Rand McNally 0-528-52183-7 StreetFinder Deluxe GPS Navigation System

by Rand McNally

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004T2GW
• Item model number: 0-528-52183-7
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 12, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Take the inconvenience, frustration, and discord out of long trips and everyday travel with Rand McNally's StreetFinder Deluxe GPS navigation system. Because the lightweight StreetFinder global positioning system receiver clicks on to your Palm III series organizer, you can see your location and follow your progress on the StreetFinder map wherever you go.

With the StreetFinder, you access address-to-address directions via the Internet, and then can download customized maps from your Mac or PC to your Palm III. Travel becomes a delight as you track your progress along reliable Rand McNally maps with the global positioning system accessory designed specifically for the Palm III platform.

The Rand McNally StreetFinder Deluxe GPS for Palm III configuration is so compact and portable that you can attach it to your dashboard or take it along on a walk. The receiver comes with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and a 110-volt battery recharger, Rand McNally's StreetFinder Deluxe GPS 2000 software, in-car cigarette lighter charger, a mount for easy use in the car, and carrying bag. The Rand McNally StreetFinder Deluxe GPS for Palm III may not give you new direction in life, but you may never have to ask for directions again.

Note: This item does not work with the Palm IIIc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money, September 3, 2000

By 

Jinming Zhan (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rand McNally 0-528-52183-7 StreetFinder Deluxe GPS Navigation System (CD-ROM)

Don't buy it! I was first attracted by its fancy look and product description. But I'm totally disappointed at the quality of it after the first use. First, the StreetFinder Deluxe 2000 PC software is like a Windows 3.1 application, hard to use and almost without any documentation. Second, StreetFinder connects to the Internet to get the route direction and draws it on the map. Wierdly enough, each time I ask for the direction from my place (Arlington, VA) to downtown DC, it returns me several connected straight lines that don't fall on any existing roads, which makes it a "mission impossible". Third, If the destination is more than 50 miles away, the route info will exceed the memory of my PalmIIIe (2MB). Fourth, I used it only once, but didn't follow its direction. The GPS system lost its mind totally, not even being able to resume even after I came back to its recommended route. I returned it 2 days after I purchased it. If you get money to burn and want to pay more for less, buy it.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars reasonable hardware, terrible software, February 1, 2001

By 

Gardner Cohen "beldar" (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rand McNally 0-528-52183-7 StreetFinder Deluxe GPS Navigation System (CD-ROM)

The hardware is frustratingly close to being usable. Unfortunately it forces you to remove the palm cover which makes handheld use challenging. It's often slow to acquire a lock.

The software is nearly useless, a major disappointment. I've tried a number of palm GPS apps (the device is NMEA compliant and works well with all of them), and would rank streetfinder as the worst, for all the reasons mentioned in other reviews, and for others (a 3 CD package intended for use with laptops!).

My favorite palm GPS app is solus pro 2.0, which uses compact vector maps you generate online on the delorme.com website, and can use bulky, unscalable, bitmap maps (and directions) generated using delorme street atlas USA on a non-internet-connected PC.

In summary, if I had it to do over again, I'd get a standalone GPS with a serial cable, and would buy delorme street atlas and solus pro 2.0. That way I could upgrade out of the palm III form factor if I wanted to. I am happy enough with it to have replaced my III with a IIIxe so I'd have enough room for maps.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed with GPS Streetfinder, June 25, 2000

By 

Steve Plattner (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rand McNally 0-528-52183-7 StreetFinder Deluxe GPS Navigation System (CD-ROM)

Although it looked very promising, I found this product disappointing to say the least. The instructions are virtually non-existent. You are on your own when it comes to figuring out to make it work (I'm very good at this stuff, and I haven't been able to get it going. Also, if your Palm Pilot IIIe is relatively full of data, you'll never have enough memory to run this program. It might work alot better with a Palm Pilot IIIxe. Rand McNally should know better. This is like putting out an atlas without legends or an index.