Microsoft Pocket Streets

Pocket Streets was Microsoft's mapping product for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Smartphones, but the product line is being dropped. It can track your current location, show surrounding points of interest, and display customizable maps.

Pocket PCs typically have limited memory storage, so Pocket Streets cannot simultaneously store the huge map coverage that the Streets & Trips and MapPoint products have. Instead, new maps can be downloaded from Streets & Trips and the Microsoft Pocket Streets download page. Available add-on maps include Western Europe and Canada. Maps are available in a variety of languages including French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish.

Pocket Streets does not include any routing abilities. If you need routing capabilities, you should use Streets & Trips instead. You can create a route in Streets & Trips and then download it to your Pocket PC running Pocket Streets.

Microsoft Pocket Streets 2005 is the final version of Pocket Streets, and continues to be available from Amazon with over 200 maps on CD-ROM. It is also bundled with Streets & Trips 2006, and MapPoint 2006. This bundled version does not come with its own maps, but you can download maps from Streets & Trips or MapPoint instead. This actually allows for increased flexibility.

If you need routing abilities on a Pocket PC, then you should try one of the competing products. The acknowledged leader in PDA navigation software is Tom-Tom. Destinator are a significant competitor. Both will allow you to track your position on road maps, and both can calculate routes and give voice navigation.