November 25th, 2009 |
Most of the major GPS device marketers are making efforts to further develop their wares. They are developing more advanced functions to make travel easier for travelers who use wheels, hiking boots, or any other method of transportation imaginable. In spite of the fact that these manufacurers are striving hard to keep most of the GPS devices accessible for the average consumer, the summation of all the technology available in the device will predictably be rising costs. The best that most manufacturers can do for their customers who can’t afford the new gizmos is to produce absolutely basic editions of the GPS devices that can be affordable for mid- to lower-income drivers. A nice option is the Magellan Roadmate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.
Magellan GPS devices are a bit singular as they have always made their most popular models to be reasonably priced as well as convenient. The shortcoming of affordability, logically, is that cutting edge technology is not often found at affordable prices. Consequently, the quality of Magellan’s devices has been given mixed reviews. Magellan answered this problem through several state-of-the-art models for the more dedicated GPS users.
Magellan Maestro
In case you are shopping for an affordable companion for your dashboard, the Magellan Maestro line-up gives you many units which are just for auto navigation. Magellan Maestro models are available in the 3000, 4000, and 5000 range. Each of the 3000 models are very reasonably priced with one or two such as the Maestro 3100 priced at below $200 which is wondrously cheap for a GPS unit which offers 2-D and 3-D display options. Perhaps their most appreciated ability is the QuickSpell feature, made to facilitate simplified input for street names.
Every other measurable quality, in addition to the performance is under par and hanging is annoyingly regular. With the exception of one or two of the 4000 and 5000 series devices, the Magellan Maestro is just not consistent, but the price is still reasonable.
Magellan Roadmate
As explained by it’s name, this set of Magellan GPS devices were made for cars also. Although they are unlike their Maestro cousins regarding their appearance. Roadmates are designed to be less bulky to tote, having a smaller shape but keeping the same interface. As a result the Roadmates are about as easy to operate and even easier to keep than the Maestros. A great unit is the Magellan Road mate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.
In terms of performance, the Roadmate is somewhat improved with one or two of them such as the Roadmate 1212 benefitting from the Centrality Atlas III Processor. If you like playing with the menus, you will likely observe a rather annoying delay as you are using the buttons. The battery power isn’t remarkable either; it’s able to run for around 3 hours before a recharge is called for.
On a happy note, the Roadmate is deemed an improvement over many of the Maestro budget GPS units, logging far more POI’s over the Maestro 3100 and its inadequate 750,000 points of interest. The Roadmate catches up with competing manufacturers by providing in excess of 6 million points of interest. Text-to-speech, which is usually a convenient feature, has been provided with some of the affordable models. The price isn’t prohibitive either, which is notable for a slim device. A good device to look into is the Magellan Roadmate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.
Although this company offers only two sets to pick from, they each give you at least 10 models for your consideration, in a range of different costs and options. The cheapest of the bunch aren’t that practical for constant users because of the occasional crashes, but high-end models are quite satisfactory and should be suitable for drivers to be pleased with.