Zoomable Map Solution – On Paper!
I am rubbish with maps. I get car sick when I read them, I have no clue when I look at them and try to predict where I will find things and explanations from me normally sound something like “Take a left at the shop with the fruit, then walk until you see a blue skip, take a right there until you go past a betting shop….” meaning I just don’t remember street names.
I am even worse folding and unfolding maps. You can bet that sooner or later I won’t be able to fold a massive map any longer and that you hear a ripping noise when I open one. That aside, it is a real pain in London to read a map anyways as you hardly ever have enough personal space to unfold one in the first place.
A friend of mine now showed me an invention she came up some time ago, which is a foldable and zoomable map. You just pick the section you are interested in and you can unfold with two fingers to go to a detail map or just keep the overview in your hand. Together with information about the tube and different sights in London this would be a very cool gift for people visiting me and klutzes like myself. A shame you cannot buy them yet.
“See a video of the map in action on youtube”:http://youtube.com/watch?v=7gG4JoLajP4:
[tags]maps,map,zooming,handy,guide,tourist,london,pocketmap[/tags]


March 21st, 2007 at 3:18 pm
April 13th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
March 20th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
London Mini A-Z is where it’s at. Fits in a jacket pocket, and no folding to contend with. Ace. This looks pretty cool though.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:20 pm
I have a tiny street map of Manhattan which unfolds and refolds in a similar clamshell manner. (search for “Compass Popout Map”). Would be better if it contained the same breadth of information as your friend’s though.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I have always been a fan of folding paper particularly making paper airplanes. I started with a software called The Greatest Paper Airplanes published by Kitty Hawk. Unfortunately the software is no longer distributed today. It teaches how to fold 50 different paper airplanes. It’s a good place to start learning origami.