Electronics & Computers Deals here!Sony NV-U70
Manufacturer: Sony Part number: NVU70
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sony NV-U70 is a solid in-car nav system for the GPS newbie, offering ease of use and accurate directions, but you can get more for your money from competing products.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 11/07/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Sony NV-U70 price range: $349.98
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Edited by: Wayne Cunningham
- Reviewed on: 06/06/2006
The good: The sleek and ultraportable Sony NV-U70 features a simple interface and an accurate receiver.
The bad: The Sony NV-U70 was a little slow to calculate routes, and it lacks some of the features found in similarly priced competitors, such as text-to-speech functionality and traffic services.
The bottom line: The Sony NV-U70 is a solid in-car nav system for the GPS newbie, offering ease of use and accurate directions, but you can get more for your money from competing products.
The Sony NV-U70's design and form factor are perhaps its greatest assets. At 4.1 by 3.5 by 1.8 inches and 11 ounces, the device is light, compact, and ultraportable, so you can easily move it from car to car. As a bonus, Sony provides you with a nice soft pouch so that you can carry the device around and protect it from sustaining any major dings. And believe us, one glance at this sharp device and you'll want to do all you can to keep it looking that way. As with most Sony products, the NV-U70 sports an attractive design that's highlighted by a polished silver and charcoal-gray casing, minimal controls, and a 3.5-inch touch screen; it reminded us of a mini TV. The display shows 65,536 colors at a 320x240-pixel resolution and features an antiglare/antifingerprint coating, as well as a light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen depending on the environment (day, night, and so forth). While both of these functions worked for the most part, we encountered some trouble when viewing the screen in bright sunlight.
As we mentioned earlier, the Sony NV-U70's controls are kept to a minimum. There are two buttons on top of the unit: one to power on/off the device and a voice/position button to repeat the last set of instructions. All other commands are entered via the responsive touch screen. On the right side, you have a mini USB port and a charger port, both of which are protected by an attached rubber cover. The Sony NV-U70 also comes with a two-way front-panel speaker system.
We're happy to see that Sony packages the NV-U70 with all the essential accessories, including an AC adapter, a car charger, a USB cable, a windshield mount, a mounting plate and screws, and a good helping of reference material. We used the adjustable windshield mount for our tests and had no problem attaching it to our car, but more importantly, it held the unit firmly in place. The mechanism for releasing the NV-U70 from the mount is a little sticky, though. Other optional accessories, such as a neoprene carrying case and an external antenna, are available for purchase.
The Sony NV-U70 uses a 12-channel GPS receiver and comes preloaded with detailed street-level maps of the 48 contiguous U.S. states, Hawaii, and a database of 1.6 million points of interest (POI). Maps of Alaska, Canada, and Puerto Rico are available on the included DVD-ROM, but you'll need to transfer those from your computer to the NV-U70 via the USB cable.
The NV-U70's interface is straightforward and simple to use. From the main menu, you can choose from five options--New Destination, Search Nearby, Route, Muting, and Settings--and if you want to return to the main page, you can hit the Back button or any point on the screen.
You can plot your course by address, POI, recent destinations, favorites, or a point on the map. You can also customize the unit so that it generates directions by the fastest or shortest route, and you can tell it to avoid interstates and tollways. Like all GPS devices today, the NV-U70 offers text- and voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, but it doesn't include the latest text-to-speech technology that speaks the name of the street. Instead, you'll receive generic directions, such as "Turn right in 100 feet."
Maps can be viewed in either 2D (in driving direction or oriented north) or 3D mode. Once the unit draws up a map, three icons show up at the top of your screen. They are unmarked, which created a bit of confusion at first, but we soon found out they are for hiding/showing View Mode (driving direction or north up), Select Destination, and all other icons. A battery icon in the upper right shows you how much juice you have left. The bottom of the screen presents useful information, such as your driving speed, time, current location, and direction. If you need to make a pit stop along the way, simply use the Search Nearby menu to find the closest POI from your current location. You can search from a wide range of establishments, including restaurants (sorted by type), ATMs, gas stations, shopping centers, hotels, garages, and more.
Don't let the Sony NV-U70's diminutive size fool you, as it's a solid and accurate performer. It took the unit about three minutes to acquire a 3D fix (four satellites) from a cold start, but subsequent starts were almost instantaneous. The NV-U70 accurately tracked our position as we traveled around San Francisco, and we lost signal only once in the heart of the financial district, where skyscrapers dominate the landscape. Driving directions were also on the money, and thanks to the two-way speaker system, we had absolutely no problem hearing the voice-guided directions.
Our only complaint would be that initial route calculations were a little poky, and there was a slight delay in response time when switching between screens. The Sony NV-U70's lithium-ion battery is rated for four hours of use.
User reviews
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It is good but loses gps signal in down town area with high buildings
by muhammadazhar on May 8, 2006
Pros: Bright screen, Clear voice prompts
Cons: Maps are very uptodate
Summary: Overall good product but the maps appears to be old as it fails to give the surrounding points of interest i.e gas stations, resturents and state parks. Among the ...
Summary: Overall good product but the maps appears to be old as it fails to give the surrounding points of interest i.e gas stations, resturents and state parks. Among the high rise building gps signal is lost.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great navigator for road use
by bhaverkamp on May 21, 2006
Pros: Locks on fast, fast reroute,easy to swtich between cars
Cons: Not useful for cross country navigation, few extras
Summary: I had a magellan 700 before this unit. My complaints about the magellan were that it was slow to reroute and acquire its position when first turned on. The Sony ...
Summary: I had a magellan 700 before this unit. My complaints about the magellan were that it was slow to reroute and acquire its position when first turned on. The Sony has none of these problems. The display is easier to read during the day compared with the Magellan. My only real disappointment is that is not very useful for dead reckoning, does not display heading information.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Taking Portable Navigation to a New Level
by j57little on April 17, 2006
Pros: Brighter screen, better sound, super easy controls
Cons: No provision for in-dash mounting
Summary: I have seriously compared the available products and the new Sony entry sets a new standard for portable navigation performance. Battery life is over two hours when removed from the ...
Summary: I have seriously compared the available products and the new Sony entry sets a new standard for portable navigation performance. Battery life is over two hours when removed from the car, the screen is brighter, the touch screen controls are far more refined and easy to use. Most of all, the sound is far superior to other products so you can actually hear and understand directions at highway speeds. The Navteq mapping system is good, but needs a few updates.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Two words - NO UPDATES
by charzdad on March 19, 2007
Pros: Easy to use - although not enough of a reason to buy.
Cons: No map updates, no ability to mark roads as being closed
Summary: Do not buy this unit!!! Sony will never provide updated maps, therefore I will never trust a Sony product again.
Updated...
According to Sony's website, an updated map willSummary: Do not buy this unit!!! Sony will never provide updated maps, therefore I will never trust a Sony product again.
Updated
According to Sony's website, an updated map will be available on 7/16/07. It's now 7/18, and there's still no new map on their site or on Google.Updated
Why should I pay this much for maps? I would have been better off getting navigation through my cellphone as needed. That would've been cheaper from the start.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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nice small unit but very sooolw on fining routes and can't keep gps
by ozzie1965 on June 10, 2006
Pros: nice mount and sound but thats all its got
Cons: slow don't always seem to know what it whats to do
Summary: i have had it over night and its going back now frist thing i liked the sceen and sound but thats all unit veryy slow to find were you want ...
Summary: i have had it over night and its going back now frist thing i liked the sceen and sound but thats all unit veryy slow to find were you want to go if you put a were you want to go to it may find it it may not don't buy
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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This GPS is awful.
by closings4hire on August 10, 2009
Pros: There are no pros to this thing!
Cons: I traveled from Memphis to Atlanta for the 15th time in my life and I knew my way better than this thing. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.
Summary: I wouldnt save the money and buy this GPS. Spend some xtra money to keep you from being lead to a ditch on your simple route to whereever. I hear ...
Summary: I wouldnt save the money and buy this GPS. Spend some xtra money to keep you from being lead to a ditch on your simple route to whereever. I hear the updates suck!
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Will pay for itself
by Lambethlad on February 5, 2007
Pros: Portability, clear voice, 3D mapping
Cons: none that I can see
Summary: I have had this unit for a month now and I cannot see how anybody can have an opinion about this great little device if they have only had it ...
Summary: I have had this unit for a month now and I cannot see how anybody can have an opinion about this great little device if they have only had it far a short while, I am still finding "stuff" about it even now.
I am a service technician and on the road every day making about 8-10 calls a day, I cannot compare this to any other GPS as I havn't tried them but to be honest I have no need to, this device does everything I need, and more,..... the savings in gas and time means this will pay for itself within 6 months. (not to mention the fact I am not trying to read a map whilst driving) -
Beautifully Simple but GPS Reception is Sketchy
by mymitsu3kgt on January 5, 2007
Pros: Simple Design and Quick Route Calculating
Cons: GPS Reception is Poor and No Street Names in 3D View
Summary: I got this unit for free from the Coca Cola rewards program which is good because for the suggested retail price, there are atleast three other brands I would have ...
Summary: I got this unit for free from the Coca Cola rewards program which is good because for the suggested retail price, there are atleast three other brands I would have bought first. I've seen two GPS units that were hideously full of buttons. There's no need for this with a touch screen and Sony did a nice job designing this unit, just two buttons and a touch screen. Some people have said the GPS reception is strong but I have reception sometimes intermitantly. On the contrary some people have said that the Sony takes an obscene amount of time to calculate a route but it takes my unit literally ten seconds to calculate a four hour trip. I believe units released at different times of the year must have different firmware versions which would explain different "bugs" on different units. I called Sony customer care and they have record of update maps being released soon (which is good because they are slightly out of date) but no record of an updated firmware to come, booo. Overall I'm happy with the NV-U70 but I think the fact that it was free helps a little too.
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Well Made and Dependable
by bluechip1 on January 2, 2007
Pros: Up to date maps, easy to use, accurate, Bright Screen.
Cons: None that I can think of
Summary: This being my first gps purchase I considered several GPS brands and models. I decided on the Sony. Glad I did. If you want a reliable GPS and a fair ...
Summary: This being my first gps purchase I considered several GPS brands and models. I decided on the Sony. Glad I did. If you want a reliable GPS and a fair price then seriously consider the Sony NV-U70
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worse than abysmal
by matthewsartwell on November 6, 2006
Pros: return policy
Cons: waaay slow, bad route calculation
Summary: i seriously can't believe sony manufactured this. it's seriously the most disappointing piece of electronic equipment i've owned. it has maps, calculates directions, and does everything you ...
Summary: i seriously can't believe sony manufactured this. it's seriously the most disappointing piece of electronic equipment i've owned. it has maps, calculates directions, and does everything you need, but only if you're forgiving enough to wait an hour, or don't mind driving to the north pole to get to your neighbor's house. i've wanted to chunk this thing against a hard object at least three times in the week i've owned it. the other guy was right, paper maps are alot easier than using the navu.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Part number: NVU70
- Description: Leave the Thomas guide at home, and hit the open road with the NV-U70 Portable Satellite Navigation System from Sony. The perfect companion for long trips, or a short ride across town, the NV-U70 features a brilliant, full color, 3.5 inch touch-screen display, resident two-way speaker system, and is pre-loaded with maps of the US and 1.6 million other points of interest. Ready for use right out of the box, the NV-U70 contains a 12-channel GPS receiver with proprietary RF technology, a built in antenna, and 1 GB of imbedded flash memory, all in the palm of your hand. This convenient, user-friendly, compact system can be easily mounted on the windshield or dashboard of virtually any vehicle. Its imbedded rechargeable lithium-ion battery allows up to four hours of operation outside of the car. Switch on the cruise control and let the NV-U70 Portable Satellite Navigation System make your next trip a breeze.
General
- Width 4.1 in
- Depth 1.7 in
- Height 3.5 in
- Weight 10.9 oz
GPS System
- Recommended Use Automotive
- Receiver 12 channel
- Connectivity USB
- Voice Navigation instructions
- Antenna Built-in
- Features Built-in speaker, Preinstalled POIs, 2D / 3D map perspective
- Built-in Memory 1 GB
- Maps Included Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Vatican, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, San Marino, Netherlands, Switzerland, Great Britain, Liechtenstein, Czech Republic
Navigation
- Trip computer Avoid ferrys, Avoid toll roads, Fast/short route, Avoid interstates
Built-in Display
- Type TFT
- Resolution 320 x 240
- Diagonal Size 3.5 in
- Color Support Color
- Features Touch screen, Display dimmer
Connections
- Connector Type USB, DC power input, Antenna
Battery
- Battery required qty 1
- Battery technology Lithium ion
- Mfr estimated battery life 4 hour(s)
Miscellaneous
- Included GPS accessories PC cable, Power cable, Carrying pouch, AC power adapter, Car power adapter
Environmental Parameters
- Min operating temperature 41 ?F
- Max operating temperature 113 ?F
Manufacturer info
- Sony
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.sonystyle.com
- Address:
16765 W. Bernardo Dr., San Diego, CA 92127 - Phone: 1-877-865-SONY
- Email: contact@sel.sony.com
- Fax: 941-768-7790
