Review by Ms. T

First off, I had used Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 previously, and liked it very much, although I felt it could do a little better job of getting you to national parks, landmarks and other points of interest. (For example, for Pike’s Peak, it tried to take us up the back side of the mountain thru a locked private gate as opposed to getting us to the park entrance). The 2009 version seems to do a much better job of getting you to where you want to go, and did actually take us to the correct entrance to Pike’s Peak. The directions also seem to be less confusing in the 2009 version vs. 2008 version. I only wish it suggest points of interest that are near the route you are planning to make it a little easier to plan a family vacation with interesting stops along the way - it seems like a simple request, and I don’t know why it can’t do that. However, as mapping software, it does great - directions are great and the screen is easy to follow and when paired with a usb gps you can be sure of never getting lost. 2009 is not a drastic improvement over the 2008 version, but with it’s improved directions and location of national parks I would recommend upgrading from a previous version, and for first time purchasers, I would definitely recommend the Microsoft Streets and Trips for it’s ease of use and excellent directions as well as full catalog of gas stations, rest areas, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. (one tip, if you can’t find all these listing under Find Nearby, go in and check the other categories to have them show up - for some reaon the default is to only show a few categories as opposed to all of them).