Welcome to Location Intelligence Magazine's Product Reviews. Most of our reviews are conducted by an independent reviewer and if you would like us to review your software solution (stand alone or internet-based), please send your request to Editor@DirectionsMag.com. In your request, please include, Company Name, Product Name, 150 word product description, Contact Name, phone, and email. If your company is already listed in our Company Directory, please make sure that your product information is updated in this area, as well. Thank you.

Product Review: DeLorme XMap 5.0 GIS Enterprise
DeLorme XMap 5.0 GIS Enterprise is one of the components of a three-tiered software solution suite from DeLorme that provides increasing levels of functionality for GIS professionals. DeLorme has taken the approach of providing scalable solutions with its software and data products so that users only purchase the required amount of software and data they need. Paul Amos reviews the product.

Product Review - MapPoint 2006
MapPoint 2006 is the next version of Microsoft's desktop mapping software. It is really two separate products: a desktop mapping system and an in-vehicle navigation system. Depending on how you use it, you may see the improvements made from the previous version, MapPoint 2004, as valuable or not. Microsoft touts the vehicle navigation features of this version, and thus potential purchasers should consider whether the desktop mapping features are adequate for the type of analyses required. But the product lacks key features in desktop mapping and falls short of being a viable in-vehicle navigation system. Read more...

RouteMAP IMS 3.0
RouteMAP IMS 3.0 from ESRI is an out of the box solution for adding maps to existing web sites. Several things make this product unique. First, ESRI licenses users to install RouteMAP IMS on their server(s). Not only does this provide licensees the ability to selectively add mapping features it also gives web masters and developers the ability to seamlessly customize the look and feel of RouteMAP IMS so it matches the graphics of their site...Read more.

Product Review: MapInfo Professional Version 8.0
MapInfo Professional version 8.0 is the latest release of MapInfo’s flagship desktop location intelligence software product. Read Paul Amos' review of the latest version.

Navman Sport.Tool R300 GPS
GPS is becoming ubiquitous. It’s in handheld games, phones, car navigation systems and many other everyday objects. One of the newer markets for GPS is for recreational and more competitive distance athletes. The latest entry into the space is from Navman, a division of Brunswick, a company known for its marine electronics instruments and car navigation devices. This article reviews the Navman Sport.Tool R300 GPS.

BusinessMAP Version 4
With Version 4, ESRI's BusinessMAP continues to provide good value and functionality in desktop mapping software. While the product primarily supports sales and marketing professionals with integrated links to personal information management software, BusinessMAP Version 4 continues it’s appeal to other professionals who simply need mapping software.

Product Overview: TerraSeer Space Time Intelligence System
As mapping systems move forward in technology, one advance quickly becomes the expected thing. If 3D is close, can 4D be far behind? Here's an overview of STIS (or Space Time Intelligence System, for long) that works in 4D. By Hal Reid, Senior Technical Editor.

Product Overview: NavPro – an Online Map Service From Maps.com
One of the visions for GIS is that it becomes an innocuous part of everything we do. MapQuest, Google Maps and other have pushed that vision. Another approach is Maps.com, a full service mapping company. Their product range includes wall maps, customized maps, and a new subscription product, NavPro, that provides maps on the Web. Hal Reid describes NavPro.

Product Review: GeoExpress 5.0 with MrSID by LIZARDTECH
GeoExpress 5.0 with MrSID from LIZARDTECH is a digital image manipulation program for viewing, extracting, and compressing large raster files. GeoExpress includes the Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database, MrSID, a wavelet-based image encoder. What is a wavelet-based image encoder? Read more...

Product Update - Mapinfo Professional 7.8
MapInfo has announced an upgrade to its flagship desktop GIS product, MapInfo Professional-version 7.8. The 7.8 release of MapInfo Pro includes many enhancements of which existing users will want to take note. The product has received Microsoft Windows XP certification and it was re-certified on Oracle 10g primarily to maintain database security. Read more...

Product Overview: PCI Geomatics’ GeoRaster ETL
PCI Geomatics is raster centric company and focuses on satellite image processing and digital air photo data manipulation. PCI’s GeoRaster ETL is a gateway to Oracle. ETL has access to the many formats that makes it an excellent supplemental tool for Oracle, which does not have native support for satellite formats.

Product Overview: Keigan System's Keigan GRID
Keigan Grid is a collection of COM-compliant grid mapping and spatial analysis objects. It can be used to create custom spatial analysis solutions, or to expand and enhance existing products. The key to Keigan’s product is the plethora of map operations that were formally adopted from Dana Tomlin’s Map Algebra, to which Keigan add even more functionality. Read More.

Product Review: Terrain Navigator Pro
Terrain Navigator Pro is a software program that provides access to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic quadrangle maps and USGS Digital Ortho Quarter Quads (DOQQs). The software and data are packaged together except for the aerial photography that must be downloaded using the Internet on a subscription basis. The software does an excellent job of working seamlessly between the different quadrangle maps and the ability to display the quads in 3D is an extremely powerful visualization of the information on the quadrangle maps. Read the entire review here.

Product Overview: MapInfo's MapXtreme 2004 on Microsoft® .NET
In May, MapInfo Corporation announced the release of MapXtreme 2004 on Microsoft® .NET. The product represents the merging of two products, MapXtreme and MapX, into a single development platform and leverages the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET environment. Read more about the benefits of this software product for web and client-based application development.

Product Review – TatukGIS Viewer, version 1.1.1.166
The TatukGIS viewer is one of those products that you keep finding more and more functionality the more you use it. Because it reads so many file types, both vector and raster, I have found it extremely useful in addition to what it is designed for just for viewing graphics files and for map files when you didn’t want to load an entire desktop program just to see part of a project or an image. Read more about the latest functionality of this version.

BusinessMAP, ver. 3.5
BusinessMAP 3.5 has done a very good job of solving the issues of cost and ease of use in a desktop mapping product. It comes complete with a very robust amount of high quality data and also has built-in links to the web and your PDA. With the additional data support of aerial photographs, topographic maps, and international data BusinessMap is a very comprehensive software solution. Read the entire product review.

FME Spatial Data Provider Server 2004
The FME Spatial Data Provider (SDP) Server provides a direct link for reading and serving spatial data from native formats to ESRI’s ArcGIS v.8.3 and Autodesk’s MapGuide v.6.0 or higher without the need for translating the existing data source. The FME SDP Server is an Open GIS Consortium based OLE DB provider that supports over 100 spatial data source formats. Read more about the capabilities and limitations of this product...

GISConnect for AutoCAD Version 1.0
GISConnect version 1.0 for AutoCAD is an add-on tool for the AutoCAD environment that combines the power of ArcGIS’s advanced database and geospatial capabilities with the extensive use of AutoCAD® drawing tools. GISConnect for AutoCAD provides a bridge of interoperability between the CAD environment and GIS datasources. The product allows CAD users to incorporate geographically referenced data into their CAD drawings through the GISConnect toolbar and menu. Read the complete product review...

Quick Take Product Overview: POWERmap by Platts
POWERmap is a desktop mapping application that was developed by Platts, a company engaged providing data and applications to the power industry and specifically the natural gas, electric, and coal markets. POWERmap contains about 65 mapping layers covering those industries. It is built on an open architecture using MapInfo technology and users can import or export any information they need such as from a proprietary database.

AccuGlobe 2004
AccuGlobe is a new desktop GIS software application developed through a partnership between GeoMicro, Inc. and Digital Data Technologies, Inc. (DDTI). AccuGlobe was developed by DDTI using GeoMicro’s fourth generation AltaMap components that are OLE/COM objects used to incorporate GIS functionality into customized applications. The scheduled release date for AccuGlobe is November 19, 2003. AccuGlobe has similar functionality to most of the well-known desktop GIS software applications. The product was designed to give most users the functionality they need on a daily basis.

MapOCX Pro v6.0 USA
MapOCX Pro v6.0 is a developer's toolkit for incorporating detailed maps into a Windows programming environment. The product is not software for end users, it simply provides developer tools to incorporate mapping functionality into applications built within programming environments such as Microsoft Visual Basic and/or Borland Delphi. Read more about this product.

DeLorme XMap 4.0
DeLorme XMap 4.0 is a scalable mapping software program that provides GIS tools at an affordable price. The base package includes the functionality discussed in this review with some custom datasets. DeLorme’s XMap 4.0 has a different feel than most commercial GIS software packages. Read the entire product review here...

The TomTom Navigator USA
The TomTom Navigator is a personal navigation system that runs on a PocketPC-based personal digital assistant (PDA). The display of the vehicle position along major roads was excellent, although some problems with map accuracy were encountered in some residential areas. Read the entire review for how LBS technology is moving into personal electronics.

Map-In-A-Box
This month, we review Map-In-A-Box, an add-on to MapInfo Professional 6.0 (or higher) that seamlessly integrates Microsoft’s MapPoint 2002 functionality into MapInfo Professional. Map-In-A-Box is available in a North American version and a European version. The North American version includes seamless geographic data for the United States and Canada while the European version has seamless geographic data across the European Union. The integration of the MapPoint data within MapInfo is very useful for users that want to view seamless maps that cross country boundaries, geocode data and find street data in multiple countries.

GeoMedia Professional version 5.1
GeoMedia Professional is designed for users that need additional functionality to create and edit spatial data. The software builds on the current GeoMedia software with specific tools for GIS data capture and editing. GeoMedia Professional uses standard RDBMS technologies for its data model to store, access and manage spatial data using Access and Oracle databases.

Quick Take Product Overview: AltaMap 4.0
GeoMicro provides its clients with integrated mapping solutions. AltaMap has been successfully deployed within local governments, utilities, and engineering companies. This article will focus on the use of GeoMicro’s solutions for Asset Tracking and Location Based Services. AltaMap AVL and LBS solutions combine the ease of use and scalability - of a mapping service with the customization and analytical capabilities” of a GIS map server.

Safe Software's FME Professional Suite 2003
Summary: The FME Professional Suite simplifies the process of converting data among different spatial data formats. The product can translate data among a wide variety of data formats from the multiple GIS software vendors. The Universal Translator is intuitive and very user friendly. The user is able to quickly and easily convert files among multiple GIS software products using the Universal Translator. For users that require advanced functionality with regards to transforming their spatial data, the FME Workbench provides the tools for performing these types of data transformations. The FME Universal Viewer is ideal for someone that needs to preview data in particular software vendor’s format, but does not have access to use that software vendor’s program to view the spatial data.

GeoColors Pro v. 2.03

Quick Take Product Overview: Safe Software's Feature Manipulation Engine (FME)
Directions Magazine wanted to recognize Safe Software's 10 years in business. We also wanted to get an overview of Safe's FME technology and what is in store for the products in light of the coming adoption of .NET. We interviewed Safe CEO Don Murray and Dale Lutz , vice president of product development to get the answers:

Quick Take Product Overview: Maporama
Maporama has gained wide acceptance in Europe as one of the premier suppliers of location-based services and consumer mapping navigation. Directions Magazine asked Maporama to provide a more in-depth understanding of their technology and to elaborate on t

MapInfo Professional Version 7.0
MapInfo Professional version 7.0 is the latest release by MapInfo Corporation of their desktop GIS software product.

Quick Take Product Overview: MapPoint Data Service

Triscape Map Explorer

Manifold® System Release 5.00 - Professional Version

Autodesk MapSeries - Part 2 of 2
For the second part of the Autodesk Map Series review, we will review the functionality in Autodesk OnSite 6 and Autodesk Raster Design 3.

Autodesk MapSeries - Part 1 of 2

MapInfo Professional® Puts Maps in Microsoft’s® SQL Server