Hey guys,
It seems like it has been a while since I posted a review or pictorial, so I thought I would throw in one. I thought I would post it in U Gear as this product is advertised with UX series. And of course it will work with any other VAIO or non-Sony Bluetooth equipped notebooks. I guess since UX is so tiny, GPS unit would be a great addition to it.
I jumped into GPS world a little bit late as I thought Mapquest is all I need for my directions, but I realized that it is not available to me all the time (especially when I am offline) and if I need to get to a place in the unknown area or I am simply lost - GPS is the way to go. And believe me I love it now!
Anyways, I thought I would give it a go with a VAIO GPS unit recently released in the US. I paired it via Bluetooth with my trusty TR5AP and it worked flawlessly.
All you get is the unit itself, AC adapter, a Belt Strap and the manual of course. No software is provided and Sony recommends using Microsoft’s Streets and Maps software that comes bundled with UX series. I picked up the latest 2007 version of that app from a local BestBuy and paired it up with the unit.
The bottom of the unit as you will see in the pics below has a rubbery surface and it stays put in your car dashboard. Little LED lights let you know about the status of the unit. I was very amazed by the battery life of the GPS unit, as I thought the Bluetooth function would drain it quickly. I cannot tell you the total battery life cycle as I used it for 3 hours straight and than left it on in the car for a long period of time, and I still did not have to charge it. It should last up to 10 hours per Sony.
I found the MS app pretty good for starters but I wish it was more simplified. The night mode is pretty cool too as I can dim the LCD of the notebook to the lowest level and get more juice out of it and still see and hear the directions. I know Sony also has some GPS units for sale specifically for cars, but I do not find them appealing in design at all. The Japanese GPS units made by Sony are so much better and slicker.
Anyways, enjoy the pics and post questions if you have any.
I think sony is not a good GPS unit manufacturer & should concentrate on different electronic parts.If you need to buy good gps reciver figure out some holux or rikaline stuff
I suggest Rikaline 6033 with sirf III chipset and Holux 236 also assemblied with mentioned chip
regards
Andrzej
Seriously…this thing is neat but i too have the Belkin (thanks to Erik for that tip many moons ago) and it works great. I’ve been trying to justify getting the Sony one but it can wait. I’m actually much more interested in a nice mounting solution for a laptop/tablet pc/umpc for your car. While I may use my TR or Type S from time to time, I’m mostly going to use my HP TC1100 Tablet PC so if anyone knows of a tablect specific mount then I would be very interested to know.
I’ve seen a lot of laptop trays but most are design challenged and take up too much of the passenger side. Ideally, I’d like something that folds up under the passenger seat as well.
Yeah, get a cheap PDA and use that for GPS. That’s what I ended up doing and I couldn’t be happier. I picked up an Axim with WiFi and BT, threw iGuidance 3.0 and picked up a powered speaker/cradle and mounted it to the floor of my truck. Easier then trying to mount my U.
[quote author=“tifosiv122”]Yeah, get a cheap PDA and use that for GPS. That’s what I ended up doing and I couldn’t be happier. I picked up an Axim with WiFi and BT, threw iGuidance 3.0 and picked up a powered speaker/cradle and mounted it to the floor of my truck. Easier then trying to mount my U.
Erik
You know, I seriously considered that a while back but I didn’t want to have yet another device that would used just for GPS. The Tablet PC works as a multifunction device for me now and goes with me most of the time. It also works as my in car MP3 player since it has a decent 100GB of capacity. Plus, I like the MS Street & Trips 2007 navigation software, especially since I have all these different voices I’ve bought over the last couple of years. My favorites are the UK English voice (Audrey) and the Japanese voice (Miyu). They tend to make the driving directions really interesting…especially the Japanese voice. It literally sounds like a Japanese person who doesn’t speak English that well…and makes for a humorous drive. Luckily for me, I understand broken English… :wink:
[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]You know, I seriously considered that a while back but I didn’t want to have yet another device that would used just for GPS. The Tablet PC works as a multifunction device for me now and goes with me most of the time.
If that’s the case, what I was thinking prior to buying the axim, is that ebay has a ton of these ‘laptop stands’ for cars. It’s essentially a bunch of metal brackets and a goose neck that bolts into the floor or sits between the seats (depends on the unit). I didn’t care about my trucks floor so I had no problem screwing in the unit…the same might not be for everybody though.
