Articles
GPS – You’re on the Map
December 29, 2009 09:09AM
Guest article by David Duchen
As many people know, the Global Positioning System (GPS) provides real-time information about an individual’s location anywhere in the world, and this point-and-click tracking ability is increasingly becoming “the norm” in our everyday experiences. Not sure where the best pizza place is in New York? Just login to your favorite social network via your mobile device (which of course, also serves as a handheld GPS), and you’ll be biting in to a fresh slice of thin crust before you can say “The Big Apple”. Lost in Sydney and trying to find the Opera House? No need for a taxi, your ever-useful GPS navigation system will show you the distance from your exact location, and it just might list the transportation options for arriving just before the first opera begins.
As GPS systems have exploded in popularity over the past several years, brand names like Garmin, Magellan and eTrex have become part of our lexicon, and it seems that their presence is going to continue its growth. An enormous influence on the growth of GPS popularity has been its integration with mobile phones, MP3 players and essentially any other device that uses batteries. So what’s the big deal about knowing exactly where you are on the map? Who cares if the there are 17 Starbucks within 6 blocks of your current location? When travel’s concerned, the most important aspect isn’t the location of where you are, it’s where the things and places that are near your current location, and this is why GPS and GPS accessories are changing the world of travel as it currently exists.
Let’s put this whole “travel to new places” idea in perspective. When historic explorers searched for new lands, they used old, usually tattered maps that provided only educated guesses about the locations of landmarks. Now, when you strap on your backpack and head to Buenos Aires, you can use your mobile phone to find the best empanada stand in town. After you’ve finished filling yourself with the local cuisine, just enter the name of your hotel back in to your handheld GPS and voula, you’re back in the lobby.
So maybe the most exciting part about GPS is that it opens avenues of exploration that we’ve never before considered. Maybe we love GPS because now when we visit a new location, we get to map out our own personal experience. Rather than flipping through an overly promoted tourist pamphlet when looking for things to do, you can plug in to the world’s Global Positioning System and set your own, authentically wonderful itinerary to follow ‘til your heart’s content. You’ll witness things you’ve never seen, you’ll taste food that you didn’t know existed, and of course, when you’re fully satisfied and ready to head back home, the world of GPS navigation will lead you right back to the airport.
