Laptop GPS World

CHICAGO, March 5, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced its first release of a 100 percent coverage map for New Zealand and expansion of the Thailand map to full coverage.

"Asia Pacific is an exploding region with huge growth potential across all product segments. Over the next four years, all available forecasts are projecting extremely high growth in the Smartphone and PND markets, and growth in the vehicle navigation segment is expected to approach 50 percent," stated Rich Shuman, NAVTEQ Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific Sales. "Optimizing NAVTEQ(R) map expansion and connectivity in this region supports both our customers' business plans and positions NAVTEQ to be a leading provider of digital map data for navigation."

Detailed coverage, NAVTEQ's most highly attributed and verified standard is available to 50 percent of New Zealand's population in the cities of Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Detailed coverage is obtained by using the resources of NAVTEQ's geographic analysts who also provide continuous map maintenance and enhancements.

"Field expertise is invaluable in verifying NAVTEQ data in the real world," said Aaron Dannenbring, Director, Product Management Asia Pacific. "Our geographic analysts verify the road network against up to 260+ attributes such as one-ways, turn restrictions and number of lanes, allowing us to collect the road information as the end-user would experience it."

In addition to road network coverage the New Zealand map contains a full set of features including points of interest (POI) across approximately 74 categories enabling users to select their destination either by address or the POI listing. Thailand also has a full set of features with POI included in the NAVTEQ map across 52 categories.

NAVTEQ expanded coverage for Asia Pacific now includes maps for the following countries: Australia, Brunei, China, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

About NAVTEQ
NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has more than 3,300 employees located in 174 offices in 32 countries.