Review: Microsoft MapPoint 2009 Europe
MapPoint 2009 Europe is perhaps the only, and the best, alternative trip planning software for those who in the past used the now discontinued Microsoft AutoRoute Europe. AR 2007 was the last version. Microsoft never released AutoRoute 2008, or AutoRoute 2009.
While the price of MapPoint 2009 is admittedly much higher than AutoRoute 2009 would be, it still will cost you less than a PND (personal navigation device), and it is much more suitable for elaborate route planning than even the most expensive PNDs on the market today, not to mention the other many tasks that a laptop can do for us, which PNDs obviously can't.
Microsoft MapPoint is the business version of Microsoft AutoRoute. AR is (or rather was) a subset of MapPoint features. As an ex MS AutoRoute user, switching to MS MapPoint, you will not need to learn new software, as the look and feel is the same. The only differences are a few additional features in MapPoint, which AutoRoute never had, and functionality improvements/changes done to the program since version 2007.
MapPoint vs. AutoRoute
Pros:
MapPoint accepts plug-ins. There are many plug-ins available, but I will mention at least two that come to mind now:Pushpin Tool - Allows for better pushpin management
DriveSpeed - Do you hate the slower/average/faster sliders? Then enter actual speed instead.
MapPoint can export to Excel -- a feature I suspect many readers of this forum may find useful
Cons: New version of MapPoint releases only once every couple of years
More expensive
What's new in Microsoft MapPoint 2009 Europe:
MapPoint 2009 Europe map data:
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