Patent ID: 7698057

Claim:
A map display control apparatus in a vehicle, comprising: a first storage being a hard disk drive configured to record map data for displaying; a second storage different from the hard disk drive and configured to record at least a portion of the map data, the second storage configured to hold recorded data without a supply of a main power of the apparatus; a third storage different from the hard disk drive and configured to record altitude information at a stop time when the main power of the apparatus is switched from an ON state to an OFF state; a startup altitude specification unit configured to read the altitude information stored in the third storage under a state that an operation of the first storage is kept not started, when the main power is re-switched from the OFF state to the ON state posterior to the stop time and to specify, based on the read altitude information, a startup altitude, which is an altitude of a position of the vehicle at a startup when the main power is re-switched from the OFF state to the ON state; and a startup control unit configured to read the map data from the second storage instead of the first storage to thereby cause an image display device to display a map based on the read map data in the state that the operation of the first storage is kept not started, when the specified startup altitude is equal to or higher than a reference altitude, and to start the operation of the first storage and read the map data from the first storage to thereby cause the image display device to display a map based on the read map data when the specified startup altitude is lower than the reference altitude.