The first product shipped did not work at all. Amazon customer service immediately send me a replacement, which I received just before our trip to LA. Amazing speed of service, while Sanyo never responded to my inquiry about the product not starting up. Sanyo customer service, as mentioned by others is useless.

The good thing about this product is by being able to download music, which saves you from carrying lots of CDs.

I wish the product was also usable in the Europe, but in return, you have the Hawaii, Alaska and P.R map, so all in all, it was a good deal.

Sanyo NVM-4050 Easy Street 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator I was an unfortune one. This GPS had a great screen but sadly the keyboard was defective. The numbers and letters were mixed up and could not program the GPS. It goes without saying that any thing man makes there will be bad ones. There was no way of knowing this until after purchasing.

I was excited about the feature set of this GPS from first sight. I needed a bluetooth handsfree solution for my cellphone while driving as I live in California where the new law was passed. Well it did not work out as planned.

The unit looks good, and the GPS is adequate with turn by turn vocal instructions. It does play mp3 files, though getting it to do so while doing other things required a few looks at the instructions and too many menu peckings. But it's downfall for me was TWOFOLD:

The battery life while using the gps and bluetooth was horrible. I killed the battery in 45 minutes. So much for 7 hour battery life. And yes I charged it overnight after I recieved it, It was fully charged.

The bluetooth speakerphone feature was the final deal breaker for me. I could hear ok from the speaker or the headphone jack to my car stereo BUT nobody could hear me unless I shouted quite loudly. The microphone is really not good. The unit was mounted right by my steering wheel.

Good luck if you buy this unit. I wanted to like it, but failed due to it's lack of usability as a speakerphone and poor battery perfomance.

If you're looking for the best of the best then you're probably going to be disappointed by the Sanyo NVM-4050. It's a typical example of a second-tier CE manufacturer: lots of features with rough edges that work well enough to satisfy the user at a price point that'll move units out the door.

The physical design of the unit is OK. It's got some heft to it and seems like it would handle a drop to the floor without any damage. There's a barrel-type power socket and a 3.5mm stereo audio socket on the left side of the unit and a mini-USB socket on the bottom. If you try to use the USB port to charge the unit it will disable the UI because it assumes that it is connected to a computer. The mounting system is sturdy and pretty flexible but there's no integrated power and audio umbilical harness so you'll have to route power and audio out (if you use the audio out) around from the left side of the unit. It's a little messy.

The screen is bright and the touch interface works well enough. There's only one button on the front of the unit (power/menu) and the power/charge light inset in that button is not very bright but it is visible enough to tell if you're charging the battery. You get audible confirmation (beeps) to your input but sometimes the system is a little slow in updating the screen in response to your input.

The UI is OK as well. Finding addresses can be a little intimidating at first because the unit throws up a form that asks for zip, state and city. You don't need to know the zip code; just enter city and state. I did a 1800 mile trip with door-to-door address-based navigation and needed to fiddle with the address search function to get it to do what I wanted but I figure that's just the learning curve caused by the unrefined UI.

The GPS can take some time to lock up and the map software seems to like to think that you've jumped onto adjacent off-ramps or parallel streets in urban conditions so I don't think the positional accuracy is the best. It keeps an accurate enough lock that if you're following a route it doesn't jump around as much since it assumes that you're following the plotted route. If you do jump from the plotted route the unit freezes up while it plots a new route. There's no announcement that it's going to go catatonic; it just stops updating the map display until it comes up with a new route.

The voice prompts during navigation are good enough and come early enough before the turns to keep from having to do those kamikaze dives across lanes to hit your turn. The text-to-speech is mostly accurate in pronunciation.

The maps are 2007 vintage and are as detailed as any that I've seen in automotive nav systems. It includes features like railroads, rivers/streams and the like. The sampling of POI searches that I've done for a few spots in the US that I've lived in seem complete. Interstate rest stops are in the POI database as well.

The MP3/WMA player is functional but limited as to playback modes (random and repeat folder modes) and you have to hop around between the map and the player application if you want to control the player. I loaded up a few 2GB SD cards with MP3s and ran them for hours without any issues. The unit supports up to 4GB cards. You can load your cards with folders and place files in the folders to make playlists (repeat folder mode).

The Bluetooth connectivity is OK too. I paired my Moto Q9 to the Easy Street quickly. The in-call audio quality is good and the caller-ID and dial-out screens are easy to read and easy to use. If you plug the unit into your car audio you've got a good in-car hands-free phone system.

At the end of the day the Easy Street does what I expected it to do. You have to be comfortable around not-completely-intuitive software to get the most from this unit but I think if Sanyo put a little more time in on the software they'd have a killer product.

I have had the Sanyo NVM-4050 for a couple weeks now, though I have used it on a longish trip only once (I live just 2.5 miles from work!) In my limited experience:

What it does well:

- Gets a fix on your position quickly (very well)

- recalculates routes rapidly (very well)

- announces turns 2-3 times by the time you have to (except for really short sections - a block or so)

- once you start typing names, only "valid" characters can be selected (avoids spelling mistakes)

- "human" guidance - the unit says "keep going on US36 for a while" :-)

- Nice, bright screen; clear voice

Other notes/features I haven't used:

- No AC adapter, but I use either my laptop's USB port, or the car's cigarette-lighter (adapter included)

- appears to have lots of good features (bike/scooter/pedestrian/etc., 2D/3D, voiceskin options)

- you can search for an address using either the city or zip code

- bluetooth, music player, 2GB built-in memory + SD slot

What it doesn't do well: Hmmm.... No real deal-breakers here (thus far).

- It plotted a route from home to work that was a slightly longer distance (3 miles compared to 2.5), but about the same time. Maybe I have to fiddle around with the settings.

- I also had to read the manual to figure out the difference between the TWO power buttons - one (at the bottom) is a "hard OFF" that resets the clock, and the other (also a physical button but on the face of the unit) just turns the unit off, but keeps settings intact. Battery drain equates to a "hard OFF."

- On my longish drive, the unit said "keep left... turn left." Actually, the street curved left, while there was a distinct, much sharper left turn as well. I took the sharp left... Then I realized my error. The unit recalculated and sent me back on my way.

Next month, I will be going on much longer drives - we'll see how it holds up. I bought it on sale from another online retailer. Even if I had to pay full price, knowing what I do now, it would be a close call between this Sanyo and (based on reviews/reputation) TomTom/Garmin units.

works well for The 198.99 i paid for it.... It Basically Comes Down To if you want to pay more for more random freatures then pay more.... All i need is a map and blue tooth.... and i love it.. Just the fact that it displays my text messages for me on the gps unit is a big plus No F@#$ messing around to find my phone and read it....... Hope the update cd or dowload comes through tho..... That would be bice

CONS

· Forget about their claim of "...up to 7 hrs. battery life". After a full charge I get "low battery" warning after only 30 minutes of use.

· When you turn main power switch "off" it loses your time/date settings every time. if, however, you leave it "on", it quickly drains the power. Simply RIDICULOUS.

· Text-to-speech pronounces "Dr." (Drive) as "Doctor". "Turn left on Maple Doctor". Entertaining but ludacrous.

· Unit does not come with 120v AC adapter so to charge at home you have to connect to usb which gives a s-l-o-w recharge.

· Don't make the mistake of trying to charge the unit when the main power switch is "off" because it does not take a charge unless the main power switch is "on".

· Sanyo totally ignored my two e-mail queries...they obviously DON'T CARE about their customers.

· There's no built-in choice of voices. Tom-tom came with male U.S., female U.S., male U.K., female U.K. this Sanyo only has one female U.S. voice.

· "Keyboard" is not qwerty. It's a-b-c-d-e.... numbers go 0-1-2-3... plus, you cannot access lower case letters without using a trick. Sounds nit-picky but wait 'til you have to enter alot of entries. It's r-e-a-l-l-y annoying.

· Does not display pictures but plays MP3's through it's tinny speaker which, by the way, does not provide enough volume to hear directions over car noise most of the time.

· Mine came with out-of-date maps. For example, shows Vegas casinos that were demolished over a year ago.

Conclusion:

LOW battery life, RIDICULOUS on/off switch, WRONG pronunciation, NO a/c adapter, HORRIBLE customer service, LIMITED voices, BAD keyboard, INADEQUATE volume, OUT-OF-DATE maps...YOU decide.

PROS:Lighting fast re-calculation and highly sensitive antennae.

Text-To-Speech - Bluetooth Integration (w/Phone book import capability) - MP3 Player(Support SDHC cards too), 4.3" screen for $200 (at FRYs and similar price at Staples) was too much to pass up even though I could not find any information on the web regarding the device. This is what prompted me to write this review.

Let me start with reviewing the additional features of the device.

**Music Player**

Pros:

-- Has standard 3.5 mm stereo jack to connect to aux output of car stereo (or to a FM transmitter)

-- Can use SDHC cards - this was big since I don't have to lug my iPod along on trips anymore with a 4gb card.

-- Can be used while using the GPS navigation functions and the unit mutes the song when giving out Navigation Instructions.

-- Audio quality is excellent for mp3 and wmv (haven't tried wav)

Cons:

-- Can play only mp3, wav and wmv formats WIHTOUT DRM.

-- Does not show album art - very basic interface.

**Bluetooth Handsfree**

Pros:

-- Quick connection to my Nokia E61/Motorola V551 (but connects to only one at a time - limitation of Bluetooth technology)

-- Imported phone book from both devices without any problems (sweet!)

-- I connect the unit to my car stereo through the audio jack so now I can hear the phone conversation through my speakers.

-- Very clear on both ends of the conversation.

-- Can call POIs from the unit.

-- Can search contacts on touch screen and dial.

Cons:

-- None so far.

Now I'll dwell into the Navigation capabilities of the device. Just to give my background with GPS devices -- I've used the Garmin NUVI 350 which you can call the reference implementation of a GPS device - yes NUVI 350 is that good.

**General Features**

Pros:

-- Large 4.3" widescreen - bright touch interface. No problems viewing in daylight even with sun shining on the unit.

-- Auto night mode - uses a different softer color scheme for night mode and switches to the mode automatically using the time of day and longitude.

-- Sturdy mounting base - also very easy to install. Unit clicks into the mounting base firmly and is very easy to mount and unmount the unit as well as the base. Base can be mounted on windshield or dashboard.

-- Solid construction of unit and compact form factor. No flimsy plasticy parts and no flip out antenna. Just like carrying a pda in the pocket.

-- Good volume of speaker on the unit - although I dont use it much.

Cons:

-- Mounting base cannot be tilted up or down - only swivels sideways. This may be a problem for some but did not find it inconvenient in my Jetta or Ford Escape.

-- No AC adapter included or available as add on(weird!!).

-- No dedicated buttons for volume control - need to use touchscreen and tap through menu to adjust volume (Not a problem for me since I hook it up to the car speakers.)

**Navigation Features**

Pros:

-- Uses Navtec Maps so its 99.5% accurate in routing.

-- Does Text-To-Speech using a female voice and is spot on speaking out street names most of the time.

-- I would rate it 8/10 on ease of use - comparable to Garmin and TomTom units I used. Very intuitive interface and could get away with performing all the functions on the unit without reading the manual for 2 weeks.

-- Manual is precise and makes a quick reading (I like it this way)

-- Shows POIs along the route - also has ability to call POI when connected to a phone.

-- Very fast in acquiring a signal - better than most and comparable to the best. Averages 35 sec from cold start and 10 sec from standby mode.

-- Does route recalculations fast (10 sec on avg) and avoids u-turns (Only time I was asked to make a u-turn was on a dead end street).

-- Text-To-Speech instruction similar to ones on Garmin unit (same frequency and repeated twice for each turn).

-- Excellent sensitivity to signal and also good accuracy. Reacquires signals from tunnels within 4-6 sec (also on par with best unit on market).

-- Can zoom in and out of map (similar to NUVI 350) and drag around the map to look around using the touchscreen.

Cons:

-- Less POIs than leading GPS units on market (only 2 million compared to 6 million for Garmin). Although I never felt a difference - I would always find what I was looking for.

-- Only one voice selection for text-to-speech navigation (female) - I could care less but still most unit have a selection.

-- Does not announce the side of street the destination is on.

Conclusion - no regrets so far and does everything I got this for quite well AND at a steal of a price.

Sanyo NVM-4050 "Easy Street" 4-Inch Portable Navigation Unit with Bluetooth, Text-to-Speech and Touchscreen

This GPS does it all at a great price. What is not to like? Fast receiver, clear screen, text to speech and Bluetooth; this unit sets the bar a little higher for price/performance. The POIs are also very comprehensive and route recalculation works smoothly if you miss a turn. Unlike my old GPS I can bring it indoors and it still has no trouble picking up a signal.