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We all — at one time or another — need to be told where to go.

And the folks who make Global Positioning Systems for automobiles would be delighted to do just that — for a price, of course.

Annual sales of GPS-enabled devices will reach $22 billion by this year, according to analyst firm ABI Research, and a sizeable chunk of those will be GPS personal navigation devices that will get us to our driving destination, quickly and in style.

These devices have dropped a bit in price in recent years and have added some up-to-the-minute capabilities that make them even more attractive to drivers who want to avoid a wrong turn or sidestep traffic or construction delays.

Publications such as Information Week (www.

informationweek.com) and Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org) have published buying guides in recent weeks to educate potential buyers, so with those income tax stimulus checks coming in the mail in a few weeks, there may be no better time to consider a GPS purchase.

Take heed, however: law enforcement officials say the portable GPS devices have become a favorite target for thieves who won't hesitate to break into a car to steal one. And there have been instances when drivers trusted their GPS devices at their peril and ended up driving onto railroad tracks or onto dead-end roads.

The technology isn't perfect — but it can be very, very helpful. If you're unsure, borrow a GPS from a generous neighbor or family member when you go on vacation this summer, or if you're renting a car, ask for one with a GPS (you'll pay an extra charge). They're invaluable if you're in a strange city — and you might just get hooked.

What GPS is

A GPS allows drivers to program a destination address into the unit, which then calculates the best and quickest route and guides you there, alerting you of highway exits and giving plenty of warning of upcoming turns.

The devices can be removed easily and transferred from car to car. The units utilize the U.S. military's satellite-controlled Global Positioning System. There is no subscription fee or additional charge for tapping into the basic navigation system.

Prices

Prices start at about $200 at national retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, H.H. Gregg and others (the same units can also be found online at sites such as Amazon.com, sometimes at discounts). The more expensive units reach about $650 or more, though that's still less than buyers pay for a factory-installed in-dash system, which can reach $2,000, according to Consumer Reports.

The least expensive portable units stick to navigation and usually feature touch-screens and give verbal prompts. The screen (usually a 3.5-inch) will show a map, the name of street you'll turn onto next, distance to the next turn, and how long the trip will take.

For midrange units that cost a bit more ($200-$400), you usually get a larger screen (4.4 inches) and "text-to-speech" feature in which the GPS will identify the name of the street you'll turn on rather than just telling you to "turn left in 200 feet."

More expensive units may offer features such as MP3 players, iPod interface and Bluetooth technology, which allows users to dial their cell phone using the GPS touchpad.

New wrinkles

Some pricier GPS units come with traffic information capability, which is supposed to alert drivers to traffic tie-ups and accidents and suggest alternate routes. But Information Week suggests the new technology "has so far failed to live up to its promise ... you see many reports of incidents, which are no longer a problem."

Only the more expensive units have an internal receiver for the traffic capability, and most require a subscription fee for the information, according to Consumer Reports. Some models also feature voice-recognition capability in which drivers can give verbal commands to the GPS.

In recent weeks, GPS makers have announced some other new capabilities. Garmin International, for example, launched a new feature that will allow consumers to send trip planning results from MapQuest.com and locations found on Google Maps directly to their Garmin GPS personal navigation device.

Users will then be able to easily access previously sent location data from their Garmin device without needing to input information directly on the device — and can plan travels from their computer keyboards, Garmin officials said.

Another GPS maker, TomTom, announced technology for its Go series of navigation devices that calculates routes based on actual average speeds that have been measured on the roads in question, rather than depending on speed limits to recommend fastest routes.

"In almost 50 percent of all journeys, this results in taking a different and faster route, saving the driver significant travel time — as well as saving money and fuel," TomTom officials say. The first units containing the new technology are scheduled for release in late April.

Potential frustrations/costs

When first turned on, the devices can take a while to lock into the satellites and get rolling — think of it as a computer booting up, slowly. And if you take a wrong turn, there may be a delay while the unit recalculates your new route.

Your GPS comes preloaded with the most recent maps available, and most manufacturers make new maps available annually — for a fee. Information Week suggests it might not be worth updating every year unless you live in a fast-growing metropolitan area.

Buying advice

Before you buy, read customer reviews, which many of the big-box retailers that sell GPS products have on their Web sites, and which also can be found on sites such as Amazon.com, CNet.com and PriceGrabber.com.

In its report — available online only at ConsumerReports.org, and a subscription is required — Consumer Reports identifies three "best-on-a-budget" models — the Garmin Nuvi 350 ($350), the Garmin Nuvi 260 ($300), and the TomTom One 3rd Edition ($200) — that the magazine says "provide very good navigation performance at an entry-level price."

Four other units were deemed "Best Overall" The Garmin Nuvi 760 ($600), Garmin Nuvi 660 ($500), Magellan Maestro 4250 ($400) and TomTom Go 720 ($400).

Rich Owings, author of "GPS Mapping — Make Your Own Maps" and the GPS buying guide for Information Week, recommends on his gpstracklog.com Web site two budget units, the Garmin Nuvi 200 and the Mio DigiWalker C220, which Owings says can be found online for $200 or less.

Keep your GPS safe from thieves

From coast to coast and beyond, portable GPS units are becoming a prime target for smash-and-grab thieves. Here's how police department spokesman Ken Jefferson in Jacksonville, Fla., put it to FirstCoastNews.com:

"You might as well just put $500 on your dashboard and say, 'Take the cash instead of my GPS system.' It's the same thing."

Thugs will even spot the rings left behind by the suction cups often used to mount a GPS to the dashboard or windshield and take that as a cue there's something precious inside, Jefferson said.

So don't just stash the unit under your seat, which will be "the very first place" a thief will look, the officer said.

Either take it with you, or if you must leave it in the car, at least lock it inside the glove compartment. And use a cloth or wet-nap to wipe away any suction-cup marks.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258

or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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