Sony is launching another Nav-U pair into the US market, the latest being models NV-U73T and NV-U83T. These models are being launched behind safety of the user. One of the features touted, isn’t even the GPS unit, it’s the suction cup mount. The suction cup makes what they call a virtually unmovable attachment due to the fact that it’s made with a flexible non adhesive gel that allows you to position the unit where it’s convenient.
The Nav-U83T has another wider than widescreen size of 4.8 inches (4.3-inches on the Nav-U73T), that has a nice anti-glare coating to make it visible in most conditions. The unit also has a split screen design that shows upcoming intersections and detail about the next turn.
A little sophistication on the chipset design front, as the Nav-U 83T has not only a SiRF star III GPS chip, but a pressure sensor, gyro and acceleration sensor to keep the GPS unit tracking while in tunnels and in urban canyons where even the SiRF chip might get lost (Not available on the Nav-U73T). Finally, the units feature a gesture control capability to help make frequent tasks as easy as a flick of the finger.
The units will also have text-to-speech, branded icons, 5 million points of interest, and maps of US & Canada. The Nav-U83T will also have Bluetooth Handsfree calling capability.
Pre-orders for the nav-u portable navigation devices are now being accepted at www.sonystyle.com/navu. The devices are expected to be available in early spring direct at www.sonystyle.com, at Sony Style retail stores nationwide, at military base exchanges, and at authorized dealers around the country. The NV-U73T and NV-U83T models are expected to sell for about $350 and $500, respectively.
After some stops and starts, Sony has launched a pair of GPS systems that look pretty nice with a great design presence. The NV-U82 and the NV-U92T are big widescreen units at a 4.8 inch diagonal with a huge point of view of what’s to come and where you are going. With all of that screen real estate, they can cram a lot on there, and have started to offer some extras that units with smaller screens can’t quite do without the extra real estate. The extra information may be a help or a distraction; can’t wait to try these out.
As previously disclosed, the new Sony models feature “gesture support” which allows the user to flick the screen in different ways to give commands of where to go. Just sketch a simple line or shape on screen with a fingertip and the NV-U82 and NV-U92T will guide you safely and surely to frequent destinations – like ‘home’ or the ‘nearest gas station’.
News is coming out that Sony is putting on hold their higher end NAV-U80 and U81T that were to be widescreened units holding down the top of their GPS line. They announced the line expansion last year, with plans to have the models in the market quickly. Things didn’t go so well for them with the original launch of the NAV-U70, as the sales seemed to disappoint. Philips recently announced that they are backing off from the GPS market, and canceling plans as a result of margin erosion and tough competition. One has to think that with Garmin and TomTom locking up distribution outlets for the higher end devices, it would be hard to get a toehold for your expanded line, even with the GPS category expanding at breakneck speeds. Success has been seen by companies willing to discount their way into the market, like Mio’s huge splash over the holiday’s last year. They are firmly in people’s minds as a result.
Anyway, apparently Sony is still looking at launching the NAV U51 and U71T, the follow-up to their first entry.
So, apparently just in time for Christmas, and if you are living in Japan, the GPS for the PSP has gone on sale for about $60. Will I buy one? Not right away. Is it going to be useful? Who knows, but it has a certain coolness factor, doesn't it? I mean the Japanese have a certain ability to create what's possible, and not always what's needed.
While there are a few titles that are planned or available for the PSP with GPS capabilities, these things are going to be cool when you can roam around a playing field that has been generated from real satellite images, and you get to wear goggles for what will seem like a real world rendered reality playing type game....
A couple of days ago we reported on the Sony NV-71T, and today we bring you the Sony NV-51 GPS. Not a lot of information on the Sony NV-U51 yet, but here’s another in the developing Sony GPS line. This appears to be a lower end unit that still has the Gesture Command and a 3.5-inch screen. No “T” in the name means no traffic feeds, and apparently only a limited amount of mapping data – 512MB card. This would do for European Regions, but I think it would need a bit more (at a negligible up-charge) to handle the entire US appropriately. It will have a battery, but no word on price and availability.
Sony has announced a new GPS – the Sony NV-U71T, a new entry level GPS for Sony that will build on the market experience already gained with the Sony NV-U70 that was launched earlier this year. It will come in below the widescreen models announced in September: the Sony Nav-U80 and Nav-U81T. The NV71t will come with real time TMC traffic free for 90 days, costing $4.95 per month after that. The 3.5 inch touchscreen is about standard for the mid-tier groups, but this Sony also includes the Gesture Command that the Nav-U80 and Nav-U81T have, where you can give a swipe to the touchscreen to bring up a certain command. There are about six such commands available. For instance an inverted “V” automatically brings up navigation to go home.
Should be interesting to see what else Sony brings us, as they expand on their early market entries. “There will be a full lineup announced over the next 60 days,” said senior marketing manager Andrew Sivori.
The unit should retail for $499 and be available in December.
ReadMore on the product at Sony Style, where you can also pre-order the Sony NV71T.
Sony has announced a new widescreen set of GPS Systems for release later this year, the Nav-U80 and Nav-U81. The units have a 4.3 inch widescreen touch sensitive display that has a gesture sensitive control that will allow you to swipe your finger a certain way and that will automatically let you find the nearest gas station, or navigate home.
The new NAV-U80 and Nav-U81T will support Bluetooth handsfree calling. The NAV-U80 will come with flash memory, while the NAV-U81T will come with a 4GB hard drive and pre-installed European Maps. It will also have traffic feed capabilities.
No word on Price.
Hummm, when will the US get these? I would imagine sometime soon, hopefully in the hard drive model.
So you’ve probably seen the DIY project to hook up the Holux GPS receiver to your PSP, but have you seen the new software to run maps on your PSP in connection with the GPS receiver? Below is a YouTube video that shows the device in action. It’s very early stuff and requires a good bit of knowledge to be able to implement, but there you go; GPS and mapping on the PSP.
Update: See the news on the new Sony NV-71T the replacement for the NV-70.
Update: See the news on the New Sony Nav-U80 and Nav-U81T - HERE
With the summer driving and vacation season upon us, you may be considering a GPS purchase in your future, so it's no surprise that a lot of new models have hit the stores in recent weeks. One is the Sony Nav-U NV-U70, a major effort by Sony to get into the growing mobile GPS catagory. The product appears to be a real player, with solid navigation and decent features. There was a recent PC Magazine review online (see our article), that gave the unit praise for its ease of use, but thought that there were some other products on the marketplace that gave better featuresets for the same or better price; but isn't that almost always the case with Sony?
Another review has popped up online that takes a look at the Sony Nav-U70. This time CNet takes a look at the new entry from Sony and sees a nice simple interface on this GPS, but has a few questins about it too. They give it a 6.3 out of 10.
The new Sony Nav-u GPS is just hitting the stores now and there’s a review that has popped up indicating that it’s not a bad little GPS. The nav-u features a 3.5-inch (diagonal) touch screen with a special coating to make it both glare- and fingerprint-resistant. It has a built-in light sensor to adjust the screen automatically for optimal viewing in any lighting condition and includes both a day and night mode. Many but not all GPS units feature this, and I think that it’s a big plus when they do. It’s a simple thing, but it makes a difference.
Sony has announced a new line of GPS units, the Nav-U line. This line includes 3 GPS units. All available in Europe right now. no word on the US launch.
Starting with the NV-U50 unit that will offer in car GPS, with a 3.5 inch touchscreen. If you want a unit with TMC traffic support you'll need the similar NV-U50T. The traffic enabled unit will re-route you based on the live traffic feeds. This would be similar to the Cobra NavOne 4500 (See our review), or the Garmin C340, of any of the higher Garmin 2700 series products. One plus on for the Sony unit is that they have managed to get the antenna for the traffic feeds into the cradle, so you won't have the thing flopping around on the dash. Wonder if this will create a reception issue?
Sony has entered the GPS receiver market; taking on familiar names like Garmin, Magellan and TomTom, with an automobile GPS unit. It has a 2GB hard drive, a color screen. Stuff Magazine from the UK sees some of of its features a bit deficient versus the TomTom models, like the Go 700 that features more storage, and a touchscreen instead of the buttons on the Sony model. Longer term, Sony could be a big force in the GPS world..... or they could cough up a new Betamax. Time will tell. Price on the street is TBD, with a launch scheduled for August.
Sony Nav-U 73T and 83T
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