What Driving Directions to Use? Google Maps or MapQuest?

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What Driving Directions to Use? Google Maps or MapQuest? - By: Joshua Nestor, Posted on: 2007-10-11

I know I am probably dating myself just a little... but web map services like G-Maps or MapQuest simply blow me away. Whoever found out how to map any block on the planet in 5 seconds has got to be rich... if not they should be.

If you never tried this marvelous service, go to maps.google.com right now. It doesn't matter where you are going... the shortest most up to date driving instructions and maps are moments away.

I have been using Google Maps for a quite some time. Their technology continually improve, and along with it, the detail of the maps has advanced significantly. There are other main web players that use geo mapping with great success as well. The big 3 are Google, MapQuest and the granddaddy of them all, Rand McNally.

I'm going to do a brief overview of these three, which hopefully will save you some exploration time when you enter the websites.

After years with MapQuest I mostly use G-Maps lately (although MapQuest still has one unique feature I will let you know about in a minute). My liking for this Google service developed after finally examining their very easy to grasp instructions.

It is a remarkable bit of technology which will present you with both maps pretty much anywhere in the world and detailed driving instructions in most countries.

To try and cover all of G-Maps in this review would fail, so let's look at the main features of the site and you can uncover the rest when you arrive there.

All of G-Maps is based on earth satellite imagery. You can quickly locate Physical maps, Political maps, Road maps and Topographic maps anywhere on the planet.

You can see people wandering around Colosseum in Rome or read the home plate logo at Coors field in Denver. In most parts of the world, you can also get point to point driving instructions.

Perhaps the most unique tool of mapping is the users ability to adjust any route the service plots. If you need to go another way all you need to do is drag and drop the route trail to another point. Many times you want to go to alternate points on your way... other sites will not let you do this, with Google it's a snap.

Rand McNally has been making maps since 1872, if you do the math, what you'll note immediately is that's a long time. All truck stops in the US as well as large gas stations sell Rand McNally atlases. They are mostly in the printed map business but also have a website that provides online maps and directions. They are a great way to cross check directions from other services.

MapQuest is the granddaddy of online mapping having been started in the 1960's by Donnelly Advertising. They were purchased in 2000 by AOL.

I have used Map Quest plenty of times and they always deliver. They have remarkable maps for the US, Canada and Europe but are weaker in the rest of the world in their quality and detail. US instructions are totally detailed and usually quite accurate. In some growth areas they can be a little behind, simply because of trying to stay current with new growth can be challenging.

MapQuest has a "Gas Prices" button right on the top menu bar that will search for the best gas or diesel anywhere in the US. This is a real money saver and personally, I check it before every fill up if I can.

Hope this helps you never to get lost again, and safe travels to you always.

Article Source: http://www.girlarticles.com

Joshua Nestor writes for Fun and Safe Driving, website devoted to promotion of defensive driving. Among other things, site features encyclopedia, forums, videos, and map quest road maps .