Travel » Travel Directions Map To And From Destination

Years ago the only online map guide that I knew about was Mapquest. Whether or not they were before Yahoo or Google maps I do not know, but to me Mapquest started something revolutionary. No more asking a friend for a detailed explanation on how to get to certain destination. No more finding directions to businesses you have never visited before.

Now, Mapquest has some very good competition. The online search powerhouses of Google and Yahoo have started their own online map guides with different features; different looks and that go along with their other features that they offer.

Some would say it doesn't matter which online map guide you use, as long as it takes you to where you need to go. However, for some online users they need much more than directions to their favorite bar or city hot spot, and this is where the differences lie.

One important feature to some online users is the access of maps on their mobile phones/palm pilots. All three online map guides offer a way to send driving directions that you check out online to your mobile phone through text messages or through accessing their websites through your mobile browser. However, Yahoo Maps seems to only send directions to your phone and not necessarily a map like Mapquest. Google doesn't show an outright way to send directions to your phone at all, but they have the most eye appealing and easy to use mobile online map guide.

Another online map guide feature that is on all three map sites is the ability to see Satellite feeds of the location you are currently looking at. This is useful when you are trying to find certain landmarks in your area of interest (and is just cool to look at in general).

As for map features, Google and Yahoo seem be moving quickly away from the standard directions like Mapquest. One such feature is the Traffic button. This button shows current information about the traffic on roads in your area, so it is easier for you to plan your route to your next destination. However, although a very useful and interesting feature, smaller cities may not have any traffic information for you to look at, making the feature useless.

Google and Yahoo also have a nice feature in which you can select a certain area on the map to begin your directions and another area to end your directions. This is nice because you do not have to know the exact address of the location you are coming from or where you are going to if you know where on the map your destination is located. These make directions a little quicker and a little easier. Out of all three online map guides however, Google seems to be getting the most creative with their product. Some interesting and revolutionary features include Street View. Street View is a product that allows you to enter the street, as if you were walking on the sidewalk, through your computer. They offer 360 degree views and a chance to zoom in on particular parts of the picture. This is a great way to get a feel for where you are going, especially if you are in a new city.

Another feature Google offers is My Maps. My Maps allows users to customize the maps they are looking at. For example you can create a map with special locations of interest that you think would be enjoyable for a friend to check out, and then send that map to them through e-mail. With these special locations you can type out a description of the place, add an image or even embed a video! It isn't just pin points of locations you can show either. You can highlight certain blocks and also create specific paths for your friends to travel. This is great for taking them on a tour of a city or town without actually being there with them. My Maps also allows you to add third party content to your maps. These content providers can offer you pinpoint locations of apartments, gas stations, restaurant, etc. One of the last great features of Google Maps however is its flexibility with changing driving directions. On their website they have a tour of what you can do with Google Maps and how easy it is to chance driving directions on a whim, just by grabbing the route with your mouse and moving it a street/highway/express way you would rather take. This is great for getting around construction or for considering alternate routes.

All in all, online map guides are becoming more and more powerful in today's society. Each of these sites offers a great way to find locations anywhere in the world and gives you detailed information at your own disposal. Although Google seems to be leading the pack when it comes to new and interesting features, I am sure Yahoo and Mapquest will not be too far behind. Your best bet is to try all three sites and see which one works for you. Obviously some will work better for other people, so see what features you like to have and stick to that site. But, make sure to check the other sites often to see what the new idea is!

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Source: www.articledashboard.com