Road trips usually mean relying on cumbersome maps or a shotgun buddy who barks bad directions between nacho-induced naps. Now, however, there’s the Navman iCN 630, a digital wingman that changes that whole road trip dynamic.

The iCN 630 is a self-contained, GPS-based in-car navigation system. Compared to hundreds of maps stuffed into a glove box, the iCN 630 is a godsend. Before leaving the house, you simply download the map or maps you expect to need using Navman’s own collection of detailed maps. The unit contains 64MB of flash memory as well as an SD card slot. You can download as much or as little information as you need for your trip.

Anybody can get lost in New York, so we tried a full-blown road trip to a little town in Massachusetts. It was during highway driving that the iCN 630 strutted its stuff.

We loaded the correct maps and when we hit the New York/Connecticut border we turned on the GPS receiver. We programmed our destination by selecting it using a crosshair that we moved over a wide area map. The iCN 630 gave us the closest intersection and began to calculate a route. In about 10 seconds the system figured out where we were headed and started giving us directions.

We were able to easily read the bright TFT screen, and the voice system chimed in at almost a mile before each turn. As we approached turns, the voice system gave us a count-down. When we wanted to stop briefly or take another route, even on long gravel roads that looked abandoned and overgrown, the unit quickly recalculated our route with its Back-on-Track feature and led us through bramble and briar to our destination.

The iCN 630 sells for $999, although we’ve seen it as low as $795 at some stores. The key to this unit is that it doesn’t require a powerful handheld computer or even a laptop to run efficiently. The system contains a dedicated Intel PXA250 XScale processor and a powerful GPS antenna with approximately 45-second satellite acquisition time. The molded metal case was light and sturdy and sat perfectly on the passenger’s side of the windshield, anchored by an impressively strong suction cup-mounting bracket.

The best thing about the iCN 630 is its bright Advanced TFT 320 x 240 QVGA color screen. It was visible throughout the car and even at acute angles. Where other LCDs would fade out, this one was clear both in sunlight and at night. Couple that with the 2-inch speaker and the unit gives more than enough feedback on routes and directions.

In addition to its 3.8-inch display, the unit houses 64MB of RAM and expands via a SD/MMC slot. While the iCN 630 shines when it comes to spotting hard-to-find locations, it also allows you to navigate using various points of interest like parks, museums, restaurants, and hotels. Its accuracy range is an impressive16-ft.

The iCN 630 is pricey, but unlike handheld computers with GPS add-ons this dedicated device was specifically designed with the novice in mind. It’s an invaluable asset for anyone, from a family traveling cross country to a delivery driver wending the back streets of Boston.

While it’s more expensive than a big book of state maps and blind luck — and essentially renders your human navigator sidekick obsolete, the Navman iCN 630 supplies an incredible amount of detail and power in a small, sturdy package.

-- John Biggs

Navman iCN 630

Price: $999

http://www.navman.com