Cool Hunting

A new and improved version of the original Nüvi line launched by Garmin at CES last year, the Nüvi 680 bests the older version with a bigger (4.3 inches) and brighter screen and with real-time info on traffic, gas prices, weather and movie times. Using Microsoft’s MSN Direct network, the system updates routes based on traffic incident and flow reports—a major plus for both travelers who are new to a city and commuters trying to get to work. I got a chance to demo the Nüvi 680 on the streets of Las Vegas and the new features worked smoothly and efficiently.

Like the earlier models, the Nüvi 680 has the same user-friendly touchscreen interface, voice prompts, pre-loaded maps of North America, Bluetooth for calls and an FM transmitter to play spoken street names and audio (it has mp3 capabilities) over a car stereo. Also new, the StreetPilot c580 is a slightly scaled-down option with less features and a touchscreen that measures 3.5 inches, but at a suggested retail price of $857, it's not that much more affordable than the $1,071 tag on the 680.