nav-u

As the entry-level model in the Sony NAV-U line of portable GPS devices, the NV-U44 has a fairly basic feature set. There's no Bluetooth hands-free. There's no traffic information. There's no multimedia playback. For your $249 dollars, the only feature that you get beyond basic navigation is a photo viewer.

However, for many consumers, the basics are all that is needed. In this respect, the NV-U44 does a pretty good job of creating a good navigation experience without breaking the bank.

Read the full Sony NV-U44 GPS review.

After recently revamping its NAV-U line of portable GPS devices, Sony dropped by to give us a first look at their top of the line NAV-U94T model that should be hitting store shelves soon. We've already covered many of the new features offered by this device, but hands-on time with the device gives us a little more insight. In order of importance, here are the features we liked most:

The first feature demonstrated was the Position Plus technology which uses a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and (interestingly) a barometer to keep track of vehicle position to continue navigation when satellite reception is lost. We chose San Francisco's Stockton Street Tunnel as our destination, which is approximately three blocks long, and set off. Partway through the tunnel, we lost satellite reception, indicated by the display's position triangle turning orange, but the U94T seemed to keep track of our position.

Applying the brakes, we began to slow, then briskly sped back up. The speed readout on the display kept track of these changes as well. Emerging from the other end of the tunnel, the device quickly locked on to satellite reception and we moved on to the next part of testing.… Read more