We've tested several portable navigation devices recently. Visit www.caraudiomag.com for full reviews of these PNDs and more.
Know Where You're Going
With expanded points of interest and NAVTEQ North American maps, the Magellan RoadMate 1412 ($300) makes for a solid GPS unit. Its SayWhere text-to-speech technology lets you hear street names with every voice direction, making it easy to find where you're going without taking your attention from the road.
www.magellangps.com
On The Move
Lightweight and stylish, the Mio Moov 310 ($250) is made for travelers. Its 4.3-inch widescreen directs you to your destination with bright graphics and POI icons (pulling from a database of 3.5 million). If visuals aren't your style, it also has text-to-speech functionality, reading out your next turn.
www.mio.com
Let Your Maestro Be Your Guide
Making use of its ultra-wide 5-inch full-color touchscreen, the Magellan Maestro 5310 ($500) shows your position on the map, route, destination, ETA, surrounding points of interest, and more simultaneously. The built-in AAA TourBook provides ratings for lodging and restaurants, along with recommended attractions. Buy now and Magellan will give you one year of free traffic alerts via the unit's integrated traffic receiver.
www.magellangps.com
Step Up
If you thought Mio's breakout C520 GPS was something, you haven't seen anything yet. In addition to the Bluetooth, multimedia player, and over 6 million POI's of its predecessor, the Mio Digiwalker C720 ($600) has a 2.0-megapixel digital camera that automatically saves the exact GPS coordinates where the picture is taken. A live TMC traffic receiver and business card scanner make this device hard to pass up.
www.mio.com
Have Fun
With maps of the U.S., Canada, and Europe, the Tom Tom GO 930 ($500) doesn't skimp when it comes to data, and it isn't stingy with features either. This navi gives you voice command capabilities, built-in Bluetooth, and a media player, all accessible with Tom Tom's tell-tale easy-to-decipher graphic user interface. Fun stuff like novelty voices and the ability to record your own voice prompts add to the personalization options.
www.tomtom.com
Sleek & Slim
Sporting beautiful 2-D and 3-D map views in a sleek piano-black packaging, the Navigon 7100 ($499) provides stylish functionality in a 4.3-inch touchscreen PND. Features include text-to-speech instructions, subscription-free real-time traffic, lane assistant to direct you to the optimal lane for your route, and built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling. It also comes with Zagat survey ratings and reviews to help you find the perfect place to chow down.
www.navigon.com
Enter The Market
At a more entry-level price point, the Navigon 2100 ($249) gets you where you want to go for less. It has many of the features found in the 7100, such as text-to-speech and 2-D and 3-D map views, but it comes with a smaller 3.5-inch touchscreen, and some features, such as traffic and Zagat reviews must be purchased separately. A love/hate feature Navigon threw in is the automatic warning that tells you when you're speeding.
www.navigon.com