Laptop GPS World

From the UK here. Autoroute 2008 has been dropped by Microsoft. My feelings are that it is not popular here in the UK and Europe. Whenever you buy a PC here it is almost always bundled for free with MS Works, though an out-dated version usually 1 year behind.

Does anyone know the future of Microsoft Autoroute?
I personally find it to be very good. Though people often report bugs with our POST Code system which MS does nothing about, apparently bugs from 2002 still exist!

Im thinking of changing to Garmin Mobile 10 for laptops, but there is no demo about and only one place is selling the Europe version in the UK.

Cheers,

Hi pow1983,

Welcome to Laptop GPS World.

Yes, no product is perfect, not even Microsoft AutoRoute, but it would be a big loss for users if it were discontinued. There is no other product that could replace the functionality of AutoRoute. Various laptop GPS navigation software programs are available, but Microsoft AutoRoute is quite unique. I hope MSFT will not discontinue it.

Having said that, it has been about 4 months since the expected release date of Microsoft AutoRoute 2008. I'm not going to guess if AR will get discontinued or not, I have no inside info. I will just list what I've heard. The following is not an official info from MSFT, so please treat it as such.

* At the time users were expecting AutoRoute 2008 to be released (approximately October 2007), I was told by someone that AutoRoute 2008 would not be released, but the person had no knowledge of AutoRoute 2009 or any further details.

* Another unrelated person told me (November 2007) that he heard AutoRoute would now be released just like MapPoint - once per two years.

* About 3 weeks ago (February 2008) a user at http://www.mapforums.com/18738-post8.html posted in a discussion about the future of MS MapPoint 2008 version the following: "Have just been updated by our software supplier who has spoken to Microsoft that Autoroute is not on the Microsoft Roadmap (how ironic for a map product!) and that there MAY be an update (to MapPoint) this year, but they could provide no further information and if at all it would be in Q4! Don't hold your breath!"

None of the above is any official information, so none of it may tell us the (full) story. And we still don't know for a fact if AR is discontinued, or if it is just delayed, or if it is now on a once-per-two years schedule.

__________________
Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

Thanks for the welcome!

Great info even if not official.
It will be quite interesting to see what happens in the future, maybe I should just hold on to AR 2007 for the rest of this year and see what or if anything develops.

Microsoft could go so much further with AR & ST. An old collegue recommended it above all else and to be honest I was sceptical but wow after 4-5 years of use I've never found anything better. I use it for any trip work & leisure, or for being nosy, it is extremely useful.

Some problems I see with AR:

• It isnt marketed at all over here. You never see it in magazines, billboards or anything driver/map related.
• The UK website they have for the product makes it look out-dated. There is so little information or attempts to make it look appealing.
• There is no community. Microsoft are reasonably good with their communities such as Office. The Office community is always getting free updates, tutorials, templates, etc... etc...
• They never produce map updates, it took a few product versions to get a major motorway put on the map.

The market over here for Sat Nav is huge!!!! To me there is still a gap that no-one is filling and could be filled by MS.

It's not just Autoroute. In a sense, Streets & Trips does not sell well either, although it likely sells better than Autoroute. Sales quantities are much lower (certainly not tens of millions like Windows or Office), and revenue per copy is also much lower (tens of dollars/euros vs. hundreds for Windows/Office to thousands for the likes of Exchange Server). For a giant such as Microsoft, Streets & Trips/Autoroute is small potatoes. It's so small, in fact, that it does not even justify its own development team -- the team is split between Mappoint, Streets & Trips/Autoroute, and Virtual Earth.

Streets & Trips has reached a stable point, where it sells well enough to justify yearly map updates with minor feature updates, but no more. Maybe there's another stable point with much higher profits, but that'd require major investment. And who's to say that there's actually a vast untapped market for laptop navigation, with the competition from self-contained GPS devices? "Good enough" is the enemy of "good."

Your first three points are very valid. Microsoft has never been good at market development. Marketing tends to be staid and unimaginative, with a focus on feature tables with checkboxes. That's useful for someone considering a competitor, but it doesn't drive someone to buy the product in the first place.

Your last point reflects a common misconception about Streets & Trips/Autoroute. Microsoft does not generate the maps -- it buys them from companies that specialize in digital maps. Similar products will suffer similar map problems (though not necessarily in the same areas, if they buy their maps from a different source).

It's not just Autoroute. In a sense, Streets & Trips does not sell well either, although it likely sells better than Autoroute. Sales quantities are much lower (certainly not tens of millions like Windows or Office), and revenue per copy is also much lower (tens of dollars/euros vs. hundreds for Windows/Office to thousands for the likes of Exchange Server). For a giant such as Microsoft, Streets & Trips/Autoroute is small potatoes. It's so small, in fact, that it does not even justify its own development team -- the team is split between Mappoint, Streets & Trips/Autoroute, and Virtual Earth.

Streets & Trips has reached a stable point, where it sells well enough to justify yearly map updates with minor feature updates, but no more. Maybe it's true that "the market over [there] for Sat Nav is huge!" But there's another stable point with much higher profits, but who's to say that this is true of laptop navigation in particular? What about competition from self-contained GPS devices, or cell phones with GPS embedded? "Good enough" is the enemy of "good." Streets & Trips/Autoroute may have more features, but if people can get mapping in a more convenient form factor, then it'll be hard to get them to buy S&T/Autoroute (and really, a dash-mounted device, or a handheld that can suction-cup onto the windshield, is much more convenient than a laptop).

Your first three points are very valid. Microsoft has never been good at market development. Marketing tends to be staid and unimaginative, with a focus on feature tables with checkboxes. That's useful for someone considering a competitor, but it doesn't drive someone to buy the product in the first place.

Your last point reflects a common misconception about Streets & Trips/Autoroute. Microsoft does not generate the maps -- it buys them from companies that specialize in digital maps. Other products will suffer similar map problems, including online maps. (However, the problems may occur in different places because the various map vendors each have strengths and weaknesses.)

Hi taoyue
Great info.

I believe they purchase the maps from the Ordinance Survey over here.
The thing that annoys me is Google Maps is free. Although it doesnt have very many features and is online based unlike AR & S&T, the maps do seem quite complete and very accurate. You also get the option to change to a photographic birds eye view of the area. I havnt had to pay a penny for it.

Google Maps also buys external data. Its quality will vary vis-a-vis Microsoft S&T/Mappoint/Virtual Earth depending on where in the world you're looking.

Streets & Trips/Autoroute don't get a massive subsidy from web ads. Their sales revenues have to cover 100% of the development costs, plus a little extra for profit. Google, in contrast, is quite happy to let revenues cover as little as 0% of costs for any one product, and for years on end. (Google News, for example, serves no ads, so it makes a 100% loss). Since its web search already holds a dominant position in the market, the cross-subsidy doesn't really make an indirect profit center viable. Google Maps does serve ads, but the costs are so much higher compared to web search that the ads probably cover closer to 0% of costs than to 100%.

Consumers tend to look at one number -- the price. This sometimes leads to well-known adverse results (e.g. monopoly telecoms providers giving selective discounts to kill off an overbuild). The danger is that this "free free free" business will kill off entire categories of client software and leave us with only server-delivered applications. But, hey, who am I to complain about the wave of the future: everything will be free, on the web, and paid for by ads.

Here's an update on Microsoft AutoRoute 2008, AutoRoute 2009, AutoRoute 2010, etc.

__________________
Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

I am sad to learn that MSFT is discontinuing AutoRoute as a stand-alone product. I assume the product profitability just wasn't there. Low sales volume or whatever. I'm glad I have mine before the curtain comes down.

However, it would be great if MSFT would bundle it with Streets and Trips as an expanded product. Perhaps it could be marketed as something grander than just the ordinary S&T, such as "Universal" or some other hyperbolic designation, with an additional $10 or $20 added to the MSRP. The economics might work then. After all, the AR product development costs to date would not have to be written off if they are part of the continuing product line.

Another development might be an English/French language option. That would be useful in Canada even without Europe. I had an early version of AR that did give the user the option, so why not re-instate?

Streets & Trips is sold in Canada at present -- shouldn't it already be available in French? Switch your Windows language to French (Canada) and see what happens.