Culture

Spring preview: Car Tech

There are many great new products to tech up that old car. Add a GPS device for effortless navigation, get a radar detector to avoid speeding tickets, or put an all-in-one GPS and entertainment unit in the dashboard.

Wayne Cunningham

Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.

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Bonnie Cha Former Editor

Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.

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Wayne Cunningham

Bonnie Cha

March 24, 2009 2:25 p.m. PT

1 of 5 Corinne Schulze/ CBS Interactive

TomTom Go 740 Live

Price: $499

Availability: Q2 2009

The outlook: We've seen connected GPS before, but the TomTom Go 740 Live seems to be the most promising of them all. It uses a built-in SIM card and GPRS modem to deliver dynamic information such as fuel prices, weather data, and Google Local Search right to your device, and does so in a sweet little package.

2 of 5 Garmin

Garmin Nuvi 1260T

Price: $299.99

Availability: Q2 2009

The outlook: Garmin has made its popular Nuvi series even thinner and added the option of enhanced pedestrian navigation through CityXplorer maps to complement its compact size. Though there are several models in the series, the Garmin Nuvi 1260T offers a nice little package with free traffic alerts, an ecoRoute option, and integrated Bluetooth.

3 of 5 Navigon

Navigon 7300T

Price: $399.99

Availability: Q2 2009

The outlook: The Navigon 7300T is quite an ambitious portable navigation device, combining advanced features such as Panorama View 3D, Landmark View 3D, and voice commands. If you crave the latest in GPS technology, the 7300T fits the bill.

4 of 5 Cobra

Cobra XRS 9960G radar detector with Aura database

Price: $389.95

Availability: March 2009

The outlook: The XRS 9960G is a high-end radar and laser detector. With the Aura database module plugged in, it alerts drivers to red light cameras, dangerous intersections, and other driving hazards.

5 of 5 Eclipse

Eclipse AVN726E stereo and navigation unit

Price: TBD

Availability: Spring 2009

The outlook: This all-in-one head unit uses flash memory to store detailed maps, making for fast response times. The unit also has video playback with high quality, due to its ability to go directly from digital source to video with no analog conversion.