New dashboard devices

TOMTOM GETS SMARTER

I’ve always liked TomToms and the latest generation is the best yet.

The big difference on the latest Go range — including the 500 model tested, with its attractive, round-edged five-inch screen — is that to get live traffic and up-to-date speed camera data, you tether it to your smartphone.

You now also get free lifetime map updates, although you have to pay £24.99 a year for speed camera data. Menus are accessed not by tapping the map but an icon which, as you enter your location, simultaneously gives a choice of address or points of interest (without having to know which precise town the POI is in).

The user interface has been simplified so, once you’ve acclimatised, it’s easier to use. It’s hardly cheap at £189.99 but it’s nicely made and works a treat.

FUN AND BENDY MOBILE PROP

They’re British, they’re colourful, they’re bendy and they’re perfect for propping things up in your car.

Designed by Breffo, the Spiderpodium is an ingenious, versatile hand-sized frame ideal for gripping and mounting your smartphone almost anywhere including, possibly, on an air vent on your dashboard. With its integral sticky-out legs, it can hold a phone in portrait or landscape position. Just as useful for tablet owners is the bigger stand that does a good job with iPad-style gadgets. Range starts from £14.95. More at breffo.com