NaviGadget

six GPS navigation systems no longer with us

Apr 11, 2009 gps navigation 6 Comments

GPS navigation system market is very dynamic and fast moving. New features come out monthly, prices keep going down. Small brand names can’t just compete or the big ones (HP, Sony) just take a quick stab at the market and realize people just won’t give up their Garmin’s :)

Here are a few names that are either out of the GPS navigation market or about to be gone.

• Magellan


Magellan was one of the big shots here in the U.S. but recently was bought by Mitac Mio. Even though Mio said they’d keep the brand going we think it is a matter of time until the Magellan name completely disappears.

• HP


HP had a decent looking device called iPAQ 310 for a while but it turns out they’ll be discontinuing their stand alone GPS navigation systems and a few others such as iPAQ 312, 314, 316, and 318.

• Dash


These were the guys to first come out with a decent two way connected system. We really loved it. But they didn’t last long. When they quit they promised they’d keep their awesome user collected traffic information platform alive.

• Harman/Kardon


Harman did come out with a few models that really looked promising such as the GPS-810. But due to continued price cutting they’re out as well.

• Sony


Sony never really got traction in the PND market. They officially quit the European market. Even though SonyStyle for U.S. still offers the NVU series the fact that they haven’t offered anything new makes us wonder…

• Panasonic


Panasonic is also out but only for standalone GPS navigation systems like the Strada CN-GP50N, and CN-GP50U. They’re keeping their in-dash systems.

UPDATE (May 6th):

• Navigon


We’re sorry to now add Navigon to this list. They really had some decent devices but the aggressive pricing was too aggressive for them. They’ll continue business in Europe.

NVU-73T and NVU-83T available for pre-order

Feb 18, 2008 gps navigation, sony 2 Comments

Sony’s two new GPS navigation systems for the U.S. market are available for pre-order on sonystyle website. NVU-73T will be $50 cheaper than what we expected. It will sell for $300. NVU-83T on the other hand is already $100 cheaper. NVU-83T will sell for $400.

Here are the basic set of features for:

NVU-73T

• 4.3″ screen
• text-to-speech
• maps of United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico

NVU-83T

• 4.8″ screen
• text-to-speech
• maps of United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico
• bluetooth hands free communication
• dead reckoning

Sony NVU-73T

Jan 8, 2008 gps navigation, sony Leave a comment

Sony also announced NVU-73T at CES 2008, a more basic GPS navigation system compared to NVU-83T. NVU-73T will cost $350 and will lack bluetooth or position plus technology.

But NVU-73T is still filled with useful features such as text-to-speech voice commands and real-time-traffic capability. It has about 5 million points of interest and comes with U.S. and Canadian maps on its 2GB flash memory including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Even though NVU-73T has a smaller screen than 83T, measuring 4.3″, it still can support the dual view feature on its 16 x 9 aspect ratio display.

Sony NVU-83T

Jan 6, 2008 CES 2008, gps navigation, sony Leave a comment

Sony just announced a new GPS navigation device at CES 2008 called NVU-83T; a new addition to their nav-u series for the U.S. market.

NVU-83T seems to have all the high-end features such as the text to speech, voice commands, and real time traffic information. Of course it also has bluetooth capability for taking or making phone calls with a bluetooth enabled phone.

Another feature that is definitely worth mentioning with NVU-83T is the 4.8″ screen with anti-glare coating and the ultra thin body similar to Sony’s Bravia.

Sony’s new GPS navigation system not only has the super sensitive SiRF StarIII chip but also features Position Plus which utilizes a pressure sensor, gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor to keep track of your position when satellite signals are weak.

NV-U83T will be available in February for $500 directly from sonystyle.com.

Sony NAV-U GPS review

Aug 12, 2007 gps navigation, reviews, sony Leave a comment

British site Computeractive now has a review of Sony’s NAV-U NV-U51G which is currently only available in Europe.

It looks like the reviewers were not completely dissatisfied with U51G but there was nothing special about it either.

That’s not to say it makes no improvements over previous versions. You can now, for instance, search by full post code, making it easier to pinpoint the exact location of a destination. But yet again, Sony has failed to provide a memory card slot, limiting the opportunity for expansion. It comes with maps for the UK and Ireland, and it is possible to buy additional maps, adding them to the unit using a PC.

Probably something you want to buy if you see a really good deal on it. NV-U51
currently sells for £140 on Amazon – but keep in mind review talks about U51G, not U51.

Sony NV-U81T finally coming to U.S.?

Apr 4, 2007 gps navigation, sony 1 Comment

Back in September 2006 we talked about Sony’s announcement of NV-U81T for the U.S. market but it never actually saw light of day until last month; this time in Japan under a different name, called NV-U1. However there’s still some chance U.S. may meet the hard disk based NV-U81T. Or why would they get an FCC approval for?

Sony NV-U81T features a 4.3″ touch screen and has hands-free bluetooth support. It also comes standard with traffic message channel receiver, and a 4GB 1″ hard disk for storage.

Other fancy features Sony integrated into the NV-U81T are gesture commands and position plus.

The position plus makes predictions about the location of the vehicle by listening to its acceleration sensor and a pressure sensor to provide more stable, reliable positioning information, even when GPS signals are degraded or briefly unavailable.

Still no word on pricing or availability.

Sony NV-U71T available for pre-order

Dec 9, 2006 gps navigation, sony 1 Comment

Sony’s Portable Satellite Navigation System NV-U71T is now available for pre-order for $500 on Amazon.com. But be cautious since Sony’s website says the expected ship date is March, 2007. Who knows what kind of new sat nav systems will be out by then. Possibly cheaper too.

The NV-U71T boasts many features that mid-high range GPS sat nav systems have such as the RDS-TMC real-time traffic information receiver, good battery life (4.5 hours), and lots of POI (7 million in this case). One other feature Sony likes to mention with their nav-u series is the ‘gesture command’ feature which saves you the trouble of going through menus and buttons, by a swipe of your finger on the screen. Upside down ‘V’ would be the ‘go home’ command for example.

Other specs:

• 2GB flash memory
• 3.5″ a-Si TFT active matrix system screen
• USB Jack
• External GPS Antenna Jack
• TMC Antenna Jack
• 20×40 mm speaker
• dimensions: 103.8×87.6×32.8 mm (4.1×3.5×1.3 inches)
• weight:280 grams (9.9 ounces)

Sony NV-U71T

Oct 26, 2006 gps navigation, sony Leave a comment

Sony after releasing NV-U81T and NV-U80 today unveiled the new NV-U71T. NV-U71T has a 3.5″ touch screen which can accept ‘gesture commands’. When you buy this device you also get a 90 days free real time traffic information which should cost $5 / month after that.

The Sony NV-U71T navigation system comes with 2GB Flash memory, pre-loaded with U.S. and Canadian maps including the other two states as well as Puerto Rico. It should be available this winter for $500.

Specs on the battery:

• Charging Time: Approximately 4.5 hours (unit turned on), or 2.5 hours (in standby mode).
• Usage Time: Up to 6.5 hours

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magellan 3000T vs sony NV-U70

Jul 30, 2006 gps navigation, magellan, reviews, sony Leave a comment

A recent review (technically just a personal opinion) came out comparing Magellan 3000T and Sony NV-U70. Sony NV-U70 (nav-u series) is listed at $500 (currently $100 rebate going on) and the Magellan 3000T is listed at $600. For the comparison, the Magellan unit tested was not out of the box, it was in-dash version whereas the Sony was out of the box.

Author thought that the Magellan interface was more intuitive than the Sony and the NV-U70 was lacking in the POI department. The review found the Magellan 3000T to be better because it found the autor’s favorite hot dog stand.

Even its [the NV-U70] tall, orange box looks trendier than what the Magellan comes packaged in. However, I immediately found searching for points of interest, with its prompt of “Category 1,” “Category 2” and “Point of Interest (Please Select),” very confusing.

As I drove, I liked that the names of landmarks, such as museums and ATMs, appeared on the map.

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