New version DeLorme Street Atlas 2009

Ken,
Please pardom my ignorance, but I am fairly new to this stuff. I have used S&T 2002 and recently purchased S&T 2008 and have used them to plot vacation routes and not specific addresses. I just haven't had that need in the past, but I am preparing to take a long trip to unfamiliar territory where address lookup might be handy.
I just tried Marvin's addresses and some US addresses in S&T and the same problem was there. I thought the value of a mobile GPS was to be able to get to a specific site in an unknown location without first having to use a map to find it. If I don't know the location, then I probably can't look up the postal code either.
I do plan to buy SA 2009 due to some quirks in S&T that I don't like. At least I am now forewarned about problems before I buy.

Buddy

In the case of Street Atlas USA 2009, the address find problem discussed earlier in this thread only presents itself in Canada, not in the US.

I was just reading on another site about the Plus phone list. It mentioned the 150 million phone numbers, but then said that 1000 can be imported at a time. Does that mean that you only have access to 1000 at a time or is that in addition to the 150 million?

Cougar

You only can map or export 1000 phone records at a time. You can search the entire set of listings by state, address, phone number, area code, city or even yellow page heading.

Shannon,
Thanks for the clarification.

Cougar

A little of my history: I had never actually seen a GPS device in person. Last weekend, I was researching for offline atlas software for a summer RV trip (3/4 Lake Superior trip). I ran across DeLorme and 'Street Atlas'; then ran across the LT-40 bundle on their site. I wasn't looking for a GPS, but I do like new toys and it was not unreasonably priced. In researching the LT-40, I ran across this forum and read the threads (especially this one).

What tipped my hand into buying the bundle instead of just the atlas was seeing Shannon in this thread, plain and simple. I think I'm fairly computer-literate and have patience to deal with idiosyncrasies, so sometimes the 'little things' make the difference for me.

I ordered the bundle Saturday night, it arrived yesterday, and I spent 3 hours last night playing with it and planning the summer trip (adding the four campground stopovers and the destination of the cottage [sounds like it's north of Marvin, how's that for small world]).

This morning, I used the bundle (laptop on the passenger seat) to drive to work (flawless 20 mile trip). 3-D and everything (it was difficult to keep my eyes on the road instead of the laptop screen -- next time my wife will have to drive me around so I can really play with my new toy).

I don't have a big review or anything; I don't have anything to compare the LT-40 to; so far I've just done some basic planning and use, nothing really major yet.....I'm really just posting here to let Shannon know that your posts here snagged my purchase. Sorry I don't have a lot to add.

congratulations on your purchase of the 2009 edition. this is the first year that the LT-40 has been offered as a GPS receiver, fact is it has been on the market about a month, although similar receivers are on the market. you will find that the acquisition times from a cold start are very fast! I use mine attached to a laptop, the receiver I leave plugged into a USB port, and by the time the computer is booted up, several satellites have been found and locked in. While moving I get at least 8 WAAS enabled birds. you will find the DeLorme quite an accurate system, and be glad that you have 2009, it is very user friendly and has more than enough features and toys..

leighma, welcome to Laptop GPS World. Thanks for your feedback, and yes, Shannon's way of communicating here at the forum is a sample of what you can expect from DeLorme. It's refreshing to see a company not afraid of talking with its customers publicly online.

Hi Shannon,

With due respect for your more intimate knowledge of your product, the problem I specifically mentioned (having difficulty searching when you don't know the municipal boundaries) usually applies in any large metropolitan area where you have one contiguously populated geographic area that is really multiple municipal entities (cities/towns) that have physically grown together. I'll bet that even in Street Atlas USA 2009 it's as big a problem in, say, Boston as it is in Toronto.

It's not the fault of any of the data or program providers. It's simply a reality that we all need to find ways to deal with.

If you're having problems getting a hit on an address you know exists, in those products which allow you to omit the city name in address searches, that's the next thing to try. It takes a little longer for the search and you may get multiple hits, but it gives you the best chance of getting a hit.

In those products which insist on a city name for an address search, the best thing we can do is pester the manufacturer mercilessly to correct that particular deficiency.

...ken...

Ken-

Agreed. The issue in Canada not withstanding, the more detailed information you provide Street Atlas in the find tab, the more accurate the results, so providing a zip code/postal code for what you are looking for will most likely provide you with what you are trying to find. If you don't know where in Boston something is, but you know it is on US 1, Find will provide you lots of options of what it thinks you are looking for, but a section of US 1 in Melrose (a suburb of Boston) would not show up in the results.

I hope that helps to clarify.

Hello All!

I am a SA 2007 user and have been fairly happy with the program. I usually use my PDA (Windows Mobile 5 on an HP iPaq2750) with SA moblie instead of the laptop option.

I was wondering how close the Windows Mobile interface looks compared to some of the screen shots that Delorme shows for laptops on their web site or even some of the screen shots here for the UMPC's? It would be nice to have an idea if it would be worth my time to upgrade or if the interface looks the same.

I really appreciate everyones candid comments, suggestions and recommendations. It's refreshing to join such a mature group!

Cheers,

-Dean

Dean-

Not exactly sure what screen shots you have seen, but I'm guessing it is the ones showing the new NavMode, this feature is only a desktop feature and not in Street Atlas USA Handheld 2009.

Shannon

Received my 2009 Plus today and got it loaded. It hasn't taken long to get frustrated and disappointed. Hopefully, it is something that can be changed but so far I haven't found a way. I am finding very few gas stations at interstate intersections. Some of them are showing up as food stores. I am more interested in knowing where the gas stations are and the brand of gas.
A good example is at exit 313 on I81 in VA. On Rt 50E there are at least 5 major brand gas stations within 1/4 mile of the Interstate.
I don't want to have to do a "Find". I want a display like S&T so that I can see them at a quick glance.
Please advise if there is something that I have failed to do.
Also when I enter Petit Jean State Park, as a destination, I would expect the program to find something as unique as that name without me having to do an "Advanced, Find".
At this point I am wondering if I should return the product.

Cougar-

I did a search for Petit Jean State Park (I did not include a state or province) in the Find tab and was directed to Petit Jean State Park in Morrilton, AR, is that the one you were looking for?

Could you explain a bit more what you mean by I want to display the major brand of gas stations? Do you mean rather than searching for an exit service? I'm sorry I am not understanding exactly what you mean.

Thanks,

Shannon