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REWARDS
On-the-Go Gadgets

Peak performance

Garmin's Forerunner 201 ($161, garmin.com) is one of two GPS-equipped personal training devices. GPS pinpoints your location with satellite data and tracks where, how far and at what pace you are going. Forerunners also let you mark locations to create a map of your path you can follow on your way back (a feature that might get extra play by those known to lap the parking lot in search of their car).

The Forerunner, introduced last year, has a display with built-in GPS antenna mounted on a Velcro wristband. It has a rechargeable battery and features such as a Virtual Partner to compete against and an AutoPause setting that jumps in if you go below a specified pace. It stores up to two years of training histories.

To Dan Gomez, a 41-year-old assistant principal from Chicago, the Garmin he got for Christmas isn't perfect (for example, he has experienced lags registering time and distance), but he still thinks it's a great training tool that's affordable and easy to use. "I feel the Garmin was designed by a runner," Gomez says. But a device reliant on satellite data requires a view of the sky. If you primarily run in the city (buildings block the signal) or on heavily shaded paths, the Garmin will be more frustrating than functional.

The other GPS-enabled training device is Timex's Bodylink System (timex.com), whose centerpiece, unlike the oblong Garmin, looks like a slightly oversized wristwatch. It works with one or more components that wirelessly transmit data to it (the bulky GPS receiver is a separate component). It's $300 for the watch, receiver and heart rate sensor/chest strap. Timex also just debuted a data recorder for $75.

If you live in an area where getting a signal will be hit or miss, FitSense, Nike and Polar have similar systems without GPS. Theirs use foot-mounted sensors to gauge speed and distance and let you calibrate settings to suit your stride.

Nike's Triax Elite training system (nikerunning.com) costs $369 for watch, foot pod, heart rate monitor, software and wireless USB dock. (Nike also makes a $99 foot-mounted unit, but you can't see any data until you're done.) With Nike's PC link, you can track your performance and download workouts to the watch.

The FitSense FS-1 (fitsense.com) is $125 for watch and foot pod, $225 with heart rate monitor and net link. Polar's S625X (polarusa.com) does not have a PC link.

A walk in the park ... or anywhere

If there's no marathon in your immediate future and you don't want anything complex or obtrusive, consider a basic pedometer, which measures distance by counting steps (2,000 steps is roughly a mile), during a workout or throughout the day. Palm-sized or smaller, most clip on to your waistband.

A great choice is the New Lifestyles NL-2000 ($55, new-lifestyles.com). According to Scott Crouter, one of the authors of a University of Tennessee study of the accuracy and reliability of 10 pedometers, the NL-2000, along with the Digi-Walker and Kenz Lifecorder, also by New Lifestyles, are the best pedometers out there. It's tiny (2 1/4" x 1 3/4" x 3/4") and weighs less than 3/4 of an ounce. It figures calories burned, stores step and calorie totals for a week, and has an internal clock that resets your totals daily. And unlike many pedometers, the NL-2000 doesn't announce itself with clicks or rattles.

If you prize accuracy, you'll like that it deducts "steps" counted if it determines the movement was not equivalent to a step (a chip measures the amplitude). HighGear's rounded WalkBuddy ($40, $25 without pulse sensor, highgearusa.com) has a cool design (unlike the NL-2000, the display is on top, uncovered and facing you so you can look down at it as you go). However, it is less accurate and has a slight rattle.

--Amy Esbenshade

Let your fingers do the walking

You don't appreciate how slow it is to operate a Web browser or program using a mouse- or touchpad-operated cursor until you try the iGesture Pad. Unlike devices you point and click, the iGesture Pad allows you to zip your cursor around by gliding and tapping your fingers.

The most obvious gain will be faster Web surfing. By touching your fingers to the pad and sliding them along it, you can control your browser more intuitively. To go back to a Web page you previously visited, glide your fingers to the left. If you want to scroll up and down a page, just roll your fingers. And when you finish surfing, close your browser by twisting your fingertips like you're closing a cap. These and many other movements allow you to command any mouse-controlled program (such as Microsoft Word and Excel) almost as fast as you can think-if you have the patience to learn some new tricks.

Mark that word patience. It can take a few days to pick up the new habits. Even so, the iGesture is worth the hassle. The five-by-six-inch pad sits alongside your keyboard and plugs into the USB port on PCs or Macs. Southpaws, rejoice: The iGesture also responds to left-handed movements. Recently $135 at Amazon.com.

--Sean O'Neill