Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Sexy Sony GPS

Sony Nav-U GPS sitting on my front steps. Please don't step on it.

As Sony is my witness, I will never get lost again. Nope, never. And it's all thanks to my new toy, Sony's Personal GPS Navigation System called Nav-U. It's also called NV-U70. I don't know why.

This Nav-U GPS is the first one Sony has attempted. And they deserve a hearty pat on the back, because they did a darn good job. The menus are beautiful, clear, and incredibly easy to understand. That kind of quality is something I expect from Sony - and it's the reason I applied for a "Sony Card" Mastercard about 7 years ago.

Sony Points can be used towards any Sony product, including any DVDs released by Sony Pictures. It's a sweet card for shizzle, yo. I saved up my points and bought my first digicam back in '03, then started the process all over again.

I had been saving my points for almost 3 years when the Nav-U came on the market. But the $800 price-tag was a little too high for me. With a recent huge influx of GPS units from other companies such as Pioneer and Alpine, the competition was getting tough and Sony lowered the price. Twice.

With metallic grey paint and 4.5 cm woofer, the rear of the Nav-U is awesome.I realized I had enough points to snap it up for free so I did just that. I was even able to talk the Sony Store sales dude down another $50, which is something I've never done before. I felt proud when I walked out of the store and opened up my new toy.

The lithium-ion battery was already full of ion-power so I started playing with "Mr. Navington" almost immediately. The touch-screen overjoyed my excited fingers and the sound effects pleased my ears. The speaker system is totally kick-ass, with dual tweeters sandwiching the touch-screen and a big 4.5 cm woofer pounding out the bass from the rear. It's too bad the English babe's voice wasn't as hot as the French chick's pipes. The beefy "Now, turn righTTTT" just doesn't sound as sexy as the French girl's, "Maintenant, tournez à gauche."

I don't know much about computers, but I was surprised to see it used an Intel PXA255 processor running at 300 MHz. Planning a driving route to my parents house took approximately 5 seconds while a slightly longer trip, to Kipling Saskatchewan, (where Jodster will be this weekend) took 20 seconds longer. What's super sweet about the Sony GPS is that if you miss a turn it will re-route you instead of telling you to make a U-turn, like many of the GPS units on the market.

I slapped the "Mega Super Suction Cup" (yes, that's really its name!) to the windshield and clicked the Nav-U into place. It looked like a tiny TV, especially at night, with strong contrast between the bright screen and the blackness. I was giddy. I drove around and watched the 3-D map spin around while ATM and gas station icons whizzed by. I even mounted it in the DeLorean and imagined taking some long, exciting trip. Right now it's still a toy to me, but it will be a sweet tool for us when we take our trip to Burlington, Vermont in November.

Two Martini-thumbs-up for Sony's GPS navigation system, and three Martini-thumbs-up for just how damn sexy it looks.

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

My Garmin tells me to make U-turns, but there are some new ones that have "Detour" functions.

1:29:00 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's a typical conversation between to Nav-U customers:

"Nav-U" - "Nav-me?? no man, Nav-U!"

Tee-hee, I am amused.

2:52:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Ha! Reminds me of:
"Dude. What does mine say?"
"Sweet. What about mine?"
"Dude. What does mine say?"
"SWEET. What about MINE?"

HAHAHAHA!

3:15:00 PM

 
Blogger Monogram Queen said...

Glad you are so happy :)

3:51:00 PM

 
Blogger Louisiana said...

Sweet! what a nice toy. i know how much it can come in handy.

haggling is an art: welcome! you be surprise where you can't do it and how much you can save.

6:07:00 PM

 
Blogger Rainypete said...

My iPaq is still waiting it's infusion of GPS pucky goodness. The idea if getting verbally abused by John Cleese's voice pouring out from my Tom Tom's navigation software makes my ears tingle in anticipation.

4:06:00 PM

 
Blogger Jod{i} said...

Good info...when we move we are thinking of getting one! And what no "keys" this pic around? ;)

8:37:00 AM

 
Blogger Ellie Creek Ellis said...

well, i thing there are other "toys" that are a bit sexier, but i can understand your thrill. I think my husband needs one for christmas! he has a hand held GPS for hiking...

12:08:00 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

What happens if you lose the GPS device and are searching for it?

6:23:00 AM

 
Blogger Rowan said...

u got it for free? awesome, and here I am excited when my mastercard gives me $$$ back at year end, or my Harper's dollars add up enuff to buy a new azaelea or summat. go you! And if you say its good, I'll believe it wholeheartedly my scrutinizing friend.

6:16:00 PM

 
Blogger Rainypete said...

What if the batteries go flat?

6:58:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Dear friends,
Unfortunately, I cannot download celeb voices, like Pete's sweet Tom Tom. But this unit is both hand-held (with a four hour li-ion battery) and also plugs into a 12v car outlet for unlimited juice. If the battery dies, it also comes with a charger.

Pete, for years the kickass Tom Tom was only available in the U.S. Is it avail. in Canada now, or did you go stateside to pick it up?

11:53:00 AM

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

 

This many people accidentally stumbled upon my site
...while searching for porn.