CHICAGO, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions announced the availability of Point Addressing and visual content products for the Venezuela map.

Enhancing the Guidance Experience

NAVTEQ's Point Addressing product significantly improves the navigation guidance experience with enhanced arrival accuracy in countries such as Venezuela where addressing does not follow a regular pattern, or in some cases where addressing is based simply on a set of building names. Without Point Addressing, navigation systems typically use a methodology for announcing destination arrival by interpreting address ranges to determine when a vehicle has arrived at the correct destination. Because addressing in many Venezuelan metropolitan areas does not follow a regular pattern, Point Addressing is a key component in delivering a top-quality user experience.

"NAVTEQ research indicates that end-users expect to be guided to the exact point of their destination," stated Cindy Paulauskas, vice president Americas map and content products, NAVTEQ. "Given the unique addressing characteristics of many of the metropolitan areas in Venezuela, providing our customers the opportunity to improve the end-user experience could raise overall-acceptance of navigation systems throughout the county."

NAVTEQ provides Point Addressing in the metropolitan areas of Baruta, Chacao, El Hatillo, Libertador and Sucre in the Provinces of Miranda and Distrito Federal.

Enabling Better End-User Orientation

In addition to the benefits enabled by Point Addressing, navigation devices including NAVTEQ's visual content can provide more intuitive guidance and orientation. When integrated into the NAVTEQ map, inclusion of NAVTEQ's 3D Landmarks and 3D City Models data can ultimately reduce driver frustration and confusion by reconciling the view outside of their windshield with what they see on their navigation screen.

3D Landmarks are monuments, buildings or places of interest that are easily recognizable due to size, history or local appeal. 3D City Models contain height information to create a visual representation of the city. Currently NAVTEQ provides 3D Landmarks and 3D City Models content in Caracas.

"Improved sense of orientation is just one of the many ways in which NAVTEQ enables advanced navigation experiences," stated Helder de Azevedo, General Director for NAVTEQ Latin America. "Customers who utilize the Point Addressing product along with visual content can enable navigation system functionality that not only differentiates their product from other offerings, but are providing end-users with experiences they have indicated to NAVTEQ are valuable to them."

Both Point Addressing and visual content reflect NAVTEQ's strategy to design products that are both relevant and pragmatic. The products are geo-referenced to the NAVTEQ map enabling ease of integration into existing NAVTEQ-based applications and they maximize navigation device bandwidth opportunities. Enhancements to the NAVTEQ map for Venezuela represents NAVTEQ's ongoing commitment to the region. In addition to the Venezuela map, NAVTEQ's South America coverage includes maps for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile.

About NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ is the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data that enables navigation and location-based platforms around the world. NAVTEQ supplies comprehensive digital map information to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 4,000 employees located in 190 offices and in 39 countries.

NAVTEQ is a trademark in the U.S. and other countries.

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SOURCE NAVTEQ

Web site: http://www.navteq.com/