I found this little bit of info on MP 2004 today:

Release schedule is estimated for September of 2003. Here's the link to MS:

http://selectug.mslicense.com/L1033/...extupdate.aspx

Thanks SSS. I don't know how reliable this is, but just now I got an ETA from our distributor at 7-10 days! People who ordered could have it before the end of July.

Eric

I now hear this is probably incorrect.. the availability date will likely be mid-September.

Eric

I wonder if they are pushing it back because they are going to offer it with an Office 2003 bundle or maybe as a compliment to Office 2003. I know that such a bundle hasn't been in any press releases, but it woundn't suprise me if this were true. Especially since Office XP didn't sell as well as MS hoped.

I'm guessing that MP2004 will be tightly integrated with the major Office programs, including Outlook this time around. It makes sense to be able to view a map of your address contacts when necessary (not to mention the obvious tie-ins with Outlook's big brother, MS CRM). Also, I'm guessing that XML will play a big part of MP2004, both in data import and map output (i.e. 'save as XML').

So my bet is on:
1) A new special Office bundle which includes MP2004 geared toward the small business crowd.
OR
2) A special deal where buying both Office and MP2004 gets you a discount.

Lets hope we find out soon!!!

Quick news: Amazon.com is indicating a MP 2004 release date of August 4, 2003.

Googled "MapPoint 2004 release date" and found a lots of sales sites indicating the same thing.

FYI

It's not true though.. I believed it myself. Do you subscribe to the newsletter? I'll get the latest issue posted on-line shortly.

Eric