Navman GPS devices to offer world-first monthly map updates

By Stephen Fenech On Jul 21, 2013

Navman’s latest range of personal navigation devices will come with a world first – verified monthly map updates to ensure drivers have the latest information on the road.

To deliver this free Rapid Monthly Refresh service, Navman has partnered with Nokia’s mapping business Here to provide the most up-to-date maps for drivers.

But just how much can a map change in a month a lot people may ask. A surprising amount is the answer.

Last year alone Here added more than 42,000km of new roads, changed more than 7500 street names, changed 10,000 turn directions, 1800 one-way streets and 1,800 road directional signs in its Australian map.

The monthly map updates are available on Navman’s top of the range MY450LMT ($249) to reflect the new roads, junctions and safety alerts for red light and speed cameras.

Other information will include school zones, new points of interest and roads that are currently under construction.

The MY400LMT ($229) and EZY250LM ($169) devices from Navman will also include free lifetime map updates delivered quarterly.

These updates can be downloaded and installed when the Navman device is connected to either a PC or Mac using Navman’s desktop software.

“Australian roads and landmarks are constantly changing and even more changes will be happening soon,” said Wendy Hammond, country director Navman Australia.

“Since 2008, the Australian Government has committed $60 billion (to 2018-19) towards road, rail and public transport infrastructure under the Nation Building Program.

“I think people are not aware of how many changes occur. Not only are there new roads, new traffic alerts and cameras, but also changes like the local names of areas, for example East Redfern in Sydney became known as Moore Park simply because locals began calling the area Moore Park and Kings Cross isn’t actually a suburb.”

The 2013 Navman MY series range has added some new features including Landmark Guidance Plus, Café Shortcut Plus, Fuel Type Search and Voice Destination Entry.

Landmark Guidance Plus adds local landmarks to the navigation experience by giving distances and turn instructions based on local landmarks.

For example, the device might tell a driver to turn left in 200m at the petrol station.

Café Shortcut Button was added to the Navman by popular demand to direct drivers to get their caffeine fix at the nearest available cafés in the area.

Fuel Search was always a feature of the Navman products but it has now taken that a step further with the ability to now search for specific types of fuel like diesel or LPG.

Voice Destination Entry is summed up pretty well by its name and it is now easier to enter an address as easily as you can say it.

Now drivers can simply say the address they’d like to navigate to instead of going through multiple screens entering it manually.

The 2013 range of Navman personal navigation devices is available now.

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