I live a Satnav-free life (in a small city on an island) so this is one of those things that I would never be that mindful of, but some of you are, I’m sure.
Ken H was one such Saab owner and he spells out the problem and the solution below (thanks Ken!).
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It’s a fairy well known fact that Saab stopped offering updates for the satnav in 9-3 SS/SC MY 03-06, and hence people with those systems (me included) were stuck without available upgraded maps.
It was rumored that Mazda used the same SDAL DVD for some of their satnavs, but there was never a firm confirmation to be found that this would actually work.
In the end I figured there’s only one way to find out, so I ordered a disc directly from Navteq… And it did indeed work without any problems.
I now have 2008/2009 maps in my system!
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Swade here, again…..
This does bring up the usefulness of integrated Satnav in the era of very affordable, portable Satnav that you can take from vehicle to vehicle.
Personally, if I ever had the need for Satnav, I know which one I’d choose.
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According to the chicago autoshow website Saab is no longer going to be there due to the recent sale. I guess gm doesn’t want to pay for the advertising if they are not going to be reaping the benefits. So no Spyker or Saab there this year… If i already hadn’t bought my tickets I would not go.
I don’t have a Satnav either Swade, although I’ve borrowed one a couple of times. If I did own one, I’d probably get Billy Connolly’s voice on it telling me I’m a ******g idiot every time I made a wrong turn!
How much was the disk and can you provide the contact info? Thanks!!!
I’ve never had Nav but after a few test drives in the competition I was pretty impressed. Ironically, it was the non-nav features that first captured my attention. Ability to upload and display music, HD radio text, Satellite radio, etc. Also the ability to display or update vehicle status and service intervals. Bluetooth phone connectivity is also useful for those who need it. The convergence of voice, data, music and GPS is part of an OEM integrated system. I think that people who buy the 9-5 will Nav will be impressed, but I agree with many that it is still overpriced.
While that appears to be a happy ending, it is unbelievable that the owners were evidently not informed by Saab directly. Now that the latest smartphones also have acceleration Sensors and compasses, the nav App developpers could well use those data for tunnel interpolation. So, there is a diminuishing advantage of built-in nav sytems, at least theoretically, since afaik these features have not yet been used in existing progs.
You can find it by going to Navteq’s web store (link is in swade’s post), choose built-in factory installed, Mazda, RX-8, 2004. This is the same SDAL DVD as used in Saab.
Disc is about 260 EURO in Europe, and 199 USD in USA.
(It looks like US has 2008 as the last update)
After living with a factory installed satnav since 2003, I have learned to appreciate the advantages (like direction on SID, mute of stereo during instructions, use of speed to calculate in tunnels) . But I have also learned the technology moves so fast these days that a factory system is in practice outdated when the car reaches the market…
I believe that car makers should work together with the makers of aftermarket units instead. There are only some slick solutions to build in TomTom’s in the dash, and Fiat has gone even further with interaction between the TomTom and the car.
In about a month I’ll take over my fathers fully equipped 2004 9-5 Aero, and I’m starting to worry about the nav-system. Anyone who knows if there are any updates to that one? Or should I throw it out and replace it with a standard SAAB sound system? As I remember it, the nav-system in that 9-5 looks generally extremely outdated when it comes to graphics and overall performance.
Or is there any other nav-system that fits in the same place?
Thyl,
I own one of the first GPS’s wich take advantage of internal accelerometeres. I’ve got to say that 1. I don’t like the result at all, 2. I don’t think they are using them wisely.
Maybe the newer generation will get better.
Patrick – if your system is a Kenwood 2200, then a Kenwood 3200 might be an improvement…I am not sure when Saab changed to the 3200 but it was around 2003-4. The later cars have a Denso system which is better still.
As for the 9-3, I did buy a fully compatible 2007 Western Europe disc for my ’03 Aero
I am certain that there will be no built-in sat-nav in any car a couple of years from now. However, the screen in the car, and the on-board infotainment platform, will allow you to download sat-nav, or to use it as your sat-nav-unit’s user interface.
Interesting! Can you tell me which program and which device you use? I have no personal experience, but i am impressed with what people do with the iPhone’s gyro sensor, including vibration measuring, levels, and biotic alarm clocks. So I thought it would be a no-brainer, though i note the Absence of this feature from TomTom.
Sorry but I don’t see the point in that.
IN your proposals you keep the most expensive part of the infotainment system.
TomTom 930.
I opted for this device instead of the 730 because of the internal Gyro, but I think today I would go for the 750. (In defense of TomTom; the 930 was the first one offering that, in the mean time the 940 and 950 have hited the market).
But the biggest flaw of portable sat-navs is not that, but the fact they don’t know where they are when you turn them on, and it can take quite long till they find 4 satelites.
I reason that the OEMs are going to (want to) keep control over the look and feel of the infotainment system, but that the customers will never accept that the OEM decides what applications are available.
I believe that the future for automotive infotainment will be a blend of iPhone/Android/Genivi (www.genivi.org).
For the low-end segment you see thing like what renaiult is doing (built in TomTom) or Seat (rebranded TomTom) or Fiat (some crappy Windows Mobile stuff), but I don’t think you will see the same happening on the upsacle market.
This genivi project looks good, but to me it looks like the OEM are joining forces to be able to deliver in vehicle infotainment at a lower production cost.
Do you want a built-in TomTom? Does the next owner?
What Genivi are doing is more or less to put a connected Linux Netbook in the dash. I think that the customers will not be satisfied with the apps that the OEMs say that they can run on that platform. And I think that people will think that it is stupid to buy a navigation unit when there’s an application that you can run on that platform.
I recently purchased a used smart phone (HTC Tilt) and am currently trying out a demo of AT&T’s $10/mo Navigation system. It talks and points just like a normal GPS system. It seems a better choice to me than a built in $1800 system as it would take 15 years to make up the difference in price. And being that it’s a phone, I can take it with me wherever I go and can discontinue the service if I no longer need it. Sounds good to me.
No, and I don’t know. I was only enumerating what diferent OEM’s are doing in the low cost segment now.
What do you mean with an “aplication that you can run on that platform”??
Sorry if I sound aggressive. Didn’t mean to.
I mean that if there’s a navigation application which can run on the system which is already in the car, I wouldn’t buy the additional hardware.
I guess that the OEMs doesn’t want this to happen, but I think that they will need to open it up. Like iPhone, for instance.
sat nav free too, enjoying the scenery not the traffic!
No you didn’t sound aggresive, remember at least one of us doesn’t use its mother tongue to comunicate here
I agree with you.
But let’s think about a OEM building a GENIVI infotainment system on his car. I don’t care if it’s based on Linux or something else. But do you really think they would deliver a system that can be easily be changed with non-tested aplications?
No, I don’t think so.
I think you will get a AppStore-like thing where you can buy whatever the OEM likes you to buy (the AppStore do also offer what Apple thinks is OK for you).
So, although gemivi is based on an open platform it will be quite closed towards the user.
I guess that that’s their plan. But do you believe that they will succeed in locking people in with just a few apps, only one navigation app for instance?
I think that the app providers won’t develop for the new platform unless they know that they can sell the apps in relatively high volumes.
If they don’t manage to do this in a good way, people will keep bringing their TomToms into the cars. I believe that it will be relatively open. Like iPhone.
Sorry,I don’t see the point to get a car with a built-in iPad
I personally don’t need apps or whatever to run on my IVI. I’ve read about those 5$ nav apps for the iPhone, but I haven’t tested them (don’t own an iPhone), so I don’t know if they are better than the TomTom App(as an example).
Regarding development, car designers and developers are a conservative bunch. Currently they are totally fized to the idea of developing built-in systems, but hopefully Saab will have the vision to change path.
Maybe Saab should provide a plug-in space on the dashboard that allows installing adapter for devices like phones, mp3 devices and specific navigation stuff. The plug-in space could be provided with a universal connector for delivering power, CAN bus, antennas, audio, component/composite video, etc., USB, seriell port etc. By this, 3rd parties would be allowed to devellop adapter that integrate Devices like iPods, iPhones, navgators etc into the car’s systems.
Today’s “solutions” to put these devices anywhere (windscreen, dashboard, boxes) are inellegant and unsafe.
I have GPS-based Telenav navigation on my BlackBerry. My company pays for the extra $9.99US per month, which works for me. I imagine it is avaiable on other “smartphones” as well. I’ve used it all over the US (don’t get out much anymore) and it is rarly wrong since it uses the services’ maps and accesses them via the cell network. I can even take and make phone calls at the same time. It has a way cool “3-d” live moving map, live traffic with rerouting and it works for walking too. So if you’re in a city on travel and park your car to take in some local sites, you can mapspot your car. After walking around all day, you simply then tell the thing to take you back to that spot!
The display is way larger than a typical cell phone and is not that much smaller than a garman or other similar device.
In the USA portable Nav system can be had for under $100. I have never seen the need for a factory system when most folks rarely use them. How often do you go somewhere you have never been before? Suzuki offers removable Garmins(?) in their cars. They dock in the dash up high where they are easy to see. An elegant solution I think.
PRECISELY why I will stick with handheld GPS devices. Easier to update, and even MORE important…the ability to move the unit between multiple cars.
Also, FAR less expensive!
USD$2500.00 for a built-in unit…well under USD$500.00 for an equally capable handheld.
Thx for the info. So this is really a special purpose built device, not a smartphone, yet doesn’t work well. Strange indeed. This would imply that the devil is once again in the details.
Do internal sat navs have a faster fixing because they simply assume the last position before tgey were switched off as the still valid position? I guess this could also be implemented in portables?!
What has been forgotten here is the principal advantage of the built-in unit…
For those of you with TomTom-like portable units when you leave your car what do you do with it?
In the UK one of the targets for the enterprising car thieves are portable SatNavs. Drivers are advised to remove ALL traces or evidence of a portable Satnav. If Mr TeaLeaf sees wiring, the cradle or the suction marks on the windscreen where the device was fitted then he would assume the unit is concealed in the car, in the glove compartment or the boot. A little bit of broken glass and a phone call to the insurance ensues. After all, not all people want to leave their car and walk around with the device in their pocket or bags. do they? The UK insurance companies are quite unsymapethic to this and the cost of the unit and repair is sometimes less than the excess.
A built in unit in my old 9-3 (and I was able to get a 2007 disk BTW) and my current 9-5 are relatively discreetly placed on the all-black dashboard…fully integrated into the car and less attractive to opportunist thieves.
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