December 7th
Holiday Gift Idea #7:
TomTom Go 700 Portable GPS Navigation System

Sick of getting lost when Dad is driving? Maybe it's time the family chipped in and got him a GPS system for the car.

Just plug in your TomTom Go 700, switch it on and go. There's no need for any special installation or activation. A set of clear, accurate, turn-by-turn voice instructions and crystal-clear 3D graphics will help you to get where you need to go. The unit's simple design allows you to take the TomTom Go 700 with you from car to car quickly and easily. All the newest maps come installed on a 2.5 GB hard drive as one seamless map, allowing you to find your way to any address across all of the United States and Canada.

In a few years, when the current maps loaded on the TomTom Go 700 need updating, just plug it into your Mac or PC using its USB 2.0 cable.

Want to use the TomTom out of the car? No problem. The TomTom Go 700 built in battery so you can take it out of the car, change the route preferences to "walking" ( this way it ingnores one way streets) and navigate on foot to that resturant you have heard about but could not find while fighting traffic. It allows you to create custom points of interest categories and add sites to these categories with your own names.

The TomTom Plus feature uses your Bluetooth enabled cellphone to give you real-time information like traffic and weather conditions, plus extra downloads such as detailed city maps, additional voices, points of interest, and more.

The Tom Tom company donated 300 units for use in recovery after Hurricane Katrina. They were mounted in Blackhawk helicopters and used on rescue boats.

There are higher-end and lower-end GPS navigation systmes on the market, but overall, the TomTom Go 700 has the best combination of data and interface and at a decent price.