Sony’s finger-friendly sat-nav
As the likes of TomTom and co turn their attentions to the budget end of the market, Sony’s taken a sharp turn at the lights and unveiled a spanking new high-ender.The colossal 4.3-inch widescreen is an eye catcher but the headline grabbers are two new features: Gesture Command and Position Plus. Sony reckons the first will stop us dangerously dipping into the menus while on the move. Instead, just swipe a finger across the screen to access pre-programmed short cuts. ‘Up’ could be ‘get me back to the office’ while a sharp strike from left to right might be ‘find the nearest petrol station’. A Gesture can also be used to answer mobiles via the built-in Bluetooth kit.Position Plus covers for short losses of satellite reception, such as when travelling through an underpass or between tall buildings, by using acceleration and direction sensors to keep track.UK maps come pre-loaded on the 512MB memory card, with maps for the rest of Europe supplied on DVD. For those with a bit more cash to splash, the NV-U81T adds a 4GB hard drive fully loaded with all the European maps and free traffic info for life.
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