Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013 with GPS Locator

In an age of?GPS apps, portable navigation devices, and even online HTML GPS clients, it's getting tougher and tougher to justify PC-based maps software. Microsoft has ended some of its long-running franchises like Encarta and Flight Simulator, but Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013 ($69.95 direct) ?is still kicking around. It's still flawed and not for everyone, and Microsoft hasn't upgraded it enough to justify buying the new version if you have the 2011 or 2012 editions. But even so, the software is still useful for RV campers, outdoor enthusiasts, or anyone looking for a comprehensive map and planning software that works offline on a laptop, away from cellular signal and with a much larger screen than you'd get on a smartphone.

The latest version offers some interesting improvements, including a higher-contrast user interface, 150,000 miles of new roads, and an expanded points-of-interest database, from 1.9 million to 2.5 million entries?still much lower than what you get with many stand-alone portable navigation devices, but a nice update nonetheless. Microsoft also added support for online user reviews of hotels, restaurants, and other attractions.

Installing the GPS Locator dongle wasn't easy, since there's no proper documentation. Install Streets & Trips 2013, boot it up, and you'll see a menu item for GPS Receiver Configuration. I clicked that, and it said it couldn't detect it. So I plugged it into a USB port, and waited, but nothing happened. Then I closed the program and tried the other USB port, at which point Windows 7 tried and failed to install the device driver successfully.

"Ah, maybe it's on the DVD," I thought?and found a folder called GPSDrvrs, which contained two subfolders: Navation and Pharos. The bottom of my GPS Locator said "Navation GPS 168" in tiny print, so I went with that folder, but it only contained .sys, .inf, and .cat files; there was no setup.exe file. The readme.htm file and fold-out Getting Started pamphlet each made no mention of the GPS Locator, either.?I eventually tried one more time and plugged it into the first USB port again; this time it installed successfully on its own. But when I fired up S&T 2013 again and went to GPS Receiver Configuration, it froze the program. After two minutes of a spinning cursor in the window, I had to force-quit.

Unfortunately, the GPS Locator was a bust this time around, even once I completed the installation. Sometimes, I'd get the program to see it, including the "COM3" or "COM4" port it was on, depending on which USB port I plugged it into. I even saw it searching for and finding satellites. But then other times, the entire window would gray out and the cursor would start spinning. It would stay like this again for several minutes, but the moment I pulled the GPS Locator out, I was able to continue using the program again. I know the GPS Locator works; it's the same exact one I've tested several times in the past few years, such as in our?Microsoft Streets & Trips 2011 review,?so I'll chalk it up to an issue with my current laptop.

GPS Locator-related issues aside, this program has always been about the maps themselves, even before MapQuest and (later) Google Maps took that task over for most people. For a small yet dedicated cadre of consumers, Streets & Trips is a comfortable program to use. As before, the program helps you optimize routes for efficiency and budget for fuel costs, and you can run searches for hotels, mechanics, restaurants, and other things on the run, again with no Internet connection required, since it's all stored locally.?A few new features: You can now turn all the pushpins off and on with a single click, and Microsoft raised the maximum drive time for each trip.

The biggest problem I have is that for all these years and all these revisions, Streets & Trips 2013 still feels like an unfinished product. The user interface remains cluttered and difficult to understand, with way too many tiny icons and buttons. It still has flaky POI search; it's pretty particular about how you enter queries in order for it to deliver the correct results. And while the GPS Locator attachment means you don't need a separate portable navigation device if you're bringing your laptop with you, if you've ever become acquainted with a Garmin or TomTom unit, you'll find Streets & Trips 2013 to be pretty poor at voice navigation.

Make no mistake: Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013 is still a functional program, and it's the best version yet. But that's not saying much, since it has barely changed in several years. It still works and feels like software designed years ago, and the market for this software is increasingly narrow. That said, if you're already a loyal fan and haven't upgraded in a few years, or if you're just more comfortable planning trips on roadmaps using a PC than on a phone or portable GPS device, Streets & Trips 2013 is still a useful purchase?but a portable navigation device and a cell phone with Google Maps will work better for the vast majority of people.

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doug hutchison larry brown thomas kinkade pat summit brewers matt cain adastra