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San Dimas, CA – Thales Navigation announced new versions of their popular Magellan in-car GPS navigation systems, the RoadMate 9000 Series, which will be available in three models.
Vice president of sales for the Magellan brand, Neil Hodak, said, "Normally, a car navigation system will issue commands in a pleasant female voice like 'approaching left turn in point five miles' or 'arriving at destination.' A survey of our customers showed that while pleasant, the voice and commands were impersonal and lacked variety."
Hodak continued, "That's why we developed the RoadMate 9000 series. It'll make the driver feel like someone from their family is in the car with them."
The three models available are the 9000W, 9000H and 9000S.
First, the 9000W is targeted at husbands who travel for business. It will issue commands like, "You've been circling for fifteen minutes, why aren't you listening to me?" and "You should've stopped at that gas station and asked for directions like I said."
The 9000H designed for wives will only have three voice commands available: "Step on it", "I'm hungry" or a series of unintelligible grunts.
Lastly, the 9000S for unmarried drivers will use a motherly voice and issue helpful commands like, "I see you're stopping near a fancy restaurant, but I don't remember stopping to pick up a date. Isn't it a little pathetic to be dining alone?"
"We know driving can be a frustrating experience for many, so bringing a familiar voice into the car can be calming. So, for each model the customer can send in a 30-second voice sample and we'll customize the system's voice to match," said Hodak.
The RoadMate 9000 models are already available in rental cars from Hertz, and consumer models will be released later this month.
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