New version DeLorme Street Atlas 2009

hi, i am new to this board, but i have tried to read as much as i can.

i am looking at a laptop / pda solution, and was considering this combo:

buy an i.trek m7, and buy SA 2009. will they work on my IPAQ 2210 and HP Laptop with XP?

THanks.

That combination will definitely work on your laptop. I don't know about your iPaq because I'm a Palm guy.

...ken...

I have an iPaq 210 (WM6), iTrek M7 and SA2009. The iPaq works fine with the iTrek and SA2009 on the iPaq sees the iTrek. If I could figure out how the handheld export of maps works with this device, I'd have to say you shouldn't have a problem.

Terry

I manually copied the created export file to the iPaq and everything works fine. One of these days I'll figure out how the export is supposed to work over Activesync but for now, I can say SA2009 works with the iTrek M7 on a WM6 device.

Terry

thanks for the info. my pda has wm5 tho, its not 6. i am going to the store to buy the sa 2009 software, and hopefully it will work.

another question : how much space do I need on the PDA?
like what size SD card?

cause i am looking at some deals and determining what size SD card i need.
thanks.

This is one area where SA does a good job. The map is broken into quite small sections and you can export as much or as little as you want. If you want the whole thing on an SD card, I would have to guess around 1 to 2G based on what other mapping programs need.

Since SA PPC appears to be able to look in a variety of locations for its maps, the easiest way would be to compile the maps and transfer them using a card reader rather than Activesync. This is always more reliable and faster due to less overhead.

Terry

thanks for the info... very much appreciated!
my ipaq has a limit of not being able to use SDHC, so that limits me to i think 2 gb cards.
but since it should fit, and i can choose the regions i want, thats even better!

now to find me a deal on a card! here comes black friday.

ok, here's my review of the handheld version.

i am fairly disappointed with the handheld version.
i have an ipaq 2210/2215 (same thing). It has windows ce 4.2
the SA2009 comes with a .cab for the ce42, so that was not the issue.

i live in houston,tx, so i exported a map of entire state of texas. it was 16 MB. trying to create routes was painfully slow, so much that the PDA would time out.

so instead, i decided to export a map only of the greater houston area. that map was 25 MB ... WHY??

and that ran even more slowly.
I had purchased a 2 GB SD card which is fairly highspeed, and thought I could just copy all the map files onto that and it would go through it similarly to a database, but that wasn't the case.

the laptop version syncs with my i.trek m7 very quickly, whereas the handheld version does not. even though the bluetooth connection is good, the software sometimes says it cannot find the gps device.

and, overall, i wasn't happy with the performance on the handheld.

ugh.

btw -- happy thanks giving

I'm surprised it is so slow. I never tried it as I have Garmin XT already, a far better display. However SA supplies both PDA and laptop software in one package so Garmin is more than twice as expensive if you want Mobile PC as well. XT also has no problem finding my GPS but the version I have requires a Garmin model (GPS 10x).

I haven't seen iGuidance 2009 on a PDA. v4 looks good but requires you to load the entire map to a card rather than by section as SA and XT do. Both v3 and v4 use older Navteq data which is not suitable for my area. The Bluetooth GPS works great with them.

Terry

2009-

I am guessing that the difference in the file size between cutting all of TX and cutting Houston has to do with the grid size that you chose to select the area. In the Handheld Export tab on the left hand side you can choose different grid sizes. As you switch between these- the detail of the data cut is indicated. The more detailed the data, the larger the file size.

Also, if you choose the Options button on the right hand side of the Handheld Export Tab you can choose to include imagery (if you have any for the area)- this will also increase the size of the map cut.

Hope that helps.

-Shannon

I have two problems with the software

1) The maps are old. From 2008 and 2009 there is no difference in my area. There are train tracks that show up in both 2008 and 2009 that have not been there for 15 years. The funny thing is that the road that replaced the tracks are there but the train track remained. That is not by bigges problem.

2) I find when you use the software it is showing me driving through houses and everything but on the road. I used it once to go to a city and on the highway the software thought I was driving off the road and would have to show me how to get back on the road. This happened every 100 yards or so. When I use MS Streets and Trips I am on the road 95% of the time. Street Atlas 2008 and 2009 it is 95% I am off the side of the road. The problem is that when I add Geocaching info to the map it is shown on the wrong side of streets. When I start the software the software shows that I live on the other side of the street. We are talking 200 ft off the mark. Streets and Trips is on the mark. The funny thing is is I am using the GPS that came in the package with Street Atlas. It is not the GPS that is the problem.

The sad part is I like Street Atlas better. It has a nicer feel to it and better options. Also it comes with a PDA version. I can't use it also because the same problem is with it also.

I have had DeLorme Street Atlas 2009 for some time and find the graphics such as interstate & road number markers to look "cartoonish" as opposed to the more "solid" appearance of the 2007 version. Is this due to something I missed in setting up 2009 ? If not, is there anyway I can use the 2007 version and get the 2009 updates added to it ?

Saurus-

Are you seeing these "cartoonish" graphics when you are navigating with a gps or playing back a gps log?

If that is when you are seeing them, you can go back to the look and feel of 2007 with the 2009 updates by clicking on the button in the toolbar that is a road driving into the distance, it is next to the start/stop GPS button and is called Toggle NavMode On/Off.

Hope that helps.

Shannon

Me too. I went from Streets and Trips 2007 to Street Atlas 2009, hoping for fresher maps. Such is not the case for the most part. Very misleading and disappointing.

Also, my software seems to have ADD. When I set up a route, my stops are not determined by geographic order sometimes. If i happen to get too close to another stop, whether or not I have been there yet, it starts re-routing me to it. Very frustrating. Is there a way to set a route, and have the software cooperate with me? I got GPS because I don't like to get lost and turn around all the time. I thought the software would....I don't know...navigate or something. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.