Best GPS System

Magellan RoadMate 1220 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

$94.30

User Reviews about Magellan RoadMate 1220 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

I purchased 2 of these: 1 for personal use and 1 for a gift. Easy to use and the price was great. -- Magellan Roadmate GPS

When I went shopping for a new GPS, I initially expected to buy a Garmin, and after researching the models online I was about ready to order one. But, I decided to stop into Best Buy to fiddle with some units on display before spending any money. I'm glad I did, for two main reasons.

The first thing I noticed is that when tinkering with the Garmin models, there was a slight lag from touching the screen to the command being carried out. Not enough to notice, except when you're trying to zoom in/out repeatedly - then you notice it, as subsequent presses of the screen do not register. With Magellan, as soon as I pressed the screen on any of their models, the command was carried out. No hesitation. Over the life of this unit, I expect the culmination of these absent milliseconds of frustration to add up quite favorably.

The second reason I'm glad I went with Magellan is that when entering a street name, as soon as a letter is entered, the software automatically grays out any letters on the screen that are no longer applicable. For example, if I want to go to Manchester, and say there are no towns in that state that begin with the letters My, Mx, Mc, et cetera, y, x and c are all grayed out from the screen (with no delay or interruption in typing). This of course narrows further with subsequent letters. I continue to type Ma, and more letters are eliminated. Once the possibilities are narrowed down, generally after only a few keystrokes, the unit provides a list of destinations that fit the criteria and you can simply press it on the screen (how many towns are there in any given state that begin with the same two or three letters?). This makes it a lot faster to enter destinations. The software works the same way when entering street names, too. Garmin doesn't do this.

When researching the units, I wasn't interested in the spoken street name feature, and was planning to buy one without it. I didn't think it would work well. Now that I've used it with the Magellan, I'm glad I have it. The unit speaks clearly enough that I generally don't have to look at it while driving (which I'm sure they say not to do anyway, but you all know you do it).

One complaint I have heard about Magellan is that the software does not return to the zoom level you've set after it zooms in to make a turn. That's true, but I've found it to be entirely a non-issue, as you can disable the zoom on turn in the menu options.

One thing I wish a GPS manufacturer would do - since these things are all touch screen anyway - is make it possible for the user to choose whether to display an alphabetical keyboard layout or a QWERTY layout. I'm sure it's easier for people who don't know how to keyboard to find letters in alphabetical order, but for the Internet generation, I have to look for a letter on this screen whereas I don't in QWERTY configuration. Probably the reason this isn't common is that the buttons would need to be small to fit in three rows. But, it could be an option...

A second wish: These things all have useless features on them that I don't use. Media center? Really? Why not include a small application for keeping track of vehicle maintenance, since it is an automotive instrument? The user could enter how many gallons of fuel he pumps every time he fills up, and the unit could keep track of his average gas mileage over each tank of gas. This sort of application would take up essentially zero space on the unit, and would appeal to more utilitarian consumers. -- Works better than I expected.

Seems like there are dozens of different navigation gps units out there. This one for the cost I could justify using it only once a month or so. Magellan may not get the credit that TOMTOM and Garmin get but this unit has done just perfect by me. -- Great little GPS

I wanted to get a basic easy to use unit for my wife and selected this item after checking reviews. We are very pleased with this model and amazed with all the information available besides basic maps; e.g. local sites, restaurants, gas stations. The unit also instantly recalculates the route if you don't take a turn. It takes some practice to learn how to help setup a route, such as taking a bypass instead of the shorter direct interstate route. But this is a very helpful unit to have when visiting a new place as you can go wandering and then always get back to where you started. It doesn't do fancy things like traffic updates and routing around traffic jams, but we were not looking for those features. Highly recommended for a basic unit. Very good value! -- Surprisingly smart for a basic unit

This is my first vehicle GPS. Overall I am very pleased. It doesn't do anything annoying that I have noticed with a few friends' GPSs, such as beeping or complaining if you go a bit off track or too fast. Many people complain about it doesn't actually say when it recalculates a route, but I'd rather for it to just tell me what the route is instead of a background task.

It also will repeat upcoming turns at a few set intervals, such as right when the previous turn was completed, at 2mi, and at .5mi. It will then make a jingle right when you approach the actual turn so there isn't that confusion if its this light or the next one.

There were also a bunch of complaints with the auto-zoom feature. I can understand if you like to have complete control over every aspect of the display, but I have never had a problem with it zooming in and out of an intersection. The auto zoom levels have always been pretty good for what I need.

The only thing I don't care for too much is it can take a bit for the initial start up. You need to think about turning it on right when you get in the car so its all set to go when you are. -- Good Nav for the Price