You Can't Miss It

The Z-1 is all controlled by a decently executed touch-screen panel.

It does work, but with all due respect to "Star Trek," touch screens are not my thing. The screen gets grimy; I miss the positive response of a physical control. And after a while, looking at all those fingerprints grosses me out.

Screens notwithstanding, the Z-1's navigation system is excellent. It's easy to read. It boots instantly. It comes stocked with complete maps of North America and, count 'em, 11 million points of interest: banks, restaurants, hotels, you name it.

Simply type in your destination -- in my case the Larchmont Yacht Club -- and up comes several routes to get there. The Z-1 matches the possible routes with live traffic data supplied by XM and picks the quickest way.

And if that weren't enough, a kindly yet authoritative voice, dubbed "Vicki," tells you where to go turn by turn. Just listen to Vicki, and you'll be fine.

One in the Hand

The Garmin Nuvi takes a more portable approach to navigation. At about the size of a good set of French playing cards, the Nuvi seeks to be nimble rather than bombproof.

The Nuvi is part of a new generation of handheld GPS's: part nav system, part portable entertainment device.

The Nuvi comes with a picture viewer, a calculator, a secure digital-media slot, an MP3 player and an Audible book reader, as well as optional travel guides, translation software and, get this, mobile coupons.

So you don't get lost and you save money. My wife would love this one.

As great as these functions sound, let's be real: The Nuvi is not an iPod.

The multimedia features were rugged. The audio player was closer to a Flash drive than a real media device, the picture viewer was basic -- although I must admit, I got a kick using a nav device to listen to Dr. John.

But navigationally, the Nuvi was impressive for a small unit. It comes similarly equipped as the larger Pioneer unit with points of interest and maps of North America. It is easy to use, easy to read and easy to carry. It even had its own girl: the authoritatively voiced "Diane."

	The Garmin Nuvi

I found the library of locations a bit thinner than that of the Pioneer. It did not know where the Larchmont Yacht Club was by name. (Shocker.) I had to enter the address by hand (the things I do for this job).

The major drawback of handheld portable units like the Nuvi is that they do not integrate with the other media devices in the vehicle.

Voice instructions from the Nuvi can be drowned out by a blasting radio or CD player. In-dash units, like the Pioneer, control everything, so they know to mute music in order to let instructions be heard.

Modern navigation systems are marvels. They are simple, work well and keep you from committing today's ultimate faux pas: getting lost.

Remember -- only losers lose their way.

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