I just got around to ordering an update to the Nav system's DVD. If I use it about 10 times a year that means I'm paying over $15 per usage. That bites.

At these prices, I would be surprised if they were not bootlegged a lot.


America Map DVD Version 7P $ 149.00
Local Taxes: $ 13.91
Shipping & Handling: $ 9.95
Total: $ 172.86

 

Do you have a dual layer DVD burner, no fear of copyright infringement and an eBay account? (just kidding)

 

You shouldn't be surprised. They already are bootlegged.

 

I also have a 2008 with the DVD Nav., and I was wondering if I should update. Was the update an improvement? Noticable? Any new features? Was he "points of interest" expanded? Any update/feedback would be appreciated. Thank You!

 

I haven't received it yet, but I'll post a note when I do.

My expectations are not really that high, but there are some road changes in my area that I hope will show up. (Not for me of course but for anyone from out of town driving my car.)

 

I installed it and saw no change at all with regard to the maps. The nearby freeway interchange updates were still showing the old overpasses (now torn down) but I am sure that there are about 5000 new Starbucks locations in there.

With these things I think an upgrade once every 3 years is more than enough.

 

Thanks Alan, Appreciate you following up on this. Hopefully, you will find enough new to feel OK about the $$. Did they give you any summary data, like "POIs (Points Of Interest) expanded from 1 million items to 4 million. Or "3000 new road updates". ?

 

The 09 Navigation map data is probably at least two years old. FoMoCo and/or others sell Garmins for about 10% the cost of the "Next Generation" nav system.

Navteq updates their map data every three months. FoMoCo and Pioneer (who makes the FoMoCo nav system) have elected to sell the "Next Generation" nav system with yesteryear's generation of map and POI data.

The nav itself has very flawed logic. I was in a parking lot of a movie theater last night, used the Sirius Sync movie listings feature to look for the theater and was informed that it was 14 miles away. I selected the theater as a destination and a route was calculated that totaled 39 miles, including US Forest service roads, 35% dirt roads with no names and a trip up and down a 6000 ft mountain. All this to get to where I was already at.

Thinking that the system may have been confused by my seeking a to navigate to my current location, I drove 3 miles away, tried again and got the same result (which now included driving by the destination theater).

 

I have experienced the exact opposite. Mine has been spot on and almost flawless as I have manuevered around three states and within Indy, Cincy and Louisville all with newer construction.

I agree that there is always going to be newer technology out there in aftermarket products. That is the nature of the beast when it comes to techie items. I prefer the integration of the Ford system with the vehicle but can easily see why others may have a preference opposite of mine.

 

Perhaps you've done this but many nav units have settings for avoiding or favoring certain types of roads. I had an older Kenwood that calculated some very bizarre routes until I got deeper into some of the settings.