I have a laptop and want to put GPS Navigation on it. What software and gps antenna do you recommend? It has Windows XP on it and I don't want to waste my money on something that halfway works. Any recommendations?

 

I think there's a program package called Street Atlas, comes with USB GPS atenna I believe.

 

I've found a lot of packages out there, but I don't know which software is going to do everything that I want it to. Some don't specify what the features of the software are, so I don't know which to buy. I want to know which of the softwares is best.

 

this is WAY off topic but i just had to say this, vt_hokie2008, i was rooting for your boys Saturday. They were just beating up on USC. what happened? ok. sorry about getting off topic so much.

 

Yea, they did do pretty good against the #1 team and made them work for a win. Wish we could have beat them, but their 2 or 3 big breaks gave them the win. I think we did awesome considering we're a VERY young team and that we were huge underdogs. I guess other teams on our schedule aren't gonna think of us as nothing anymore.

 

Does anyone know of any good ones???????

 

These are some of the popular ones. Choose your poison. I believe most use mapping data from the same source (NAVTEQ). They offer bundled packages with GPS antenna.
I recommend borrowing these from Kazaa, tryout, then purchasing the one you like so you can register for free updates and stuff like that (all pretty much the same as far as easy of use...not that easy). Good luck.

Street Atlas
Microsoft Streets & Trips / Microsoft Autoroute
Mapsend
TravRoute Copilot
NAVMAN GPS with Rand McNally StreetFinder Deluxe Travel Navigation
Mapopolis
Fugawi Street Maps

 

This may not apply but I'll throw in my 2¢ worth. Over the last several years I've tried Street Atlas, Streets & Trips, Pocket Streets & Trips, and Pocket CoPilot. The one I finally settled on was Pocket CoPilot from TravRoute (runs on a PocketPC). I've really been impressed with TravRoute because they stand behind their product and are willing to listen to their customers suggestions and concerns. If you e-mail in your GPS tracks they will add you to a special mailing list which will keep you posted on the latest updates and significant discounts on software/hardware upgrades.

 

I just did a search on BestBuy.com and found at least one, Earthmate GPS, for $130.

By the way, my alma mater is UGA--we'll take care of USC for you at the Orange Bowl.

 

i tried the Earthmate GPS thign from bestbuy... it tracked pretty well and all, the included software was simple to use. However, the USB drivers were a pain to install on a windowsXP system. I also tried the receiver with Streets and Trips .. the graphics were MUCH better , however streets&trips did NOT to guidance, jsut the mapping with a route. The GPS system would plot your point but it wouldnt integrate it into any functions.

street atlas did not have as good graphics or looks (looked very old, reminded me of basic airplane digital meters) but it atleast tracked you and integrated GPS into the turns and speed, etc, insttead of just plotting your point as an overlay on a pretty map. Cant remember if it did rerouting automatically or not. Also, the voice feture woudl not work for me... it worked, then cut out forever. ended up returning it.

Im pretty literate with computers and tech stuff, but it gave me a big headache. Maybe it would work better on a non XP system.

 

I bought an Earthmate USB from eBay and had the same Windows XP problems. I had to use both of these fixes: http://www.delorme.com/support/gps/u...=&P=17111&C=14 and http://www.delorme.com/support/gps/u...4&Q=7&K=&P=&C= even though my GPS was a 2004 USB model (supposedly). It worked relatively well after that. Also, SP2 for XP screws this up, btw. I installed SP2 because a fellow auto enthusiast said it fixed his problems with Earthmate. Different strokes, I guess. To be fair, I have found that the Delorme Earthmate USB is indeed on Microsoft's HWCL update for XP SP2. Good luck!

 

I use Delorme Street Atlas 9.0 on a Toshiba Laptop interfacing with my Garmin Etrex and I think it's awesome!

I am amazed at the detail of roads on the program. I use the system for work and Street Atlas allows you to save and import the routes you drove and insert flags, comments and shapes on the map.

The serial cable to connect the GPS to your laptop is available from the Garmin website.

The laptop in the car also doubles as the DVD entertainment center for the kids on the long trips.

Good luck!