Sony NVU44 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech (Gun Metallic)
by Sony
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyBrand: Sony
Edition: Electronics
Audio: English (Original Language)
Model: NVU44
Color: GunMetallic
Publisher: Sony
Studio: Sony
Music Label: Sony
Product features:
- 3.5-Inch Anti-glare/high-brightness touchscreen Display
- Pre-installed Maps of North America
- Supports Memory Stick Duo Media
- Kwik Tek Dry Pak Cell Phone Case
- Sony XAAC13 Nav-u AC Adaptor (Black)
- NAVGEAR Universal Dash Mount
- Bracketron PHV-200-BL Grip-iT Mobile Device Holder (Black)
- AmazonBasics Faux Leather Carrying Case for 5-Inch GPS
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony NVU44 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech (Gun Metallic)
Customer Review: Excellent GPS unit for price
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this GPS unit for just over 2 weeks now and must say I like it quite a bit. This was my first GPS unit but it pretty much has everything that I need at the moment. I had been looking at GPS units the last few months, seeing prices drop and finally jumped at this one, seeing it was a Sony and had the text to voice feature. I'll list some of the pros/cons below based mostly on the features I found useful in this unit for it's price.
Pros:
1. Text to voice. Voice prompts volume can be changed easily and also muted completely if desired with just a few touches.
2. You can zoom in/out of map view with a few touches. Set a trip route and get an advance idea of how much the distance is, view of destination and also estimated trip time (which changes as you travel based on speed, stoppage etc.).
3. 3D view is helpful when you come to a busy intersection with multiple lanes. It will split the screen with the regular map view on the right side of the screen and a slightly larger frontal view of all available lanes and the ones you should be taking (highlighted), in the left side of the split screen.
4. Similar split screen with bars in the center to the next turn at busy junctions. The bar indicators reduce as you get closer to the turn, in addition to voice prompts saying how many miles/feet left to your turn.
5. If you miss a recommended exit, it recalculates fairly quickly where you need to turn next to get to your destination.
6. Lots of pre-loaded Points of Interest. I have enabled 'Banks/ATMs', 'Costco' & 'Shell' gas stations under my general settings and they regularly scroll by as small icons on my map as I pass them by. You can also type in 'Walmart' and it will list the closest Walmarts to you.
7. Fairly good design. Very simple and sleek, no flashy strips or jagged edges. The glass mount is also very nicely designed and sticks well to front glass.
Cons:
1. The touch screen could have been a bit more responsive. It is not very easy to touch the screen and scroll to others points on the map. Not that it is completely un-responsive, but would have been better if it flowed with more ease. Helpful if you want to trace the map to get an idea of route.
2. I have added 'Walmart' as a Point of Interest under my grocery store indicator general settings. However for some reason, none of the WM stores I drive by show up on my map. The Shell gas stations and banks show as small icons as they should but I have to search for Walmarts.
You will have to play around with the unit a bit to get to understand where to make changes to your settings. For example, you can change general settings so that your route is calculated for the shortest possible path by default, or that you avoid toll ways completely every time. Or you can leave it to look for standard routes by default, but make specific changes on the fly during a trip to look for the shortest route (options button) or avoid toll ways on this specific route. Reach a destination and save it for future navigation under different folders (can be renamed/added/deleted).
I bought this for our upcoming trip to Florida where it will be tested for what it's worth but at the moment, it is doing quite well at home. I am sure a lot of other GPS units will also have the above pros/cons but based on what I have read about other units, and what some friends have, I think this is a very good GPS unit, especially at this price (bought it from local Sonystyle store for $79.99). More updates after Florida trip if I find anything that needs to be added.
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Description of Sony NVU44 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-to-Speech (Gun Metallic)
The Sony nav-u portable satellite navigation system is more than basic digital maps; it is the system that gets you where you need to go quickly and efficiently with intuitive features that help you along your journey. The latest Sony navigation system brings Photo Viewer to an already packed and helpful unit.Manufacturer's Description (September 2, 2008)
Easily portable and offering power on-the-go navigation features, the Sony NV-U44 Portable GPS Navigator makes folding maps a thing of the past. First and foremost a portable navigation system, the NV-U44 offers Sony's POSITION plus solution to difficult GPS reception conditions for navigation assistance even while under dense foliage or tall buildings. But it also features a photo viewer and Memory Stick Duo slot for uploading photo slideshows. Other features include pre-installed maps for North America, over 5 million points of interest (POIs) with quicker searching, an anti-glare 3.5-inch screen, Gesture commands to help you stay focused on the road, text-to-speech capabilities, and stylish black coloring.
 The NV-U44 portable navigation device features a brightly colorful 3.5-inch screen with gesture controls and text-to-speech capabilities to keep your focus on the road. |
Enjoy powerful, portable navigation out of the box pre-loaded map content covering North America--Canada and all of the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico)--as well as over 5 million POIs. During address searches, the device can automatically complete partial entries of states, cities and street names. The new Sony nav-u device also offers a revised search algorithm for quicker POI searches and the Quick Link search features that provides a one-touch search for your favorite POI. For example, you can save a favorite coffee shop destination to a Quick Link button and perform that search any number of times without having to retype the search string. Brand icons help users quickly and easily identify their favorite restaurants, hotels, gas stations, stores and other locations while traveling through unfamiliar cities. And this Sony nav-u unit now have 30 percent more brand icons than previous models (more than 150 brands).
With the new Gesture Command feature, you can jump to commands with one touch on the display. For example, you can advance to the next picture in the photo viewer with a swipe of the finger from left to right across the screen. Commonly used commands such as "take me home" may be accessed by gesturing an inverted "V" on the screen versus paging through numerous menu screens. Other gesture commands include zoom in or out and call home.
 Stable and secure while driving, the NV-U44 can be easily removed whenever you want to take it with you. |
Other features include:
- 3.5-inch anti-glare LCD touchscreen with 4:3 standard aspect ratio
- SiRF star III GPS receiver with POSITION plus
- TTS (Text to Speech): The device utilizes spoken commands ensuring you are able to follow the directions by street names.
- 3D Junction Guide: The device's dual view capability displays dynamic route information, in addition to the conventional map view, to provide an even clearer view of what's at the next turn or in a highway merge scenario, which junction to take.
- The new photo viewer feature turns the screen into a picture frame. You can view your digital images by inserting a Memory Stick into the Memory Stick Pro Duo slot.
- Battery life: Up to 2 hours
- Battery charging time: 3 hours when on, 1.5 hours in standby mode
- Dimensions: 3.7 x 2.1 x 4.3 inches
- Weight: 5.5 ounces
What's in the Box
Sony NV-U44 (black), car cradle, car battery adapter (XA-DC6), USB cable, quick start guide