GBS vs. GPS: A Comparison Between a Local & the Sony Nav-U

I am a recent transplant via Chicago and I pride myself in knowing where I’m going and being able to guide others in my city. Just the other day I was happy to direct a tourist to Denny Way, even though it was pure luck or accident that I discovered the route just a few hours before the tourist asked me.

When I first moved to Seattle, I asked one of my friends, whose initials happen to be GB, for a bunch of directions. GB has been a “local” for about 10 years and I presumed he would have a good idea as to how to get to my destinations. He even tags along to make sure I was going on the right path (and thankfully has not made one comment to my Chicago-like driving). GB is also readily available to take the frequent frustrating phone call when I am lost. Since he has been so helpful in getting me around town, he’s been given the nickname of GBS.

So when I received my first GPS sample, Sony’s Nav-U, NVU73T, and was asked to write my first blog, I thought, “How would the GPS compare to the GBS?”

The GBS hates the freeway, which means I get a lot of scenic routes. It’s beneficial since I need to get to know my neighborhoods, however, with the price of gas hovering around $4.40, scenic routes can get a bit costly. GBS is also is a bit slow to provide direction and it can be after the fact. Occasionally I will be told I should have turned right or left 2 blocks ago. I’m not a mind reader! But, GBS is quick to recalculate the route and provide color commentary on the small mishap. I also appreciate GBS’s remarks about my “edgy pop” music and the sneakiness of him turning up the volume on my stereo.

Now on to the Sony NVU73T : Sexy looking, fresh out of the box. The unit has a brilliant 4.3-inch display screen, which I could see quite clearly. However, I had a hard time telling it that I was in the state of Washington and not in Washington D.C. I’m willing to chalk that one up to being a GPS rookie. The Nav-U also displays pretty much every gas station I ever wanted, while en-route to my destination. I also like the feature where it splits into dual screen when I approached a turn. I was provided a gauge in the middle of the split screen that acted like a kind of count-down until I reached my turn. That is a good feature for me, since sometimes I play my music loud and I could look on my dash for directions rather than listen for them.

Nav-U did give me some interesting routes (not too direct) to certain destinations I frequent, but for about 70% of the time, the routes were provided quickly. Recalculations of routes could have been quicker, in my opinion (or the opinion of the people behind me who would honk because I was a little lost). It took over 2 minutes once for my unit to recalculate my route after I missed the turn.

I thought Gesture Command was also an awesome feature. I could draw an upside down V and Nav-U would give me directions back to my home.

One thing I realized while driving with Nav-U: I can’t rock out loudly to my tunes. I couldn’t hear the spoken directions. I’ll have to consult the manual to see if I can connect the unit through my stereo system and that way the voice can interrupt my tunes. So long as it doesn’t comment about my music....

--Daidrie