Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
GPS Navigators<br />
Portable nav systems used to dominate your dash. These new models<br />
are wee yet boast miraculously generous screens. —E.A.<br />
TomTom Go 720<br />
$500 • tomtom.com<br />
The 720 is faster, safer to use, and way more<br />
versatile than any other GPS yet. It debuts an<br />
updated OS with a host of pitch-perfect innovations<br />
to sat-nav tech. The Where Am I? feature<br />
provides your location in precise, human language<br />
you can read to friends or emergency services.<br />
The unit’ll warn you when you’re near a school<br />
zone or exceeding the local speed limit, and it has<br />
lots of options that allow you to prioritize what<br />
you see onscreen while driving. A blazingly fast<br />
processor makes browsing and zooming in and<br />
out of maps a pleasure instead of an ordeal.<br />
WIRED Record direction commands using any<br />
voice you want. (Mom? Is that you?) FM tran<strong>sm</strong>itter<br />
plays music through radio. Buddy system<br />
shows where friends with 720s are.<br />
TIRED The new MapShare system, which lets<br />
users update map content with road closures,<br />
accidents, and so on, will likely be only marginally<br />
successful due to concerns about verification.<br />
Garmin nüvi 200W<br />
$500 • garmin.com<br />
Though the nüvi 200W is missing many of the<br />
extra features found in other comparably priced<br />
units—MP3 and audiobook playing, for example<br />
—it clearly benefits from Garmin’s black belt in<br />
navigation technology. Its automatic rerouting<br />
for missed turns, one of the most critical<br />
qualities in any nav system, is lightning fast.<br />
The screen is bright and sharp, and its presentation<br />
and prioritization of data is spot-on.<br />
WIRED Easy to read in direct sunlight. Digital<br />
dashboard that shows speed, distance traveled,<br />
et cetera is addictive.<br />
TIRED Limited options for displaying info in<br />
split-screen mode. Lack of fun features means<br />
still having to pack other gadgets.<br />
Automotive<br />
EDITORS’<br />
PICK<br />
Harman/Kardon Guide<br />
+ Play GPS-500<br />
$400 • harmankardon.com<br />
While navigation companies stretch to include<br />
music capabilities in their devices, it’s refreshing<br />
to see an audio manufacturer trying its hand<br />
at navigation. The svelte GPS-500 does Harman/<br />
Kardon’s reputation no harm, either as a nav<br />
system or a media player. It has a bright, crisp<br />
4-inch screen, pops easily into a shirt pocket for<br />
sidewalk route finding, and can accommodate<br />
up to 4 gigs of media files on an SD card.<br />
WIRED Plays MP3, WMA, and AAC files.<br />
Volume adjusted by side dial instead of screen<br />
taps—which should be a federal law.<br />
TIRED Slow satellite acquisition time. Built-in<br />
speaker is a joke.<br />
Mio DigiWalker C520<br />
$400 • miogps.com<br />
Given the company’s less-than-stellar rep, we<br />
were not expecting to like the C520 as much<br />
as we did. But its navigation data is expertly<br />
displayed, directions are clearly delivered and<br />
presented, and entertainment functions are<br />
exceptional. Most outstanding, however, is<br />
its highly evolved Points of Interest database:<br />
Bluetooth it to your phone, tap any listing,<br />
and the DigiWalker will place a call or direct<br />
you there. We used it often.<br />
WIRED Download your entire contact list<br />
from Outlook and navigate to any entry.<br />
TIRED Battery life topped out at about two<br />
hours. Once (but only once) it pointed us in<br />
the completely wrong direction.<br />
WIRED TEST<br />
1 5 3
Change language