When a company produces an excellent product, it is hard to envisage how it might improve the next version other than updating the data. Yet, that is what DeLorme has been doing with its Street Atlas USA. Version 6 not only adds over 600,000 new streets or street names based on 911 information; but it also includes several new and improved features. The product comes on two CD‐ROMs, one for setup and the other for use. Putting the setup program on a separate disk makes more room for data on the runtime disk.
Street Atlas USA lets users locate any street in the USA, including Alaska and Hawaii, by drawing a box around a desired area and selecting smaller and smaller sections until one arrives at the desired magnification. One could also key a place name, Zip code, phone number (area code and exchange), or the latitude and longitude coordinates. With this edition, one can also locate intersections.
Users can pick starting and ending points to plot a route with maps and directions, as with DeLorme’s Map ‘n’ Go. Both products use the same database and interface; so buyers may mistake one for the other. Users will find travel markings (yellow diamonds, blue circles, or pink triangles) that have no meaning in Street Atlas USA and are, consequently, inactive.
In Map ‘n’ Go, however, these elements provide information on accommodation, restaurants, and points of interest corresponding to the AAA TourBook entries for those locations.
Travellers can manage stops and side trips and have the program calculate the quickest, shortest, most scenic, or preferred route, such as state highways rather than toll roads. Now, they can also select to travel over specific roads or by way of selected attractions with the new Via function. Travellers can also change their preferences to adjust their average speed on different types of roads in both urban and rural conditions.
Street Atlas USA can retrieve online updates for weather, road construction, and upcoming events, and displays appropriate symbols on the map. It seems the only thing it cannot do is adjust for local traffic patterns, such as rush hour traffic or accidents. The online feature also allows making travel reservations with Travelocity for car rental, airline tickets, and accommodation.
Version 6 has more information about exit services that include details on truck parking, RV parking, store types, scales, diesel fuel, car washes, and restaurant types in addition to banks, hotels, restaurants, parks, hospitals and health care facilities, campgrounds, personal services, service stations, AAA offices, etc. Travellers can use filters to locate any type of service within one, two, or five miles from any given location. This is a very useful feature that could help identify the nearest hospital, pharmacy, or service station in case of an emergency or a particular type of lodging, such as a campground, hotel, or motel. The product also has a feature to measure distances which can be expressed in English, metric, or nautical measurements.
New features include the ability to send route maps and directions to Windows CD or 3Com Palm Computing handheld computers. The new Solus Basic mapping application allows downloading a single map or route directions to a handheld computer. Solus Pro permits downloading multiple maps and multiple route directions. As one does not have access to all the data on the CD‐ROM with a handheld device, it is important to identify the size of a travel area and to determine whether the device will be able to store the number of maps. Solus Pro, used in conjunction with DeLorme Top USA, will permit creating and downloading topographic maps.
DeLorme also designed a new global positioning system (GPS) receiver, called Earthmate. About the size of a deck of cards, Earthmate and a handheld computer offer a highly portable navigation system that fits easily in a coat pocket. Earthmate and a laptop computer can guide travellers along chosen routes and allows re‐calculation when drivers go off course. One of my friends from Alabama had no trouble locating me at a vacation get‐away in New Hampshire this summer with her Street Atlas USA and GPS receiver. Street Atlas USA even permits voice navigation and alerts a driver to upcoming exits.
Street Atlas USA allows importing names and addresses from a contact manager or database and plotting their locations. It also links to Phone Search USA 4.0 to show the location of business or residential listings. Not only can travellers with the GPS accessories plot their routes and avoid getting lost; but they can also review their trip at the end of the day to refresh their memory about the stops they made and the clients they visited. Despatchers can identify the vehicle closest to a pickup or delivery point or determine whether drivers make unwarranted stops or take too long for lunch breaks. Street Atlas USA is indispensable for business travellers, people in the transport industry, and frequent travellers. Librarians will find it a very useful tool to locate obscure streets, hard‐to‐find places, and street intersections quickly. It can replace dog‐eared and well‐worn paper street atlases and allow patrons to leave with a personal map and directions.
