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The decline of printed matter, the rise of microfiber

By Rain Noe - January 21, 2009

in Object Culture

How can you prevent a nearly obsolete product from making its way out the door? By giving it a secondary, more modern function. Rand-McNally, manufacturer of printed maps (remember those things?) has surely seen a decline in sales since the advent of Mapquest and Google Maps. But a clever RM product planner realized that more and more of us are carrying at least one device with an LCD screen, and LCD screens get dirty and need to be cleaned.

The result? Rand-McNally's new fabMAPs, printed on microfiber cloth. Now that their maps can be used to wipe down a cell phone, camera lens or display, tourists just might start buying them again.

via oh gizmo

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matti

15 years ago

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I for one need paper maps when I'm traveling. Using Google Maps or similar for getting around is a breeze when I'm at home, but abroad the roaming costs so much that I won't even try.

Also, nothing beats a good (small, readable) paper map.
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