World Cup upgrades to the local road infrastructure.
Midrand, South Africa. The 2010 – 2011 BMW Satellite Navigation CD/DVD/HDD has been significantly updated following extensive upgrades to the South African infrastructure ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Locals and tourists alike will therefore be able to easily navigate the newly improved roads and cities of South Africa during and after this historical event with thoroughly up-to-date information.
During the build up to the FIFA World Cup there have been significant changes to the road infrastructure, including many major intersections and off-ramps, access to major airports and the addition of new points of interest and landmarks such as the FIFA World Cup stadia. The 2010 – 2011 Southern Africa Digital Road map (CD/DVD/HDD) update now boasts all of this new and updated coverage, including major updates of the neighbouring countries: Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
It usually takes six months from collecting data in the field to making the navigation upgrades available to the public. The technical processes include updating, compilation, field testing, production and distribution. However for the 2010-2011 BMW Southern Africa Digital Road map version Navteq, the supplier, went to extreme efforts to include all known changes that will be navigable from June 2010.
The 2010 – 2011 edition is available from June 2010 from BMW and MINI Dealerships, just in time for the World Cup kick-off. To upgrade you need only visit your nearest dealer and the cost of the upgrade is R2 350.
Understandably, all new cars delivered after 15 June 2010 will be delivered with the latest disc or software.
New for 2010 – 2011
The 2010-2011 Digital road map content now spans 502,620 kms of road in South Africa with 113,624 points of interest on offer. Coverage of all nine host cities including: Pretoria, Nelspruit, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Bloemfontein, Polokwane and Rustenburg has been enhanced, further upgrades include the addition of 61 3D landmarks including all the FIFA World Cup host city stadia and other landmarks. These are visible only on the latest BMW Professional hard-drive navigation system.
In addition to the tourist venues and stadia there have also been upgrades to a variety of destinations including, amongst others, hospitals, libraries, museums, police stations, shopping centres, petrol stations, restaurants, hotels, schools, banks, parking lots and cinemas. Tourist destinations such as National Parks and the Garden Route are also included.
At a touch of a button, the navigation system can also guide drivers to the nearest BMW Dealership or, if the vehicle is equipped with an integrated telephone system, allow drivers to phone the contact details of the points of interest provided.
Additional functionality of BMW Professional Navigation
There are a variety of additional features available as part of the navigation system. These include eight GB of in-car storage for music, eight programmable short cut keys, iDrive with direct access buttons, intelligent address book management, split screen functionality, USB port to backup personal data, and depending on the model a large screen with an increased resolution of 1280 x 480 pixels.
BMW Satellite Navigation: A history of innovation
BMW has always been at the forefront of Driver Assistance System innovation and pioneered in-car satellite navigation in the early 1990s. The company subsequently became the first vehicle manufacturer to introduce a factory-fitted navigation system for the European market in 1994.
In South Africa, BMW identified local digital mapping as a priority as early as 1998 and South African mapping began in March 1999 following a multi-million rand investment.
Later in the same year, the first pilot CD-ROM, containing the necessary information for navigation in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria, Johannesburg’s northern suburbs and a corridor connecting the two areas through Midrand and Centurion, was delivered to BMW drivers with Satellite Navigation. Just 12 short months later, the first official CD-ROM contained detailed maps of the whole of Gauteng.
