Bank holidays, Easter, and Christmas always involve lots of driving. I don't know why we put ourselves through it? You spend hours in the car, stuck in traffic, turning to the map to avoid the traffic and then getting into an argument with your partner over reading the map when you've taken a wrong turn.



But if you are planning on spending this much time in your automobile then there are a number of gadgets that can not only help you while away the time as you work your way through another traffic jam, but also get you from a to b. Here are some of our favourites.

Power Extras USB Car Charger And Adapter

With more gadgets in the car, powering them is starting to become an issue. The Power Extras USB Car Charger And Adapter is exactly what it sounds like it is. A dongle that plugs into your cigarette lighter splitting your lighter into two sockets so you can power a mobile phone and your satnav device, for example. However rather than be happy with just that, the unit also squeezes two USB sockets on the side so you can charge anything that can be charged via USB, like your phone, a digital camera or anything else. If you find yourself constantly looking to swap out your satnav charger the moment it has got enough juice to run of its own accord, this is the gadget to save you the bother.

Navman S90

The Navman S90 takes on TomTom and Garmin in the high-end satnav market and is the flagship of the S-series from the company. The unique selling point of the S90i is that is comes with a camera allowing to you snap the places you want to navigate back to later. It's clear that this is Navman making sure they stay with the lead pack rather than steaming out in front, but the unit is simple to read, crisp, and has a clear interface.

Garmin nuvi 710

Garmin's latest satnav range offers a bigger screen, more functionality and a host of new features. The nuvi 710 is the bottom of the four new 700 series models and therefore doesn't come with the same functionality as the other models in the range, however studying the spec sheet there isn't much missing. The Garmin nuvi 710 is a good satnav solution that offers plenty to its users. The move to a more converging device will appeal to a lot of drivers and the inclusion of Bluetooth and an FM transmitter will mean two less gadgets cluttering up your dashboard. Overall this is a good unit with clear mapping and a user interface, however for the price you will be able to get all the above cheaper from other makers.

TomTom 520

TomTom has updated its range to follow in the thin widescreen footsteps of the TomTom One and the TomTom 520 features a 4.3-inch screen. For the extra 100 pounds on top of the TomTom One you get a stack of useful features that you are likely to use on a daily basis. The larger screen, the FM transmitter, the speech recognition address input and the more. It might be pushing up the price of satnavs again and compared to the entry-level stuff available a bigger jump. But if you are looking for a unit that does more than just give you the A to B, then this is worth a closer look.