I’ll admit GPS was a tough category this year. The market is exploding, and there are a couple of emerging technologies that make us really excited for next year, but in truth, they’re just not here in finished products just yet.

But all is not lost. Garmin (along with MSN Direct) came through with the nüvi 880. Its coolest feature is its voice recognition combined with a remote that straps to your steering wheel. Anyone who has a Bluetooth headset knows how this works. You touch a button to signal that you’re ready to talk, and it goes from there. What’s nice about that is that you don’t have to reach over to touch the device itself, so you can keep your hands on the wheel.

Available in the second quarter for $999, the the nüvi 880 isn’t cheap, but it’s the best voice-recognition model we’ve seen to date.