• "Take FDR drive north, exit 14, 30 seconds away"

• "Current speed 56 miles per hour, time to destination 40 minutes at current speed, maintain current speed"

I was shocked at the accuracy and how the software recognized even the most rural streets. Along the whole trip, it showed my progress using green arrows. When I intentionally made wrong turns, the arrows turned yellow, then red when I was way off and heading in wrong direction. I was taken aback by its ability to recognize where I was at all times.

When it came to traffic, I listened to the radio for traffic conditions and when the radio station report there was traffic or construction, I "grayed out" (telling the software to avoid) the mentioned area and the software rerouted me around the impediment. I left major roads with confidence since I felt I could navigate my way back to my route because of the map's accuracy even in the smallest of towns.

Things to consider
Your laptop may not have enough battery power to last entire trips unless you have a cigarette adapter. I got one from Port Accessories so I was fully prepared. Beware: laptop navigation is not the best solution for short trips or trips in a city since your laptop is a prime theft target sitting in the front seat of your car (and you also make a tempting target). Furthermore it may be a hassle to unhook it from the car if you need to hide it or use it for your meetings.

In short, if you travel for sales or business or own a car or even a motor home and are taking a long trip, do not leave home without this configuration. Street Atlas will tell you places to see or stay and identify other points of interest along your route. It will allow you to place waypoints on your route and guide you to that unique store or other desired stop on an optimal route to your final destination. I can not list all of its features here, but recommend you look at software applications like Street Atlas to navigate longer trips or need "navigational flexibility" while traveling.

Option 3: Use Street Atlas software, computer (desktop or laptop) and Palm device
This last approach (which does not use a GPS device) is by far is the most practical (but not nearly as cool) for those of you who want really good directions somewhere, but do not need to see your progress along the way or have a CD-ROM enabled laptop. It is also the most economical. By using the Street Atlas software to create directions for you on your desktop or laptop and then HotSync them to your Palm device, you can save a great deal of aggravation when traveling to anyplace new.

You can enter starting point, waypoints and final destinations into your Street Atlas software and then use the Palm device icon to export the directions. Alternatively, you can use copy and paste in windows to place the directions directly into a memo and simply HotSync. Either technique works great and allows you to travel with just your Palm device. I actually sent directions in an email to a friend of mine in Los Angeles and he just copied them into a Palm Desktop memo. He then performed a HotSync and used the directions that I created (while I was in New York City, mind you), to find an obscure address in Northern Los Angeles with absolutely no problems. This is a great combination of tools. It's both economical and easy to use. That said, at a list price of under $200, the GPS device is not outrageously expensive.