I'm long-sighted and can still, mostly, use a 25,000 paper map without recourse to my reading specs. I'm interested in using a gps or satnav tracker device, but, initially at least, as a backup to the traditional map, most usefully when off-route and need to get back to last known location or leapfrog to one further on.
There are two problems. First, screen size on tracker devices is still pretty small, providing only a small window onto a larger terrain. Great for following a marked route, poor for seeing where you are in relation to a wider context, particularly for walking off or just changing route in response to weather or other unforseeables. Second, trackers need to be put down or in a pocket when both hands are needed, and may be more liable to being dropped or damaged than a paper map in a good map case (I place mine on A-stile tops and step round it, or, failing that, lodge it between dry-stone wall risers).
So, how far are we from gps on larger tablet devices onto which OS maps can be downloaded ? Not just static maps which can be scrolled and enlarged, but interactive tracking devices in the form of lightweight, flat 'pages' which might be protected by a shock- and water- resistant 'case' In other words, serving the same function as tablets, that is, a midway between hand-held and laptop device, but more robust than most tablets (you wouldn't chuck it over a fence, but you will put it down or in your map pocket without its cover).
Is a map tablet a feasible idea ? Could it work in practice, under extremes of cold, heat or wet, not to mention being shatter-proof ? Are any 4G tablet devices yet capable of serving the same function as gps or satnav hand-helds ? Comments please.
Iain.