Thanks for letting me know.
Meanwhile, I've got a map for Romania from a friend.
All is working now.
And I've found out that you should connect the handbrake cable too in order to stay in the main menu and not automatically starting the navi program.
In a way it's best this way. If you have handbrake on and you start the car, the system boots and remain in the main menu. As soon as you let down the handbrake (this meaning you are ready to go) the navi starts.

BTW, where did you put the GPS antena?
In the instructions they say that you should put it on the right extremity of the windshield, below the panel that is there. (upper panel with small outlet for defrosting lateral glass)
I wonder if there is a reason for they to put it there.
Instead, I've put it under the cover in center and all seems OK.

I install the GPS antenna under the panel as in the instructions but on the left side since my Freelander2 is right hand drive. The signal strength appears to be good from the GPS info screen in SYGIC.
What version /product of SYGIC did you install?
The copy I have seems to have small icons and fonts so I am not sure it is the right version for the screen size / resolution of the unit. I have attempted to contact SYGIC via their web site without success and I can't find a retailer in Australia. I am happy to pay for the code / activation key however I don't seem to be able to find out what version I should buy so I still don’t have an activation code for the Australian maps (which I have downloaded)which is very frustrating.

When I will be back home, I will send you a mail with a screenshot of my Sygic's About screen.
By the way, did you tried the code generator from the Sygic archive I've point out to you?
Can you do the same and send me to alex_pescaru(at)yahoo(dot)com? Thank you!

I will send screen shot tomorrow!
My email is barry.gower@internode.on.net (it was wrong on my profile)
I tried http://www.noeman.org/gsm/navigation-softw...re-73.html for a activation code without a response.
thanks for your help.

Hi guys,

Just wanted to ask if you have located any ARM-processor based satnavs for Freelander 2 which can accept IGO8 as software. MIPS and Sygic/Route66 is a no-go for me.

Thanks!

I've searched a lot before going to this option. So, short answer: NO, there is no ARM based, drop in option, for the FL2.
Of course, you can always go and buy a 7", high resolution, ARM based GPS, and try to improvize its mounting behind that dash hole. And then you can run iGO8 on it. But you will have to wrestle with dimensions, improvisations, adaptions, etc.
But let me tell you something. I was (and I still am) a fan of Nav'N'Go iGO8. But since I was forced to use Sygic on this unit, now I realize that many things are more intuitive and user friendly than iGO8. Sygic has several more features than iGO8.
For example, two comes into my mind:
1. If you touch the place where it shows next/future action to do, it automatically speaks to you, in advance, that next/future thing to do. Usefull option when you need to know what do you need to do next, but you can't afford to take your eyes from the trafic.
2. When you are on a street, on the bottom of the screen it automatically shows you the number/postal code of the place where you are. Nice when you look for a specific number on a known street on your town and you don't want to make a route for this.
And more of that, the maps are the same, down to the last detail, as they come from the same provider, TeleAtlas.

alex_pescaru wrote:

I've searched a lot before going to this option. So, short answer: NO, there is no ARM based, drop in option, for the FL2.
Of course, you can always go and buy a 7", high resolution, ARM based GPS, and try to improvize its mounting behind that dash hole. And then you can run iGO8 on it. But you will have to wrestle with dimensions, improvisations, adaptions, etc.
But let me tell you something. I was (and I still am) a fan of Nav'N'Go iGO8. But since I was forced to use Sygic on this unit, now I realize that many things are more intuitive and user friendly than iGO8. Sygic has several more features than iGO8.
For example, two comes into my mind:
1. If you touch the place where it shows next/future action to do, it automatically speaks to you, in advance, that next/future thing to do. Usefull option when you need to know what do you need to do next, but you can't afford to take your eyes from the trafic.
2. When you are on a street, on the bottom of the screen it automatically shows you the number/postal code of the place where you are. Nice when you look for a specific number on a known street on your town and you don't want to make a route for this.
And more of that, the maps are the same, down to the last detail, as they come from the same provider, TeleAtlas.

No, the map format is not the same. Each country has it's own directory for maps and in that directory the maps can be in either of two available formats. One where files are distinct and other where all distinct files are packed in one single .pak file.
But don't worry. The net is full of them, for every country you want. A good start is http://forum.ppcwarez.org/viewforum.php?f=235
And more of that, there are serial number generators for maps and you can register individual countries or you can register all maps at once.

As for the routing, some people complain about it, some are happy with it. Some said that it is slow in calculating the route. But I am satisfied with it. For example, on the system described here, in this topic, (where is an RMI Alchemy Au1250 processor running at 600 MHz) I've made a route from Constanta, Romania (so Eastern Europe) to London, UK. It took about 30 seconds. I say it is a reasonable time, considering the distance and the diversity of routes that could be computed.
And more of that, the Sygic has an easy and user friendly way to calculate alternative routes. For example, for a trip from A to B, I never seen two identical routes computed. And each of them are pertinent ones. I was impressed with its ability to compute alternatives.

Recalculation times are comparable to iGO8, as soon as it realizes that you missed the turn/street with more than about 50 meters. And it's quick as it tries to get you back on the original track with as less as possible moves.

As for POIs, you can organize them in favorites or different categories.
And more of that it has an option that I consider great, comparing to iGO8. It is the "Memorize this position" option. By a single click on touch screen, you can mark the current GPS possition on "History" or "Favorites". Usefull option if you see something on an unknown street, on an unknown town and want the ability to get back there. Or mark favorite positions on the map quickly, while on the move and you need to concentrate on driving and don't have time to enter it in detail.

The accuracy is the accuracy of the GPS receiver. However, it has by default set the option of "Keep position on road", even if the GPS position is off by several meters. It keeps you on the nearest street given by the GPS position.

Hope that I've covered all items.

Again, I still like iGO8, but day by day I am begining to like Sygic too. And preffer it.

It cleared up pretty much all of my concerns, thanks a million!!

Just to let other Cypriot users who might me interested, you can download the map from the official GIS provider in Cyprus from their homepage and then unlock it or purchase it

alex, Final question (I promise!):

How did you order the unit (any way we can find it in Europe?), how much was the unit+shipping, are installation instructions included and is it something I can do by myself or should I get a car electrician (or LR dealer) to do for me?

Thank you again for all the information!

Ordering was quite simple. I have found them on Alibaba.com. http://cheledigital.en.alibaba.com/
And then I've talked with the two ladies that handle all the sales, Ann Zeng and Selina Ding.
The unit price was 580 USD for a single sample and 60 USD for shipping.
They sent me proforma invoice, I've paid through Western Union, package arrived directly from China by DHL, with all necessary things, including instructions for installation.
All was pretty straight forward, for sure you can do it yourself, if you have some little technical skills.
See the pages of this topic too. Dropbear has some pictures on his galery about how the kit looks.

I just got an answer from Ms Zeng - I can order the kit.

Now I have a question about Sygic maps.
If I order the maps for ARM hardware, and put them on a card with the MIPS software, will that configuration work? Or the map files are entirely different?

I have installed the navigator MitacMio C725 in my car. I have unlocked it and installed nav systems- Navitel (rus), Ozi, IGo8, Garmin (bad works), soft for view office files, soft for view multimedia files, analog clock, GPS speedometer, calculator etc. Main screen looks so

If anyone is interested I will describe in detail 
Freelander II 2,2 TD SE Stornoway Grey

Sorry for my wry English. I began to study it recently.
I'll be thankful for your corrections of my mistakes

1. How do you change/update the maps?
Did you used some cable extender from the unit's SD-card slot to a more accesible location or do you have to remove the dash to do it?

2. Do you have an IGO8 version that knows a REAL 800x480 resolution? By real I mean a version that exploits the 800x480 resolution to its full capability and not one that runs, lets say, 480x272 on a 800x480 resolution.
If yes, where did you find it? Can you post a link?

3. What do you mean by "bad works" when referring to Garmin? It's slow, isn't it?

Thanks!

Hi Lar, Would like to see details!