Dr Gadget - Gadget Shop - Sony NV-U53G Navigation Unit With Full Maps Of UK, Ireland & Northern France (Down To Paris)

	List Price: Our Price: £134.69 Your Save: £ ( % ) Availability: Manufacturer: Sony
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Binding: Electronics Brand: Sony EAN: 4905524417746 Label: Sony Manufacturer: Sony Model: NVU53G.EUR Publisher: Sony Release Date: 2007-09-11 Studio: Sony
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: An accurate sat nav with some nice touches. Comment: Before reading this please note that as of April 2008 Sony no longer produces Sat Navs for the European market so there will be no further updates for these products. After much consideration, and research, I decided that the Sony was exactly what I wanted - a basic system that would replace the hassle of map reading and, thus, save a marriage! I liked the screen size and the look of the wonderfully drawn maps. And, at current prices (around £100), there seemed no other option. I ordered the goods from Amazon and they arrived quickly. I knew exactly what I would get in the box but the lack of AC adaptor didn't seem important enough not to buy this product. The unit charges via the USB port of the computer, or via the cigarette lighter socket of the car, with the cables supplied. I don't foresee myself purchasing an AC adaptor as, so far, I can't see any need for it. The battery life of this unit is no more than an hour so if your car doesn't have a cigarette lighter socket then this sat nav is not the one for you. If you do, then there is no need to use the battery power. Most sat navs are the same though. The screen, as with screens on all Sony products, is superb. Whether you use it day or night it won't disappoint, and it automatically changes its brightness so you don't have to. Having the large wide screen also means you can see lots of the surrounding area including nearby villages/towns etc, which are clearly labelled. You would be looking at paying at least £30 more for the equivalent screen size on other makes. I also love the ease of operation of this device. From the moment I turned it on I knew how to use it instinctively. The on-screen buttons are big so even those with larger fingers shouldn't have a problem with using it. The menus are clear and well set out, with the major options easily accessible. The screen includes all of the information you need to know and optionally you can include nearby Points of Interests (POI). There are plenty of POIs to choose from. My only complaint is that they are very small on screen. The estimated time of arrival (ETA) is very accurate and you really can trust it - depending on traffic conditions that is! A few forums have raised an issue with the clock on this model. It has been known to re-set itself or show the wrong time, affecting the ETA. This happened once with mine after connecting it to the computer. However, I took it outside and as soon as it got signal the correct time was showing. The unit will show your speed but only when you haven't programmed a route. I don't know why this is but personally I don't see the need for it. The speedometer is right in front of you! Having seen a TomTom in operation I know that they tell you when you are exceeding the speed limit, though in the course of a 40 minute journey it got the limit wrong twice! Having previously registered with Sony for other products setting up the speed cameras was quick and easy - though I don't find their web site the most intuitive. I did however have a little help from some online forums to properly activate the `safety' cameras so I would be verbally warned. This works well though it does tend to warn you about cameras that are in nearby roads as well! I also didn't find the software provided that brilliant. This is something Sony has failed on with other products. The main issue was the constant `connecting' sign on the unit when it's connected to the computer. I have since found out that this is normal and it will say this even when synced and not transferring information. I found the major advantage of this unit to be the very clear voice instructions - she tells you which road number to follow i.e. A123 which is something a lot of competitors don't offer. She also gives plenty of warning to keep to the left or right etc so you know which lane to be in. This makes the journey so much more stress-free. The maps are also very clear and don't look like a childs drawing unlike other manufacturers. So far, I have found the maps to be very accurate, including some fairly recent roads, and haven't come across any unknown roads as yet. Signal is usually picked up within a minute - it's never taken any longer than that for me. I guess it depends on where you live though. Even when signal is lost going through a tunnel it is a matter of seconds before it's back on track having come out the other side. As with many portable devices (cameras, ipods etc) there is no case supplied in the box. At the price I paid for the sat nav an extra £10 for a case from halfords did the trick. This is a definite must if you intend to take it around with you. Put it this way, I wouldn't leave it in the car. Another aspect which attracted me to the Sony was the attachment. This, in my opinion, is much better than the TomTom, which is prone to falling off the windscreen (seen it happen) and cannot be attached to the dashboard unlike the Sony - unless you purchase a separate attachment. This also makes your car much less of a target for thieves who look out for suction marks on the screen. Attachment to the dashboard is very simple and very sturdy. The Sony also clips nicely onto this attachment with ease. I have seen many reviews talking about the unresponsive touch screen. These are true to a point - sometimes it takes two or three pushes to get it to respond. However, this is no problem especially as most of this is done prior to the journey. The TomTom I used had a similar problem. As a Mac user I was disappointed to find out that the Sony isn't Mac compatible. Although you can work it from the box there are a number of features such as adding/removing maps and languages that do require a computer. Thankfully I also have a PC for such situations. I I have previously mentioned I have also seen a TomTom in operation. I can see that they do have advantages. Firstly the TomTom seems to be more accurate, to within about a metre whilst driving along. The Sony seems to be about 5 metres. So when you are passing a road junction the Sony may show you as still coming up to it. Even though the TomTom I saw was about a year or two older than the Sony I noticed that even when it was in a tunnel and without signal it carried on going. Can't see a great advantage to this but it's still clever. Only the top of the range Sony's have this ability. I also noted that the TomTom was marginally quicker at re-routing should you take a wrong turn. Although not sluggish the Sony was noticeably slower, but not enough to ever cause a problem. Some nice features that I'd like to mention about the Sony are: If you select the 2D map you can search the entire pre-loaded map (close up or far away) and tell it where you want to navigate manually. So if you don't know the postcode but know where it is on the map then this is a handy feature. Also, if you happen to particularly like the area in which you are currently at you can save your current location and it will store it for you. Gesture commands are another nice touch. These are like a speed-dial on your phone. Simply draw a `^' on screen and it will navigate you home. Draw a `-` across the screen and it will take you to the nearest petrol station. I think this is an excellent, and safe, feature that really does work. For those who like the celeb voices that the TomTom has to offer the Sony (as yet) will disappoint. The female voice included is currently the only one available. I'm sure this will eventually change but you have to remember Sony haven't been in the market long. Overall I'm very happy with this unit. It does exactly what I want i.e. navigate me to where I want to get to without the stress of map reading. The few nice extras are a plus and selecting the `nice route' instead of the obvious `fast route' has taken us through some lovely places nearby which we would never have seen otherwise. Customer Rating: Summary: Not up to Sony's usual quality! Don't buy this unit. Comment: Great looking unit, great price on Amazon etc etc BUT...when you get the unit you cannot register the product on Sony's nav-u web site to get the free 12 months traffic camera offer. The disc supplied does not seem to allow you to set up the unit and Microsoft closes it down. Then, Trying to type in my home address - street unknown! There is no AC adaptor supplied (penny pinching) and the unit cannot be charged up via the USB cable! So you have to take the unit with you in the car plugged into the cigar lighter with cables everywhere looking untidy just to set up the thing. Compare this with a mobile phone where you charge it up at home and can use within hours! You get so many instruction books & bits of additional instructions more bits of paper in the box to me proves there have been many problems with this unit. I think Sony are trying to get into the established Sat Nav market served very well by Tom Tom, Navman & Garmin (I have had a previous Tom Tom which was so simple to set up!) Very disapointed, This is surely NOT a Sony, must be made under licence by a 2nd grade manufacturer without Sony's normal high standards. AVOID!! Customer Rating: Summary: nice sat nav shame about user manual and web site. Comment: haveing spent three days trying to find a 16 digt number in the box (this is where thi user manual and web site said to find it)i now find it was never there its on the unit all the time. its is a shame the web site and user manual are next to useless as it is a great bit of kit, its a vast inprovement on the goodmansgnav12 i used before (not to say that was no good)i fund this a lot clearer at r/a and on minor roads. Customer Rating: Summary: A Good Entry Level Choice Comment: UPDATE I felt it important to share the official response from Sony to my quiries about the mapping and camera updates. The reply stated that I should update the Firmware to ensure I had the very latest updates. The instructions were comprehensive but fundamentally flawed. The use of the AC adaptor is essential. Unfortunately Sony do not supply one, it has to be purchased separately. Not such a good buy anymore. Without the firmware update the safety camera and road data are out of date. You would think Sony could do better. I would now only give this 3 stars at best. If you are hovering on 9 points do not rely on this to keep you driving! I purchased this item as a direct result of the Amazon reviews and I am very satisfied with the Unit albeit there are a few quirks. However on balance the good far outweigh the bad. Bad: 1. The supporting Sony website is not intuitive to use and does not perform well. I am not at all confident that my downloads will work as intended. 2. The base map data is possibly questionable. My house is 20 years old but the map database will not recognise it. A possible explaination is that we are on a short piece of road at the end of a cul de sac that is unadopted. The mapping may only be configured to recognise public roads. 3. The screen can be touch insensitive. 4. "Safety" camera warnings are verbal "watch your speed" only. Other than the generic map symbol no other info is presented, eg the speed limit! Similary it does not appear to have an "accident blackspot" capability, ie pre registered / regular known mobile 'safety' camera sites" do not appear to feature. 5. It can take a long time to boot up and get GPS lock. 6. Speed and direction of travel are not avilable in Navigation mode. This info is only shown in free map mode. 7. The great style and slimline size come at a cost - in this case small internal battery and consequent stand alone operating life. Good: 1. Brilliant mapping and clear graphics. Not at all the cartoon-like display often seen with other manufacturers. 2. Clear vebal instructions. 3. Road numbers / names given as part of the verbal intructions. 4. Simple and logical menu structure. 5. Absolutely brilliant vacuum gel mount. This allows you to fix the Unit to the dashboard and not the windscreen. An imortant feature if like me you have a deep dashboard and want to be able to read the display. The associated ease by which the unit fixes/unfixes to the mount is also a neat design. 6. The slimline Sony design is very smart and makes stowage very simple. It also takes no more room in a jacket pocket than the average wallet. 7. The day/night auto screen change is an excellent feature. Would I recommend this device? Yes if you want a navigation tool with a secondary safety camera alert capability. No if your primary need is safety camera data with a secondary navigation function. In which case buy a Road Angel (but get it quick before the thought police make it illegal). However if you want an entry level navigation Unit with a large screen, neat features, cracking design and at a steal of a price, you will not go far wrong with this Sony. Customer Rating: Summary: Great Machine but flawed Maps, Stay clear. Comment: Got this Sat Nav because I am a keen follower al all things SONY. So I needed to get a GPS and deciced to go with Nav u 53g, I didn't need any fancy extra's just a good GPS system. First of all the software on this Sat Nav is very good, finding even a romote place can be quite easy,lots of POI's and easy address finder for the UK. I am in Ireland and finding places is quiet good. But now for the reasons not to buy, the battery on this sat nav is crap, I can only get about 30 to 40 minutes before it suddenly just dies. The battery indicater is therfore crap. And for the most important reason why you should stay away. The Map on this machine is atleast 4 years old, if not even older. I contacted Sony about this, and they assuredd me that it was the latest but its Just not. There lots of POI on Dublin missing from it. So if in Ireland avoid it, in the uk is mite be risky. More Reviews
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