Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Microsoft helps you find your way!
I am very impressed with Microsoft's newest MapPoint edition. We have been able to illustrate office locations, insert maps onto our website, and send directions/maps as attachments via e-mail.A terrific product for the consumer market.
Rating:  - Only worth it for the business features
This product has all the same features as Microsoft Streets and Trips 2001. And for the average home user, that is all you need as the price is significantly lower. What you're paying for with MapPoint is all the data features. It analyzes business info and puts them on a map (usually through an Excel spreadsheet). It also has some more web collaboration features than the standard version.Unless you are going to seriously use a program to analyze business needs (e.g. where customers are coming from, where you should put a store, etc.), it's not worth it. (It does make some pretty maps and graphs, though.) I would have never bought the program in the first place, but I got it as a promotional sample from Microsoft. I like it, but I will probably never use most of the data tools. On the mapping side, it's great. Read some of the reviews over for streets and trips and you'll see what a great program it is. MapPoint does all the same things. (For those who care, this product does not use the controversial product activation sequence as other office 2002/xp programs do.)
Rating: - A Look At MapPoint 2002
From an interview held between Glenn Letham, Managing Editor, The GeoCommunity ... and Rik Temmink Group Product Manager, and BJ Holtgrewe, Senior Product Manager Microsoft Corporation.MapPoint, now in it's third official release, has been developed by Microsoft's 90 person development team. Temmink tells us that mapping is not really anything newto the company and that the geography team was developed in 1995 when Microsoft acquired UK based Nextbase. The team is organized around two efforts, The Core maps and mapping technologies (responsible for Expedia Maps Encarta World Atlas) and Geo applications utilizing the core maps and technologies (MapPoint, Streets & Trips in North America, AutoRoute in Europe, Pocket Streets). Scheduled for a May 31 release, clients upgrading to MapPoint 2002 can expect to get the following out of this release: - Updated and expanded map content and demographic data - Greater map customization - Application programmability via ActiveX control, extended object model and Add-ins - Tighter integration with Office XP Particularly exciting about this release is the provisions for programmability through an extended Object Model, COM support, an ActiveX Control, and tight integration with Office XP (XP offers Context-sensitive smart tags provide speedy access to relevantinformation - more info about XP here). Some key features of MapPoint 2002: - Over 6.4 million miles of routable roads in North America - Over 4.8 million kilometers of roads and streets in Europe - In excess of 70 measures of demographic data - Creates and licenses highest quality spatial and demographic data from - GDT, NavTech and Claritas - Create territory wizard enables users to create custom areas from existing data or manually. - Custom designed push pins - Charts on maps, including pie charts, shaded circles, and column charts. - Integrate MapPoint functionality into line of business applications and custom solutions - ActiveX control - More comprehensive object model - Improved support for COM Add-Ins - Tighter Office XP integration - Incorporate maps into everyday work - Take data from Excel, Access, Outlook or Word - Include maps in documents, email messages, presentations or newsletters - Office XP Smart Tag technology - MapPoint buttons on Office application toolbars - Users can create custome drive time zones with MapPoint 2002 When asked about the multiple versioning required for North American and European based users, Temmink notes that developers will be provided with an ActiveX control allowing users to quickly switch between US and European versions. MapPoint and custom app's are now easily customizable by taking advantage of existing VB programming skills - no custom programming skills or third party add ons are required. Like many GIS developers and map product users, I'm always curious about the data that comes bundled with software and once again it appears that a real strength in the MapPoint product lies in the data. In the North American version, more than 100,000 miles of road data have been added to the database of 6.4 million miles of streets and users will also find 3 digit zip code data now available. The most recent demographic information has been provided by Claritas and CompuSearch. In total, the product ships with an impressive 65+ gigs of compressed data! The European version is shipping with 4.8 million kilometers of roads and streets in the data base and includes address matching in all of Europe. MapPoint 2002 Europe has significantly improved data for Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. "...Making maps is real serious for us" Rik Temmink, MapPoint Group Product Manager"
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