New MAP update for NTG 2.5 hard disk comand systems.

[Alfie]

You heard it here first

There is a new Hard disk comand system map update just been released. Here are the details;

This is the latest V3.0 Hard Disk COMAND map update released November 2009.

The 2 DVDs are inserted into your Hard Disk COMAND and the system then updates the map on the hard disk.

It is for the following vehicles with the Hard Disk COMAND system (which has built in bluetooth).

A, B, ML, GL, R, W211-E class, CLS, SL, SLK Model Year 2009 (built from approx 07/2008)
CLC with Hard disk COMAND (built from approx 09/2008)
MY2010 Sprinter/Viano/Vito (built from approx 08/2009)

Highlights:
• A new navigation map set, designed to help your customers find their destination with the minimum of fuss, is now available. The new update DVD for COMAND APS (NTG2.5) ensures that your customers’ navigation system is up to the minute, with more countries and routes than ever before.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Monaco, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal, Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
Points of Interest (POI):
• Over 961,000 key points of interest are featured on the DVDs, including Filling stations, Car parks, Museums, Restaurants and Hospitals. There are around 45,600 more POIs here than on the previous version.
• 4,311 Restaurants and 1,162 Hotels have been added to the new 2009 version. The navigation system can also, if required, show the user the quickest route to 2,647 Mercedes-Benz service outlets.
A detailed overview of the points of interest (POI) can be found in the appendix to this issue of the Telematics News.
Road and house number coverage per country
• The option of being guided directly to the required house number has also been extended. There is, for the most part, full house number coverage in central European countries, while coverage in Italy has been improved by 11% and in Spain by 13%.
• Version 2009 covers the whole of Western Europe. The navigation data on the 2009 DVDs
includes over 8.1 million kilometres of road.
• In Eastern Europe there is full coverage of the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary,
Greece, Slovenia and Poland.
• Prime Coverage and Complete Coverage* have been significantly extended in Greece – by 22%. • The update features 90,093 towns and communities.

[saorbust]

Alfie - thanks. I note that it's in your online shop as well - good work !

Quick q - do you know anyone who's actually done it - have you ? Does it give a major difference ? I'm happy to be the first - but wanted to know a bit more.....can you send the release notes from the telematics newsletter mentioned ? Ta.

[st13phil]

This is in no way a criticism of Alfie or Comand Online, but £237 for a cartography update? Mercedes-Benz are having a laugh.

<rant>

Both Garmin and Tom Tom (NavTeq and TeleAtlas cartography respectively) will provide lifetime updates to their cartography for a fraction of what MB price a single update at. Country and roads coverage is essentially identical (but they have different update frequencies so they will continually leapfrog eachother in terms of "completeness"), and the only thing missing from their POI databases will be the MB Dealer network, which cannot possibly justify the premium price.

</rant>

[w124coupe]

I wonder how they stop a set of DVDs being passed around?

[Alfie]

Originally Posted by saorbust

Alfie - thanks. I note that it's in your online shop as well - good work !

Quick q - do you know anyone who's actually done it - have you ? Does it give a major difference ? I'm happy to be the first - but wanted to know a bit more.....can you send the release notes from the telematics newsletter mentioned ? Ta.

I have done the update on an ML with NTG2.5. It takes about two to two and a half hours! Also it appears that some systems need a telematics update to be performed first. Will be doing my A class maybe later today/tonight. I will then have a look for any major differences.

Not sure I can release the telematics bulletin publicly...I'll see.

[Alfie]

Originally Posted by st13phil

This is in no way a criticism of Alfie or Comand Online, but £237 for a cartography update? Mercedes-Benz are having a laugh.

<rant>

Both Garmin and Tom Tom (NavTeq and TeleAtlas cartography respectively) will provide lifetime updates to their cartography for a fraction of what MB price a single update at. Country and roads coverage is essentially identical (but they have different update frequencies so they will continually leapfrog eachother in terms of "completeness"), and the only thing missing from their POI databases will be the MB Dealer network, which cannot possibly justify the premium price.

</rant>

I think you'll find Mercedes charge more than that

My belief is that they charge this much because they suspect disks will get passed around.

To be honest they should bring one out to add 7 digit postcode to the W204 comand and the slightly older cars. They would sell a tonne of them!

[Peter DLM]

Yup, I'd buy that feature for my '04 S211, if it's a reasonable price.

[st13phil]

Originally Posted by Alfie

I think you'll find Mercedes charge more than that

My belief is that they charge this much because they suspect disks will get passed around.

Like I said it was no criticism of you Mark, as I know MB charge even more.

The lack of licence security is probably the reason for it, and I would suspect (no, I can be more certain than that, I know) that MB have to pay their cartography provider rather more for the priviledge of distributing unsecured copies than they would if they'd got a licenece key management system in place. What's infuriating is that it would be very easy to incorporate an appropriate key management system - as Garmin do with their cartography - and then any issue of "passing around the DVD's" disappears and the price could drop to a sensible level.

[saorbust]

Originally Posted by Alfie

I have done the update on an ML with NTG2.5. It takes about two to two and a half hours! Also it appears that some systems need a telematics update to be performed first. Will be doing my A class maybe later today/tonight. I will then have a look for any major differences.

Not sure I can release the telematics bulletin publicly...I'll see.

Really ? Wow. Okay - Does the lack of the telematics update render the system unusable until such time as one does the update ? I'm happy to purchase the disc's from you - thanks, but I don't know if I want the system to be disabled until I visit the land of the three pointed star as well ! (We know that the MB tech's struggle with these really technical issues - sorry !)

J.

[saorbust]

Mark,

Thanks - got the disc - very fast.

However it would appear I need the update (It does say on the back of the disc for those reading this that you may need updated 01/09 for the comand unit)

Put the disc in - bit of reading etc, then message to say not compatible with the system.

Help !

J.

[Alfie]

Originally Posted by saorbust

Mark,

Thanks - got the disc - very fast.

However it would appear I need the update (It does say on the back of the disc for those reading this that you may need updated 01/09 for the comand unit)

Put the disc in - bit of reading etc, then message to say not compatible with the system.

Help !

J.

Yep, my A class did exactly the same thing

I will be getting the update applied tomorrow so will detail the procedure for you then if thats okay.

[oldcro]

I bought a W212 in October so assume it has the latest software installed, but out of interest how do I check which version I have? I could find no information in the COMAND manual, and obviously have no DVD to eject and check.

oldcro

[saorbust]

Originally Posted by Alfie

Yep, my A class did exactly the same thing

I will be getting the update applied tomorrow so will detail the procedure for you then if thats okay.

Alfie - thanks.

I took the car to the local dealer - who've been brilliant with it. @ 1pm yesterday they put it on the star system, did a check for updates (any1 else think this is like Windows ) and it started to do updates. 3 hours later, it was still doing updates to all kinds of things.

So they kept the car overnight, and hopefully I should find out this morning where they are with it, and get it back. I'll give a report on this later !

Let me know how you get along. Frankly I find it amazing that MB release a disc that requires this much work to get working - their dealerships are going to be mobbed out with people doing this if they aren't careful. (Maybe that's why I can't find it at any dealer websites yet!).

Anyhow - I have one of the first NTG2.5 HD / Mem Card Slot command systems within a CLS (March 08 I believe was the first, mine is a May 08 build) - so perhaps the updates aren't so surprising....

Will keep you posted.

J.

[st13phil]

Originally Posted by saorbust

Frankly I find it amazing that MB release a disc that requires this much work to get working

I'm not that surprised that pre-requisite software updates are required before things like this will work, but I do think MB need to put some serious effort into improving the speed of the update process.

[saorbust]

Okay mine is all done. No charge from dealer - thanks very much !

Took them about 4 hours in all. I've noticed a couple of differences, but nothing major yet. I'll have more of a play later !

J.