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Craig, I have used Streets and Trips 2006 with a laptop. Also used Delorme's Street Atlas with a laptop. I used them with the laptop for the first 3 1/2 years of fulltiming. I liked both. However, I had to turn my head to see what the upcoming turn looks like and to see what it was telling me. That wasn't all that big a deal.
However, I now have a Garmin 2720 portable. The screen is obviously smaller than a laptop but is plenty big of me. It sits on the dash directly in front of me. Much easier to see the upcoming turn details without taking my eyes off the road completely.
Either way is a decent solution. It all depends on your preferences and, to some degree, your pocketbook. If you already have the laptop, then it's cheaper to buy S&T with receiver or SA with receiver than to buy a GPS.
There are some other caveats to the portable, also, such as how many routes and waypoints will it store within the unit. Do you have to plot the route on the unit itself (somewhat cumbersome) or can you use provided software on a laptop/desktop and upload the routes and waypoints to the gps. These were factors for me. The Garmin 2720 will store both routes and waypoints, far more than I will ever need. Something like 2500 waypoints. When we leave an area or complete a route I delete the route and waypoints.
The laptop solution also works. Good luck with your choice. If you go portable, search online for the best price. My 2720 Garmin lists for something around $1200 at the Garmin website. It's the bigger screen model. I got it for $499 at an online store I trust. Someone else found the 2720 new on Ebay for under $400.
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