Small Business

Gadget Lust: TeleNav Shotgun GPS Tracks Mileage

By Rick Broida

Updated on: January 20, 2009 / 12:52 PM EST / MoneyWatch

Right out of the box, the TeleNav Shotgun GPS is already way cooler than the average navigation system. It's Internet-connected, meaning it can retrieve real-time traffic info, map updates, trips you've plotted on your PC, and so on.

Even better for business users, the Shotgun now offers mileage tracking: It records the miles you drive, stores the information online, and then lets you download reports into an Excel spreadsheet or a PDF.

Wow. That is an incredibly handy feature for anyone who tracks their miles for tax and/or billing purposes. No more checking the odometer every time you get in and out of the car (or, if you're like me, forgetting to do so).

I figured this GPS would cost a small fortune, but it's actually quite reasonable at $299. That includes 90 days of the TeleNav Connected Service, which will then run you $11.99 monthly (or a bit less if you prepay for a year). Yes, it's yet another monthly fee, but weigh it against the time and hassle of tracking miles manually and compiling reports.

Also, bear in mind that most traffic-enabled GPSes run about $60 annually just for that service, so for not much more, you're getting full-blown Internet connectivity and all the goodies that entails. Sounds pretty sweet to me.