Sony NV-U92T Sat Nav Reviews

My last car had built-in navigation with a 7-inch screen, so the NV-U92T, with its 4.8in wide screen display, was immediately appealing. First impressions were good: a simple get-started leaflet did just that. I signed up for TMC (free - until 2035!) and the speed camera subscription (not free). Activating everything was a bit of a struggle, even when reading the full manual (a pdf on Sony's new nav website), but I got there in the end. The manual mentioned setting up ActiveSync, but didn't spell out why. There was no mention anywhere in the manual that I could find of how to download and install speed camera updates. But more of that later.

On the road, in simple map mode, the display is good and clear. The auto-zoom, which increases detail as the vehicle slows down, is very effective. The display brightness and mode are controlled automatically. The installed maps include most of the civilized parts of Europe. I tried a few addresses known to me in France and Belgium which worked OK. Navigation has proved to be easy to set up (just enter a full postcode or town/street) and, so far, totally reliable. TMC (when it can be received - reception is patchy to say the least) is effective, and successfully steered me round a blockage on the M25 in good time.

So, the minuses: In simple map mode there is a display to show direction and speed. Trouble is, east and west have been transposed. Head east, or south-east, and the heading shows W or SW respectively. Direction on the map display is correct, however. My other operational grump concerns the one-touch control: when a map is on the screen, just write a circumflex (or upside-down V for those who've forgotten their French lessons) and a route will be instantly prepared to take you home. Or should be. It works about 10 percent of the time.

Now for support: I reported back-to-front heading problem using the support link on the website. No response. I also asked via the website about updating the speed camera database. The response from Sony was that once I had the speed camera function working, it would be automatically updated via the GPS signal. I found that a little hard to believe; in any event, I had managed to find what appeared to be speed camera update files on the website, and worked out by myself how to install them. I asked Sony for clarification: no reply.

Final moan: accessories are mentioned on the nav website, with a reference to Sony-Style to buy them. They're not recognised on the Sony-Style site.

Summary - with someone to read bug reports, and a little debugging, Sony could be on to a winner .