The unit on test with us is the NV-U50 which offers full UK and northern France maps but does not hold the full pan European set like the more expensive NV-U70.  The maps are stored on a 512mb flash memory card which slots into the side of the unit. Sony's design is dominated by the large 3.2" TFT screen which gives a 320 x 240 pixel resolution with an impressive 80 degree viewing angle. The form factor is similar to the TomTom Go range although the styling is sharper and it feels more modern and up to date than the now familiar design of the Go, it is however much chunkier than the waif like Garmin Nuvi range.

The Nav-U comes with a docking base which uses a good and secure sucker system to clamp to the car windscreen, with it in place in our test vehicle and the power cord hooked to the cigarette lighter we could start some basic tests. First up was the cold start TTF (time to fix) the first fix took some 3 minutes which was a bit sluggish but later starts seemed to take between 40 seconds and 1 minute which is comparable to the TomTom range, but not a patch on the latest SiRF Star III chipset devices.

Getting an address into the Nav-U50 is simple enough using the touch screen and a postcode, the software works using the first 5 digits of a UK postcode which gives road level accuracy or you can put in the full postal address and door number. Route calculation was swift enough and comparable with the Garmin C320 we tested last year but not as fast as a TTG unit with the later firmware revisions. It would be later in the week that we'd be able to tell if the actual routes chosen were wise ones!

Setting off the Sony unit started to guide us with a good combination of clear and loud voice prompts plus the bright and easy to read GUI backing up those spoken instructions. We warmed quickly to the Nav U interface which manages that difficult balancing act between giving you enough information yet remaining quick to read with a furtive glance as you hack through the crowded London streets. The maps scroll smoothly and keep you centred nicely, plus the textual information shows the distance to next turn and provides arrow based reminders of where you are going next. Most of the features we expect seem present with things like an ETA, current street name and direction of travel, all in all its nice and clear and very reminiscent of the Navigon PNA interface but without the clutter.

So onto the meat of the review and our chance to see if it can get us from A to B, the first few journeys were simple routes with a mixture of A roads and motorway, but then came our chance! A jam on the M25 meant a cross country dash and a chance to use the road avoidance to rule out the M25 from the Nav-U's calculations. It quickly chose a new route using some minor roads, this proved to be a good balance between speed and sticking to something that was at least tarmac covered.

We then set about upsetting the Sony unit by deliberately ignoring instructions, the previous Sony excuse for a navigation system simply told you to "turn around when possible" but the new Nav-U calmly re plots the route and will get you to your destination even if it means abandoning its original route!

Numerous journeys over the course of a weeks tests showed that Sony have at last cracked the navigation algorithm or at least bought in one that works! The unit has enough horse power to keep the maps moving smoothly and to ensure that route re calculation is quick and effective. The voice prompts are very loud and clear and easily comparable to the TomTom Go units due in part to the combination of  subwoofer mounted in the rear of the unit following the same design as the Go's.

There are some nice touches the current TomTom range lacks like a sensor that adjusts the backlight according to light conditions and will switch the colour scheme into night mode. However even though the Sony supports POI (points of interest) there is no support for the free speed camera databases or even the ones that charge, this is a major omission. We were pleased to see and use waypoints which make multi-stop trips routable on the device.

Sony make some noise about TMC (traffic messaging channel) which in enabled counties sends traffic data to the screen of your NAV-U unit, in previous experience this is of limited value as the free data is poorly updated and traffic data needs to be up to date to be of any use. For those who want to use the Nav-U on foot and are prepared to carry its bulk then the 4 hour battery should give an amount of wire free use but the Nav-U isn't really suited to handheld use either in its design or mapping.

Priced to compete with the TomTom Go 300 and the TomTom One, the Sony Nav-U GPS system falls into the same trap as the Garmin C320 StreetPilot did. It works as well as a TomTom unit and is clearly up to the job, but it offers nothing more apart from a smattering of Sony style, it fails to move the game on while TomTom are due to launch a whole range of extra features at Cebit 2006.

In summary Sony have produced a workable and well designed Navigation system, however the Nav-U is just too late and merely mirrors what is already available on the market from more established GPS manufacturers. This is a good unit however and Sony fans will want to have this sat on their dashboard.

Published - 11/03/2006

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