In the Right Direction

An automobile navigation system seems like a perfect high-tech gadget.

An automobile navigation system seems like a perfect high-tech gadget. It can identify where you are, give audible directions to destinations as you drive and even plan alternative routes in case of traffic jams. These units, which use global positioning system, or GPS, now come as standard equipment on some high-end cars and are available as built-in options on many others.

But if you are not ready to buy a new auto,you can get a free-standing GPS system, made to stick onto the dashboard, or, where legal, held by windshield mounts. These portable systems, powered by rechargeable batteries, are not cheap. But are these free-standing units worth the money, considering you can get a built-in model the next time you buy a new car?

The biggest problem with GPS navigation units is that they often can8217;t take into consideration shortcuts and traffic-avoiding routes that locals might know. They can sometimes send you on drives that are longer than you can plan by looking at maps.

One of the tests I tried was having each unit plan a route from Altadena in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains to the my office in downtown Los Angeles. It8217;s an approximately 14-mile drive if you use the Pasadena Freeway. Only one of them, the TomTom Go 910, sent me that way. The Garmin StreetPilot c550 and the Magellan RoadMate 3000T sent me westward to the Glendale Freeway, adding three extra miles.

The Garmin had the brightest display. Its on-screen maps were not complicated. It also had the most responsive touch screen, allowing numerical addresses and street names to be inputted rapidly. When I missed a turn, it recalculated the route fast.

The Magellan had a streamlined system that, after you type in a few letters, anticipates what8217;s coming next based on cities and street names in its database. It had the most pleasant-sounding ring tone to signal turns.

Still, with all that is good about free-standing GPS navigators, there are several detractions. The power cord drapes over the car dash and down to the car8217;s electrical outlet in a manner that makes it a daily reminder that this is an add-on. If the navigator is not detached from its holder and hidden away when the car is parked, it could tempt thieves. Also, the vocalised directions interrupt radio listening, which is something that should be done only by a good traveling companion. Or a child asking, 8216;8216;Are we there yet?8217;8217;

David Colker