POSTS
Review by Marshall Carter
Microsoft MapPoint 2009 seems like overkill when it comes to personal use. I know you can get directions using it, but you can just as easily do that with MapQuest, Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, etc. I know you can use it as a GPS program with the proper GPS hardware, but that’s a fairly expensive solution when there are much more user-friendly, less expensive (and often more up-to-date) solutions readily available at any store that sells electronics. No, for personal use, MapPoint 2009 is very nearly extreme overkill.
What MapPoint 2009 will enable you to do from a business perspective is more useful. The data mapping features are welcome and well-implemented (even though the overall interface is a bit clunky, not exactly surprising for a Microsoft product, but it does work). The ability to pull and import your own statistical data could be useful to someone in a corporate environment, but again, is largely useless for a personal user. Being able to import data into MS Office applications is relatively smooth, which is probably one of the biggest strengths the software has for business users (who are already intimately familiar with MS Office; web-based mapping software is often not as obliging).
MapPoint 2009 is a decent program, if you’re in the business demographic that it obviously seems to be catering too. If you’re just looking for something to get driving directions, stick to Google Maps or invest in an inexpensive GPS unit. If you’re looking for a way to incorporate mapping data into reports or documents, then you might want to give MapPoint 2009 (or now 2010) a closer look.