M@New App Overlays Old And New Maps Of LondonChoose from five different maps.Select points of interest from the map, or menu.View old photos of locations.Read about the history of a point of interest and listen to audio commentary from a Blue Badge guide.
Smart phones can do some pretty staggering things, but travelling through time remains an annoyingly elusive application to crack. The next best thing is available with a new offering for iPhone, iPod and iPad.
Time Travel Explorer is an extremely addictive guide to how our city has changed over the past 250 years. The most impressive feature is an intuitive slide-rule control that lets you merge old maps with a modern map (or even compare two different old maps). The execution really is impressive. In all our mappish dealings, we've never encountered a better way to see exactly how local streets, parks and squares have changed over time. Five maps are available, going back to 1746.The application also includes marker pins for over 750 points of interest, many with old photographs of the location, or audio commentary by a blue badge guide.If you don't have an iPhone, but still enjoy London maps (and who doesn't?), the app is complemented by a new blog all about the history and future of mapping in London, written by former Time Out journalist Peter Watts and (to declare an interest) Londonist M@. You can also follow on Twitter at @TimetravelLDN.Time Travel Explorer is available now for iPhone and variants, priced £1.79 until 1 October. The screengrab above does not do it justice - you need to see the sliderule effect for yourself.
