5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Never a big Sony fan, but this GPS delivers
Date of Review: Oct 28, 2008
The Bottom Line: I would highly recommend this product, because it is not just a "cookie cutter" wanna-be. Sony has a great product here, and it delivers in fine fashion.
After looking and looking for the right GPS device (for me) I finally settled on the Sony NAV-U83. My decision finally came down to three things. 1. Price. 2. Quality, and 3. Functionality. I searched several different brands and models, and read as many available reviews on each one as I could. I determined that the Sony was the right choice.
First of all, I didn't want to spend more than about $300.00. I know there were several other models out there that could probably put this unit to shame, I wasn't looking for all the bells and whistles I could find. Rather, I wanted just good and easy functionality, without sacrificing (routing) service issues and other quirks that have haunted other devices. This Sony GPS unit also was very appealing to me due to it's screen size of 4.8 inches. Although most brands offer many models of 4.3 ", I thought another half an inch must be better for something. The 4.8" screen is very nice because it gives a lot of information without either covering up a good portion of the map viewing area, or having to toggle back and forth from the map screen to the information screen.
The interface is set up nicely and gives good and clear route guidance, and it is easily programed as you need to navigate your trips. You can set up mulitple points during one trip, or use the common start and ending points with ease. It brings up many points of interest, (it has 5 Million, where other brands only have 2 to 3 million) although I found that it has a somewhat of a hard time gathering newer points of interest, say like a new restaurant.
It will re-route you if you get off course, and get you back on track within seconds of deviation.
Another thing I really like about it, is the split screen when you should prepare yourself to making a turn, or taking an exit. It gives a blow up of the turning point on one half of the screen, with a countdown, distance meter to the turn point, and also still maintains a birds-eye map view on the other half of the screen. So you always know where you are at in relation to each street and turn point. It's especially nice when you are on a freeway system, and you have to negotiate a series of on, and/or off ramps or interchanges. It shows the split screen and also shows you what lanes to be in, so that you can easily make your connections.
It has Blue Tooth capabilities, as well as traffic link ability, which (in a major city) comes in handy, in that it will let you know about live traffic problems, road delay's etc, and will re-route you if you so choose, to get around the problem, before you get snarled up in it.
The mount is also very nice. It will mount either on your windshield, or, I have it mounted on the top of my dashboard. I like it there, because it gives me a closer view of it, and without it being mounted right on the windshield, it doesn't obstruct my view.
Overall, I like it. I like it a lot!