321Books guides > MapQuest - directions

MapQuest Guide and Overview

MapQuest provides street maps and driving directions.

The most obvious place to obtain MapQuest driving directions is the web, but it can be used with various GPS devices. For instance:

To determine if MapQuest or another company is better for your particular needs, it worth taking some tiome to comare features.

MapQuest driving directions compared...

MapQuest driving directions are great, but other map sites can give added value. For example, Google Maps gives you draggable driving directions, which is very useful if you want to compare different routes between two destinations. Other search engine companies, like Ask, Bing and Yahoo, also offer street maps and driving directions with unique features. 

Every so often, it is worth reviewing MapQuest, and the offerings from other mapping services, to see if they have improved their facilities. Things move quickly in this area.

But don't ignore MapQuest, and just go with your favourite search engine. MapQuest is totally dedicated to providing driving directions, and often goes the extra mile ('scuse pun!) to provide great features.

Use MapQuest to complement other services, and vice versa

You should get all the details you can for any journey into unknown territory, and supplement MapQuest's weaknesses with the strengths of other map sites. For instance, MapQuest driving directions lack landscape features. For raw driving directions MapQuest is great, but you can't beat a landmark for orientation. To take advantage of landmarks, check local tourist, hotel and business sites. These may provide local directions that keep you driving on the right track.

Also supplement MapQuest with specialist sites. For example, DiscountedorFree give you extensive information on services and products near travel routes. Expedia provide superbly detailed maps integrated with travel services. Trip Planner and Trip Advisor allow you to plan holidays, as well as giving you simple directions.

If you need actual pictures of the area in which you are travelling then MapQuest isn't much use, try Bing Maps, and Google Maps instead. They provide aerial photography of map sites. Yahoo shows a detailed map in conjunction with a large scale map. This is extremely useful if you are trying to gain both an overall understanding of a new city, and detailed directions.

Also important is speed of access. At the time of writing MapQuest is fast, but Yahoo has the fastest interface. But things can change, so keep re-checking the different sites.

MapQuest allows web masters to integrate customised maps into their sites. This means you often find MapQuest maps incorporated into information rich pages. Bookmark these sites as you search for information, they are often useful sources of local details and can be readily integrated with your MapQuest driving directions.

MapQuest - features

In this section we cover MapQuest features that might set it above the opposition for your particular needs:

MapQuest - news

MapQuest versus Google Maps

At the beginning of 2008 MapQuest, owned by AOL, had about 50% market share of internet visits to Map sites, while Google had only about 20%. A year later both MapQuest and Google had about 35% market share, reflecting a seminal year for Google Maps. The figures make it obvious that Google's success was at the expense of MapQuest. John McKinley makes the point that the MapQuest interface had become like a "dog's breakfast". Although simple informative directions were still to be obtained it had become difficult to see how to attain them. In contrast Google Maps had a directions box top left and a map taking up most of the screen. Nothing could be simpler. Reference: MapQuest gone wrong by John McKinley

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