MAD Maps iPhone App: Specialized Maps are Not Free
MAD Maps are special maps for special people: they are maps for folks who don’t want the direct route, but the fun route. The crompany’s paper maps, electronic maps and now iPhone app maps, are all geared to serve the adventurous set. Among them the two wheeled HD motorcycle set. (I know of them in part because of Don Cooke’s passion for the maps and the company; I don’t ride those kinds of bikes!)
The company’s new iPhone app is 99 cents and comes with five maps of rides within the U.S. Additional maps are 99 cents. And, the company makes it clear these are not regular maps made from satellites, but by local scouts on actual bikes.
Our scouts are our product,” said MAD Maps Founder Jennifer Lefferts. “Instead of relying on satellites in the sky, our development depends on real people on the ground.”
Does it matter? I can’t speak for motorcycle routes, but I know real queue sheets for cycling from real riders are 1000% better than drawing a route using Google Maps! While I’m lucky enough to use “free ones” from my local cycling club, I’d pay for others when traveling, especially if they were regularly checked for updates/accuracy.
