Laptop GPS World

I have Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 which has a Pocket PC program and can export for that. I am looking at the 2008 version but I don't see any Pocket Streets program. Am I missing something. If they do have one then is it possible to export a planned trip from the PC to PPC and have it do the turn by turn?

Hi pivaska,

Welcome to Laptop GPS World.

No, you are not missing anything. Pocket Streets hasn't been included in Streets & Trips for a while now (past two or three versions). You can still use your old Pocket Streets version, and the current Streets and Trips 2008 will still export maps for you.

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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 info. I should upgrade more often. So I am believing that there isn't anymore support for Pocket Streets then??? If not then where would the best forum for PS be? I need to get a couple of questions answered like should a planned "route" from point a to b exported to PS? Can I get it to export larger maps even though it says that the map is too large for exporting. The most I can get is around 6 megs.

Thanks again for your help on this. This is a great site and forum!

Pocket Streets has been dropped as a product. It has never been intended for anything other than simple map viewing. The intention seems to have been for walking around in a dense city -- hence, no routes. The program was written for the Pocket PCs of 2000, before such things as SD cards, hence the size limit.

Occasionally Pocket Streets will come up on the microsoft.public.streets-trips newsgroup. The product is four years old, so don't expect too much. The people there will probably tell you about the same thing as I'm telling you here.

Basically, the PDA is going away. The Microsoft-recommended solution is undoubtedly to use Live Maps on a smartphone with a data plan. People without smartphones use dedicated devices. Laptop planning still has a nice niche, enough to support incremental annual revisions to S&T, but nothing major like what Office went through in 2007. Ah, well, sometimes you and I are much smarter than the market, which turns its back on good products!

Thanks for the info. I believe that says it all about the smartphone being the replacement for the PDA. I am still not giving up yet however the Blackberry Thunder has my eye if it is anywhere close to what the rumors are saying. In any case I have decided to try iGuidance for the IPAQ. We just ordered it today and we'll see how it goes. Thanks again for all of your info.

Microsoft discontinued Pocket Streets, Mapopolis PDA GPS navigation software was discontinued, TomTom discontinued it's PDA GPS software. Who's going to be next?

Few years ago PDAs were sold everywhere, now I don't see much of them in stores anymore . But I see more and more Ultra-Portable Laptops and Ultra-Mobile PCs .

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Marvin Hlavac

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

I have a Dell XPS M1210 which I used for the first time today in my car with S&T 2008 to see how "things work" with navigation. Positioning the laptop would be the biggest problem. I have a 1999 Sierra GMC truck and I can see how inconvenient it is to look down at the screen when a recalc on the route is taking place. What might be nice is to have a 6 inch screen mounted on a window holder that is hooked to the laptop. Of course there is the problem with a keyboard and a mouse and on and on. Well, more trial and error ahead.

Touchscreen is a viable solution for navigation. On-screen keyboards reduce the need for a keyboard, though of course they're not nearly as fast as typing. There are lots of "carputer" enthusiasts around, see, e.g. http://www.mp3car.com/

If you don't want to permanently install a carputer, there are lots of people who use UMPCs (touchscreen), or Tablet PCs (mostly active stylus, but some also have touchscreens). Alternative form factors have really developed in the three years since you last bought a copy of Streets and Trips.

RAM sells excellent vehicle mounts. On the front page http://www.ram-mount.com/ select the year of your car or truck, specify make and model, and you will be presented with available choices of mounts.

If you don't want to buy a mount, but you'd rather create something inexpensively... if there is a will, there is a way... Always... Check out how Richard mounted his Ultra-Mobile PC to his bike(!): http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/gps-ha...avigation.html. If he can attach his computer to his motorcycle, you can for sure attach your computer inside your truck .

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Marvin Hlavac

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

Really great ideas from both. I went to all the websites and now I have to sit back and decide what I want to do. Just as when you start replacing a light switch in a room in your house all of a sudden the job has become a project because there is more that you want to do this also has become more. I am now considering getting a new truck and starting with that. However my truck only has 153K miles on it and should be good for another 100K. Well, one good thing is that I don't have to do anything right away and can take my time. I'm am going to think about docking my laptop in my truck and using a touch screen mounted somewhere. I will keep posting my "adventure."