Photos: Tech for road trips

What's a road trip without a car? The 2008 Land Rover LR2 offers solid cabin gadgetry with a luxurious interior to keep both driver and passengers happy. And all this comfort rides on Land Rover's legendary off-road platform. Our car tech editors also recommend the 2007 Mazda CX 9 and 2007 Acura RDX.

Part of the joy of road trips is stopping along the route and discovering fun towns and odd attractions. Not only can the Garmin Nuvi 660 help get you to your final destination, but also it can point out places to go and things to see, with the addition of Garmin's optional Travel Guide kit.

If your trip involves hitting the road, water, or dirt trail, the Magellan CrossoverGPS may be the portable navigation system for you. This versatile device offers navigation help to drivers, boaters, and hikers.

Of course, you're going to want to capture all the fun times from your road trip. The Sony Handycam DCR-SR300 is a nice digital camcorder that should appeal to casual, snapshooter-type videographers. If you're looking for a high-definition option, check out the Sony Handycam HDR-HC7.

For still shots, the Canon PowerShot S5 IS offers a nice superzoom, plus Canon's image-stabilization technology and excellent metering and focusing systems. However, if you're looking more for a compact point-and-shoot, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 comes highly recommended by CNET's digital camera editors.

The Nokia N95 is like the Swiss Army knife of smart phones. The handset comes equipped with quad-band roaming, a 5-megapixel camera that produces good-quality photos and videos, and advanced multimedia capabilities. Plus, it has integrated GPS--so it could even stand in as a navigator, if you need additional route guidance. And it goes without saying that a cell phone or smart phone can be invaluable in case of emergencies.

If you're headed to the great outdoors, the Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-S could be the perfect mate. This rugged cell phone has been subjected to a battery of military testing, and can survive in various conditions--rainy conditions, up to 2 inches per hour with a 40mph wind, or severe heat, up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit with 95 percent humidity. It can weather a total of 26 drops from a height of 4.9 feet on a variety of surfaces, and resist dust as fine as silica flour. That's one tough cookie.

With its 7-inch touch screen interface and Web-browsing and file-serving capabilities, the sexy Archos 704 Wi-Fi offers traveling TV and movie buffs some impressive extras to augment their multimedia experience. It also touts smooth video playback, a good viewing angle, and high-quality A/V recordings.

An alternative to the Archos is the Philips DCP850 Docking Entertainment System. It includes an iPod video dock and all-around solid performance. Whether you're throwing in a DVD, MP3 disc, or iPod, the Philips DCP850 is sure to keep the kids entertained.

With tech gadgets, battery life is always an issue, and even more so when you're on the road and can't plug in to charge up. However, with a 53-hour battery life, the Sony NW-S705F Noise Canceling Walkman should keep you jamming to your road tunes for a long time.

When you're trapped inside a car, there's no escaping the wince-inducing singing styles or constant chatter of some of your passengers. However, with a nice pair of headphones such as these V-Moda Bass Freq earphones, you can at least drown out some of the pain. These earbuds offer great sound quality and volume for an attractive price.

If you simply can't leave home without your laptop, consider the Averatec 2371. It's ultraportable for easy traveling, and it comes at an affordable price, so you won't feel too bad if you happen to accidentally drop it in the pool.