DeLorme Earthmate GPS LT-40 2009 Reviews

• Best GPS!

  
  By AAD966K8499ZG on 2008-04-23
  I have had several of these over the years. I drive from the Mid-West to the west coast several times a year. This is great both in my truck and the RV. I opted to upgrade to the newest version. Due to the fact that it draws its power from the USB port on my laptop. My older ones connect to the com port and required batteries in the GPS. It makes it so easy to find food, fuel and points of interest on my journeys. I even use it to navigate the small country back roads here in Indiana. I will probably purchase another in a few years when they update the version.You just can't get anything better for the price. I like this much better than my Garmin GPS I use on my boatfor 12 times more money. I hope they will come out with a Marine version soon. I drop my Garmin in a heartbeat.
  
  

• mixed bag........

  
  By A3QLDN5PMWO1LB on 2008-07-19
  This is a difficult item to review simply....in part because it is three different items (hardware, software, compatibility). I'll review them separately. I am an established Delorme customer, with a long history of their products (10-12 states of TopoQuads, a Xmap license, both 1.0 and 2.0 versions of 3D TopoQuad software).
  
  The GPS unit itself is really a gem of a product in its own right and an update of the earlier Earthmate GPS units. I rate the LT-40 highly (5/5). It is small light and accurate/fast, from my experience. On a cross-country trip, it rarely was off the road centerline. My only gripe is very poor (well -- Non! ) support of this unit in earlier software products XMAP and 3DTopoQuads. This is not documented by Delorme, and in fact there is an Earthmate link and a USB option in the earlier software. Also, their web site suggests it should work, and there are instructions for installing a Serial-USB emulator that will allow it to work as an NMEA device (it didn't work!). I also obtained some support from Delorme trying to get it to operate. But their tech support had to eventually say "we don't guarantee backward compatibility..." for their own product to work with their own product. 5/5 (but see compatibility below...)
  
  The software is good to work with in 2-D mode and follows the tried-true Delorme right panel/bottom panel navigation model. The 3-D mode does have a nice "big number" mode that is useful on the road, although the 3-D view reminds one of a bad video game and is only useful for people who absolutely cannot read maps. The routes one chooses do have to be checked and if necessary "fine tuned" by adding "via" points, but that is surely true of all navigation software. I like the customizable preferences for speed/road type. Yes the Microsoft Mary and Mike voices are dreary, but one can't blame that on Delorme (I am waiting for Microsoft Obama.....with proceeds going to the Hillary campaign fund!!). But the voice interface has great potential for vehicle work, and I plan to experiment with a microphone for software control. Voice speed can also be tinkered with, and we found that slowing Mike down made him more understandable. My main complaint is that the top-line interface is non-intuitive, with no "File/Edit" bar and just a bunch of fairly non-customizable icons. 4/5
  
  Compatibibility: poor. No, completely lame. I think it is unconscionable how poor the support of the LT-40 is for earlier Delorme TopoQuad software, and, for that matter, why can't Street Atlas support earlier state 3-D topo quads. This is either bad design/engineering by Delorme, or extortion of users to have to re-purchase data products (I have $1500 or so invested now). This is complicated by the fact that the state TopoQuad series no longer exists and one now has to purchase the whole country in DVD (same maps...) to get new software that will work with this GPS. Come on guys -- patch your supported products to allow us to use the LT-40 with Topo Quads, or patch street atlas to work with topo quads. If the LT-40 is not supported by earlier Delorme products then you should at least have the courage (chutzpah?) to state this in black and white in marketing materials and on your web site. 0/5
  
  Average 3/5 for an excellent little GPS unit, from a very frustrated Delorme user.....
  
  

• Very poor program

  
  By A2OOFSSXETDE50 on 2008-07-07
  My Streets and Trips GPS receiver broke while on vacation and I'd thought I'd try a competing product. What a mistake. The maps were very clunky and often my car would not even be on the road, but way off to the side. Street names were often listed as "unknown," as in "turn left on unknown." The pronunciation was also poor, reading "three tengths of a mile," and similar hard to hear items. Places were also difficult to find if listed at all. Using Streets and Trips I could find the nearest subway station, gas station, museum...whatever. A very impressive list. When I could actually find something useful in this program, it took a long time, never while pulled over for a second.
  
  The worst problem was the roads it wanted me to use. Always back roads, often 2 lanes with signal lights with a major freeway running parallel to it. Even using the "via" feature, the program couldn't plot an accurate route. I went back to using Streets and Trips without a GPS receiver, only as a route planner and had a much better experience. I would only occasionally use Earthmate to get a starting location to plug into Streets and Trips. If Earthmate had been my first GPS program I would've figured the technology wasn't ready yet and gone back to paper maps. It's that bad. The only positive thing is the GPS receiver is well built, unlike the MS product, which broke after about a year. And alas, I can't use the DeLorme GPS receiver with Streets and Trips as there is a driver issue. A very poor program not worth any amount of money.
  
  

• CRAP

  
  By A1PEGO0GFQEJKX on 2008-07-13
  My Streets and Trips GPS receiver broke and I was using a Garmin etrex with Franson emulator. We are taking a 10 day driving trip of Washington State and I'd thought I'd try a competing product. What a mistake. Street names were always listed as "unknown,"."THAT REALLY IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.
  
  Fortunatey I had STREETS AND TRIPS without a GPS receiver, I could only as a route planner from which we could create a written route. I can't use the DeLorme GPS receiver with Streets and Trips as there is a driver issue. A very poor program not worth any amount of money.
  
  Unfortunately we are still in WASHINGTON STATE for 8 more days without a GPS routing system AND MY WIFE IS NOT HAPPY WITH ME.
  
  

• Complicated and Requires a Lot of Time

  
  By A36WU82RPNCR7F on 2008-07-14
  This software DOES NOT WORK AS ADVERTISED!!!!!!!!!! I have had the GPS receiver plugged in for over four hrs (outside with clear sky) and no connection and the mapping software cannot find simple address that Google and Map Quest find with no problem. I tried the advanced find and it gave me an address right up the road from my starting address (when it is actually about 75 miles).....this is a waste of valuable time!!!!!!!!! Their advert said "plug and play" which is not the case......This software will take days to figure out, if it works at all......every hr I spend with it raises the cost by $150 and I am not spending $1000 of dollars for it. They need to simplify it and make it smarter.... maybe hiring someone away from Google Maps might be the answer... Bottom line it is too complicated and requires a lot of time and effort to get up and running. I could see spending time to learn a software app if I could earn money using it. However, spending countless hrs with an app like this is waste of time......Easier to just go get a Garmin to help find your way.................
  
  
• Street Atlas USA 2009 A Much Improved Version
  By A3JL534N3I39N4 on 2008-07-21
  This is my 4th version of Street Atlas USA (2009, w/ LT-40 GPS) First one was given to me by my wife as a birthday gift, and I've grown to love the program. I use an old laptop (Compaq 1800T)w/ Windows 2000 Pro, w/14.2" screen in my car, prop it up on a pillow on the center console, and Voila! -- a much better presentation than the many squinty-eyed 4"X4" screen versions that proliferate the market. In addition, my touch pad is near the user end of the computer, making it easy to access while I'm on the go, and the speakers are also on that same side of the computer, making voice commands easier to hear.
  
  True, DeLorme Software takes a while to get used to, especially if you are a typical Windows user. But after a while, getting around the Nav screen gets easier and pretty soon its real easy to use.
  
  To give it a true test, I recently made a trip from Florida to Wisconsin & return, 3000 miles in all. In previous versions, there was a definite problem with intermittent satellite signal loss, but not so with the 2009 LT-40 GPS version. During the entire trip, I never lost the satellite signal -- not even once, which I found to be remarkable.
  
  My computer only has 196MB RAM, although DeLorme recommends 256MB as a minimun -- in spite of that the program worked great -- sometimes a little sluggish, especially when changing screen ratios during 3D view, but nothing I couldn't live with.
  
  The 3D presentation in this version is, in my opinion, perhaps the greatest improvement DeLorme has made to this program. It looks like you're flying, as the top of screen always represents the direction in which you're driving, so the map, contours, etc., rotate constantly on the screen as you turn corners, round curves, and so on. Reminds me of flying -- like you're looking out of the cockpit of an airplane. You can go down to a very low ratio where you're flying along, and you can see exits, and crossroads fly by at an amazing clip. Or you can back out to a point where your map actually ends at the curvature of the earth. Or anywhere in between. Totally cool.
  
  So I am a confirmed Street Atlas USA user. Very happy with this latest version and would recommend it to anyone.
  
  
• Don't Forget to Take Your Hardcopy Maps
  By ADS8C2T76HOZX on 2008-07-06
  I have used a similar notebook based GPS systems for over ten years. This is the first system that did not meet my expectations. The system has no problem acquiring satellite signals and tracking correctly. The problem with this product is incorrect mapping software. On a recent 600 mile trip, I would have had severe problems had I not had a paper map handy. With previous GPS navigation systems, I could have left my maps at home. If we could just get some accurate mapping software, this would be a usable product.
  
  
• Works great, Even in the air - Worth the money!
  By A1LXMW0ZYYKWKP on 2008-07-19
  This baby gets the full five stars as it exceeded my expectations. First of all, using this in a car is possible but who really drives and uses a laptop at the same time? Get a nice hand held GPS if you need driving directions. I got the Delorme just in case as a backup to my portable GPS. I travel and cannot be without one while on the road. For $50 you can't beat this product and it is well worth the money. The main reason I chose this was to use when I am a passenger on a commercial aircraft (I like to track my position but not all airlines allow this). Most hand held GPS will not work while flying. This one does, and very well. It will show exact position, speed and altitude. For this purpose, the map need not be highly detailed. In addition, this is one of the few GPS to feature included Mexico maps. Overall, this is a great buy for those who want a PC-based GPS. The software has many more features than portable GPS receivers. If this sounds like what you are looking for, you can't go wrong with this.
  
  Pros:
  Works great, even on aircraft
  Includes Mexico map
  Low Cost
  WAAS-enabled
  NMEA-compliant 16-channel receiver
  STMicroelectronics new high-sensitivity Teseo chipset
  Proprietary Kalman filter for enhanced position accuracy
  Maximum Velocity: 1000 knots
  Works on XP or Vista
  Software has many, many features
  
  
  Cons:
  Long time for satellite lock (Like all GPS but stays connected once locked)
  PC-Based so portability is an issue. Hard to use in a vehicle
  Maps not highly detailed
  
  
  
• Great Idea . . . and that's about it
  By A26JPAY713OF4V on 2008-06-26
  This package is a great idea and would be very nice, if the software was actually usable. The interface is pretty well thought out but the finding of destinations and maps that seem to be outdated ruin the product.
  
  The GPS receiver also leaves a lot to be desired. It has taken up to 20 minutes on occasion to acquire a satellite lock. This was not in a building, but sitting out in the open. My Nuvi 350 took less than a minute.
  
  All in all I would not recommend this product.
  
  
• Much improved
  By A36ECTSRKC8G6L on 2008-07-14
  I had a Copilot Navigator 9.0 before but the GPS device died after one trip so I was looking for another one with updated map and new feature and this one was on sale for $50 so I thought I tried.
  
  As stated, this new device was quick to acquire the signal unlike my old one which can take 15 mins to do that. So this one is really good and I love it. The map is 2009 I have the latest map data. The software took a while to adjust to as I was already used to the Copilot.
  
  This product qualifies for free super saver shipping. I need it within a week so I upgraded the shipping to standard. Amazon shipped it from Memphis which is 2 hrs away from Little Rock and it took them 6 days to get here which is ridiculous. I do realize they said standard shipping take 3-5 business days but come on it's 2 hrs driving. I ordered stuff from newegg all the time and they shipped it from Memphis within 2 days. Amazon should learn from newegg.
  
  Pros:
  1. Quick to acquire signal (#1 reason to buy)
  2. Map is updated (#2 reason to buy).
  3. Software has a lot of features and customization.
  4. Ability to download aerial image of location and impose it on the map which I think is neat. The software comes with free $40 of images you can download.
  5. Ability to search of POIs. Several times we wanted to know where walmarts were or where shopping malls were and it found them for us from where we were.
  
  Cons:
  I mainly have the issues with the software. The device is working as advertise and I love its quickness to get the signal.
  1. Point of Interests(POIs) - I like what Copilot navigator did on this. With Copilot navigator you can just tell it to display or not to display upcoming POIs, how far ahead you like to search, what kinds of POIs and it will automatically search for these POIs along the trip. So you only set it once and it will do that for every trip. With Earthmate you have to search them ahead before or during the trip every time and whenever there is a POI coming up it lets you know but instead of a display it has a red info bar on the map where you click on it for more information. With Copilot it displayed the POI on a pop up window for 10s with voice and then close it which is very convenient. I found at times that I had to click on the button with Earthmate to bring up more info on the POI which is troublesome when you drive.
  2. I tested this new device & software on a trip to Dallas and for the most part it did a great job. Dallas has so many on going road/highway construction that it's impossible to get new the new road data. Some roads were closed but now opened. Twice we had to drive trace back to previous road since the software didn't know where we were. On one location it took us to a wrong place. We were looking for the Restland Cemetary in Garland and the address number must have been mixed up or something but the location took us to was way ahead of what it was. We ahd to drive several blocks to get to the correct place.
  3. Voice navigation could be a little better.
  4. The 3-D tracking view isn't as good my old Copilot. The road/street names aren't easily readable. The high contrast color which it says should help with daytime driving didn't really help much. My old Copilot was better. I used the 2-D view and it's better.
  
  Overall I am satisfy with this and I look forward to another trip with it.
  
  
• Earthmate GPS much improved
  By AFWBT98D94ALZ on 2008-07-30
  I've owned both of the previous versions of the Earthmate GPS and have always had problems holding a signal, particularly when using it on trains where sky exposure is less than optimal. I bought the LT-40 because it claims significantly better performance in acquiring and holding weak signals over the LT-20. While I haven't used the unit extensively yet, preliminary indications are that performance is in fact much improved. Do not consider buying the older LT-20 even if it is offered at a much lower price!
  
  Updating my Street Atlas from 2005 to 2009 was a secondary consideration in my purchase, but it was worth the price alone.
  
  
• Wrong way on a one way
  By A3J2AGQKE867NG on 2008-08-05
  Simple review,
  
  The software told me to turn the wrong way into oncoming traffic.
  
  I had a chance to use the Streets and Trips and I was impressed with the routing software and the user interface.
  
  I doublt that the Delorme product will be around much longer. I purchased it because of the company's reputation of great topographic map software, but this product is dangerous.
  
  
• I love Delorme Maps but the GPS is hard to use
  By A15UXXON04D1UO on 2008-08-09
  I love Delorme Maps but the GPS is hard to use. I also own a Garmin 660 which I used last year to navigate thru western Canada and several western states. I wanted the Delorme GPS to use with my laptop to give a broader view of the area I was traveling than the small Garmin screen could give. Unfortunately it is not particularly easy to set up the Delorme GPS to accomplish this purpose, let alone setup routing instructions. The Garmin is much better suited to this purpose and to giving directions. If you don't have or can't afford a good GPS like the top rated Garmins' this is an inexpensive alternative, but it will require concerted effort to use.
  
  
• vettebob2
  By A2U35A3J3O9VF2 on 2008-06-29
  PLEASE DISREGARD THE 3 STARS. I am responding to both reviews. One is a "5" and the other is a "1". I really don't know how there could be such a desparity except one person lives in an area where many other gps systems would have trouble picking up a signal while the other lives in an area of easy pickup?? The "1" does not say anything about how the product functioned when it "did work"? or if at all?? So I am still at a crossroads? to buy or not to buy. Neither review was that much help.
  
  
• Cheap... does what it said to do at this price!
  By A1L2QANSCBV0F7 on 2008-07-20
  This is very cheap GPS unit. It does what it's supposed to do (at this price). The unit seem to be somewhat delay to tell you which way you need to turn... especially when you are in town with turn-by-turn distance is very close. (I've not used any other GPS...so I cannot compare.) Howeve, if you intend to use it on highway or inter-city traveling, it should be okay and works well.
  
  
• a fag gps
  By A2N8K021TT436K on 2008-08-16
  this is truly a great product --easy to use-- works great-- would like to have gotten a hard copy user guide however as the download and print copy is like a phone book with my only one side printer--
  
  
• Delorme GPS LT-40
  By A2QPSVWROD0SPJ on 2008-08-24
  If you have a Laptop Computer and travel, perfect companion. LT-40 is fast and simple and using the display of a laptop makes detailed mapping a reusable experience. You can plan your travel days in advance or seconds in advance and the audio plus visual directions makes traveling so easy.
  
  
• Great GPS Software!!!
  By AIAL4ADZX5BHY on 2008-08-26
  I have been a user of Microsoft Streets & Trips since 2004, and I was really in love with S&T until I decided to get GPS Receiver. I did some research in the internet like always do before buy something new and found that 8 out a 10 complained about MS S&T. I was very Skeptical in trying DeLorme Earthmate GPS LT-40 2009 because never hear about it, but after I did some research find that 9 out 10 were very pleased with the map software & GPS. So I decided to give it a try, now I have both Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 and Delorme Street Atlas 2009 both running with LT-40 GPS, so I am entitled to my own opinion. Microsoft Streets &Trips is a good Map Software, but the worse GPS, that's it! DeLorme Earthmate GPS LT-40 2009 is a better Map Software and the best GPS for Laptop, period.
  
  
• Delorme 2008 Street Atlas and LT-40 GPS receiver travel well
  By A1JX76UK8L07A1 on 2008-08-27
  Bottom line: This Delorme bundle offers an economical GPS solution that runs on your personal laptop. Its navigation features (voice guidance and large laptop screen) are good for a single driver. But, its enroute Points of Interest directory for gas, lodging or restaurants requires a computer savy co-pilot.
  
  The 2008 Street Atlas maps are relatively up to date. Delorme's maps seem to run 2 or 3 years behind new highway construction. It has a good inventory of county and township backroads, often providing shortcuts to the larger roadways. Delorme relies on user feedback to update road information. When traveling lesser used routes, the GPS coordinates and the atlas overlay map can be off by 300 feet or so, like the map needs to be stretched east or west to fit the road. You don't get lost, but you do get nuisance alerts that say you're "off route". Bottom line, we love it and we don't travel without it.
  
  The LT-40 receiver is great. It keeps a GPS lock much better than the prior LT-20. The LT-40 holds on while driving under tree cover. It even worked when I walked from the backyard into the house during its initial checkout. It properly detected when I was walking north, south, east and west, moving from room to room.
  
  
• DeLorme Street Atlas 2009
  By A2DTIBY21GL4PZ on 2008-09-07
  Great update from Street Atlas 2008. The New LT-40 GPS unit is much, much faster to acquire a 3D fix and seems to be more accurate. Money well spent.
  
  

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