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"All it needs is a free update and you have the best GPS" on by DolphPen
Pros: Easy to use, looks great on & off, easy to take off mount to put away,
Cons: Poor battery life, needs update, have to type out full name of street
Summary: It is Sony quality at it's best. The widescreen is awesome, extra big screen means extra big numbers/letters for entering addresses for a guy like me who has fat fingers. I hate trying to hit 'A' but hitting 'S' instead. I used to have a Garmin and bought this for the same price Garmin wanted for an update on an old crappy model. It hs TTS (text to speech) and is pretty good at prouncing the names correctly. This U73T is very easy to use, works like other GPS units out there. When you buy it, it will have firmware 1.0 on it, which is why it's slow and crappy like some people complain about. To fix that you need to go to Sony's website (Canada or US) and get a free update, as of Jan 2009, version 3.02 is already out, so you can understand why version 1.0 would suck.
I also like how to put the unit on the mount on the windshield it's a simple click on and to remove there's a button at the bottom of the GPS to easily remove it. I hated how garmin had the double holder, which to take off required two hands and the free of ripping the whole unit off your windshield every time you take it off. For me and easy one hand on/off like this Sony (and I assume all use this) is a big feature for me because I don't like it on the windshield while parked or at home, as I don't like to advertise my $200 toy for thieves to come get.
Yes the battery life is bad but honestly how long do you every have this kind of GPS out of your car. I had it on for 2 hours before it died which is fine for me. My ONE major complain comapred to the garmin is it doesn't guess places. For instance if on the garmin I am searching for a Best Buy, I start typing Best Buy and by the time I get to BEST it pops to a screen with everything starting with 'BEST' close to me. WHile on the SONY I have to type the full 'BEST BUY' and then search. But that does make it more specifc to what you're looking for, so you don't get 'BEST Meats, Best Toys, Best...etc'
Overall I highly reccemond this to anyone who wants a quality GPS backed by the Best name in electronics/: Sony -
"Excellent display....to bad directions are unreliable" on by dtephoto
Pros: Screen is bright and clear.
Best display in the industry.
Much faster once updated to 3.0Cons: Route selected sometimes way out of way or makes no sense. Too much of an issue considering this is GPS main function.
Summary: Long story short. In looking for a GPS I researched and tried Garmin, Magellan and TomTom. I then decided I needed a GarTomGellan. I thought I found it in this Sony unit. The screen is beautiful, the best in the industry. Once you get accustomed to it, the menus are very easy to navigate, and driving with this unit is a pleasure. The brand icons are great, an again, this screen is incredible. Unfortunately, where this unit falls short is in the navigation, which is main function of a GPS. Around town, the GPS did fine, getting me to my destination with ease. However, on a recent trip to Baltimore, where the roads and streets are a little more complex, it was a nightmare!. The unit had me leave the highway in 5:00 traffic, to take a back road into downtown DC, where I then got stuck in traffic for 1 1/2 hours. Once I followed the GPS through the DC tunnel, it routed me back to the same highway I was already on. I thought okay, a minor mistake, maybe I could let that go. Until I was traveling in the HOV lanes through Virginia (which the GPS did recognize I was in the HOV lane), and the Sony Nav-U73T kept wanting me to exit the HOV lanes to take some smaller back roads. To make matters worse, when I exited the highway to get gas, it recalculated my route through some smaller roads, adding 47 minutes to my trip.
To add insult to injury, the GPS appears to calculate the "closest" POI based on map (aerial) distance, not physical drive time. So for example, it may find a Target store that is 4 miles away, but when you select that store, suddenly the trip time is 32 min. That's because the store is physically 4 miles away, but it is across the river, which you have to travel around to a bridge to get to.
To sum up, this GPS would be fine if you live in a town where there is only one road to a destination. But if you live or travel to any major city, please trust me, you are going to have problems with this GPS, and therefore I would STRONGLY recommend trying a different unit. -
"It's up to Sony standards." on by johnpmorton
Pros: Many - The screen is superb.
Cons: Software update takes a while.
Summary: Best GPS I've used and I have used a lot of them. Once the software update is installed no bugs - Fast re-routing, finds POI quickly, and the screen is amazing!!! The split screen to show detailed instructions for interchanges really helped on a recent trip to Seattle where things can get confusing for a small town dweller such as myself. Many of the portable GPS I have use feel cheap in the hand, this one feels solid. Very pleased with my purchase.
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"Purchased the sony nv-u73t last week. Think it has potential, if bugs are worked out." on by donbell1
Pros: Plenty of bells & whistles
Cons: Very slow to calculate/recalulate routes. Poor battery life. No online updates availabe. Routes chosen are sometimes not the best.
Summary: Going to wait to see if the update fixes these problems. If not i'll just go back to my NUVI 260, which is actually better.
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"Looks nice, but that's about it." on by RANGER838838
Pros: Wide display screen.
Cons: Slow in responding to touch, kept freezing up, suction cup not good for most surfaces.
Summary: Used this product for 3 months, got very little good use out of it. Took too long to find address, very slow responding, had to find directions without it. Screen was not responding appropriately, had to press a little too hard in times due to it freezing up, must have broken screen inside according to manufacturer, and thus warrantly wasn't honored. I bought another GPS and it works much better. Very disappointed in Sony, and will not be purchasing any further products.
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