It has never been easier to convince myself that I needed a GPS receiver and an excellent mapping program for my laptop computer, since I must be the "master" at getting lost (even in my own city).

I had read several online reviews about mapping software and had originally intended to purchase Street Atlas 7.0. with the Earthmate GPS receiver for a MSRP of $149.95 from outpost.com. Since I could not wait for the product to arrive and had a trip to go on...I decided to check out my local stores to see if they carried this product. Unfortunately, all that I found was the Street Atlas software without the GPS receiver.

After visiting several stores and not finding what I wanted, I settled on purchasing Rand McNally's Streetfinder software with GPS receiver bundle for $99.95 at Office Max. I figured this should be the same thing that I was looking for, since it came from a company who has been in the map making business for so many years.

Unfortunately, I was completely disappointed... the Streetfinder software is completely ugly compared to Street Atlas 7.0. I was so disappointed in fact, that I went back to the store and purchased the Street Atlas software as an addition.

Luckily, Street Atlas 7.0. works with a wide range of GPS receivers. It communicates with the Rand McNally receiver without any problems.

Now to the software... Street Atlas is truly amazing! Once you learn the many features that this program has to offer...you will be wondering how you could have ever gone on a road trip without this software.

Connect a GPS receiver and see where you are anywhere in the United States. Enter your destination address and Street Atlas will calculate the quickest route, shortest route, scenic route or a route set to your preferences.

It will keep track of the distance traveled, your speed, miles left to travel and the time it will take to reach your destination etc. A green arrow shows the direction of travel and where you are currently located on the map as you drive.

The best part about this software is that it can speak the directions to you if you are using a multimedia laptop. For example the computer will say "turn left on Miller road" or "Miller Road approaching in 47 seconds" before you come across that road to make sure you have plenty of time to change lanes if necessary.

If you just happen to miss a turn or wander of course - the computer will say "You are off route, recalculating directions from present location". The back on track feature recalculates the directions and makes sure you get back on track to where you are going. Awesome feature!

This software works and I highly recommend it! The speech feature alone makes it worth the money... you won't get into a wreck while trying to figure out your location on a map or on screen, since the computer voice guides you.

This program includes so many features that I really cannot even begin to touch on them in this review... a short list of key features follows:

- Locate places by street address, street intersection, placename, area code, latitude/longitude or zip code.

- Create address to address routes directly from within the program without needing to go online.

- Almost 3 million points of interest included (hotels, gas stations, malls, parks, schools, etc.)

- Print detailed maps and plans.

- Works with many GPS receivers (DeLorme, Garmin, Magellan and many others).

- Upload single maps to Palm handhelds and Windows CE organizers.














Recommended: Yes