Does that indicate that if an '09 owner purchased the navi update for his vehicle, he would get such things as the POI updates also?

 

I can't say for sure but in my experience, a Nav update updates the maps and POIs.

 

Thanks, dconn. I am considering buying an update, since I have the map displayed at all times, and use it every day.

 

I picked up a 2010 SV SPORT with Monitor Package. I'm regretting not getting the navigation package but even without the Nav the 7" screen is beautiful (and it looks like nav if you're into trying to impress people driving near you or people that just casually sit in the car while it's turned off).

My question: If I have the screen and the buttons that the Nav platform operates on it seems like there has to be a way to upgrade to the nav via software? IS that at all possible for $xxx.xx ??? Somehow I have to believe i can "turn on" nav or buy it.

 

If you can afford it, I personally think you should get the navigation; Nissan and Infiniti have some of the cheapest nav packages in the business still, unlike Acura, Lexus, etc which are all well over 3k bucks, some even closer to 4k dollars to get!

Both Nissan and Infiniti have one of easiest and more intuitive Nav systems in the business which is something I like! almost everyone else is switching away from touchscreen, which I dislike; Nissan and Infiniti allow is one of the only few left that allow you to use either (1) touchsreen directly on the monitor, (2) the buttons directly in front of the nav screen, or (3) the nav controls on the steering wheels!

most companies do not give you 3 different options for using the nav system like they do! plus, the audio lowers in the front when the nav voice comes on so you can hear her! I heard in some of the Lexus products this no longer happens and people have problems hearing the voice guidance because the audio being played does not lower!

 

I have the premium without the Nav and install this nav and love it. Just like come out of factory.

 

great pics man!!!

how the hell did you get the homelink buttons to illuminate like that?? that drives me crazy at night that they don't light up because they are a pain in the a$% to see!

if Nissan can spend the time and money to illuminate the controls on the steering wheel I can't see why they can't do it for the homelink and moonroof controls as well! would make life a little bit easier at night!

 

Same reason for me. I had a Garmin Nuvi in my old Max and Pathfinder and it was a pain to deal with the wires and crappy signals. Having everything all in one with voice recognition is awesome.

 

All are great reasons to get the navi, I cant stand to see a cheepo portable unit on the windsheild of a almost 40k dollar car.

Plus think about this. when you go to sell the car you will get most of the money that you spent on the navi back in resale! Thats why I got the navi too.

 

Love my nav. I especially like the chime when it is time to turn. My older Max's didn't have this and it was sometimes deceiving on where exactly the turn was.

 

My understanding is that the NAV package requires you to also purchase the monitor package. I wonder if you can swap the monitor package for the NAV package in the future if you desire. The buttonology is different between the two but I would imagine that the wiring should be pretty close. On a second note, 2K for a NAV package and $200 to upgrade the map every year? with that much money you can buy a brand new portable garmin every year for the next 10 years that will come with the latest maps and latest technology. I know you guys talk about resale value, but I have a feeling that 4-5 years down the road, the NAV system will already start looking old school with all the new software and hardware development in cars.

Oh, one more thing.......2k = 4 ipads .....hmmm....!

 

while I love the nav, that actually isn't true! navigation systems are one of the worst things that hurt resale values, much like a V8 and other high tech features because there is a higher chance that these pricy pieces of technology can break and need to be replace (which equals high costs) but it costs money to update them as well with the nav update CDs, etc!

I have been told this by numerous car salesman and sales managers, another reason why if you have to lease not to lease one with a nav system because they charge you 50-60 bucks more a month for it to try and get their money worth out of it because they know they'll have a harder time selling a car with a nav system then one without it!

 

I have the tech pack which comes with the nav and I really didn't think I would use it that much but the more I grew familiar with the whole system, the more I use it. I have gotten to the point where I even use it on the way to work and I've been goin that route for five years now. I love it a lot more than I thought I would. The voice recognition is the best part IMO. With te push of a button on the steering wheel all you have to do is call out the state, city, road and numerical address and it is right on point. If you choose to enter the address manually you can either use the arrow buttons or just use the screen because it's a touch screen. When your manually entering the address, the letters on the screen to choose from make it even easier by removing letters you are not going to use based on what you have already entered.

The nav might be a $2,000 upgrade from the factory but I am glad that's the price. Nissan didn't decide to put a basic bottom of the line system in just to say they had a navi option. If you compare the system to higher end manufactures you will find that our navi option is more user friendly, advanced and would be a good rival for even a Benz or BMW. IMO they spared no expence and passed the value to the consumer.

If your thinking about just upgrading later, I'm sure it will cost more than the $2,000 price tag of the one out of the factory.

As how it compares to a Tom Tom Garmin or Magellan. No comparison. It does everything those do plus more. If your on the fence on what to do, just test drive one yourself and use the navi. Take it on a highway or interstate for a minute if you can. You won't have enough time to get totally comfortable with it but it should help you make your decision. In the end, do what you think is best for you and that will be the best choice. I'm glad I ended up with the Nissan navigation but it doest mean it's the right one for you.

 

Nice rear view navi. I can't tell by the picture, is it showing up on your display too? If you don't mind me asking, what was to total price of your system. Does it also do traffic amd weather like the factory one? Does your rear view still automatically dim or was the taken out??

 

The Tech/Nav package added to an 'S' or 'SV' is around $2400 MSRP/$2082 invoice.
The Tech/Nav package added to the 'Sport' is around $2250 MSRP/$1952 invoice.
The Tech/Nav package added to the 'Premium' is around $1850 MSRP/$1605 invoice.

When I made my offer for my Maxima with premium package, I added $1600 for the Tech/Nav package. That offer was accepted.

Unlike with most cars, the Tech/Nav package will absolutely add trade-in value to this Maxima. Two reasons why:

The normal view to the rear is frankly very poor, and I use the rear view camera every time I drive the car. I have backed up half a mile on a very narrow dirt road never taking my eyes off the display from the rear view camera. It produces a very clear, focused picture, including guide lines showing exactly where the current position of the steering wheel will take the car.

The Music Box is great! I have dozens of CDs loaded on it, and have every song I want at my fingertips without having to store CDs in the glove compartment or elsewhere.

Of course my personal favorite feature of the Tech/Nav package is the maps. They tell us where food, gas, etc, can be found. I almost always have the map of the area I am driving in on display. My wife and I spend huge blocks of time on side streets and back roads, and it is wonderful to know ahead of time where each road or street will take us. I plan to have the map base updated at my upcoming service trip next month.

I'll never again own a car without a navi package.

 

Does anyone know if there is a way to adjust the compass on the nav. screen? Mine is significantly off. If I'm going east - it will indicate south.

 

You might try driving around in circles in a vacant parking lot. That's apparently how you set some compasses.


Norm

 

Didn't need Nav. My Moto Droid works great. I do like the rearview mirror gps though. Very cool.

 

yes, it can dim. It has a backup camera ready so you can connect backup carmera and it will active when you shift in reverse. It also 2 video input to play video and bluetooth for phone. You can transfer the call between handset and handfree. Some model have traffic camera and speeding camera module which will tell you when you approach the camera. it announce street name and also warn you by voice if you over speed limit "You're over speed limit" and it show the speed limit allow on that particular road. it is also have lane assist. Map is 3d with building and landscape.

take a look at the simulate gps below. you can change the interface how it present the information on the screen. the simulate does not have voice but in real-time it announces street names and other info.

I am glad that i did not paid over $2k for factory GPS. as You can not enter destination while driving or customize to your need.

With the gps that I installed, it is well integrated in the car that no one know it's an after market gps as there is no exposed wiring. it picks up 8 to 10 satellites signal every time. it is a little bigger than 3.5" wide screen. around 3.8"
I rarely look at it simple because the voice prompts is so clear. it is so easy to use and view while driving. there are choice of right side and left side GPS. my is right side. I customize my GPS to show the nissan Logo and the maxima car as it start up. so awsome.

http://www.navngo.com/pages/global/e...up_igo8_la_sim
http://www.navngo.com/pages/global/eng/igo_8_ss_video

 

Wow, I must say that might be the nicest aftermarket gps I've seen yet. Nice buy. Is it a touch screen? Do you mind telling how much it was after install so other people might consider doing that for them self?

When I asked if it dimmed, I was referring to the mirror. On our cars the rear and driver side mirror dims down at night to reduce glare when it sees a cars headlights behind you. I was asking if you still had that on the rear view or if you had to give that feature up.

Actually you can. You can change views and info it displays. Anything it restricts from touch while driving will let you do with the voice recognition, which makes it even more simple.

 

yes, it is touch screen all the way. You can restrict what info display on the screen or lockout the menu if the car moving just like the factory GPS. But Why do that, you need to be to able enter address on the fly....

There are a few model, one with the dim and one without the dim feature. with the dim feature it can reduce the glare at night. For the Premium model you can always have the shade up to reduce glare at night which is much better.

It is ranging from $350 to $650 excluding install. I installed it myself. It takes less than 30 minutes to install with a screw driver and a flier. It can takes longer if you install the rear-view camera or video playback feature. I do not need rear-view camera as my Premium already come with the feature and I mod the factory screen to playback video while moving so I don't need video playback on the GPS.

I only have 3 wires to hook up in the fuse box. Ground wire, 12volt constant supply wire and the last wire is the accessories wire. video input is using a single RCA input so very much easy to install if you need it and if you need backup camera then run the camera to where you want mount it. Usually at the license plate and the activate wire is to your backup light and that is it.

 

Is there a video out for it. It would be sweet if you could overide the parking break feature and have the Map screen on your 7" aswell.

 

Just got a 2010 and did not get Nav. I have a Garmin and I use it whenever I'm on the road so I needed it for rentals anyway. But the one feature I really like on the portable is the ability to find a location on my computer on Google, then send it to my Garmin as a favorite. This way I never have to punch in addresses into the unit and I can select them easily as I drive. May not be for everyone, but I decided to save 1800 and not get one.

 

A counterpoint:

I have a Maxima S with a Garmin 360 and a short suction mount. Without using the windshield, there are two suction places to mount a GPS: on the LCD screen, or on the middle console behind the shift ****. The latter position has the advantage of a very short cord run to the 12V socket on the center console, but requires looking down to see.

The unit turns on and off with the car when connected to the forward 12V outlet. Hard-wiring is complicated by Garmin's requirement for a 5V power source. The most common way to do it involves the installation of a third 12V outlet somewhere hidden, retaining the stock cord. Unless the installation is atop the rearview mirror or the like, the cable run probably won't be the clean.

Pro Garmin:

- Visibility is excellent when the GPS is tilted toward you. I cannot imagine the factory system having any advantage here
- Dismounts and can be taken with you
- Less than $100

Con Garmin:

- Suction-mounting to the LCD will leave residue unless there's an iPhone-style screen protector installed and will obscure the AC settings
- Cord run and use of the first socket is annoying; should be hardwired for the long term
- Satellite acquisition time varies by model
- Theft risk necessitates removing and storing the GPS and mount, or at minimum, sliding it in a seat crevice
- No control by steering wheel, no voice control in lesser units

I don't mind any of this because I'm used to it and I'm frugal. Because I bought the S model and the SVs with navigation are equipped more lavishly, opting for it would have added around $5000 to the price of the car. That was too rich for my blood.

However, if I'd started with the SV model, I probably would have equipped navigation. The system is very well-implemented and includes a hard-disk-based music player. It's actually a quite decent value relative to the Maxima's MSRP, a statement I can't make for most cars.

 

If you can afford it go for it, anything integrated always looks better. I wish I had the choice. I'm stuck with the amber screen of death lol bought it used.