Need a user-friendly GPS navigation device for your holiday travels? Looking for a mind-blowing gift? The NAVIGON® 7100 includes a unique RealityView™ feature that displays photo-realistic images of complicated intersections. When RealityView™ kicks in, you see a highly detailed rendition of the intersection you're approaching, complete with highway signs and lane markings. With such accurate images to follow, it's even harder to miss a turn or take the wrong road, even at difficult junctions.

I could have used this feature not too long ago when I was traveling through an unfamiliar part of Washington, D.C. from the north to get to Alexandria, Virgina, via the interstate. At one point, an exit ramp off the road I was traveling on led immediately underneath that same road, and the GPS device I was using did not clearly indicate which path I should stay on, as it saw them as being the same road. I ended up taking the ramp instead of staying on course, which was a big mistake. It could have probably been avoided with a clearer representation of the exit, instead of the generic two-dimensional graphic I saw. When driving in heavy-traffic situations that may require several lane changes, I can picture RealityView being a real lifesaver.

Another attractive feature of the 7100 is the free real-time traffic updates that NAVIGON includes. Using the TMC traffic-info service, drivers have access to up-to-the-minute traffic messaging in many metropolitan areas. Almost every other GPS manufacturer requires a subscription fee to use the TMC information, so getting it for free can save you hundreds of dollars over just a few years.

NAVIGON rounds out the 7100 with text-to-speech voice prompts that say the street or highway at turns, 1.7 million points of interest, and built-in Bluetooth® wireless compatibility, so you can make and receive hands-free calls with a compatible phone. The 7100 comes with a built-in microphone, so you can program it to find destinations using voice commands.