Mapcast...Maps as a podcast

Staying true to my blog name I write this blog at 4:00 AM. I recently went on a road trip with my friends to VA Beach in Virginia and the Outer banks in North Carolina. All my trips were preceded by hours spent analyzing the places on Google Maps followed by at least a thousand pages of directions downloaded from Mapquest (I just prefer the way they outline the directions). Here's my idea. Isn't it possible for Mapquest/Google Maps to convert the directions into a podcast? Its just text to speech after all. I want the ability to download a podcast (nothing more than an MP3 file) that literally tells me the directions. Instead of printing gazillion pages I would prefer to download these map podcasts or mapcasts on my iPod. In fact Mapquest/Google Maps can provide registered users/paid subscribers with movie mapcasts for video iPods. The movies can be animation movies that provide directions with sound. Map providers can insert audio/video ads in the podcast or movies for additional revenue. The ads can in fact be relevant ads about restaurants, or hotels, or places to visit in the users map.

Two Substitutes to this idea:

GPS Devices
GPS devices that can provide real time directions are already out in the market. But a GPS device is a nice to have but not an essential utility for a road trip. At least in my mind. The investment in a GPS device is not justified for people like me who go on trips infrequently. A lot of people need a set of maps to start and end the journey and prefer exploring everything in between on their own. My idea is essentially to replace the needless printouts of maps and directions with podcasts or mapcasts for lack of a better name.

Maps on Cell Phones
Most online map providers allow users to send directions to their cell phones from a web page. In addition users can download directions directly on their cellphone by connecting to the Internet through their cell phone service provider. Both these features are costly or are not free today. The mapcasts is not a replacement for the cell phone service, in fact targeted at a different customer segment. Users who are willing to pay to view directions on their cell phone will continue to do so. This idea is for people who have an iPod or any MP3 player for that matter and as mentioned earlier take printouts of the directions before a journey.

Unfortunately I don't have the technical abilities to create this functionality on my own. If somebody does get inspired by my blog please do let me know. Finally, the best way to sell this idea to users, its better for the environment.

Disclaimer

• I claim this as my idea only after looking on Google Maps and Mapquest. I did not come similar feature(s) on either of the two websites. I don't know of any other websites that provide similar functionality.