Mapping Clients Updated for 2009

MapPoint, Microsoft’s desktop mapping software for businesses, has received its first update in nearly three years, with updated mapping data, support for Office 2007 applications, a new interface, and the ability to send business addresses and phone numbers to a mobile device via text message. The software can be useful for businesses that want to create maps based on information in other applications, but it is not automatically updated with data from Microsoft’s online mapping services, meaning that customers will have to buy subsequent versions to get the most accurate mapping data available from Microsoft.

Streets and Trips, Microsoft’s consumer-oriented trip-planning software, which offers a subset of MapPoint’s features, will also be updated with the new interface, but suffers from the same lack of online integration as MapPoint.

Mapping for Business Users

MapPoint is meant for Office users who occasionally need an easy way to locate addresses, look up demographic information by geographical area, or plot data (such as sales territories) on maps. In MapPoint 2006, Microsoft added features that made it useful for navigation when used with a portable PC, such as location detection based on local Wi-Fi hotspots, voice-based driving directions, and a new edition bundled with a GPS receiver.