Today's rapidly growing navigation system market demands an industry standard for map media compatibility. Consumers require a map media standard to ease the task of selecting the correct map to run in their navigation systems. Car manufacturers and map media publishers require these standards to simplify inventory logistics and lower the costs of supplying maps to the market. System manufacturers require map media standards to avoid the costs and complications of creating and maintaining proprietary formats.

Now There's SDAL™ Format
SDAL Format provides the core component needed to speed system development and pave the way for genuine compatibility of map media. A fully open standard in commercial use today, SDAL Format provides a shared, common Physical Storage Format (PSF), the manner in which data is arranged on map media. The result is clean, code-free media that achieves compatibility without the logistical hazards of carrying and maintaining unique data access libraries (DAL) to work with each manufacturer's ever-changing proprietary platform.

The Benefits of SDAL Format
SDAL Format is a straight-forward and enduring solution to compatibility that is platform independent, allows for product differentiation, and benefits every link in the supplier chain.

• For Consumers - SDAL Format frees consumers to choose data products based on quality and content - not on which map product works with which navigation system
• For System Manufacturers - SDAL Format saves time and money associated with the development of proprietary compiler software while providing the flexibility needed to differentiate products
• For Automotive Manufacturers - SDAL Format simplifies purchasing decisions, encourages supplier competition, streamlines distribution logistics, lowers inventory costs, decreases part numbers, and provides a single solution for products in North America and Europe

Beyond SDAL Format: The Total SDAL™ Solution
The total SDAL solution goes beyond SDAL Format. System and automotive manufacturers can take advantage of the full range of SDAL components to create navigation products faster, easier, and more cost efficiently. The total SDAL solution is comprised of:

• The SDAL Format (PSF) is the specification for how the data is organized on the media
• The SDAL compiler is the software that translates map data and value-added data into an SDAL-compliant media format
• The Shared Data Access Library (SDAL) is the software needed to access data on the media
• The SDAL API is a set of commands used by an Application to tell the Data Access Library what data to access on the media

A Market-Proven, Open Solution
Proof that SDAL Format is a viable solution to compatibility can be found in the range of SDAL-based commercial products launched by: Clarion, InfoGation, Microsoft, Magellan, Pioneer, and Panasonic, among others. NAVTEQ has used this real world experience to prove as well as to improve the integrity of the underlying technology. Time tested, SDAL Format today is an open standard, its technical specification available for review and use.

SDAL Product Features
SDAL was created with the needs of automotive environment in mind.

• Optimised for route calculation: specialised data representation and retrieval functions that enable rapid route calculation
• Fast map display capability: rapid display of rich, customizable maps with advanced functionality such as smooth scroll, 3-D etc.
• Powerful and flexible address look up: a range of methods to rapidly access street name, intersection and POI information
• Superior quality, user-friendly voice guidance: hundreds of commands recorded by male and female speakers in native British English, US English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese (Swedish coming soon!)

The Leading Edge
SDAL is one more reason that NAVTEQ is the world leader for total solutions in navigation map data products.