Cool Hunting

I have a pretty good sense of direction, but every time I visit LA I become navigationally challenged—especially when it comes to trying to avoid the traffic. This trip (I've been here for 3 days, now) has been a breeze thanks to the Garmin Nüvi I've been demoing.

The Nüvi ia a touch-screen GPS device that's small, light and pretty easy to use. All of the maps for the US are built in, so there's no need to download regions before your trip. There's even storage space for MP3s and Audio Books. The on-screen graphics have the right balance of simplicity and information, and the optional spoken directions are critical. The text-to-speech engine does a pretty good job at pronouncing different street names, though is does have the occasional blunder—instead of instructing to exit at Bundy Drive North it said "Bundy Doctor North." Wrong, but forgivable. I haven't demo'd many portable GPS devices, so it's hard to make comparisons—regardless, I like the Nüvi and I'm glad to have it around this week.