The Lowrance iFinder GPS is an affordable GPS navigator that includes all the features you need to get around. Due to its portability, it is a good choice for hikers, cyclists, and road trippers. It’s so simple, just plot a route via the easy-to-use keypad, and the iFinder Go follows the path precisely, with intuitive navigating that keeps you from veering off course.

The navigator is so reliable that its 16 parallel channel GPS and WAAS receiver is accurate to within several meters, making it a great fit for scavenger hunts as well as hikes. Each trip is completely customizable, with the ability to create new routes, waypoints, trails, and more. You can also easily recalculate your trip route should you get distracted and lose your way, and thanks to the 32 MB of built-in memory, you can save and retrace up to 100 of your favorite plot trails, with up to 10,000 points in each path.

The device holds more than just previous routes, however. It also comes preloaded with a background map of the continental U.S. and Hawaii, with such features as coastal nav aids, wrecks, and obstructions. In addition, the device supports up to 1,000 waypoints, 1,000 event markers, and 100 routes. Users with a zest for detail will appreciate the 40 map zoom ranges (from 0.02 to 4,000 miles) and the 42 graphic icons used to mark special spots.

To top it off, the iFinder Go’s bright yellow housing is waterproof, so you can use it in the rain or safely store it in your pack when rafting. Additional features include a 2-inch white LED backlit screen with 200 x 140 resolution, internal backup memory for storing your GPS data and settings, and a wrist-strap accessory. The pocket-sized unit measures 2.12 by 5.15 by 1.24 inches (W by H by D) and runs for up to 48 hours on two AA batteries (not included). It also includes a one-year warranty.

iFinder GPS Go Waterproof 16 iFinder GPS Go Waterproof 16, Now you can enjoy the biggest, easy-to-use, 16-channel compact GPS handheld performance — with built-in mapping detail — for the smallest price ever

Tracey Capen from PC World Canada provides review on Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006.

Streets and Trips 2006 is easy to use and complete but it has issues similar to in-car navigation systems: lack of usability tools.

Microsoft’s $150 Streets and Trips 2006 with GPS Locator is quite a bit simpler to use than the Delorme software. Once you become familiar with the icons in the toolbar, getting directions and finding services is relatively fast and easy. Click on “Find Nearby Places”, and a well-organized list of service and location categories (restaurants, ATMs, museums) pops up. Choose the ones that interest you, and you’ll see a category-specific icon for each place on the map.

The procedure for adding or removing categories for display is a bit cumbersome. It’s also a bit annoying that you cannot simply type in “Starbucks” and have all local Starbucks shops appear on the map. As well, the data probably isn’t as complete as that of online mapping services: I found a relatively new neighbourhood Peet’s Coffee using Google Local and Yahoo Local Maps, but the shop was missing in Streets and Trips 2006. On the plus side, searches seem lightning-fast.

Streets and Trips gives you a few interesting tools for planning your driving vacation. You can specify the times of day you wish to drive (which the software then uses in its calculations), obtain travel time and trip cost estimates (including gas) and get construction alerts along your planned route.

You can also save your trip details as a web page–to toss up on your road-trip blog, for instance. But I found no way to save favourite locations or addresses, and the updated construction-info wizard that is supposed to pull the latest reports from the web failed to note that an exit near work has been closed for months.

The small GPS receiver’s USB cable measures 6 feet, long enough to reach comfortably from the dash to a notebook in the front seat. Directions were generally good: in my test the software created the best route from point A to point B and back again. But, the in-car navigation capability was disappointing, as poor voice prompts and the lack of automatic redirection after a wrong turn (a standard feature in most GPS navigation systems) put me off course.

Bottom line: This package is great if you want an easy-to-use mapping system in your PC, with a vacation’s worth of routes and services. But, as an in-car navigation system, Streets and Trips 2006 lacks key usability tools.

Fugawi GPS Mapping Software