At times, inventors of ages past showed enormous ingenuity in the construction of their charmingly intricate devices. Other times? They just took an existing idea and, bereft of creativity, made it smaller, more fiddly and less functional. Come to think of it, not much has changed: only the aesthetics.
At first glance, this 1927 map watch is pretty nifty: an antediluvian GPS, don’t you know. It was called the Plus Four Wristlet Route Indicator, a name so clunky, unmemorable and artless that it even sounds like the name of a modern GPS device. The idea was simple: the Wooster-esque motorist would putter around England, scrolling a tiny paper map loaded in his wrist as he went with two black knobs. If you took a turn, you simple slid out one map and inserted another one and continued on your way.
What ho! Ingenious! Except a complete road map only cost a few pence back in 1927, where as this device would have set you back around 5 quid. And just like modern GPS map providers, the real business model was in selling you additional maps.
Which leaves the design. I quite like it: it’s cheap, but whimsical and adventurous, like something you might strap on your wrist to traverse Oz.
Fancy driving with this… the earliest wind-up sat-nav [Daily Mail via Gizmowatch]
I really really want one, if only it were more practical. I’m trying to figure out how to improve it and make one myself without investing a great deal of money, either up front or subscriptions. I’m not having any great ideas, unfortunately. Though, I suppose you could make a web applet that would take the path recommended by google maps or whatever, straighten it, and align it for printing for you.
I would love to land one of these – I would wear it on my other wrist on days that I wear a watch lacking the date indicator. Very nice.
Am I the only person thinking, “Phone screen. Scroll wheel guts. Mapquest mobile.”?
Isn’t he wearing it on the wrong wrist? How could you scroll it and read it in that orientation while you are trying to drive?!?
(Sorry, I notice goofy stuff like that.)