Sony NV-U93T appearance is all?

This Autumn, Sony introduced a few new models in their PND product line. These models have undergone a complete metamorphosis, compared to the previous systems from the Japanese electronics giant. Sony now prefers a flat design for their portable navigational units. The ugly duckling of the PND world has now grown to be a beautiful swan, amongst other things because of the large 4.8 inch screen which is used for the NV-U82, NV-U92T and NV-U93T. Also the entirely new Multifix mount shows that Sony is aiming to be more creative.

We had a look at the top-of-the range model, the NV-U93T, to see if this swan was now ready to fly with the other big birds.

Orange

The NV-U93T was sent to us in a compact, bright-orange box. After opening we first see the PND itself. Below the cardboard protection layer in which the system is packaged, we find all the accessories: the car mount, a 12 volt charging cord, a USB cord, and RDS/TMC antenna, a DVD filled with software, the manual, a Quick Start Guide, an installation manual and a voucher for a free annual subscription to the safety camera database.

The box itself contains all necessary information on its contents, the most important features of the device, and the coverage of the mapping material. The only thing we are unable to find is the release date of the maps. We can see that the mapping material was supplied by NAVTEQ though, and that the navigational software was developed by Navigon. The GPS chipset used in this new Sony range is the well-known SiRF Star III chipset.

The information on the box comes in three languages: English, German and French. The documentation inside the box comes in seven languages.

Appearance

The NV-U93T really stands out from the rest. The size of the screen is, compared to what we’ve become used to from other brand, huge. Initially the screen was announced as 4.8 inches, but we found it’s even larger than that: we measured it as 5.2 inches, of which 4.8 inches are used for the navigational screen. The rest of the space is used for a status bar to the left side of the touch screen, which contains two buttons: ‘View’ and ‘Voice/Pos’ (see number 4 in the photo below)

The systems is, compared to earlier models from Sony, pretty thin: only 20 millimetres in depth. The NV-U93T is mostly coloured black, with a silver edge. The two on-screen buttons are accentuated by a thin orange line. The device is built very solidly, and looks like it can handle a bump or two. On the back of the device there are four rubber caps, which prevents the unit from sliding when it’s laid down somewhere. A nice touch!

Because of the size of the screen and the decent materials used, this Sony weighs a bit more than most competing products: 250 grams. This is not a problem however, even if the NV-U93T is harder to carry around than other units which only feature a 4.3 inch screen. To keep things handy, we believe a 4.8 inch screen is about the limit.

The on/off button (1) is located on top of the device. This button is very sensitive; the slightest touch makes the device turn on or off. Next to this button there’s the light sensor (2) built-in. Depending on the illumination level, the brightness of the screen can be dimmed automatically and in several steps. At the front of the NV-U93T we find two holes, beneath which the microphone (3) needed for the hands free phone function is located. To the bottom right of the screen, there’s a blue LED (5) which lights up when Bluetooth has been activated. A second LED (6) lights up when the PND is connected to a power source.

On the bottom of the navigational system there’s the connector for some headphones (7), the SD card slot (8), a USB (10) and a home power plug connector (11), and the reset button (12). In the middle on the bottom there’s another button (9) with which the GPS antenna on the back can be folded out. This antenna has a secondary function as a coupling device to the car mount, and the button on the bottom is also used here to (un)couple the device to/from the Multifix mount.

Multifix

Sony has developed a unique mount for its new PND range. After the humongous mounts of their former PND units, Sony has now come up with a mount which can only be described as very compact. The so-called ‘Multifix’ car mount can be attached to the windscreen and the dashboard. The suction cup is made from some sort of sticky gel, and is attached to almost any surface with a simple rotary knob.

Despite the sticky material, we found the suction cup does not leave any marks behind on the surface to which is was attached. Because of the slim dimensions, it’s also very easy to take this sucker with you, or hide it somewhere in the car when it’s not used. The removal of the suction cup does take a bit of force and practice. There’s a note in the box, in which Sony warns of early wear if the Multifix is removed the wrong way from the windscreen (in other words: by using your nails). The manufacturer advises sliding the supplied small card underneath the suction cup in order to remove it from the windshield, but we found this also to be pretty difficult: a slim and sturdy card like a credit card seems to be a lot more effective.

Whilst driving, the Multifix mount doesn’t budge. The PND, which is clicked onto the mount via an ingenious system with the fold-out antenna, is very stable and vibration-free. The removal of the unit from the Multifix mount is a piece of cake with the button on the bottom of the unit, as already stated. The connections for the 12 volt charging cord and the TMC antenna are integrated into the car mount, which minimizes cable clutter.

Use

After all this, we can’t wait to take the Sony unit out for a spin. The mounting of the device in the car is done in seconds. We immediately also connect the RDS/TMC antenna to the car mount and windscreen. Sony chose a black, flexible wired aerial, which is a breath of fresh air compared to transparent and sturdy antennas other brands sometimes ship with their units. The aerial shipped with the NV-U93T is ‘only’ 81 centimeters long, and this is a fair bit shorter than what we’ve become used to in the last year. We find it to be long enough though, and are very happy we are not left with the usual cable clutter on the dash this time around.

Turning on the Sony NV-U93T takes a while, since the loading of the software takes too long. The main menu is laid out very simply. Since the device only has two real functions (navigating and hands free phoning), there’s no need for many menu options. The most important options are ‘Navigating’, ‘Home’, and ‘Phone’. Apart from those there are a few options left for settings and the viewing of the GPS status.

The display of menus, navigational screen and information on the NV-U93T look excellent. Graphic-wise, this software is top-quality. There’s a lot of space, but we soon find out a lot of thought has gone into the clear layout of the screen. Unfortunately, the NV-U93T feels sluggish when operating it. The processing of entered commands takes to much time, which means you can't type a street name in one go eg. This is because whilst typing, lists are created with possible street and city names. When the number of possibilities narrows down, a number of intermediate screens are shown on which a selection has to be made. All this means entering a simple destination address takes too many taps on the screen.

The calculating of a route also doesn’t go very swiftly on this new Sony unit. Added to that, the routes which were supplied were often pretty illogical. It looks like in urban areas, the system does not correctly distinguish between main roads and simple roads. This led to us being guided through city centres and even small districts when we really didn’t need to pass through there. To make things complete: it also added to the total travelling time. Not good.

Processing speed

When, whilst navigating, commands are given to the unit via the screen, like change view or show traffic info, the processing speed of the PND is inadequate. It happens fairly often that taps on the screen are not recognised or not processed. And when they are, sometimes the software locks up or resets the units automatically after a while. Unfortunately, we experienced this on a daily basis when we tested the NV-U93T with version 2.1.00 (223B) of the software. After such a reset, navigating is impossible for the next 10 minutes, because all the software needs to be reloaded, and the unit takes a long while to get a GPS fix.

We found all this to be very surprising, since the PND is equipped with a rather beefy CPU. The internal flash memory is also almost completely used by the Western-Europe mapping material: on our test system we had only 12 MB of memory left.

The performance of the SiRF Star III chipset in this PND is sub-par if you ask us. After turning on the unit, it took a fair bit longer than we are used to, to get a GPS fix. We know the chipset itself is not to blame for this, so it must be the programming. Whilst driving, the GPS reception is stable though, even if the signal drops in tunnels and dense areas with very high buildings. The NV-U93T is equipped with three sensors which keeps the units correctly on-route, even (temporarily) without a GPS signal. Sony calls this feature ‘Position Plus’.

Extra space

Despite the size of the screen on this system, it doesn’t give us much added benefit whilst navigating. Information about the route, indications and buttons are spread out on the screen, and projected on the map. The extra screen space is mostly used for a wider view of the surroundings, but we don’t believe this is particularly useful. We think it’s more useful to be able to look further ahead whilst navigating than more to the left or right…

The graphical quality of the navigational screen is excellent, even if there are a few things that can be commented on about the way navigational indicators are shown. Those are not always very clear. Most of the time the screen shows the estimated distance to the next turn but, after the voice had made the first upcoming turn indication, the distance to next turn is replaced by some sort of bar from which the motorist should be able to extrapolate how much road he/she still has to cover before this next turn has to be made. The only aid which still remains is the map on the screen. This means the motorist sometimes needs to decide for himself which is the correct turn to take, and this is particularly annoying in urban areas on multi-road nodes, but also on motorways with a couple of exits shortly after each other.

Nice

The nameless female voice sounds nice. The sound quality of the built-in speaker is very good, and the lady articulates well. The route indications are easy to understand. We don’t like the way she announces upcoming on-route safety cameras though. She says something like: ‘Warning! Dangerous spot!’, which makes us think of other things than the presence of a safety camera.

We already mentioned the 'View' and 'Voice/Pos.’ on-screen buttons. This last button can be used to repeat the last route indication, or have the device tell us its current position. With the ‘View’ button, the user can choose a different display of the navigational screen. The map screen is then replaced by a screen with dynamic route information, consisting of a schematic display of the route and its POI’s.

RDS/TMC

The retrieval of free traffic information on the Sony NV-U93T works very well. The device is always able to quickly find a radio channel which broadcasts the necessary traffic information. Traffic jams or other reported incidents are shown on the navigational screen with an icon. But this feature also shows an important shortcoming.
The detailed information which can be consulted with regards to a traffic jam is too limited in our opinion. The software shows a schematic display of the route, with a coloured display of the traffic jam. The coloured bar is shown between two turns on the route, which means it’s not entirely clear where the traffic jam is exactly located. The accompanying screen text doesn’t add much to this.

Bluetooth

The only function the NV-U93T is capable of besides navigating is hands free phoning. For this the unit contains a Bluetooth module which can be used to pair with a mobile phone. The device supports dozens of phones from the most important brands, but we would still recommend to first have a look at the Sony website to see if your particular phone is supported. For a number of models, Sony honestly reports on their site that they are supported, but that the connection may be dropped suddenly, or that not all functions are supported.

The Bluetooth function also suffers from the overall sluggishness of the device. After we have paired our mobile phone with the NV-U93T, we make several phone calls whilst driving. The quality of these calls leaves a lot to be desired. Despite multiple tests with available settings for noise and echo cancellation, we receive a mediocre sound at best from the speaker of the PND. Our contact on the other end of the line often said we were hard to understand. The connection often hangs, after which sound is lost. It soon became clear to us, this feature still needs some work before it will be usable.

In developing their new range, amongst which is the NV-U93T, Sony have released some very attractive devices. The looks of the devices and the graphical quality they produce is second to none. Unfortunately, we have to be honest and conclude that Sony has probably spent too much attention on how the devices look, and neglected how they function.

The speed of the NV-U93T is below standard and the many software crashes are very annoying. The plotting of routes in urban areas often lead to ‘question marks’ (to put it mildly), and the technical quality of the phone calls is mediocre at best. These elements are very disappointing, especially when put against the feelings of expectation these devices create with their beautiful design, the Multifix mount and the graphical quality they produce.

For a high-end model, the Sony NV-U93T comes with very few features. Ok, so most people are not really waiting for an integrated MP3 player or photo viewer, but still, we expect more from a top-of-the-range model than navigating, RDS/TMC and Bluetooth. And even if Sony doesn’t add more functionality, they can always add accessories, like a remote control or a wider coverage of mapping material.

All this does not remove the fact that the ugly duckling in navigating land has grown out to be a beautiful swan, even if it still has its flaws. But if Sony would work on the shortcomings we described in this review, we’re sure they could have a real winner here.