Laptop GPS World

I just bought a new tabletPC to replace my aging HP TC1100, and based on my good experiences with my nuvi 760 with MSN, I decided to give S&T 2008 with Connected Services a try. The following comments are based on just a couple of days use, so please take them as preliminary. I'll check back in several weeks when I've had a chance to accumulate more extensive experience...

As will be obvious in a moment, I live in the greater St. Louis area. I've been using our local MSN traffic feed since late last year and I have documented some of my experiences in the thread:

Which Is Better: TMC or MSN Direct?

Based on my background research, S&T CS seems to get a bad rap because of poor-quality MSN feeds. Everyone seems to be happy with S&T itself, though, so I won't comment further on that for the moment (but I am interested to see how well S&T routes with the additional information from MSN).

Regarding the CS portion of S&T, everything seems to work well for me. While some people express disappointment in the MSN content, here's what I see with Connected Services:



Since I'm mostly on freeways, this metro traffic display is worth every penny of the cost!

If I have any criticism of S&T CS at the moment, it's probably the clunky GPS / MSN receiver module and it's hawser-like connecting cable. The module itself is fine; reasonably compact and streamlined. But it has no mounting base... just a clunky suction cup on the cable, which is completely inadequate! What MS needs to include is a weighted base much like Garmin (and others) use for their GPS units.

And that brings us to the connecting cable, which features two!! heavy ferrite filters and some sort of small electronics box on a cable that is both thick and stiff. Seriously, they couldn't figure out BlueTooth for this thing? The cable alone will pull the reciever module off your dashboard... unless you're prepared to use SuperGlue!

Well, we'll see how this all works. For now, S&T 2008 with MSN looks like a winner, at least in my area. The connectivity of the receiver module to your laptop leaves a lot to be desired, though.

I'll come back with more. later...

Steve, thanks much for the feedback and the screenshot. I see that quite many of the major highways in your area do have traffic flow data (but not all). In my town (Toronto, Canada) , when Streets & Trips with Connected Services first released, we had no traffic coverage at all. A few months passed - and now we do. The traffic speeds data is limited to only a few kilometers of one single highway (for now), but traffic incidents data seems to be available pretty much everywhere in and around my city - all highways and major roads, too.

I don't think the current 2008 version of Streets & Trips takes traffic into consideration when it generates a route. The traffic info is displayed on the map, and based on what you see you can decide whether or not to take a particular highway, but the computer will not do it for you. Neither will Streets & Trips 2008 w/Connected Services notify you of a traffic incident while driving - more features will hopefully follow in future versions (2009?).

I personally don't mind the hardware. It's USB so it takes power from the PC (no need to charge battery or plug to cigarette lighter). But I can imagine that for some setups Bluetooth would be preferable. Perhaps if/when there is more demand, Pharos will make even a Bluetooth version.

Steve, are you now switching from using your PND to using your new TabletPC with Streets & Trips for your navigation purposes? I'm looking for more of your feedback on the Connected Services version!

Anyone else has already tried Streets & Trips 2008 with Connected Services?

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Marvin Hlavac

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

Thanks for the updates. I bought the 2007 version a while back (for the hardware mainly) and totally stopped using it after trying IG.
I wish they'll figure out a drivers (touchscreen) interface rather then this "planning software" look. but it's all been said B4

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Thinkpad X41 Carputer ~ IG4
Montreal ~ QC

<<...I see that quite many of the major highways in your area do have traffic flow data (but not all)...>>

Marvin: Curiously, it varies from day to day! For several weeks in January, one of the major freeways had no data reported at all, and then abruptly it was back on line. I have no idea why. Also, although it isn't shown on this particular screen shot, we do get occasional accident and stoppage data for some of the major arterial streets and roads, too...

<<...I don't think...Streets & Trips takes traffic into consideration when it generates a route...>>

...That's certainly a disappointment! One would expect better from MS... or, maybe not...! In any event, I'll give it a try and see if anything different happens.

<<...Steve, are you now switching from using your PND to using your new TabletPC with Streets & Trips for your navigation purposes?..>>

...You know, I honestly can't say, yet. I had simply planned to try this all out... I hadn't thought ahead to what I might do about it...! In the past, I've always used S&T for static route planning... just figuring out how I was going to get from Point A to Point B the next day. I had assumed that S&T with the MSN feed would do dynamic re-routing, but if it doesn't, then that's not too useful while you're on the go, is it? I'll let you know what I think in several weeks...

Steve, check the following posting here at the site: Streets & Trips 2009 may automatically route around traffic

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Marvin Hlavac

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

Well, it's been about six weeks, and I promised that I would return with more comments, but I'm not quite ready, yet. Still, I will share a few of my opinions at this moment:

<> S&T works fine, and the MSN feed works fine, but as Marvin commented above, they don't work together! What kind of utility (or logic) does that represent?!?? S&T 2008 CS still happily tries to route me through sections of the freeway that MSN reports as closed! This issue, alone, makes this version of S&T unsuitable for my mobile needs. Microsoft needs to fix this, and fix it as soon as possible!!

<> Even when the above issue is fixed, S&T 200x CS will not be suitable for mobile use unless it is paired with a suitable portable computer! At a minimum, that computer will need: 1) A screen that is large enough to take advantage of S&T's large map presentations. 2) A bright screen, so that the map can be seen in the daytime, and... 3) Touch screen capability, with a relatively light touch needed. As of this writing, I only know of one mobile computer that I would consider suitable (but your opinion might be different).

<> Even so, Microsoft needs to make S&T more touch-capable / friendly by implementing more icons and buttons that are sized for your finger, rather than a pen or a mouse cursor. S&T's "Full Screen Navigation" display doesn't cut it.

So, to answer Marvin's question about whether I am changing from my nüvi PND to S&T on a tabletPC, the answer is "no," and it will remain so until Microsoft gets S&T 200x CS working dynamically with its traffic feed. Anything less is... illogical...!


Oh. And I was too hasty when I said the connecting cable was "hawser-like." I should have said that the connecting cable was BULL-hawser-like...!!! That's another thing that Microsoft should attend to...!

Hi Steve,

If you are already a Garmin Nuvi user you should check out Garmin's new Mobile PC package. If you already own the S&T 2008 package with USB GPS, Mobile PC works very happily with that GPS receiver. If it's already plugged in when you run Mobile PC, it finds it and starts using it immediately ... no setup junk, no port sharing programs, no Garmin protocol conversion, no muss, no fuss.

It includes some sort of connected stuff like the S&T package but I'm not sure what all it involves. I live in Regina so I have no need for, nor interest in, that stuff.

You might find some of the threads interesting in the "Garmin nroute & Mobile PC" forum (just click up to the "Software Discussions" index and you'll see it).

...ken...

ken: Thanks for the tip! I'm aware of the Garmin product, but haven't taken a very close look at it; guess I'll do that.

Thanks again...

I just double-checked, the new Garmin Mobile PC doesn't have any traffic implementation at all. Let's hope it will come in future releases. However, as Ken said, it does have some on-line services. When users connect to the Internet they may be able to check the current weather, and weather forecast for the next few days in their GPS location, or in their destination, or in any other location. Hotel rates, Flight Status, Fuel Prices, and Safety Cameras are other services which may, or may not be available, based on location. The Safety Cameras is a paid service available only in Europe.

Steve, I share your disappointment, but let's wait what Microsoft Streets and Trips 2009 will bring this fall.

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Marvin Hlavac

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