Satnav fix for 2003-2006 Saab 9-3

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.

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 As I remember it, the nav-system in that 9-5 looks generally extremely outdated when it comes to graphics and overall performance.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?

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.

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.

sat nav free too, enjoying the scenery not the traffic!

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.

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.