G.P.S. Unit Shows the Way in the Car and on the Trail

Most Global Positioning System devices are made to sit snugly in the confines of a car, where they rarely have to contend with dust, dirt or raging rapids. Garmin’s new Nuvi 500, however, is intended to take more abuse than the average G.P.S. unit. The 7.6-ounce device is meant to work both in a car on the highway and in the hand on a mountain trail.

The Nuvi comes with maps of the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. It is resistant to water and dust and offers voice-based turn-by-turn directions while the user is on foot or in a vehicle (although it does not pronounce street names). An emergency locator feature indicates the exact longitude, latitude and elevation; it also includes directions to local hospitals and police stations.

For off-road adventurers, the Nuvi 500 has topographic maps of the United States and even supports navigation charts for boating. The $500 device has a 3.5-inch display.

With its rugged design and off-road credentials, the Nuvi 500 not only works on well-traveled highways, but also in places where you might really need directions.

Watch TV or Work, All on the Same Computer Monitor

A bit of entertainment can enliven long computer sessions, especially when the computer is grinding away at downloading or some other task. So quite a few computer monitors now include TV tuners that can switch between a full-screen TV picture and a small picture-in-picture (PiP) window at one corner of the screen.The Samsung SyncMaster 940MW takes the idea a bit further, with a PiP window that can be set to occupy as much of the screen as you like and a built-in FM tuner for times when the whole screen is needed for the computer. The 19-inch screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio for wide-screen movies.

As a monitor, the 940MW ($699) has a native resolution of 1,400 by 900 pixels and a 160-degree vertical and horizontal viewing angle. As a television, it is HDTV-ready and works with local analog TV signals anywhere in the world. Its speakers are below the screen.

Available through computer and electronics retailers, the SyncMaster also has composite, S-Video, component and DVI Digital Link inputs for DVD players, when there is nothing on TV worth watching.

A TV Game Device Expands the Action With Remote Controls for Up to 6 Players

Board games come to your TV screen with the ZAPiT Game Wave, a souped-up DVD player that is designed to receive signals from as many as six remote controls simultaneously. Every member of the family can have an equal chance to win points, by guessing the name of a famous prison on the Hudson (Sing Sing) or the name of the giant English passenger ship sunk in 1915 by a German U-boat (the Lusitania).

Other differences from run-of-the-mill DVD players include an on-board graphics processor to handle interactive content like game menus and an extra cache of memory for remembering high scores. The remotes are color-coded and have four large multiple-choice buttons, as well as a numerical keypad, making it possible to send different types of answers.

The starter kit, which costs $130, comes with four remotes and one game, a trivia contest that promises 25 hours of play before a question is repeated. Additional remotes are sold in sets of two for $25. Additional software includes five titles, covering blackjack, the Bible, a letter puzzle and a dice game. When not used for games, the console can also play standard DVD's.