Gadgets: GPS scavenger hunt has issues

If you're looking for an activity for your children or grandchildren, you might try geocaching, an outdoor treasure-hunting game played by using GPS devices to find hidden containers, or geocaches, and then sharing the experiences online.

Groundspeak, which creates location-based technology and has commercialized geocaching, offers a free iPhone app, Geocaching Intro.

But if you don't have an iPhone, there is Apishere's Geomate.jr, a $70 hand-held GPS receiver meant to lead a child to one of 250,000 geocache locations in the United States, preloaded in memory from Groundspeak's database.

The device takes two AAA batteries; after turning it on, sync it outdoors with GPS satellites. Scroll through an archived list of nearby geocaches. Updating the database requires an additional $25 cable and a Windows computer.

On a recent test of the Geomate.jr with some young geocachers in New Jersey, the device supplied an accurate stream of distance and direction information as we neared a cache. But there were no maps, and since we hadn't updated the database, the list of geocaches was outdated. Also, the start-up process was confusing.

The children preferred the free iPhone app, where they found a map, cache descriptions and hints, none of which are on the Geomate.jr.

The company is working on an app for an Android phone. Bryan Roth, a co-founder of Groundspeak, said it was "just now putting the finishing touches" on that app. It is expected to be advertised on the site next month for $9.99.

Actually, the aluminum casing is faux, covering the Model 10's furniture-grade wood, because real metal would present serious challenges to radio reception. The radio also will be available in other finishes, including one that mimics natural wood grain and one that is a glossy frost white.

Tivoli products have a clean, back-to-the-basics design and a myopic focus on rich sound.

The Model 10, which will be available this summer, is a table AM/FM clock radio with dual alarms that awakens someone with a tone or radio programming. It has Tivoli's sensitive digital FM tuner, which can pull in distant stations, and buttons for five station presets as well as a compact remote control.

The Model 10 also has an equalizer to tweak treble, bass, loudness and balance, and full Radio Data System text information for stations that support it.

For about $80 extra, you can add a matching right-channel speaker to create a compact stereo system. Other add-ons are also available.