Digital Vs Physical Maps Pros and Cons for your RenTrip Journey

Ever thought about what could be one of the best ways to recognise your way through unknown cities with ease? Digital Maps or physical maps? What would be the best possible way to navigate through the cities? While the contemporary perception might be that physical maps are outdated and digital is the way to go, veteran travellers as well as explorers might beg to differ.

To analyze the merits and demerits of both, we would compare in detail the importance of both ways a traveller can navigate during an excursion.

Merits of Printed Maps

Printed Maps do provide ease of access to users; they provide all the necessities of a traveller trying to navigate in a single offering. But along with the benefits, it also has a few demerits of its own. Here is a comparison

Merits

• Directly linked to the development of spatial awareness in travellers.
• Proves beneficial in case of power outages.
• Of special importance in areas where the network reception might be faulty.
• Gives information about the terrain.
• Are still the official medium of use for armies and other forces.
• Gives an insight into the geographical appearance of a location.
• Physical copies of maps are critical to historians and explorers as maps also document changing geographical appearances and presence.
• Maps are of strategic importance for armies and infantry.
• Untraceable, digital GPRS systems can be hacked and repurposed to share location info in case of shared networks.
  
  

Demerits

Hefty to carry

If you are carrying maps of an entire region, they can often be hefty. Moreover, using them to identify routes and pick tracks can be more difficult. While navigation has now become as easy as referring to a single screen for picking the best routes, using a map might seem like a hard job.

Susceptible to Damage

Normally printed out on non-jacketed paper, maps are highly susceptible to damage. They can often absorb moisture or tear apart when used rigorously. However, you can find better-quality maps in the market these days that can hold up even after the most rigorous use.   

Fear of Losing Them

While GPRS technology is now installed and established in most of the devices we use, such as phones and car navigation systems it's much less susceptible to being lost along the way.  

Satellite Navigation ( GPRS Technology )

Satellite navigation has become one of the most used methods of navigation and exploration in recent times. With new technological advents, GPRS systems have, to some extent, replaced the ordinary maps that travellers used to use in the past.

Here are a few Merits and Demerits of Satellite Navigation

Demerits

• Loss of navigation in low internet Reception Areas.
• In case of low signals, the GPRS systems might suffer.
• Since most GPRS systems have a built-in battery, they need constant charging to operate.
• If you use your main device ie. phone for navigation the battery might drain quickly. 
• While being used on open networks they do cause Privacy Concerns.
• In the case of location sharing there could be Location Data Breach.
• Do increase your Internet Dependency.

Merits of Digital Navigation

Accuracy

Digital maps are prepared through user-collected data willingly shared by a vast pool of users around; hence, user-experienced-based accuracy is a pretty common feature in them. Often, the data shared by users can differ from one person to another; hence, it is only imperative that the map be changed as per the user experiences ensuring real-time updates. As a user, you must review a digital map from varied sources before considering any single map for reference.

Convenience

Digital maps do provide users with convenience. They help them navigate easily right from the screen of their phones or cars. Orthodox maps often fail to provide such convenience. Easy access with Google Maps: You can easily access maps to your destination from anywhere in the world. Further, they also provide ease of customization. You can customize the routes per your requirements. You can choose routes that have the right point of interest for you. The scope of personalization with such digital maps is limitless.   

Realtime Updates

Maps receive real-time updates and can easily present changes in routes in case of emergencies or road closures. Orthodox maps completely fail at providing such efficiency. Such updates are of high importance as they keep the user on the right path without any major hassles. A continuous feed of instructions based on the active environment is often better than the fixed routes a map showcases based on year-old research.

User Experience

Realtime updates, along with the addition of new routes and changes as per the environment often give users a pretty amenable experience. Such an experience cannot even be expected by simple Maps.

Timely Updates

Digital maps are kept in touch with geographical changes and receive updates regularly to ensure that users have the right information. Such updates and revamping keep the maps ready for users of all kinds and help them reach their destination safely.

User Experience Updates

Beyond all the other updates that help maintain accuracy and other elements, the regular user experience updates further make digital maps successful compared to simple maps. They have an edge in almost every department when compared to other simple maps. Ease of access , space for customization and the ability to showcase real-time changes make Digital maps a clear winner for day-to-day navigation needs.