2 points on the map and have Street Atlas USA create an address-to-address route
• Use Earthmate with Topo USA, Topo USA 2.0, 3-DC TopoQuads, Eartha Global Explorer, or AAA Map'n'Go

Reviews (16)

My first impression: Great!!
I was very interested when I learned that there were products that allowed the integration of a street map atlas with a GPS and laptop computer. Sounded like an excellent tool for travelling. After exploring a number of options on the Web, it appeared that the Delorme Earthmate with Street Atlas USA was the way to go, although I read as many bad reviews as good. The price was certainly reasonable and I decided, why not? I must say that after two days of seeing what this thing can do, I am truly impressed. The Street Atlas was a breeze to set up and I love the feature that allows you to copy regions to the hard drive, so this thing will run sans CD. The included Earthmate GPS amazed me for its diminutive size and good construction, as I appreciated the inclusion of the rubber feet and rubber stripping around the unit. Within 5 minutes the GPS had initialized and I became a green dot on the map showing my neighborhood. I immediately jumped into the car and wathched my progress on the screen as a friend drove me around town. The accuracy amazed me. Then I got serious to see what this unit could do. If I had to make a negative comment, it would have to be the lack of instructional material. Two (tiny) booklets come in the package that do little more than explain the setup. There is a tutorial built into the program, but it did not have the same functionality as a reference manual. However, if the lack of documentation is helping to keep this package at this steal of a price, then I'm all for it. After three-and-a-half hours of playing, I had a good handle on all of the features of the software and was ready to plan my first trip. There is a great deal of information available on these maps, including restaurants and lodging and services available off the various exits on the highways. You can enter the name of a restaurant, and Street Atlas will locate it for you on the map. You can then take the laptop/GPS combo in the car, and it will give you real time verbal instuctions as you are driving. Pretty cool! Some of the "points of interest" were not in the right spot on the map, and some were long gone, but I can't fault the software for not knowing that the pizza place at the shore went out of business six months ago. All in all, it is a package that appears to do what it is designed to do. Whether or not it is practical in the long run to have all this equipment running in the car (you can swap the laptop for a smaller device) has yet to be determined, but my first impression is actually beyond my expectations.

Excellent, Cheap PC GPS Device (NOT FOR MAC!!!)
A friend had this unit and I've been looking for a GPS device that uses PC mapping. Most use serial port communications, this one is better, being that it is USB and even better Bluetooth!!! I would have to agree with another review that documention is lacking for the unit, and the unit does not work with the Mac (bummer), but so far those are the only drawbacks. It accuratly told me where I was at, how fast I was going and my heading. Really slick! I drive nearly 30,000 miles each year and I am looking forwrd to driving easier with my new GPS!!

This is a must have for @$125!!

CAN'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT !!!!!
I have had this for about 2 years and I travel about 100 days a year by car. I have it hooked up to my laptop, which is on the passanger seat. It has never left me down. In fact I would be lost without it, literly. I tracks where I go anywhere in the US with the existing software. Nothing else to buy !!! It pinpoints where I am at anytime. It's GREAT. If you travel a lot like me via car, and have a laptop, a VERY GOOD, AND LOGICAL PURCHASE.

Poor Tracking Selection
1. The Earthmate does a very poor job of maintaining the track at speeds above 35 MPH or with even slight interferrence from buildings, bridges, etc. Before the Earthmate I had a small Magellan GPS that cost less and did a much better tracking job. Unfortunately it was stollen out of my car (along with the car).

2. I bought the Earthmate for use with my Palm but when I upgraded to an M500, there was no adapter cable. DeLorme has still not provided one.

A Overall Honest Review of the Delorme Road Warrior Edition
[12.18.2001] This Covers Earthmate, and Delorme Deluxe Atlas. I purchased this unit from CompUSA. Installed with no problems. just make sure you close all programs before installing. ( the usuall statement with most software). After running the software, aquiring the GPS signals was a little slow. Sometimes it would not get a signal from anywhere! the problem was in the config of the earthlink unit in Street Atlas. it would reset to 4800 bps. the earthmate runs at 9600. A patch from Delorme quickly fixed this and a few other problems that I did not experiance. now my systems locks to gps a lot faster than before, and more reliably. I mount the Earthmate on my dash of my 98 F-150 with one velcro strip, I use a laptop on the center floorboard with power coming from a DC/AC inverter with no problems for the long drive. I rarley lost complete signal,as I have read from some reviews here ( try the patch! ). tracking seems very acurate. I do loose 3-D signal due to blocking objects from above, but not 2-d. In downtown areas I have lost 2-D. but I lost tracking on all units I had with me ( all of them on the dash, not in a different location than the Earthlink). this unit seems comparable, and acts normally as a GPS should. I tried a extensive road trip with multiple stops over a 8 hour trip, and around town locally with great success. not one problem. I would suggest the DC power adapter (USB!)for the Earthmate. The Street Atlas (SA) did miss a little on vectoring your location in relation to the map. (mostly in rural area's). I have become confident in the overall results of finding my destination without any trouble. As with my other units, looking around after arriving is required,(duh). just for fun, I called Tech support, I got right in, the tech was freindly, helpfull, covered the basics with me on the call. advised me of the location for program updates and i was fixed up. then a problem actually occoured. when removing the earthmate from my laptop using the 9 pin serial connector. the cover came loose from the connector. this is a weak point. Delorme should use a better molded connector housing ( I'd pay 5 more bucks for it!) I advise getting the USB power adapter and reframe from pulling on the 9 pin connector! I replaced my unit at compusa... the Earthmate has a 60 day warranty, buy the product protection from where ever you can get it ( CompUSA has it ). this will extend your options for replacing the unit "just in case" for up to a year! Would I buy it again?... with PDA cable and USB power adapter ( USB bought from mobileplanet.com or delorme.com)You bet, ... and up for anything that comes close or exceeds the Delorme package. and even if the Earthlink does quit, Street Altas will still give you a map to drive by. and the biggest thing I liked, Color, with a laptop, or a palm IIIc ( what I use) I get color. not found on other hand held GPS's until you get to the $500+ units. bang for the buck, this is it. if your pockets are deeper, get a Gamrin Streetpilot III if you dont have a laptop/pda Color does make a big differance while
driving. much easier to referance. I have not tried the addon plugin GPS's for PDA's from other companys, those will have color ir your PDA supports color, only actual garmin GPS handheld units. and my Delorme Earthmate with the palm IIIc.
PS, I have stated COMPUSA and other Vendors, I do not promote them. just happened to be where I purchased this unit. and is part of the senario of this experiance. ... Read more

Product Description

Choose from Two different Packages! The Blue Logger & Street Atlas 2005 or The Blue Logger & Street Atlas 2005 Handheld! With the Blue Logger GPS and Street Atlas USA 2005 you can create a GPS track while traveling on a route you've created. Street Atlas USA mapping software includes detailed and routable street maps of the entire U.S. This package combines the depth of map information and ease of use you need for great vacation planning, work traveling, or simplified map-making. With the Blue Logger and Street Atlas 2005 Handheld you can now experience the added security of always having exactly the maps you need, conveniently accessible on your handheld computer. The included desktop/laptop software provides detailed maps of the entire U.S. conveniently on CD-ROM, which you use to create exactly the maps and routes you want to synchronize to your PDA. For more Blue Logger packages with different mapping software please check out our Earthmate Z-Shop Today! ... Read more

Features

• With Blue Logger GPS you can keep track of where you, your car or other vehicle has gone!
• Data logging in-device for 50,000 points
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Sub-meter accuracy with GPS Post-Pro

Amazon.com Product Description

With the DeLorme Earthmate GPS receiver and Street Atlas USA 6.0 software, you'll never get lost again. Combined with any Macintosh laptop, the Earthmate receiver will show your location on detailed Street Atlas maps. You'll be even more mobile, with no Internet connection needed for address-to-address routes.

You can calculate routes based on a specific address, place name, ZIP Code, latitude/longitude, street intersection, or even area code and exchange. An arrow shows not only your location, but also your position in real time on street-level maps. Driving can be almost hands-free with voice-guided directions.

The Earthmate receiver is durably constructed in a moisture-resistant seal housing to ensure use in any travel condition. The receiver uses four AA batteries so other power sources can be used for the laptop. You can even attach the GPS receiver to your Palm OS handhelds, with optional software and cables.

The DeLorme Earthmate GPS receiver and Street Atlas USA 6.0 for Macintosh come with a one-year warranty. ... Read more

Features

• Expand your laptop with GPS capability
• Compact, moisture-resistant receiver
• Powered by 4 AA batteries
• Included software features voice-navigation
• Displays your location and position on street-level maps

Reviews (1)

Somewhat disappointing (note that you need a serial port)
I received this product for Christmas, 2000. In general, it's an okay product with quite a few quirks.

First off, I have a PowerBook G3 Series which has no built-in serial port. The product doesn't include a USB adapter, but you can buy one from the Delorme website .... They say it will be available in "late December," but it is now December 30 and they're still saying that on their website. I ended up buying a couple different adapters off the web (one ... which doesn't say so but did include Mac drivers, and the Keyspan USB PDA Adapter), but neither one provides power to the GPS so you have to put 4 AAA batteries into the unit for it to work.

The Street Atlas software works okay. Its user interface is mostly standard -- the menus are set up like you would expect, but it has some pretty odd "features:" you have to "Command-click" to get the pop-up menu on the map, for instance (instead of "Control-clicking" as is standard in Macintosh OS 9). Its location search features are okay, but they rely heavily on knowing a zip code and some are [non-obviously] sensitive to the area of the map being viewed and even the current magnification level.

Integration between the software and the GPS is okay. I've been using it a while and still don't understand how the connection is maintained between the two. It seems that whenever you check the GPS status, it re-initializes itself. The software shows your current position and direction right on the map. The logging features are pretty poor, however -- all you can do is record your route then play it back at normal speed (yes, you can actually watch where you went in the same amount of time it took to do it the first time) or at 10 or 50 times normal speed. There appears to be no way to display your whole track, so you can't make your own maps of trails very easily.

The worst news of all is this the _only_ GPS solution I can find for the Macintosh. If you think you still need it, be sure to read through the help files and manual when you get it because of the quirks in the interface. ... Read more