AutoRoute 2004 may not be without imperfections, but it is among the best route-planning software for the PC. It has a polished interface that lets you plot routes easily. A smart search engine enables you to find places, postcodes, partial addresses, points of interest and near matches. You can then easily set waypoints and have AutoRoute automatically calculate the best route for you, along with providing time of journey and cost of petrol. It will take account of what speeds you drive at, how long you like to drive without a break, how many miles per gallon you typically get and the price of your petrol. You can also set preferred journey types, based on time, distance or preferred roads. This latter option enables you to set weighting to different road types, so for example, you can specify that you don't like driving on motorways. You then have a visual representation of the route accompanied by a list of written directions, which are easy to print out or e-mail.

The usefulness of any route-planning software is determined by the quality of its map data and this is where AutoRoute manages to both impress and distress in equal measures, depending on where across Europe you look. There is a huge amount of information packed into the software, with 2.5 million miles of routable roads plus details on 128,000 restaurants and 33,000 cash machines to name just a few highlights. Take a look at England, Germany or France, for example, and you find incredible levels of detail in the maps with very high accuracy, but other locations in Europe get far less detailed treatment, to the point that route mapping is largely impossible. Eastern Europe is particularly poorly served, as is Ireland.

For those with a previous version of AutoRoute, there are some good reasons to upgrade, depending on how they use the software. For those who would like to use the included GPS features, it's definitely worth upgrading as the satellite updates are now every second, as opposed to once every 15 seconds; this makes a huge difference in practical terms. Other new features include the ability see one-way streets at a glance and the ability to plot zones from a given point to areas you can reach within a given amount of time. There has also been a lot of work done in improving the maps and adding even more points of interest.

AutoRoute 2004 is a fine piece of software, with some excellent map detail, compounded by equally poor detail in other parts of Europe. It would be wise to check the features list for countries best served before making the decision to buy. --Heather Wilson

Manufacturer's Description

Microsoft AutoRoute 2004 is the great value all-in-one travel and mapping solution that delivers a comprehensive array of town and country maps, points of interest, and driving directions for the UK and Europe. If you want to locate the closest post office, cash machine, hotel or restaurant, AutoRoute 2004 helps you find it

Features

• Real Time GPS tracking. AutoRoute 2004 allows you to find your location while on the road with a GPS device (GPS device needs to support NMEA 2.0 or later). Simply plug the device into your PC running AutoRoute and see your location.
• Drive Time Zones. Generate zones from a specific location indicating points that can be reached by car in an equal amount of time.
• Updated Maps of Over a Dozen Western European Countries. More than 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometres) of routable motorways, roads and streets in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland plus the cities of Belfast, Helsinki, Oslo, and Prague.
• Find What's Nearby. Locate points of interest on your route or virtually anywhere on the map by choosing and "checking" places or restaurant types. These include more than 128,000 restaurants, 75,000 petrol stations, 33,000 cash machines, 8,000 train stations, 4,000 golf courses and more.
• Pocket Streets for the Pocket PC. With Pocket Streets running on the Pocket PC, maps can be downloaded and areas exported from AutoRoute 2004. Pocket Streets supports GPS and integrates with Pocket Outlook so contacts and appointment locations can easily be mapped.
• Route Planner. Route Planner enables users to view, add, delete or rearrange destinations. Routing also lets you set fuel costs, driving speed, preferred roads and preferred routes (i.e., shortest, quickest). With AutoRoute routes can be optimised if there are multiple destinations.
• Patented Snap-Routing Technology. Drag and drop a route anywhere or change a route, then watch it "snap" into place, while the map and driving directions recalculate automatically--even for the most complex journey.
• Pushpins. Choose from more than 256 "pushpin" symbols to mark particular addresses or places on the map, or import your own. AutoRoute is compatible with many popular databases so you can import data from Microsoft Office Access, Excel, Outlook or text files.
• Microsoft Office Integration. Import address data from Microsoft Office Outlook or Excel directly into AutoRoute.

  Benefits

  • Not Just a Route Planner. Unlike most competing products, AutoRoute isn’t just a long distance route planner. Whether you are planning a holiday, business trip or just a day out, its high quality maps of cities and towns and comprehensive collection of points of interest make it great for finding places--whether it is a pub, restaurant, hotel, bank or station.
  • It's the All-in-One UK and Europe-Wide Mapping and Travel Resource. AutoRoute provides you with a single, fully integrated solution that uses the best quality map data to deliver door-to-door directions, detailed routes and driving directions.
  • Fast and Easy. AutoRoute 2004 instantly meets your mapping and travel needs without waiting for an Internet connection. Now in its 10th release, Microsoft has perfected AutoRoute to make the product easier to use than ever before.