NAVIGON AG, the leading innovator in the navigation market, today announced a Thanksgiving promotion for its iPhone navigation app, MobileNavigator, as well as insights into holiday travel. Roads across the nation are expected to see extreme congestion this holiday season. According to INRIX, a leading traffic information and navigation services provider, 87 percent of major metropolitan areas across the country are expected to experience increased traffic congestion over the Thanksgiving holiday compared to the same time last year. NAVIGON aims to help drivers avoid unwanted hassles with a $30.00 savings for its iPhone navigation app, Mobile Navigator and its new Traffic Live feature. The company also makes recommendations for optimum travel times during the holiday weekend.

A Special Thanksgiving Offering From NAVIGON

NAVIGON’s recent Traffic Live launch for its iPhone App helps drivers route around gridlock by providing crowdsourced real-time, traffic information. The company offers a special Thanksgiving promotion for its iPhone navigation app striving to help drivers avoid this year’s holiday traffic congestion. For 10 days only, (November 20-30) NAVIGON’s iPhone app, MobileNavigator will be on sale for $69.99 instead of $89.99 providing a $20.00 savings. In addition, NAVIGON’s Traffic Live feature is also on sale for $14.99 instead of $24.99. “It is clear that the U.S. is a nation of drivers, and we aim to make the overall experience safer, easier, and less stressful,” said Gerhard Mayr, vice president worldwide mobile phones and new markets, NAVIGON. “Our new Traffic Live feature uses real-time traffic information from over 1.3 million drivers, which can help getting those who travel by car to the dinner table on time and in good holiday cheer.”

Many Drivers Hit the Road

Despite high numbers predicted on the roads, and high stress levels caused by traffic; Americans are traveling by car this holiday. In an online poll conducted by NAVIGON made up of over 500 American drivers* the survey points out 77 percent of U.S. divers consider Thanksgiving to be the busiest travel time of the year. 61 percent of those who are travelling by car this year expect to get stuck in their local traffic and 41 percent plan to travel further than 200 miles. Nevertheless, a staggering 91 percent of those who are traveling will hit the road this Thanksgiving and only 5 percent plan to travel by plane. A possible reason for this, especially in an economic downturn: 87 percent think driving provides the best money saving. However, looking at the stress level, taking a plane would be the nerve sparing option.

Traffic Tarnishes Holiday Cheer

Although traveling by car might be the most cost efficient option, it’s definitely the most stressful. 63 percent of the surveyed drivers say holiday traffic is a cause of stress and 53 percent even admit that traffic is the cause of a tarnished holiday cheer. 52 percent blame traffic, as the cause of being more than one hour late for their holiday activities and for 19 percent holiday traffic has been the cause of an argument with their significant other. While 12 percent are even so frustrated by traffic they would give up their holiday gifts this year to avoid it completely.

When to Travel This Thanksgiving

Besides using a navigation system with real-time traffic information, travelling at the right time of day can also be key to an on time arrival. While 62 percent of all surveyed drivers plan to travel either on Wednesday or Thursday to start their holiday weekend, INRIX recommends leaving either early Wednesday or Thanksgiving morning to avoid the unwanted hassles typically caused by the Wednesday evening rush to leave town. Aiming to help drivers avoid the peak travel times, NAVIGON teamed with INRIX, the provider of traffic information for NAVIGON’s new Traffic Live service, to identify the U.S. metropolitan areas expected to experience higher than normal traffic congestion on Wednesday, November 25 as well as the road segments where the worst bottlenecks are expected to occur.

Cities Expected to Experience Higher than normal Holiday Traffic Volumes; Six bottlenecks in Major Metro Regions to Avoid Over Thanksgiving:

New York: I-95 outbound: Traffic will begin to build at 3:00 PM. Expecting traffic delays of up 75 minutes longer than normal going southbound on the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) between Bruckner Blvd and the Hudson River.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont: Beginning around 4:00 PM, traffic will build on major highways in and around the Bay area. Expect an increase in delays of up to 20 minutes more than normal at I-880 southbound I-980 between 880/980 merge and Vantage Point Park and eastbound I-80 at the junction of I-80 and I-580. Emeryville: delays of at least 10 minutes more than normal can be expected. I-580 eastbound between Stoneridge Mall and Hacienda Crossing, expect an increase in delays of up to 20 minutes more than typical traffic delays at this time.

Los Angeles: Northbound US-101 between N. Mission Rd and CA-11: Holiday traffic delays expected to increase drive time by at least 30 minutes after 4:00 PM compared to a typical day at this time.

Seattle-Tacoma: Westbound WA-520 between I-405 and the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge beginning at 3:00 PM, expect traffic delays of at least 20 minutes or more than normal at this time

Chicago: Eastbound I-90 between I-171 and I-294 will be especially heavy before 3:00 PM, expect delays of up to 1.5 hours.

Dallas-Fort Worth: Northbound I-35E between Hickory Creek and Denton, congestion begin to build at 3:00 PM causing travel times along this route to take 30 minutes longer than normal at this time.

Las Vegas: Northbound I-15, between I-215 and Hwy 159 congested after 1:00 PM, expect travel-times to be about 25 minutes longer than normal at this time.

About NAVIGON:

NAVIGON AG is a world-leading manufacturer of navigation systems. With its own portable navigation systems, and thanks to its partnership with reputable consumer electronics manufacturers, NAVIGON stands for high-quality GPS navigation on PNDs and mobile phones. NAVIGON also provides professional navigation solutions such as driver-assistance features for the automotive OEM market. NAVIGON was founded in 1991, and employs over 400 workers in locations in Asia, Europe and North America. – NAVIGON. And the world is yours.

Methodological Notes:

NAVIGON’S holiday travel figures are based on a national online survey of over 500 adults conducted by Zoomerang between October 26 -28, 2009 using an email invitation and an online survey tool.

Pricing and Availability:

The Company offers a special Thanksgiving promotion for its iPhone navigation app striving to help drivers avoid this year’s holiday traffic congestion. For 10 days only, (November 20-30) NAVIGON’s iPhone app, MobileNavigator will be on sale for $69.99 instead of $89.99 providing a $20.00 savings. In addition, NAVIGON’s Traffic Live feature is also on sale for $14.99 instead of $24.99. The NAVIGON solution sells for $89.99 in the Apple App Store and is equipped with maps of North America from NAVTEQ®. There are no subscription fees attached and no map downloads during navigation.

About INRIX:

INRIX Traffic Services leverage sophisticated statistical analysis techniques, originally developed by Microsoft Research, to aggregate and enhance traffic-related information from hundreds of public and private sources, including traditional road sensors and the company’s unique network of over 1.4 million GPS-enabled vehicles and cellular probes. INRIX delivers real-time and predictive traffic information today for 16 countries across North America and Europe. To experience the traffic technology revolution behind the next generation of navigation and location-based service applications, visit www.inrix.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/INRIX.

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