A Review of Magellan GPS Navigators
Nearly all of the major GPS device makers are attempting to improve their wares. These companies are offering more convenient options to make navigation easier for travelers who use engines, sneakers, or any other form of transportation imaginable. Even though these makers are striving hard to render these GPS devices affordable for the typical consumer, the consequence of all the technology housed in the unit will understandably be higher prices. The best that many companies can do for the consumers who are unable to finance the new gizmos is to offer starter editions of the GPS devices so they are affordable for Joe 6-cylinder. A nice option is the Magellan Roadmate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.
Magellan GPS devices are somewhat different since this company has always made their top-performing models to be reasonably priced as well as convenient. The negative aspect of affordability, logically, is that brand new technology is almost never to be had at low prices. Consequently, the quality of Magellan’s devices has been given mixed reviews. Magellan responded to this problem with several state-of-the-art products for the most demanding GPS users.
Magellan Maestro
If you are in the market for a reasonably priced navigator for your dashboard, the Magellan Maestro collection provides a number of units which are especially for vehicle navigation. Magellan Maestro models come in the 3000, 4000, and 5000 range. Every one of the 3000 models are particularly reasonably priced with one or two including the Maestro 3100 priced at below $200 which is dirt cheap for a GPS device with 2-D and 3-D mapping capabilities. Perhaps their most convenient feature is the QuickSpell feature, made to facilitate easy input for street names.
Every other remaining feature, in addition to the performance is under par and hanging is annoyingly regular. With the exception of a couple of the 4000 and 5000 versions, the Magellan Maestro is simply not consistent, but the price is still reasonable.
Magellan Roadmate
As can be inferred by it’s name, this collection of Magellan GPS devices were made for cars too. Yet they are unlike their Maestro siblings regarding their appearance. Roadmates are designed to be easier to carry, having a smaller footprint and keeping the same interface. As a result the Roadmates are similarly easy to use and much easier to keep than the Maestros. A great unit is the Magellan Road mate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.
As far as performance, the Roadmate is a bit improved with several models such as the Roadmate 1212 using the Centrality Atlas III Processor. If you like navigating through the menus, you will likely detect a somewhat frustrating wait as you are using the buttons. The battery life isn’t all that great either; it’s capable of running for around 3 hours until a recharge is required.
On the upside, the Roadmate is deemed superior to a few of the Maestro budget devices, logging far more POI’s than the Maestro 3100 with its paltry 750,000 points of interest. The Roadmate closes the gap with the competition by including over 6 million points of interest. Text-to-speech, which is always a convenient feature, is also offered by a few of the reasonably priced models. The price isn’t much of a concern either, which is impressive for a slim device. A good device to look into is the Magellan Roadmate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.
Even though this company offers only two sets to choose from, both provide at least 10 models for your consideration, in a range of different price tags and abilities. The lowest priced models aren’t recommended for constant users owing to the regular crashes, but more expensive models are generally reliable and ought to be enough for commuters to be pleased with.