Getting started

Abstract

Throughout most of history, maps were used mainly in static rather than dynamic form. For example, on ships they were placed flat on a surface to allow for easy readability. Measurements and other notations were drawn recorded on the map itself. With the growth of cartography in the first half of the 20th century, maps became easily portable and handy, showing up in road atlases and guidebooks. Paper maps thus became fully mobile. The advent of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices equipped with broadband Internet connectivity, GPS, and other features brought about the introduction of mobile cartography (now made digital).