It's CD-Rom based, correct? If so, where is the unit at, where the CD-Roms goes into? Is it under the seat, in the glove compartment or am I way off? Also is it easy to change from one to another for those long trips?

Regards,

.Héctor.

(Mini-Less 1.5 years and going)

 

My MINI is still on order but I know it's under the passenger seat. It is CD based for now. In the near future they will have a DVD based Nav system. I don't know about changing discs for long trips though. I will soon enough. I'm sure someone who has Nav right now will be able to help you.

 

I, too, have a NAV system on order. All I can add is that they supposedly have addressed complaints from BMW owners (it is the same NAV system in the MINI) that the CDs were taking to long to load when being swapped. I think a recent Edmunds review concurred with this assesment that they now load quickly. Also, the NAV system is a woman's voice with a British accent, or she can speak German.

What I would like to know is, do you get all 6 CDs that cover the U.S.A. when you buy the NAV system? I posted this question in another post but never received a response.

_________________
"MEEP! MEEP!"

<IMG SRC=http://home.earthlink.net/~drinkguiness/media/mco/blueminismall.jpg>

 

I picked up my Mini S yesterday with the NAV system. It is under the seat and you can change discs, but I think all of the US is on the disc I was given. There will be updates available, but it isn't clear yet to me if I go to the dealer to get them (which I'm sure you'll be able to do) or the vendor that made the disc. I used it to lead me home from the dealership, and it was great. But, be careful. I knew a route that was a bit longer to go home, but preferred to the way the NAV system wanted to go. You have to tell it you're taking a new route.

 

Actually the disc only have the info for your area or region. I live in NY some my disc covers the North East, if you want the other discs you can get thme from your dealer. But one disc can not cover the whole US.

 

The cd reader is under the passenger seat and is "hidden" from view but very easy to get to. You can order the cd's from navtech.com and they are only for the region of the country that your located. So if your in the Northeast and want to have street level maps of florida you'll need to buy another disk. Each disk contains the major roads for the entire country but not street level maps. The nav system works very well in my short (1 week) experience.

 

>>The cd reader is under the passenger seat and is "hidden" from view but very easy to get to. You can order the cd's from navtech.com and they are only for the region of the country that your located. So if your in the Northeast and want to have street level maps of florida you'll need to buy another disk. Each disk contains the major roads for the entire country but not street level maps. The nav system works very well in my short (1 week) experience.

Thanks, marinesci! You even went and answered me in the other thread.

Happy motoring. If your schedule permits and you remember me, please IM (AIM or YM), email, or private message via MCO with feedback on the NAV system after some more use. It would make me feel good to know the NAV system I ordered is worth it. If you think there is enough of a demand out there from others, please post your critique.

Again, thanks. :smile:

 

Thank you very much, it's what I had gussed but wanted to make sure.

One more question for those with the NAV system, while looking through the pics I found this one pic, linked below, and it shows that the fuel gauge is now digital verrsus an analog type one. But in the pic all the lines are represented in RED, is that because when you get to a quarter tank (either by option or automatically) ithe whole gauge turns red to let you know in detail how much gas you have left in the last quarter tank or how does it work?

Thanks again,

.Héctor.

NAV with FUEL Guage pic

 

The fuel gauge is orange, but the first bar on the left can turn red when you are really low on fuel.

As has been mentioned before the CD-ROM based system is located under the passenger seat. The CD-ROM load slot faces the rear of the car.

CD's for other regions of the US are available from http://www.navtech.com. They cost $125 per region for the BMW CD maps. Navtech used to sell all 8 region maps for $299, but I don't see that offer anymore on their website. Perhaps they still have it if you call htem.

Also, the CD's contain more than just street data. They can give you information about restaurants, gas stations, ATM's etc. along your route or at your destination. However, accessing this data is not easy on the Mini.

Thomas

 

>>>However, accessing this data is not easy on the Mini.


How so? I've had my nav system since July and find it very easy to use. It's just a button-spin-****. Whenever I motor to a new city (Cleveland, Erie, and Cincinnati in the past few weeks) I always use the nav to find me restaurants and gas stations and stuff. Of course, being human, I will ignore the system if I find what I want sooner, but it hasnt led me wrong yet.

 

>>I picked up my Mini S yesterday with the NAV system. It is under the seat and you can change discs, but I think all of the US is on the disc I was given. There will be updates available, but it isn't clear yet to me if I go to the dealer to get them (which I'm sure you'll be able to do) or the vendor that made the disc. I used it to lead me home from the dealership, and it was great. But, be careful. I knew a route that was a bit longer to go home, but preferred to the way the NAV system wanted to go. You have to tell it you're taking a new route.
>>

A few factoids I have learned:

1. The CD and computer are under passenger seat, with a small door accessable from the rear.

Each CD has detailed map only for the area in question (like Region 6 = VA northeast the New England). But it also has less detailed map for the entire country.

2. In the recent Mid-Atlantic drive in PA (intended to terrorize the Amish farmers -- see the Mid-Atlantic Regional Forum) a couple of us with NAV units found that many local roads were NOT included map data base on CD #6. When you got of major roads you got an error message that said (freely translated) "You have departed from the known universe" which tells me that the current maps are far from complete.

3. When you depart from the route it wants you to take, it tries for a few miles to nudge you back onto its planned route (including instructions like "In 200 yards, make a legal U-turn&quot, but then after a while it will re-compute a route from where you are. I find it's a kick to be contrary and take my own route and see how long it goes before it catches up.

4. During the course of getting my unit, I ended up with an extra (legal) CD#6 which I'd be happy to swap with someone for a #5 or a #7. The reasons I have it are too mentionable to be numerous!

5. It's strictly illegal, but the the CDs copy fine on a PC. The CDs seem to have ~500 MBytes of data on each disk.

6. Although I am a GPS geek (professionally), I have not yet figured out a way to hack their data base. The routing algorithms in the NAV systems are among the best I've seen anywhere. IMHO, more optimized than (for example) DeLorme's Street Atlas of Garmin. I only wish the NAV box would display speed, had a more user-friendly way of storing waypoints, and had a better way to cancel a destination.

Tom Clark

 

Do the "BMW" CDs from navtech definetly work in the MINI nav system?

 

It's true that the system does not know many minor roads when you're way out in the boonies. I went a couple of hours outside of Pgh into the mountains, and it mostly knew only larger roads. Plenty enough to get around fine though. Then again, my parents live in the boonies, near Lancaster in fact, and it found their house just fine.

 

>>Do the "BMW" CDs from navtech definetly work in the MINI nav system?

I just got off the phone with a rep from NavTech and he stated that the BMW CDs are definitely NOT the same as the MINI CDs. I was wondering about the "Complete Coverage" CDs since my area does not have detailed coverage (or at least the listings for the BMW maps don't include my city). He did say there would be updated maps available mid 2003.

I'll be picking up my MINI with NAV system tomorrow evening.