Don’t forget to give your car a present, too! We show off the best equipment designed to help you get home in time for Christmas.
TomTom Go Live 1000
This sat-nav device brings TomTom’s LIVE services technology to Ireland for the first time. It offers HD traffic, mobile speed cameras, local Google search with QuickGPSfix and weather updates as you drive.
This navigation and route guidance constantly adapts to changing road conditions. This allows it to give you the fastest route possible and lets you to realistically plan your daily route.
The device has a capacitive touchscreen, letting you pinch to zoom in and out of maps. It’s sensitive enough to react to light touches, making it very responsive. It also has an Easy Click magnetic mount to help dock and undock the sat nav quickly and easily.
Where: Leading stores
Sony Ericsson HCB 150 Bluetooth Car Speakerphone
This speakerphone is highly versatile for in-car calls. It uploads your mobile phone address book and displays it on the device in order to make call handling much easier. Its mirrored OLED screen brightly displays the information as you drive.
The speakerphone verbally alerts you to who is calling and it can talk you through the contact names as you scroll through it. Its speakers cancel out noise through digital signal processing (DSP) for enhanced sound and the device’s battery can last through nine hours of talk time.
Not only does it fit in your car, but you can use it at home too, as a tabletop speakerphone.
Where: Meteor
Garmin nuvi 205
This navigator offers turn-by-turn directions and an advanced speed camera warning system to keep you safe while driving.
It comes with City Navigator NT map data for the UK and Ireland, providing spoken directions and 2D or 3D mapping for improved navigation.
The digital elevation maps show shaded contours for a greater understanding of the terrain. It also allows custom points of interest, including traffic black spots and post offices, and gives you proximity alerts to these areas.
It also has Garmin Lock, an anti-theft system that uses GPS to lock a secure location of your choice.
Where: Argos
Samsung WEP460 Bluetooth Headset
This wireless device is pretty useful for in-car calls. It has noise-cancelling technology to increase the quality of audio and the in-ear headset has been design for maximum comfort.
It’s compatible with most Bluetooth phones and its volume can be adjusted.
The WEP460 can last for eight hours of talk time and up to 180 hours on standby. And its 10-metre range is practical for linking with a phone in your car.
Where: Argos
LG HBM 235 Bluetooth Headset
This light wireless headset utilises Bluetooth 3.0 technology.
It offers 300 hours of standby time and eight hours of talk time. Its design allows you to simply click it to answer a call.
The headset can be paired up with two devices at the same time and has built-in DSP to cancel out noise.
The volume can be adjusted and the device has been designed to be highly comfortable to wear while driving.
Where: Carphone Warehouse
In-car charger
A vital tool for travelling for long periods of time, a 12-volt in-car charger does exactly what it says on the tin.
It’s available for all types of phones to charge while in your car. And it never runs out of power while driving.
Where: The Carphone Warehouse
