TOKYO (Sept. 29, 2006)--Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., announced that it will introduce a new CARWINGS navigation service that will allow drivers to hear Internet information while driving, the worlds first such service. The new Internet navigation service will be available to CARWINGS subscribers this autumn in Japan.
CARWINGS is Nissans original telematics service and is exclusive to the Japanese market.
he new internet service allows CARWINGS subscribers to retreive information from a limited number of Internet sites, including Yahoo! Japan, Sonys So-net lifestyle blog and Nissan Drive Navi, a Nissan travel guide blog. The service automatically transforms information from the Internet (RSS format) into a user-friendly format that can be viewed on a vehicle navigation monitor. Nissan plans to increase the number of accessible sites in the future.
Drivers have to select the Internet sites when the vehicle in parking mode. Once the car is in motion, the system will automatically retrieve information from the pre-programmed Internet sites and a voice function will read out the contents, making it possible to safely receive information even while driving.
The service also provides drivers with an even quicker route to their destination compared to previous CARWINGS navigation systems which were based on VICS (Vehicle Information and Communications System), a public traffic information system. The services uses real-time traffic data obtained mainly from mobile phone subscribers of CARWINGS.
Nissan also announced it will launch a new CARWINGS navigation system with a high-speed, high-capacity, 30 GB hard-disk drive that can record up to 3,000 songs from music CDs. It allows drivers to listen to songs selected according to pre-programmed moods.
In addition, the system updates map data in approximately 20 minutes, faster than any other available navigation system.
The new hard-disk drive navigation system will be available starting this autumn with the all-new Skyline.
Both the new Internet navigation service and the hard-disk drive navigation system will be on display at Nissans booth at the CEATEC JAPAN 2006 (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies), the largest international technology and electronics exhibition in Asia. The show runs from Oct. 3-7 at the Makuhari Messe.
###