Navigation device and method

A method of displaying a navigation map on a display of a navigation device, the method comprising:

• a processor generating a navigation map of a local environment;
• said processor receiving information from a user on an input device of the navigation device to display the location of points of interest;
• said processor determining whether said local environment includes any of said points of interest, and retrieving location markers for display for any of said points of interest determined to be within said local environment;
• said processor determining whether there are any of said points of interest outside of said local environment;
• said processor generating an indicator for display for one or more of said points of interest that are determined to be outside of a displayed navigation map;
• and
• said processor displaying said navigation map and displaying any said location markers and any said indicators on said navigation map;
• wherein the step of generating an indicator comprises populating the indicator with a plurality of information elements comprising:
• a representation of the distance between a reference point on said displayed navigation map and said point of interest;
• and
• an icon representative of the type of the point of interest.

A non-transitory computer readable data storage medium having computer software stored thereon, said computer software comprising one or more software modules operable, when executed in an execution environment, to cause a processor to:

• generate a navigation map of a local environment;
• receive instructions from a user on an input device of the navigation device to display the location of points of interest;
• determine whether said local environment includes any of said points of interest, and retrieve location markers for display for any of said points of interest determined to be within said local environment;
• determine whether there are any of said points of interest outside of said location environment;
• generate an indicator for display for one or more of said points of interest that are determined to be outside of a displayed navigation map;
• and
• control a display to display said navigation map and display any said location markers and any said indicators on said navigation map;
• wherein the step of generating an indicator comprises populating the indicator with a plurality of information elements comprising:
• a representation of the distance between a reference point on said displayed navigation map and said point of interest;
• and
• an icon representative of the type of the point of interest.

A portable navigation device (PND) comprising:

• an antenna;
• a receiver operatively coupled to said antenna for receiving GPS data signals from a plurality of satellites;
• a memory for storage of map data and points of interest data, said points of interest data defining the location of points of interest;
• an interface that is user operable for the input of a start location and a destination location and configured to receive instructions from a user to display the location of points of interest;
• a processor operatively coupled to said interface, said receiver and said memory, said processor being configured to:
• receive said GPS data signals from said receiver and to process said GPS data signals to determine a current position of said PND in a local environment,
• to generate from map data retrieved from said memory a navigation map of the local environment in which said PND current position is located, and
• to calculate, from map data retrieved from said memory, a route between said start location and said destination location;
• an indicator generation module controllable by said processor to generate an indicator for any of said points of interest for which the associated points of interest data from said memory indicates that the location of said points of interest is outside of a displayed navigation map;
• and
• a display operatively coupled to said processor and controllable by said processor to display:
• said navigation map,
• a visual representation of said route,
• a location marker for any of said points of interest for which the associated points of interest data from said memory indicates that the location of said points of interest is within said local environment;
• and
• any said indicators on said navigation map;
• wherein said generating an indicator comprises populating the indicator with a plurality of information elements comprising:
• a representation of the distance between said current location of said PND and said point of interest;
• and
• an icon representative of the type of the point of interest.