Just wondering how many of you ordered or will get the factory installed navigation system...i NEED one cuz i get lost in my own neighborhood...also you can easily find restaurants, grocery stores, video stores, etc. without fidgeting with 411...at least from that's the options I get for the other navigation systems i've tried in the past

besides the obvious function, i'm sure some aftermarket company or hacker will find a way to hack it to allow ppl to play movies, tv, and/or video games...or even use it as a laptop screen for endless posibilities...after all, it IS a regular LCD screen

second question is, do you think it's expensive @ $2000? most navi's cost that much but you can get an in-dash DVD-Rom with movie/mp3/CD playback capability for under that price


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if i had the money, i think i would get the nav system. it'd just make things simpler (to an extent) and the overall cool factor would be heightened as well. at least i think so. i dont see many navs over here in america... i have a dream, that within the next year or 2, every car in the united states of america shall have a navigation system installed! ok i'm being random today.
as for the price, most factory installed navs seem to be $2000. at least from what i see it's almost like a flat rate. but if you can get an in-dash dvd for less than that....makes me think. altho rx8 won't be able to handle an in-dash w/o much modification of the console, right? but either way, i wanna ask, that in-dash dvd player, can it function as a nav sys?

 

well considering most Navigation systems are DVD-Rom, you'd have to get an in dash DVD-Rom capable player...

also, i'm not sure whether the RX-8 is a GPS system that can pinpoint your exact location or whether it's purely a DVD-Rom type...i'm guessing on GPS since they've shown screen shots of your car on the map

also, i'd like to know if the Navi has voice...i think that would be cool if it told you to make right or left turns on certain streets when you get to them

 

I am getting Nav just for the gadget factor. A few years ago I had to do a lot of driving to new places for my job and promised myself a Nav system one day. Finally my car is 'cheap' enough that adding a $2000 gadget is not going to blow my budget - the RX-8 is about $2000 less than I originally expected. Of course now with my new job I never go anywhere in Houston except the office so I don't need the Nav anymore...

To those that don't want to pay $2k for mapping, why not get a $300 PocketPC PDA and Microsoft Streets & Trips ($20) which lets you export to the PDA. I have detailed maps (every single street) of Houston, all of NJ, Chicago, SF etc. Each map is about 4-6MB on the PDA so when I get lost in a rental car I just stop, look up where I am and figure out the route. If you want real navigation (directions, voice announcements etc) then get a CF-card based GPS add-on for about $300. Not pretty but it works and you can take it from car to car.

 

i thought the navi system was a flip up device that fliped from the top of the center console? the ones in the japanese pictures show a aftermarket-looking device mounted on top.

justin

 

so getting an aftermarket dvd-player would be much better huh. if just considering which one to take.
i'd think nowadays all navs are gps...are they not? and i know from my experience in japan that the nav tells you where to turn and go. probably in most if not all systems. it tells you stuff like, "500 meters until your next left turn," and "left turn is coming up, and then, 1km until your next right turn." and if you take a different route, it auto re-routes itself and tells you that.
i'd think that mazda would go far enough to supply us with that.. altho japanese and american specs are diff...i dunno...i just hope we get it.

 

It IS sat-nav but the DVD format allows much larger geographical areas to be stored on a single disc. The picture of the DVD screen you mention is a Japanese option and not the navigation system. There's a picture of the nav monitor in this thread. Oh, and yes, I ordered it! PS: A major benefit of the factory installed system is that it interfaces perfectly with the car's audio system. The audio will mute to allow navigational information to take priority.

 

I got the nav on mine. Mostly I got it because I'm a geek and I like that kind of thing. I use my laptop and an external antenna when I can to help me get around. I don't use it all time but every so often its real useful. As for how it works the following link was posted by Tank.

http://www.katter.nu/ulf/mazda/m6-ne...busstation.wmv

It is a video of a nav system on a Mazda6 in Europe. Watch it with sound becuase their is voice navigation.

Based on most of the pictures I have seen the nav in the 8 will be the flip up design. The pictures of the screen mounted to the dash on the Mazda Japan sight are for aftermarket installs.

Thats all the info bits I know. Do a search and you should be able to find a lot more.

 

I'm also in the camp of being a bit of a geek and wanted it strictly for the gadget factor. I don't know that I'll use it extensively other for the several times a year that I go downtown Dallas, and pretty consistently get lost.

Hope the link jtdwab reposted helps you out.

 

thanks for the help guys...

I went to Mazda today and preordered mine. I got a Black 6-speed Grand Touring with navigation, appearance package, and 6-disc in dash...i'm scheduled for a June-July delivery

 

I ordered nav cuz I am a gadget freak! :D

 

Congrats on the new car you will own in the future.