When it comes to gadgets, the traveler has as many options as the music buff or the computer geek to play with, but few that combine the portability of music players with the information storage capacity of a computer. And fewer still are the number of electronics that are as value-priced and little-kid-friendly as this one.

Talking Road Whiz
(Ultradata; $39.90; ages 5+)
This fun Talking Road Whiz does just that, as it empowers your mini backseat drivers (or any other passenger) to select favorite restaurants, tourist attractions and even hotels on your next road trip.

Rather than being a poor man’s GPS, the TRW is loaded with what road trippers really want to know: Where’s the next McDonalds? Is there a gas station that uses my credit card in the next 20 miles? Any Motel 6s coming up where we can crash for the night? As well as driving directions to rest stops, hospitals, campgrounds, cities of interest, highway interchanges, country borders, convenience stores, shopping malls and roadside assistance providers.

On the plus side, the handheld-calculator-style Road Whiz uses an image keypad to make finding the needed service easy even for kids who can’t read. Once you’ve punched in the number of the North American Interstate you’re traveling, your direction and the nearest milemarker (another "I Spy" item the kids can look for), TRW delivers names, phone numbers, driving directions and distances to the requested service in a pleasant, easy-to-understand voice. With this device in hand, you can make your trip safe and stress free.

On the down side, the 80,000 listings it stores don’t often include the funky diners of your dreams, but then, we family travelers rarely get to stop at those anyway. And for those who only take the blue roads, well, you’ll have more fun with a map, a compass and a magnifying glass than with this kid-pleasing gizmo.

From our tester Dad: "Clutter without a lot of payoff."

From his backseat 12-year-old: "Very cool. I love it."