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Sony NVU44 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text to Speech Silver

The Sony nav-u portable satellite navigation system is more than basic digital maps; it is the system that gets you where you need to go quickly and efficiently with intuitive features that help you along your journey. The latest Sony navigation system brings Photo Viewer to an already packed and helpful unit.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars cant find streets
unit will not find some streets by street names it decides that I need to know the county road number. It also will just not find some roads that have been around for over 20 years. Sony tells me that if I buy their $50 map update it “might” fix the problem. I wasted enough money buying the unit. It does no good to have a gps that is lost half the time. I’m going back to Magellan.

4 Stars Not Bad At All, I Like It Better Than Magellan
This is my fifth GPS. Three of my previous ones (a TomTom One, a TomTom One XL and a Magellan Maestro) were stolen and the third was a Magellan Maestro that I thought was dead but repaired. Nonetheless, I bought this one because I didn’t want to spend another $200 on yet another GPS.

My favorite of my previous GPS’ were the TomToms because of their user friendliness and their routing intelligence. The Magellans were just plain stupid and their user interfaces were klunky.

This Sony has a very nice user interface but doesn’t quite reach TomTom level but it is good. Address entry and marking locations on this GPS is pretty good. I wish there was a GPS that would just put the current state as a default before you type but I haven’t found one yet that does that. The order of entering the address is not what I’m used to. I think this unit does number, street, city, state. I like the reverse (state, city, street, number). But the entry feels less klunky than the Magellan.

At first, I was disappointed at how garbagey the graphics looks but I quickly got over it when I noticed that the response time this unit beats any other GPS unit I’ve had. The route recalculation speed on it is phenomenal as well. Also, the simplified graphics seem easier to follow. The voice navigation is much less annoying than others I’ve used as well.

All in all, it’s a pretty good device considering it’s sub-150. I’m going to keep using it for another week and if I still like it, my Magellan is going on eBay!

Update: I felt compelled to add this since it is pretty important to me. The unit is great but the PC software for this unit STINKS! In the TomTom, you can edit an address book with real addresses but with this software you have to enter actual coordinates. What geek knows actual coordinates of addresses off the top of his/her head? This type of nerditry is what makes Apple number 1 in consumer devices. They really got lazy on the software on which would otherwise have been a 5 star unit. The Magellan software wasn’t any better so I guess that gives me some comfort?

4 Stars Not bad for the price
I just purchased this gps system for about 79.00 at SEARS. I had some running around to do today and I just pluged in all destinations and the little device was really accurate. I am a first time gps buyer so I can’t say what I am suppose to get and what I am not suppose to get.

You can clearly hear turn by turn directions.

Im satisfied for now

**Cons*** None yet

3 Stars Good while it lasted
I enjoyed this GPS while it lasted. After 3 months of not-so-heavy use, it no longer picked up the satellites. I returned it to Sony and since they no longer have any left in stock (getting out of the GPS business?), they refunded my entire amount. Also, the battery would not hold a charge after several uses which I didn’t care about too much since I had it mounted on the windshield and plugged in.

Overall, I liked the interface and it was very easy to learn how to use. The routing algorithm was a bit weird where it would take me off a major interstate too early, causing a longer trip. I did update the unit to the latest firmware and played with some settings but it didn’t help. Some addresses where hard to find as I had to type in alternate forms of the street address. However, as long as my defective unit isn’t a sign of common problems, I would recommend it as a cheap entry level GPS.

2 Stars Unfortunately it broke
The GPS was working well for a couple of weeks and I was happy enough. Then when I returned from a trip to VA, it stopped working. Now the battery will not charge and the touch screen does not work. So it is dead in the water. I contacted Tech Support and they told me to return it for repair, so I am hoping to return it to Amazon for refund.

Too bad !!!

Buy/More Info

TomTom ONE 140 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

A GPS helps you find your way and, having a Tomtom One140 in your car, is an excellent way to help you find the right direction toward your destination, The TomTom One 140 GPS with North American maps puts smart navigation at your fingertips. The TomTom One 140’s EasyPort mount fits neatly onto the back of the device, making the whole navigation packet fit into your pocket, bag or glove compartment. And the TomTom One 140 couldn’t be simpler to use, just plug it in and tap on the touch screen. You’ll be on your way very quickly with the 140’s intuitive User interface. Other great features include spoken instructions, and rechargable battery. Unit Dimensions (H x W x D in inches) – 3.0 x 3.6 x 0.8 in Unit Weight – 6.8 oz. (including mount) In-the-Box – ONE 140 Device, Fold & Go EasyPort Mount, Adhesive Mounting Disk, USB Cable, Cigarette Lighter Adaptor, Documentation Pack

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Not lost so much
I find the TomTom One very good and fairly easy to use once you get used to it. The clarity on lane changes and exit is excellent and very helpful when bypassing cities. Portability is exceptional as well.

4 Stars Super-easy to learn, simple to use. The perfect no-frills GPS
This is my first GPS purchase ever. I’m so thrilled about this TomTom that I had to write a review.

I Bought it 2 hours ago, and within 5 minutes of getting it out of the box I hard 90% of the features figured out. How?

TomTom has an on-screen tutorial on how to use it. It took me about 3 minutes to go through them all.

Also, the instruction booklet is the best I’ve seen in a gadget. Big pictures with minimal writing. Where most companies get this wrong, TomTom has one of the easiest to follow set-ups I’ve seen. The only thing you’ll need the manual for is how to use the mount and turn the device on (2-second push on the power button).

Mounting it was a cinch– and I can’t believe how solidly the windshield mount holds the GPS to the windshield.

The user interface (ease of use) is amazing. Super simple… perfect for giving this to your tech-averse grandpa.

Leo Laporte (The Tech Guy on radio and TV) recommended the TomTom ONE 135 for a bargain priced GPS, which is why I bought this newer 140. I definitely agree with his verdict…

3 Stars You get what you pay for!
This model Tom Tom loses connection with the sattelites often. Sometimes it is right when I need turn information. If I elect not to follow the path suggested by the GPS it is very, very slow calculating another route. I could have done better; I should have done better.

Buy/More Info

TomTom ONE 125 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

The TomTom One 125 GPS with USA maps puts smart navigation in your pocket. The TomTom One 125’s EasyPort mount fits neatly onto the back of the device, making the whole navigation packet fit into your pocket, bag or glove compartment. And the TomTom One 125 couldn’t be simpler to use – just plug it in and tap on the touch screen. You’ll be on your way very quickly with the 125’s intuitive user interface. Other great features include spoken instructions and rechargeable battery.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars So Far So Good
I’ve used it only twice but results have been satisfactory. Screen is a little small but that is convenient for placement in the auto. I’ve used Garmins as well and the Tom Tom measures up well and I personally like it better.

3 Stars a little too difficult to use
Overall, this unit was reasonable value for money. However, at $85 it was very cheap! The plusses are: Very loud speaker, a truly excellent quick-release mount, good reception, quick startup and cheap price – all of which are significantly better than the Garmin Nuvi 200 I also own(ed) (until it was stolen). The MapShare updates seem a great idea, but I am not how or if they have been of any benefit to me as yet.

The minuses are significant though: The first one is the biggest – the screen is not very bright. In fact, the unit is all but useless in the Texas sun, even when turned up to 100% brightness. When compared with Garmin, the entry of addresses to navigate to is fiddly and imperfect – entering an address takes a long time and the software name search is poor. The POI database is also poor – it hasn’t heard of our local Albertson’s for example, which has been there for many years. The Garmin had no such problems. In rural areas, the map is lacking, with seemingly almost every road being labelled simply “Unnamed Road”. This makes the device useless for navigating in rural areas unless you have pre-selected coordinates using google and entered them into the TomTom first. The last criticism may also be called a quirk once you get used to it – the TomTom announces turns WAY in advance of the turning and also just at the turning. For me, these announcements are either far too early so that they’re ambiguous (don’t forget that you can’t see/read the screen), or so late that if you’re not in the correct lane (e.g. 6 lane freeway etc), you can’t possibly make the turn safely. This took some getting used to, and I missed many exits when this unit was new.

In short, if you’re looking for a GPS for occasional use in cities and have never had one before, then this will fit the bill. However, for anything other than that, I’d keep looking.

4 Stars TomTom ONE
You do not want to go anywhere without your tomtom. Keeps one from getting lost. Easy and convenient to use.

2 Stars VERY Disappointed
In the city this product worked well; it showed me routes I didn’t know existed.

HOWEVER anything over 30 minutes is a total waste. Testing it on trips I already knew, my way was much shorter than what it was telling me. On a trip I didn’t know, my GPS gave me a trip route that was 2 hours 25 minutes. I plugged the same starting/ending location into TomTom’s own Route Planner and it gave me directions that took 1 hour 40 minutes. I would rather print directions and have to read them along the way and save myself 45 minutes of driving time!!

I tried to train the GPS by leaving it on while I went that way, but it did no good. When I wanted to return it spit out the 2 hr, 25 min route again. There’s also no way to download the route from TomTom’s own Route Planner into the GPS either.

Also the Mapquest feature only works for sending an address only, not a route. So you can’t update it that way either.

For anyone that wants to use this for 30+ minute trips, it is a waste of money.

4 Stars great purchase!!
the tomtom one 125 is a very good gps. works good for my needs. nothing fancy but simple to use and does the job good!!

Buy/More Info

Sony NVU44 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text to Speech Red

Sony nav-u NV-U44 3.5″ Touchscreen Portable GPS Navigation System w/North American Maps, Text to Speech & Dual View(Red)

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Not Bad At All, I Like It Better Than Magellan
This is my fifth GPS. Three of my previous ones (a TomTom One, a TomTom One XL and a Magellan Maestro) were stolen and the third was a Magellan Maestro that I thought was dead but repaired. Nonetheless, I bought this one because I didn’t want to spend another $200 on yet another GPS.

My favorite of my previous GPS’ were the TomToms because of their user friendliness and their routing intelligence. The Magellans were just plain stupid and their user interfaces were klunky.

This Sony has a very nice user interface but doesn’t quite reach TomTom level but it is good. Address entry and marking locations on this GPS is pretty good. I wish there was a GPS that would just put the current state as a default before you type but I haven’t found one yet that does that. The order of entering the address is not what I’m used to. I think this unit does number, street, city, state. I like the reverse (state, city, street, number). But the entry feels less klunky than the Magellan.

At first, I was disappointed at how garbagey the graphics looks but I quickly got over it when I noticed that the response time this unit beats any other GPS unit I’ve had. The route recalculation speed on it is phenomenal as well. Also, the simplified graphics seem easier to follow. The voice navigation is much less annoying than others I’ve used as well.

All in all, it’s a pretty good device considering it’s sub-150. I’m going to keep using it for another week and if I still like it, my Magellan is going on eBay!

Update: I felt compelled to add this since it is pretty important to me. The unit is great but the PC software for this unit STINKS! In the TomTom, you can edit an address book with real addresses but with this software you have to enter actual coordinates. What geek knows actual coordinates of addresses off the top of his/her head? This type of nerditry is what makes Apple number 1 in consumer devices. They really got lazy on the software on which would otherwise have been a 5 star unit. The Magellan software wasn’t any better so I guess that gives me some comfort?

4 Stars Not bad for the price
I just purchased this gps system for about 79.00 at SEARS. I had some running around to do today and I just pluged in all destinations and the little device was really accurate. I am a first time gps buyer so I can’t say what I am suppose to get and what I am not suppose to get.

You can clearly hear turn by turn directions.

Im satisfied for now

**Cons*** None yet

2 Stars cant find streets
unit will not find some streets by street names it decides that I need to know the county road number. It also will just not find some roads that have been around for over 20 years. Sony tells me that if I buy their $50 map update it “might” fix the problem. I wasted enough money buying the unit. It does no good to have a gps that is lost half the time. I’m going back to Magellan.

2 Stars Unfortunately it broke
The GPS was working well for a couple of weeks and I was happy enough. Then when I returned from a trip to VA, it stopped working. Now the battery will not charge and the touch screen does not work. So it is dead in the water. I contacted Tech Support and they told me to return it for repair, so I am hoping to return it to Amazon for refund.

Too bad !!!

3 Stars Good while it lasted
I enjoyed this GPS while it lasted. After 3 months of not-so-heavy use, it no longer picked up the satellites. I returned it to Sony and since they no longer have any left in stock (getting out of the GPS business?), they refunded my entire amount. Also, the battery would not hold a charge after several uses which I didn’t care about too much since I had it mounted on the windshield and plugged in.

Overall, I liked the interface and it was very easy to learn how to use. The routing algorithm was a bit weird where it would take me off a major interstate too early, causing a longer trip. I did update the unit to the latest firmware and played with some settings but it didn’t help. Some addresses where hard to find as I had to type in alternate forms of the street address. However, as long as my defective unit isn’t a sign of common problems, I would recommend it as a cheap entry level GPS.

Buy/More Info

Magellan Maestro 3250 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator Factory Refurbished

Do you often find yourself not knowing which direction to turn to? You think you know where you’re going only to realize you’re lost? Save yourself the trouble and equip your car with the Magellan Maestro 3250 GPS (Refurbished). Maestro 3250’s thin and elegant industrial design delivers exceptional vehicle navigation performance, complete with advanced features such as voice command and control and live traffic reports. With a new user interface, you’ll also be guided to your destination via voice and on-screen prompts. Use your voice to engage the Maestro 3250. Text-to-speech enables users to hear the street name of the next turn. Users can also easily search for restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations, and more—with telephone numbers and addresses. Avoid heavily congested areas with the SmartDetour, which leads you to an alternate route. This 3.5-inch GPS system features an anti-glare touchscreen, so it will be easy on your eyes. Drive with confidence. Let the Magellan Maestro 3250 GPS (Refurbished) show you how.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Maestro
Maps need updating for additional fee,

check Magellan’s website.

They do support what they sell…

1 Star Maps are two versions behind – you must pay to upgrade
The refurb model appears to be a good price but the maps are so old that you need to upgrade. The upgrade is not included and you must pay. It winds up being the same price as a fully warranted item. Also, the maps did not align to the car icon. Not sure if this was due to refurb or if the new ones have this problem.

1 Star Disappointed
I ordered a Magellan gps REfurbished and it had a problem with the screen freezing up – I returned and ordered another and it also had problems. I gave up and found a TomTom elsewhere. I will say that the return process was very easy and my money was refunded quickly.

4 Stars Great GPS for the Price
Although it is a refurbished GPS but it works perfectly (up to now). The only thing you need is to update the maps which costs around 50$(But for the area I leave it seems to be necessary).

1 Star POOR SUPPORT
Magellan will NOT support these refurbished units. This item comes with EXTREMELY OLD maps and software installed and Magellan wants you to pay $80 to upgrade it to the latest version. If this unit was factory refurbished, why doesn’t it have the latest software?

This unit goes back to Amazon.

Buy/More Info