Google Street View is nothing else but old news, as Microsoft unveiled the Streets & Trips 2008 With Connected Services. The Redmond company's best-selling travel and mapping software has evolved to the 2008 edition, and comes bundled with a Global Positioning System (GPS) locator, and the new MSN Direct receiver. This means that Streets & Trips 2008 does not even require an Internet connection in order to present information to the users. However, the user has to be situated within a MSN direct coverage area in order to be able to access MSN Direct traffic updates and gas prices. In this context, a subscription to the MSN Direct service is mandatory, and users have to plan ahead and get one, as the package only offers the first year for free.

Still, Streets & Trips 2008 is no Google Street View alternative. And the difference is that between an excessive focus on functionality for Streets & Trips 2008 and the entertainment edge of Google Street View allowing users to "tour streetscapes and see 360° images." While Google Street enables users to access street level photographs, and explore cityscapes, concomitantly permitting them to find a real destination via the virtual walk, Streets & Trips 2008 will deliver traffic updates and competitive gas prices.

While the GPS functionality and MSN Direct receiver are indispensable to the Microsoft mapping software, the product is designed to be complementary to Windows Live Maps, and the fact that it is designed to work offline is the best proof in this sense.

"Whether you're commuting across town or traveling cross-country, you want it to be a pleasant experience without the hassles of getting lost or stuck in traffic," said Bobby Figueroa, director of product management for Local Search and Mapping Services at Microsoft. "Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 with Connected Services helps to relieve these common travel stresses by providing easy-to-use tools and updates through the MSN Direct service that will help save drivers time and money."