Sony GPS Reviews

We take a closer look a Sony's GPS receivers and give you some idea of which might best suit you.

Though Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan are considered the "big three" GPS manufacturers, their control of the GPS market is not certain, especially when a big consumer electronics player like Sony takes an interest in their domain. Sony has introduced their own line GPS receivers, bringing their powerful brand recognition and commitment to flashy, appealing electronics to this growing arena. Comparatively, however, Sony's stable of GPS devices is exceptionally small; small enough to doubt whether they really have an interest in shaking things up.

If you look at the GPS section of the Sony Style website, you'll see a grand total of six GPS receivers, many of which are listed as "out-of-stock." This is not exactly encouraging for the discerning consumer who may be used to seeing dozens of GPS units from Garmin or Magellan as they search. Appearances are a little deceiving, however. What's really going on is that Sony is trying to simplify GPS shopping, an admirable goal in the eyes of this writer. Still, availability is low (online, at least), which does not help Sony in achieving any significant victories against their readily available competition.

Keeping GPS Shopping Simple

Sony divides their GPS selection into three categories: compact, mid-size, and luxury. The compact GPS receivers are ones with LCD displays of 3.5 inches. The "mid-size" models are 4.3-inch widescreen LCD displays, which is typically the upper-limit of screen size for the other GPS manufacturers (barring a few outliers). The luxury line is where Sony seeks to differentiate itself from the competition. These GPS receivers boast 4.9-inch widescreen LCD displays.

Each category seems to be represented by a single GPS receiver. Rather than make shoppers hunt through endless variations on the same model, becoming confused and irritated at the subtle, almost insignificant differences, Sony has boiled everything down to three models, the compact Sony NV-U44, the mid-size NV-U74T, and the luxury Sony NV-U94T.

Compact: The Sony NV-U44

Sony NVU44

The Sony NV-U44 is the simplest and most affordable Sony GPS receiver available. With a 3.5-inch, standard-aspect-ratio LCD display, it's highly portable and easy to use. In addition to the standard maps and navigational mode, the NV-U44 also features Sony's "Dual View 3D," which splits the screen between the overhead map point-of-view and a second point-of-view that presents turns, junctions, intersections, or other confusing waypoints from a head-on perspective. This gives the driver a nice heads up on what lane they should be in before they even arrive on the scene.

While that's a nice feature, splitting an already small screen in half could significantly reduce your ability to determine what's happening on the GPS receiver. If you're concerned about not having enough real estate to tell what's going on, you should investigate the widescreen or luxury models.

Mid-Size: The Sony NV-U74T

Sony NVU74T

The Sony NV-U74T is a step up from the compact model, but it's more than just screen size. While the NV-U74T does have a larger, 4.3-inch widescreen LCD display, it's much more than that. It also comes with support for Bluetooth wireless, allowing users to turn the GPS receiver into a hands-free speakerphone, when paired with a Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone. Then there's support for the RDS-TMC Traffic Messaging Channel. Where available, traffic information can be gathered by the NV-U74T over the radio band, and the device will use that information to calculate its routes and avoid congestion. This feature requires a separate subscription to the Traffic Messaging Channel, though it comes with a free 90-day trial upon purchase.

Luxury: The Sony NV-U94T

Sony NV-U94T

Grade:

What Does This Grade Mean: B

A	is for excellent above-average televisions, typically a newer set that has lots of great buying opportunities and high ratings from users. All of our "top picks" should be considered A+ televisions.
B	is given to strong TVs that have some standout features, worthy of a second look.
C	means that these TVs are weaker, probably with mediocre owner reviews, and are getting a little too old to be considered.
D & F	indicates that this TV is most likely older or out-of-date, and most likely has very few buying opportunities. We suggest you avoid purchasing these sets.

from $166.00

The next step up, the luxury model Sony NV-U94T is very similar to the Sony NV-U74T. The major exception is the display size: a widescreen 4.8-inch LCD that puts it head and shoulders above most of the competition. Other than that, the only other difference is the inclusion of "POSITION plus," which tracks your position even if you should go out of sight of the GPS satellites, say, in a tunnel. That seems like a fairly infrequent occurrence. The U94T is only recommended if you absolutely must have the largest display size available; otherwise, the mid-size NV-U74T should suit you just fine.