Manage updates with the Download AppSony NV-U83T
Manufacturer: Sony Part number: NV-U83T
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sony NV-U83T is a seemingly attractive in-car GPS with a large display and useful navigation features, but it shows its ugly side with poor directions and subpar performance.
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CNET editors' review
Sony NV-U83T price range: $449.99
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 04/29/2008
The good: The Sony NV-U83T boasts a spacious 4.8-inch touch screen, and you can perform certain operations with the swipe of your finger. The in-car GPS also has text-to-speech functionality, integrated Bluetooth, and 3D views for complicated intersections.
The bad: Satellite acquisition time is erratic and route calculations weren't the most efficient. Planning a trip on the NV-U83T isn't as streamlined as other GPS devices we've tested.
The bottom line: The Sony NV-U83T is a seemingly attractive in-car GPS with a large display and useful navigation features, but it shows its ugly side with poor directions and subpar performance.
User reviews
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What's with the hate-fest?
by ericvisa on March 21, 2008
Pros: screen size, design/form factor, mounting options, blue tooth, dual-view, position plus, gesture command
Cons: unrecognized addresses, slower calculations, inferior address book dialing
Summary: ATTENTION!!! If you've experienced slow or non-responsive in-put from the touch screen, go back and exchange the unit! I had the same exact experience within 20 minutes of installing ...
Summary: ATTENTION!!! If you've experienced slow or non-responsive in-put from the touch screen, go back and exchange the unit! I had the same exact experience within 20 minutes of installing my brand new NV-U83T. Lucky for me I was still sitting in the parking lot outside the Sony store, so I just went back in and swapped it. This appears to be issues with some units so if you experience it, don’t assume that they're all like that.
Anyway, back to the review...
So I just purchased said unit and installed it alongside a friends TomTom ONE just to see how both would function on the way home from the Sony store in Paramus, NJ to my digs in Queens, NY. For some excitement, I also activated my BlackBerry Curve's TeleNav GPS on the AT&T network.
Now, I know these are not all in the same class but hopefully this review will give TomTom ONE or BlackBerry/TeleNav users an idea of how the Nav-U performs based on what their expectations might be. I won’t talk about the obvious differences such as price, screen size, portability, placement, data in put methods, firmware/map updates, etc since you can pretty much figure all that out on your own.
For me, here are the things that made the difference:
Address recognition, calculation & recalculation after missing a turn:
Sony - 4.5 points (did not recognize my address, had to use “map” function to show it where I wanted to go and even then, it took about 20 seconds to calculate & 9 to recalculate)
TomTom - 8.5 points (11 seconds to calculate, 5 to recalculate)
TeleNav - 7.0 points (25 seconds to calculate, 10 to recalculate)
Voice choices & clarity (subjective opinion):
Sony – 7.0 points (2 English options, a gal and a dude! Kinda computerized.)
TomTom – 8.0 points (lots more options, both male and female. Also, more realistic voices!)
TeleNav – 6.0 points (no choices)
Number of street names shown on map while navigating:
Sony – 8.5 points (quite a number)
TomTom – 8.5 points (almost all)
TeleNav – 6.0 points (only a few)
Map color options:
Sony – 7.0 points (very limited. Besides, blue highways look like water ways to me!)
TomTom – 8.0 points (also limited, but choices a little more “eye friendly” to me)
TeleNav – 6.0 points (no choices, although default setting is “eye friendly”.)
Overall, I think I'll keep the Sony Nav-U NV-U83T as it seems to work just fine. I think I can live with the cons especially since I purchased it with a gift card and didn't really spend any money on it. I guess I'll discontinue my $10/month TeleNav subscription and return the borrowed TomTom!Updated
ATTENTION!!! If you've experienced slow or non-responsive in-put from the touch screen, go back and exchange the unit! I had the same exact experience within 20 minutes of installing my brand new NV-U83T. Lucky for me I was still sitting in the parking lot outside the Sony store, so I just went back in and swapped it. This appears to be issues with some units so if you experience it, don’t assume that they're all like that.
Anyway, back to the review...
So I just purchased said unit and installed it alongside a friends TomTom ONE just to see how both would function on the way home from the Sony store in Paramus, NJ to my digs in Queens, NY. For some excitement, I also activated my BlackBerry Curve's TeleNav GPS on the AT&T network.
Now, I know these are not all in the same class but hopefully this review will give TomTom ONE or BlackBerry/TeleNav users an idea of how the Nav-U performs based on what their expectations might be. I won’t talk about the obvious differences such as price, screen size, portability, placement, data in put methods, firmware/map updates, etc since you can pretty much figure all that out on your own.
For me, here are the things that made the difference:
Address recognition, calculation & recalculation after missing a turn:
Sony - 4.5 points (did not recognize my address, had to use “map” function to show it where I wanted to go and even then, it took about 20 seconds to calculate & 9 to recalculate)
TomTom - 8.5 points (11 seconds to calculate, 5 to recalculate)
TeleNav - 7.0 points (25 seconds to calculate, 10 to recalculate)
Voice choices & clarity (subjective opinion):
Sony – 7.0 points (2 English options, a gal and a dude! Kinda computerized.)
TomTom – 8.0 points (lots more options, both male and female. Also, more realistic voices!)
TeleNav – 6.0 points (no choices)
Number of street names shown on map while navigating:
Sony – 8.5 points (quite a number)
TomTom – 8.5 points (almost all)
TeleNav – 6.0 points (only a few)
Map color options:
Sony – 7.0 points (very limited. Besides, blue highways look like water ways to me!)
TomTom – 8.0 points (also limited, but choices a little more “eye friendly” to me)
TeleNav – 6.0 points (no choices, although default setting is “eye friendly”.)
Overall, I think I'll keep the Sony Nav-U NV-U83T as it seems to work just fine. I think I can live with the cons especially since I purchased it with a gift card and didn't really spend any money on it. I guess I'll discontinue my $10/month TeleNav subscription and return the borrowed TomTom!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Perfect! Helpful! Nice! Amazing!
by Class_of_2010 on June 18, 2008
Pros: It tells you exactly where to turn and it is very styalish!!!
Cons: Low battery life.
Summary: This is a very nice and extreamly styalish GPS form SONY! I love it, and you will to! It is perfect, there are other GPS that cannot be compared to ...
Summary: This is a very nice and extreamly styalish GPS form SONY! I love it, and you will to! It is perfect, there are other GPS that cannot be compared to the Sony GPS! This a very good GPS! With out a doubt!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Sony got some things right and some things wrong...
by wcampbel on March 3, 2008
Pros: Clearly visible screen, bluetooth, and great suction mount!
Cons: Dangerously slow route calculations, unit size is a bit too bulky
Summary: I owned this unit for two days before returning it. While having some cool features such as gesture commands, phone's handsfree, ease of removal, and a great suction mount, ...
Summary: I owned this unit for two days before returning it. While having some cool features such as gesture commands, phone's handsfree, ease of removal, and a great suction mount, the unit falls short on a few things:
1. The unit fails to swiftly recalculate a route. I counted and it took around 25+ seconds to either calculate a new route or recalculate a route in the event that you miss a turn. You will wait and wait for the processing bar to make its way across the screen.
2. I didn't like the fact that unit's phonebook listed my contacts' names multiple times instead of nesting the phone numbers under one name. So if you have multiple numbers for one individual it will list that person's name for each number and also will not tell you whether it's their cell, home, work, etc. The name formatting was off, listing all of my contacts by their last name (no way to change that). There is also no way to skip to a person name by selecting the first letter in their name. For instance, if your contact's name begins with 'M' you will need to keep tapping the scroll button until you get to your 'M' section.
3. The unit's size was just too large for my taste. What's the use of having a nice 4.8" screen and all you can do is look at a map? There are no photo, video, or mp3 playback capabilities. Big beautiful screen, but not much fun. (Just my opinion)
4. The unit's software is only Windows compatible. Sorry Apple users. You will need the software and PC connectivity for future firmware/software updates.
These inadequacies annoyed me enough to decide to return the Sony NAV-U, especially since the unit I was replacing (Pioneer's AVIC-S2) didn't have these issues.
I'm trying out the Harmon Kardon GPS810...if this doesn't work out I'll just fork up the money for a Garmin Nuvi model. Alas, the search for a great performing navigation system continues...1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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It's shame for this product with Sony mark on it!
by ihchuang on March 13, 2008
Pros: super suction cup, split screen at highway intersection
Cons: slow response for all touch keys, poor map presentation, bad bluetooth voice quality,
Summary: I'm using 4-year-old Garmin iQue3600 and looking for a newer GPS unit. Accidentally I ordered Sony NV-U83T and just received it 2 days ago. Unfortunately the unit is far ...
Summary: I'm using 4-year-old Garmin iQue3600 and looking for a newer GPS unit. Accidentally I ordered Sony NV-U83T and just received it 2 days ago. Unfortunately the unit is far below my expectation.
First of all, the menu arrange is not reasonable. When you press the Menu botton, you can see several icons (tabs) at bottom, which are compass, cabinet, briefcase, and return. In campass, the choices are Enter Address, Find a Place, Take Me Home, and My Places. In cabinet, the choices are Phone (operation), and Traffic Information. In briefcase, the choices are Route Planning, Address Book, General (setting), Map (setting), Route Profile, Guide (setting), Traffic Information, Phone (setting). Ok, can anyone tell me what's the relationship between those icons and actual related sub-menu? Those icons seem to be trivial.
Second, after it got signal, it showed the place I'm at. Good, but why I only see street lines around the neighborhood, but no street name on the map. If you zoom out a little bit, it only marks the town hall place, big landmark, and some street it "thinks" worth to show. I still can't see what the road name around me. If you zoom out more, only the major roads or state highways are displayed. Zoom in? you will only see the street lines without name. My 4-year-old Garmin iQue3600 can do this and I can't image the new released (3/1/2008) Sony can't do it. And even interesting, when you zoom out, the response is almost instant. But, when you zoom in, it's about 3~5 seconds delay to show the map.
Ok, go to the next one. I tried to put my company address and I hesitated a while when it prompted me to enter city (town) name. Could someone tell me what the difference is between "Fairhaven" and "Fairhaven, Town of"? Anyway, I tried either one and it found the right place.
After I received signal, it took about 13~15 seconds to finish route calculation, which is about 65 miles away. I tried couple my friends' addresses and most of them can finish calculation in 10~15 seconds range. For most GPS, I believe it is still in acceptable range even it is not great.
Now, I'm on the road. Ok, it's great to see the split screen to forecast the detail turning map and the highway lane recommendation (that's the most attractive part for this unit). However, it only pops up lane information in big intersections (two interstate or state highways), not every exit. The good thing is the voice notice is pretty accurate and fluent.
Hold on, I found something annoying. I needed to be on I-495 for about 60 miles and it showed the next turn would be 8 miles. Oh, it's the intersection for I-290. When approaching the intersection, the split screen came up and told you to stay on left 3 lanes. After passing the intersection, the next one is 13 miles, which is I-90. After this one, the next is I-95 in 23 miles. After this one, the next is RT-24. Come on, it's a 3-lane highway all the way to my destination exit. Can't it be smart enough to find out or only wants to show off split screen feature?
Next annying fact is that I would like to see the near road around the highway. Yes, zoom in. I mentioned earlier it takes several seconds delay to show the map. After less than 5 seconds, the it zoomed out back to the original level. I retried several times and the results were the same, and nowhere to change setting to disable "automatic zoom out". Later, I found that the "automatic zoom out" fact is only for highways or during navigation (with destination defined).
Next, I looked into the POI function. First, I searched on the dining place. Yes, it can get good result as another guy said, who gave rating 9. However, he didn't mention how slow it is to get the searched result. It took at least 5~10 seconds to show the first record and still showing "searching" after 3 minutes. I believe it searches from the nearest match but it is too slow to get result. My Garmin iQue3600 may only have 1M POI but it can find the result much faster than this Sony one. And also, Sony didn't release the information of the number of POI for this unit.
I tried the PIO again. I found it has "Auto Dealer" category. Hmmm, it sounds good. I had a vehicle appointment. I put toyota. It searched, and searched, and 3 minutes later it told me "no record found". What a #!@$%&. I tried to use "Search by name" and it came back after 1 minute with the dealer I needed to go. If it can't find the brand name in Auto Dealer category, I can figure out why Sony wants to create that category.
Did I mention the response time for this unit? Everytime you press keys or bottons in menu selection, it's at least 1 second delay. If the vehicle is moving (map changing) or it's doing some heavy calculation job such as (search), it could be more than 5 seconds to get a key responsed. How will I know, because the pressed botton has become inverted but the actual function can't be performed.
How about bluetooth? That's another joke for this unit. The voice is noisy and toutured. My wife and my boss can't recognize my voice. I can't figure out what they said either. Even if I took it off from suction cup and attached it to my face like cellphone, the situation didn't get better. Also, I can't synchronize phonebook with my cell phone. I borrowed a Garmin Nuvi660 last week from my friend. The voice and phonebook synchronzation worked fine.
What I can say is that the product is a shame for Sony. Except the big display, split screen map and super suction cup, I can't find anything good for this unit. Maybe the one gave it rating 9 is a Sony employee or the designer. I am definitely returning it now.2 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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very good combination of features
by charlie pittsburgh on March 24, 2008
Pros: large display, gesture commands,
Cons: phone book transfer limited
Summary: Great unit...Had garmin nuvi 760 and zumo 550 and had too many bad routing experiences: once time Garmin took me through a really bad area of philly...that was ...
Summary: Great unit...Had garmin nuvi 760 and zumo 550 and had too many bad routing experiences: once time Garmin took me through a really bad area of philly...that was the last straw...start up on the 760 was very slow and I had many blutooth problems (kept disconecting and reconnecting with a full screen warning
that obscured the map completely) Garmin has "like all" has its issues.
Got for $370 at Ritz camera...not perfect but real good...1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Waste of money!
by chionc on March 4, 2008
Pros: Split screen, dead reckoning, bluetooth,radio traffic,good screen even in sunlight.
Cons: Extremely slow recalculation times, poor mapping, annoying menu system, poor handliing of address book
Summary: First of all, I have been an avid Garmin fan for a while however, the new Nuvi was very expensive compared to Sony so, I decided to give Sony a ...
Summary: First of all, I have been an avid Garmin fan for a while however, the new Nuvi was very expensive compared to Sony so, I decided to give Sony a chance what a bad idea. It only took me one day of using this item to realize how poorly it operated as a GPS receiver. During the first route that I entered into the unit as a test after waiting for what seemed forever for the calculation it guided me to the wrong street. Once in guidance mode if you touch the screen anywhere other then the menu buttons in puts you in map scroll mode which would be fine if you could exit this mode without having to reenter your desired destination. Another failure for this unit is the gross amount of time it takes to recalculate a route if you take the wrong turn. On two separate tests it took this unit in a suburban city setting three blocks almost one minute’s time to recalculate which, is not even close to acceptable. At this point I decided to test the Bluetooth which synced with my Blackberry Curve effortlessly however, once again I encountered problems. Sony did not give this unit a proper way to handle an address book because it duplicates all your address rather then putting multiple numbers under one name.
On a positive note the split screen function is very cool and helpful in certain situations. I did not get a chance to test the dead reckoning but I doubt it would be enough to save this unit from being returned at $399. Secondly, the screen was very clear even in direct sunlight which has always been a problem with my Garmin. POI seems to be up to date and easy to access but no function for adding customs. Finally, the suction cup mount is about the best thing for this unit. It allowed for a strong secure mount and is very easy to remove the unit when parked.
In the end, this is a royal waste of money and another failure for Sony. I have since returned this item to my local Sony store to their amazement go figure…and replaced it with a Gamin 760 which I waiting to arrive from an online order.1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Sony doesn't upgrade maps.
by Influence70 on July 7, 2011
Pros: I like the size of the screen the clarity of the voice directions, the ease of use.
Cons: I bought the unit in 2009 and had to upgrade the bios and maps immediately. The new maps were 2007 editions. These are the last maps available from Sony. I live in El Paso, TX and the roads have changed considerable since 2007 (now 2011). The GPS tends to
Summary: From now on I'll buy a Garmin or Tom Tom. Or better yet, I'll use Google Maps on my Druid. At least I know the maps will be ...
Summary: From now on I'll buy a Garmin or Tom Tom. Or better yet, I'll use Google Maps on my Druid. At least I know the maps will be updated.
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Nice, but there are better GPS out there
by 333User on March 28, 2010
Pros: Excellent suction cup, TOP of the line screen visbility, split screen is very cool feature, very precise
Cons: Insists that I take 'longer' routes to my destination instead of taking direct routes, Cumbersome mount
Summary: I travel alot and a GPS is a very important tool to my job. This would be a great GPS if it gave better direct routes to my destination, and ...
Summary: I travel alot and a GPS is a very important tool to my job. This would be a great GPS if it gave better direct routes to my destination, and if the suction cup mount would be less bulky. The mount alone is so bulky that it takes up most of the space in my glovebox when the GPS is not in use.
The navigation it provides is so-so. It often insists that should be taking something other than the most direct route, and becomes annoying when it keeps yelling at me to take a different route than the one it initially calculates. I might as well have my wife with me.
I end up taking my much cheaper 3.5" TomTom ONE 125 when I travel because the mount folds into a little disk when I pack it into my carry-on bag. -
Impossible to change battery
by d_clyde on May 10, 2009
Pros: The unit has good voice clarity. The touch screen works well. It is easy to enter address.
Cons: The battery is impossible to change. To get to the battery, one must take out 4 screws (OK so far), then pry loose a number of release points between the outside of the case and the back of the unit. This is a terrible piece of engineering.
Summary: The unit works reasonable well, although acquisition is sometimes slow, and instructions are some times too late. The maps are OK. The voice instructions are very well articulated and easy ...
Summary: The unit works reasonable well, although acquisition is sometimes slow, and instructions are some times too late. The maps are OK. The voice instructions are very well articulated and easy to understand. The battery in my unit would not recharge after I had the unit less than a year. I found it impossible to get to the battery to change it. Sony should never have let this model get to market with this case design. Perhaps Sony thought that people would not keep the unit for the average length of battery life. I became so frustrated with trying to open the case that I finally smashed the unit with a hammer, ending its life. My next gps will not be a Sony.
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Some good, Some bad
by davemciver on March 9, 2009
Pros: Split-Screen feature, large screen size
Cons: Slow re-calculation time, very short battery life
Summary: The Sony NV-U83T has a 4.8" wide-screen, which at first seems great. It looks quite nice, however it's not REALLY 4.8", because the left hand side of ...
Summary: The Sony NV-U83T has a 4.8" wide-screen, which at first seems great. It looks quite nice, however it's not REALLY 4.8", because the left hand side of the screen hosts 2 stationary touch-screen buttons, which never go away. So it's still a touch screen, but its not really usable area. That's not a big deal though, just a note.
One more thing. Although the GPS was accurate, it provided very little detail on the map. Street names were almost non-existent on the map, and when they were, they were often small side streets instead of larger roads like you would expect. It makes using this unit as a map (as opposed to a GPS unit), which i sometimes like to do when I have a feel for where I'm going, not so useful.
The GPS accuracy was right on with this unit, bringing you exactly where you needed to go, and using fairly good routes. Also, the text-to-speech was better in the Sony than a lot of other GPS models I've tried. Very clear, and not tooo robot sounding.
That being said, the re-calculation time after missing a turn is terrible. On one drive, it took over a minute to recalculate, and when it finally did, the turn it suggested to me was a few kilometers behind me (and this is in an urban setting). For a GPS, that's just not acceptable, it becomes useless at that point, unless you want to pull off the the side for the road for 5 minutes to wait for it to catch up.
Because of it's large screen, the unit goes through it's battery life very very quickly. It's rated for 2.5 I think, but mine went dead in about 1h45min. Sort of a pain if you don't want to deal with a power cord.
Menus were pretty straight forward, mostly because there were very few extra features. The bluetooth worked, but it wouldn't import the phonebook from my cell, another annoyance.
I returned this device, and purchased a Garmin. Can't go wrong with Gamin.
It was a good effort by Sony, but I don't think they are quite ready to compete in the GPS market.
Updated on Mar 9, 2009
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Part number: NV-U83T
- Description: The Sony nav-u portable satellite navigation system surpasses basic navigation. Behind the elegant design lies intuitive functionality along with pre-loaded maps covering the continental US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. While the Super Suction Cup affords installation flexibility in endless situations, the easy to read 4.8"¹ touch-screen display clearly leads the way, letting you stay focused on the road. TTS (Text to Speech) helps eliminate second-guessing; the device utilizes spoken commands to ensure you are following directions by referencing street names. The Sony nav-u portable satellite navigation system is the perfect companion for that cross country trip or short ride across town
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type GPS receiver
- Recommended Use Automotive
- Preloaded Maps USA ,
Canada ,
Puerto Rico - Card Reader Memory Stick Duo
- Interface USB 2.0
- Traffic TMC (Traffic Message Channel)
- Voice Street name announcement,
Navigation instructions - Included Software Drivers & Utilities
- Antenna Built-in
- Internal Memory 2 GB Flash
- Features Internal angular rate sensor,
Text-to-Speech (TTS),
TMC (Traffic Message Channel) ready,
2D / 3D map perspective,
Built-in microphone ,
Hands-free calling via Bluetooth ,
Preinstalled POIs,
Built-in speaker Display
- Type LCD - Color - Yes
- Diagonal Size 4.8 in - Widescreen
- Resolution 480 x 272
- Features Anti-glare
Connections
- Connector Type USB,
TMC,
Headphones Battery
- Type Lithium ion
- Run Time (Up To) 2 hour(s)
Miscellaneous
- Design Features Touch screen ,
USB port ,
Cradle connector - Included Accessories TMC antenna,
Car power adapter,
Vehicle mount,
AC power adapter,
USB cable Dimensions & Weight
- Width 5.6 in
- Depth 0.8 in
- Height 3.4 in
- Weight 8.8 oz
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 41 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 113 °F
Accessories
- Alpine CDE 103BT - radio / CD / MP3 player / USB flash player (33722476)264.98
- Alpine CDE HD138BT - radio / HD radio / CD / MP3 player / digital player (35175895)243.70 - 299.99
- Alpine Type-R SWR-1042D - car subwoofer driver (31347368)240.00
- Alpine TME S370 LCD monitor (33951709)249.00 - 299.99
- Audiovox LCM 5600 LCD monitor (30231895)295.00
- BOSS BV 10.1BGT DVD player / LCD monitor (34864700)278.99 - 343.00
- Alpine SPR 13S - car speaker (32400133)159.95
- Alpine Type-R SPR-17S - car speaker system (32400111)179.99
- Alpine Type-R SPR-50 - car speaker (34639554)104.99 - 199.99
- Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT (33712800)575.00
- Maylong GPS Navigation For Dummies Easy-to-Go ML-500 - GPS receiver (35099994)578.26
- Power Acoustik Ingenix PNX-761 navigation system with DVD player, LCD monitor, digital player and radio (35188591)537.17 - 681.01
- Alpine PDX F4 - amplifier (34107900)317.00 - 499.99
- Alpine PDX-1.600M - amplifier (32901980)242.95 - 599.99
- Alpine X-Power MRX-F65 - amplifier (35187715)289.95 - 349.99
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Sony
- Address:
16765 W. Bernardo Dr., San Diego, CA 92127 - Phone: 1-877-865-SONY
- Email: contact@sel.sony.com
- Fax: 941-768-7790
