Never Get Lost Again

If you don't know much ‘bout geography, your notebook and the latest street atlases will help you drive from A to B, from here to there, or anywhere you need to be. TravRoute's Co-Pilot 2000, DeLorme's Street Atlas USA, and Rand McNally's StreetFinder Deluxe 2000 offer detailed street maps, sophisticated routing features, and GPS (global positioning system) receivers that show where you are, where you need to be, and where you're going.

We evaluated shipping versions of Co-Pilot 2000 and Street Atlas USA, and a beta of StreetFinder Deluxe 2000, and found that each had strengths and weaknesses, but if you often feel like a country cousin who's lost in the big city, they're competent and well worth the money.

Co-Pilot 2000
Among notebook navigators, Co-Pilot 2000 is the best here. The system's amazing voice capabilities bark out robotic-sounding directions that let you keep your eyes on the road. Even more impressive is the software's ability to recognize preset voice questions such as "Where am I?". In our testing, the program usually recognized our requests and accurately responded.

We found it easy to find addresses, and enter and edit routes, and Co-Pilot did the best job of using our test bed of one-way streets. Another plus was Co-Pilot's maps, which show businesses, schools, banks, colleges, and more in local areas (but offers no information on them).

The GPS receiver gave us excellent performance within its specifications. The software "snaps" your position to the closest road, which sometimes sets you in the wrong place, but it's the only program to attempt this. And when the GPS is accurate, it's reassuring to hear the exact name of the street you are driving on. Co-Pilot 2000 is relatively expensive at $399, but it's a true trailblazer.

Street Atlas USA
Street Atlas USA offers decent support for handheld devices, but can't compare to Co-Pilot's routing and navigation skills, or StreetFinder's local information database. As a result, it's headed in the right direction, but it's not a standout.

Street Atlas USA offers easy address search and route-planning tools, but it routed us the wrong way on some one-way streets. The program's ability to route the fastest, shortest, or most scenic routes is a plus, but our city-based tests using these three criteria often came up with similar routes. Helpful icons represent each freeway exit and a click on these show nearby restaurants and gas stations. While there's no info on these establishments (for that, you'll need to buy DeLorme's Phone Search USA), it's useful information.

Street Atlas USA is the only package that sends maps and directions to Palm and Win CE devices. However, these maps are bitmapped pictures that you can't zoom in on, which limits their usefulness.

The Earthmate GPS receiver gave us good performance that was within spec, but in our tests it wasn't as sensitive as the other receivers. On the considerable downside, DeLorme's GPS outputs a proprietary format that won't work with other programs and devices. It also uses batteries and lacks an on/off switch. You can get around using Street Atlas USA, but there are clearly better products on the map.

StreetFinder Deluxe 2000
StreetFinder Deluxe 2000 is a local expert that's armed with decent navigation tools. It offers thorough travel information and ratings from the Mobil Travel Guide so you can easily find data on local businesses and restaurants, including cuisine, phone numbers, ratings, and more—a plus for travelers.

Finding addresses is easy, as is using the routing features. The only downside is that you need to be connected to the Internet to create routes. As before, Rand McNally's GPS receiver offers solid performance that is comparable to the others. As you drive, StreetFinder displays a simple navigation screen with an on-screen compass, but can't tell you where to turn.

In this 2000 version, you can download maps to a Palm PDA. Unlike those from Street Atlas USA, these are vector-based maps that you may view at different levels, and even search for street addresses. While StreetFinder doesn't support Windows CE devices (other than for downloading directions), the Palm PDA maps are superior to those from Street Atlas USA. At under $100 for the software and GPS, StreetFinder Deluxe 2000 is a definite deal.

If you're lost, Co-Pilot offers the finest navigation tools at a considerable price, but you can also rely on StreetFinder 2000 for detailed travel information, solid directions, and impressive maps on a Palm device. In either event, you won't have to hurt your self-esteem by asking for directions again.

909-593-9675 e-mail:wkawamoto@earthlink.net