Affordable, Enjoyable Magellan GPS

For all of my adult driving life, I have been navigationally challenged. Many many times, I have had to pull over and dig out a map, to get to my destination. This has greatly frustrated me and placed me in dangerous situations. When I moved to Los Angeles, I was really thrown for a loop trying to drive and learn my bearings in this huge, sprawling city.

While at my local Costco, I noticed the Magellan RoadMate 2000 for sale. After much consideration of the price, I bought it and haven't looked back. I have been wanting a voice guided navigation system for several years, but they were always out of my price range...until now. Costco had an in store rebate plus a mail in rebate.

This Magellan Roadmate 2000 model ($300) is considerably cheaper than the Magellan RoadMate 3050 (over $500) but had much of the same design and functionality so I went with the cheaper model. The only functions I don't get are the time and traffic update which were not a big deal to me.

I like that it is portable, we have two cars in my family. It is easily transferable between both cars. The device fits easily into my hand and reminds me of a larger BLACKBERRY where I input directions with my thumbs. The voice prompt confirms the info you type. The housing is black sturdy plastic that is rugged and stylish. It is very easy to type information into the device. There are no buttons other than the on/off button at the upper right. The rest of the information is directly input to the screen.

The product details are:

Display Screen: 3.5 inch screen - touch screen color display 320 x 240 QVGA; 64,000 colors and anti-glare screen

Dimensions: 4.28" W x 3.15" H x 1.12" D (about the size of a cigarette pack).

Weight: 7.8 oz

4 GB hard drive pre-loaded map of 48 states

Accuracy:10 - 16 feet - WAAS/EGNOS

Rechargeable battery with up to 3 hours (comes with cigarette lighter charger)

Up to 1 million Points of interest (you have the option of deselecting categories you are not interested in such as schools, etc...)

Address Book: Holds 250 addresses

SIRF StarIII chipset for quick GPS signal acquisition

Route Calculator: Choose from four different route methods:
Shortest Time, Shortest Distance, Least Use of Freeways, and Most Use of Freeways.

Turn-by-turn voice directions in English or Spanish,French, Japanese.

Multi-Destination Routing: Select up to 20 destinations

SmartDetour: Routes around sudden freeway traffic using custom settings

Auto Re-route - Gets back on track whenever you take a detour

This device fits in my hand well and allows for easy input of directions. You can input directions based on actual address, or choose a point of interest based on zip code or city (nationwide). First you type in the street, then the actual number address.

You can customize points of interests such as selection or deselecting categories (hospitals, banks, schools, restaurants etc...). The points of interest are displayed graphically, for example a bank is displayed as a green dollar sign, a restaurant is displayed with a fork and knife. Parks are displayed as green areas. When you press a POI you get the name of the establishment, address and telephone number. This area represents the main negative with this system. In LA, stores, restaurants, business ventures don't last very long. Restaurant names, managment, cuisine change frequently. So, the POI name, and phone number can often be for a restaurant that does not exist anymore. This is frustrating. Gas stations are more reliable and tend to stay longer than a year so the POI are more accurate.

The female voice prompts were clear, loud and succinct and got me to my destination with a minimal of fuss. Once I loaded my destination, I put the device in the holder and I was guided along, hands free. When arriving 1/2 mile from a turn, the voice prompt informs with a bell sound "Right turn in .5 miles". When the turn arrives, I am prompted with another bell and "Right turn". There are options to change the bell sound and adjust the voice volume. The screen also splits in half vertically so that I am able to see my turn on the left as well as the overall trip route or the right. This ensures I do not miss my turn.

There were several times I had to deviate from my prescribed course (due to traffic)and the system automatically corrected from my current location. When you arrive at your destination you hear "You have arrived" and notice a yellow icon on the screen at the destination point. There are options to change the settings from miles to meters.

Another nice feature is the smart detour. I knew that a certain street was closed for street closure so I was able to easily program to exclude this street and route around that street.

There was no set up or maps to download. I literally opened the box and the device was ready to use. All I had to do was determine where to affix the holder. Where you affix the holder varies from state to state. In California it is apparently illegal to mount to the windshield. The device came preloaded with 48 states (excluding Hawaii and Alaska). When I turn it on, I am connected via SiRFstar III receiver chip. This translates to approximately 10 seconds or less. The chip is very accurate to my exact location.

The display is amazingly clear and colorful with your current road displayed in red/pink. Surface streets are displayed in blue. During the day, I am able to clearly see the device with no glare. The evening views are even better. The system allowed me to zoom in/out to a detail of 10 feet or out by 60 miles. I enjoy noting where I am on the map and watching the progresison of the trip. You are displayed as a blue arrow. The display is default 3D which allows me to view my surrounding areas. Cross streets are clearly labeled and the street you are actually driving on is labeled across the top of the screen. On the bottom of the screen is the next turn street with an arrow pointing either left or right. The system also indicates your traveling direction in the bottom left, North, South, East or West. Also along the bottom, you can press the destination street and get a line by line direction to your destination. You also are informed how many miles to your destination and how many miles you have actually progressed.

So far, I have just been driving around Los Angeles but I am impressed with the accuracy and detail of the maps and routes. I am anxious to test drive this on a road trip! The trip meter is nice as it can time your trip, tell you your average rate of speed and gives your exact coordinates (lattitude and longitude).

The address book is very handy. I have loaded my most used locations that I have trouble getting to (like the LAX airport or Marina Del Ray). I can easily and quickly pull up the address book and it routes from my current location. This is by far my favorite feature. When programming a trip, I can input several stops which is helpful.

The device also comes with:

Windshield (or dashboard) mount and adhesive disk

Car holder

USB data cable 1.1 (used to connect to your computer for updates)

Quick reference guide and manual (minimal as this device is plug and play).

For the money (approximately $220 with rebates) this is an excellent foray into the voice guided navigational GPS systems. I will never be lost again! I'm even going to toss out my maps and Thomas Brothers Guide. After I have mastered this device, I will most likely trade up or even bite the financial bullet of having a system professionally installed in my car.

I really enjoy using this GPS very much and feel secure that I will arrive at my destination without getting lost and/or frustrated. This makes one less thing I have to worry about while driving.

For more detailed manufacturer info: http://www.magellangps.com/products/product.asp?segID=354