Sony NV-U 71t: user feedback

[Vikash_sinha]

Hi folks,
I purchased the newer model of sony GPS NV-U71t last saturday. Before buying it I searched feedback/reviews on net and various GPS forums. Unfortunately could find no info except for the ones copied from sony press release or its website. So i thought of putting my feedback here for the benefit of other readers

Those who have used or are using sony NV-U 50/70 t series will find following changes in the new unit

The unit is slimmer than NV 50/70 and weighs lighter still cannot come in your shirt pocket like Nuvi does. But its slimmer than tomtom 710 series. The 71t comes preloaded with all maps of europe along with TMC function (antenna included) and 51 has regional maps.

Instead of two speakers it has now one speaker but the sound quality is not compromised and is as loud. It has now UK as well as US english option. The NV-U50/70 english voice is now called UK english though british accent is not evident. I personally prefer the UK english option. Later sony is going to make various celebreties voice as an option which can be downloaded from its website dedicated to sony nav http://www.navu.sony-europe.com (still not operational)


The other change is that now you can see POIs both in 2D and 3D mode. You can also chose whether you want to see street names in both the modes. This was missing in earlier version. The POI database is enriched. Not sure if POIs can be downloaded from internet. I guess it will be as difficult as it was for older version. The street names and POI dont clog the screen even if you opt to see all POI categories. The screen display is one thing where sony scores above the rest.

There is night and day display mode now available (was not available with older version). The autodimmer facility is retained.

The TMC function works very well in belgium even if you let the tmc antenna lie on the dashboard and they are very accurate. I had NV-U 50 earlier (without TMC) so cant compare if there has been an improvement. You can chose between automatic route recalculation and prompt mode if any traffic is detected. The 71t comes with integrated TMC cradle and antenna. Its optional for NV-U51.

Dynamic route function is something where while navigating you can see the nearest petrol pump, restaurant, parking in one screen shot. I found it very useful.

The gesture mode is something which I was not very successful with. if you make inverted V on the screen, the nav should take you to home, similarly there are three other touch gestures which you can configurate for three POI categories like petrol pump, parking etc (you can chose what you you want to use as gesture mode)

Route planning has been retained and is very useful feature. I had found out that its missing with Nuvi. With route planning you can plan the whole journey from the comfort of home in advance and save it for future use. You can use as many way points as you want. You can add interim way points while driving too.

It also has address book where you can store commonly used addresses like office, grocery store, friends place etc. It also has capacity to store 100 recently used destinations.

Route block option is retained with provision of mentioning the distance upto which route has been blocked.

The type of route also includes 'nice route' which will take you to scenic roads in addition to fast, short and optimal route. Optimal route makes you take the longer route if it saves time.

There is no provision of taking screenshot like in nuvi, hence i could not copy and paste screen shot here. however to enumerate, the navigation mode displayes, the road name in which you r travelling plus the next road name, estimated time of arrival, and distance left, the current time, direction of travel, the exit number and name if applicable and TMC, satellite and battery status.

The voice prompts are as good as it was for NV-50/70. Text to speech is not there but after using nuvi for a week I realized it confuses you more. The voice prompts are very clear and precise. The reminders come at optimal timeperiods. There are seperate pop-up windows depicting the junctions and turns which make navigation very easy at these points.

The colour display of the map has improved. It looks prettier now though the earlier one was also quite nice.

There is a possibility of loading speed camera database from the sony website. Unfortunately the site was active only for few days in Dec. The unit does not come preloaded with speed camera database. However supposedly you get one month free subscription from this website.(http://www.navu.sony-europe.com)

Sony has also modified the mount slightly. The suction cup now comes with some kind of adhesive material so that it can fix much better. The lever for applying suction has been changed. I would say that the earlier one was better. I found the NUVI mount very innovative and easy to use. The suction for tmc antenna doesnt work properly and is difficult to take out once its fixed. However TMC function even if you leave the antenna wire on the dashboard itself.

The GPS fix is very fast like all sirfIII. But sometimes it takes long to caculate route. May be becoz it has all the europe maps loaded and has 2GB hard disk. That may make it slower than NV-U 50 for caculation of route. But once the route is calculated it works pretty fine. Route recalculation is very prompt if you make any mistake (miss any turn).

Sony unit doesnt have bluetooth and MP3 playing facility.

The box contains traveller adaptor for charging in UK or Europe, sony CD, USB cable, TMC antenna but no carrying case. You can buy the carrying case seperately. Surprisingly its only available at sony showrooms currently or you can buy it online. The 71t is priced at 449 euros and the sony showroom offered me a discount of 20 euros on that.

To conclude the postives are:
- Display improved
- Dynamic route function
- Gesture command function
- Good TMC function
- Very good voice

The negatives are:
- The mount is not easy to handle
- Route calculation sometimes take long
- Sony website support is poor
- External POIs cant be downloded from net

Overall I was satisfied with the unit and it met my expectations. If only the sony support system improves and sony markets it well, it can becomes a very popular GPS.

[Dippy]

That's a great review Vikash, and appreciated. Thank you.

One feature I miss on the Sony that the TomTom (and others) have which I find very powerful, is the ability to avoid part of a route. So if a route is calculated, you can get a list of roads to be used, then say "avoid the M1" or whatever.

It sounds like the Sony still can't do that? Just the "there's a road block right in front of me now" option?

The Garmin 550 does the same as the Sony, but I think the TomTom (and many inbuilt car systems) is better in that respect.

[Vikash_sinha]

Dear Dippy,
In sony once the route is calculated you cannot avoid a particular road as the list of roads is not shown. But you avoid waypoints while navigating so that it calculates the route again. The only option is (available with other PNDs as well to avoid motorways, ferry and toll roads but you cant select a particular road I guess.
Vikash

[nezza]

Fantastic review Vikash - thanks for that it told me all i needed to know. I've now bought the NV-U51, and am very pleased with it. I have tried the sony website, however, and the safety camera section does not seem to have anything there! I wonder if anyone knows if this is temporary? All the reviews I had read said that the NV-U51 came with a free month subscription of safety cameras, but there is no mention of it in either the instruction manual, or on the sony website. Any news or info greatly appreciated.
thanks

[Vikash_sinha]

Hi Nezza,
Indeed the speed camera databse is not functional at the website. I had seen the site in dec when it was operational the first time. At that point, the speed camera database was available for download. I am sure they are working on it. I also suggest that you follow up with the sony centre on this and may be they will guide you when its going to be available.
Vikash

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