Charge ahead with new Tom-tom

If there is one thing I hate, it is getting lost. Reading a map, driving around aimlessly and asking petrol attendants for directions is really not my cup of tea.

So when the Global Positioning System (GPS), made its appearance, my world became a much better place.

I do pride myself on actually having a good sense of direction, but there are still times when the GPS becomes my best friend and helps me to find any destination from, Polokwane to Pofadder.

I also love my phone and my MP3 player. Sometimes i fid it hard to decide which one to charge when they all go flat on me. The problem is not having enough time or forgetting to charge devices.

Well, Tom-tom has just tried to make our lives a little easier with its new multicharger.

Cruising around with the Tom-tom Via 110, I wanted to see if this multicharger really worked - and I found it was worth the fuss. The one feature that really caught my eye was the fast-charge outlet.At first, I wrote it off as a gimmick, but seconds after my GPS died , we were up and running again. It definitely charges faster than most chargers.

The Via 110 is a charger for portable navigation devices and can charge up to three devices at a time in a car. It will be great for charging cellphones, portable gaming consoles and DVD players.

The other wonderful thing is that the Tom-tom multicharger is compact and can easily hide in the cubbyhole.

A drawback is that the charger is absolutely useless if you do not have a USB connector. But it doesn't take rocket science to figure out how to use it. It is the answer to our prayers as you don't have to have millions of car chargers for all you devices. It's the miracle solution we've been waiting for - especially when you are on those long drives and you know you don't have to worry about the kids' PSPs or you cellphone or iPod dying out.

The Via 110 is affordable too, costing R247 at leading retailers country-wide. You can live without it but having it makes life easier.