Where are all the POI's in DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2009 Plus?

I just purchased SA USA 2009 Plus and set up a trip that I have also set up in MS S&T 2007. When I search for POI's, i.e. restaurants, about a location, I get very few locations compared to my S&T search. What gives? This program supposedly has two year newer maps, and I assume, newer POI files yet it doesn't seem to hold a candle to S&T in this respect.

Right now I'm attributing this performance to my inexperience with the program but a POI search seems to be a simple thing to do. Are there secrets I don't know about yet?

Hi phays,

to Laptop GPS World.

Even though the DeLorme Street Atlas 2009 map data may be 2 years fresher than that of Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007, it is possible that in some areas the data may be worse, and in other areas it may be better. The two products are not based on map data from the same source. Microsoft licenses map data by Navteq, and DeLorme creates its own maps.

What you say may well be true. I've done a few more POI searches and the disparity between the two are not always as great. However, S&T2007 consistently finds more restaurants. I could say that this could be an indication that SA is tracking the restaurants that are still in business, but I really don't think that 30 to 50% of the restaurants have closed between the time S&T's data was generated and the new listings in SA2009.

Where I live, S&T2007 has a McDonald's and a Courtyard in the wrong place on their map. SA2009 has the exact same error. If their map sources are from different places, it looks like at least some of their raw data comes from the same place.

They are all there, just turned off. For some reason Delorme opted to only enable a small number of the POI's. I'm not in front of it at the moment but if you go to the options and then map settings, advanced you can turn on all of the POI's

.......Chris

Hi Chris,

That's a good tip. I wasn't aware of that.

I noticed in SA2008 Plus that it does stuff to keep searches from taking too long, both in the map and in the phone book. The trouble is, that's a nuisance if things are set so it doesn't even look at information it already has. What's the point of a quick search if it's only quick because it's ignoring it's own data???

It's something DeLorme might want to rethink, I think.

...ken...