Magellan RoadMate 700
3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator overview :
The Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator offers a powerful dash-mounted navigation tool with turn-by-turn voice prompts, making it easy to get to new and unfamiliar locales anywhere in the lower 48 U.S. states and Canada (For a fee it can be loaded European maps using the Magallen web site and the included USB connection cable). It also features a bright color TFT LCD screen (2.25 by 3 inches), touchscreen input, WAAS reception (for 3-meter accuracy), and multiple ways to select your route and then view it on screen.
The Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator is one of the few GPS devices that's ready to go as soon as it's unpacked. Its whoppingly huge 20 GB internal hard drive comes preloaded with detailed road maps for all of the U.S. and the southern (most populated) section of Canada, so you won't have to fiddle with selecting map regions from a CD-ROM and having to transfer the data from a PC. If you keep your addresses on a PDA with IrDA capabilities then you'll enjoy the RoadMate's ability to upload the addresses wirelessly and point you right to your destination. In fact each of the 3 profiles that the unit keeps track of is allotted space for 100 addresses, making a total of 300 addresses available. Of course the most important address, home, can always be accessed with just a few clicks and from any menu and the Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator will guide you back with ease.
If you are planning on using the Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with an older car--make sure it has a cigarette lighter power adapter, or leave enough time to charge it up in your hotel room or office with the supplied AC power cord. This also means that you won't be able to use the Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator as a handheld device outside of your car. As for mounting, the included suction cup windshield mounting hardware is quite easy to use and allows you to mount the unit on any glass surface in your car. The RoadMate unit easily clips into the provided windshield bracket and can be tilted and turned with it's adjustable arm so you can see it easily and safely while you navigate. One of the benefits of the windshield mount is that because it's a suction cup mount you can move it in seconds from car to car with no problems at all. This newer suction cup based windshield mount is an improvement over the older three pronged mount that used to come with the RoadMate units. The older three-pronged mount was inserted into one of the middle air conditioning vents on your dash; the prongs are bendable to help you get the most secure fit, but never gave as secure of a fit as the windshield mount does.
But the Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator shines as a virtual co-pilot. During our tests, it consistently acquired a satellite lock quickly (within a minute) and displayed our current position. From there, we searched through the vast library of POIs (points of interest) to find our destination (Seattle's baseball stadium). The Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator has four different modes of getting you to your destination--shortest route, shortest distance, least use of freeways, and most freeways. Selecting shortest route got us to this venue using very practical directions that weren't far off from what we normally would choose.
If you're traveling to a destination that's not a widely known POI (such as a friend's home), no problem. You can enter the exact address into the Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator using the touchscreen to tap letters and numbers into several search screens--to have it create a route. (You can also save 100 destinations in the address book.
The voice prompting was clear and audible (thanks to the two built-in speakers), and we were given ample warnings for upcoming turns. One of the RoadMate's nicest features is the Repeat button (which is smallish, but the only button found on the top of the device). If you miss a turn instruction, press it to repeat the previous voice prompt. Of the three view modes, True View was our favorite--it displays a 3D street-level view that helped us orient ourselves to our surroundings.
Overall, we were quite thrilled with theMagellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator's features: the color screen was bright and readable even in direct sunlight and the voice prompts were clear and not distracting to our driving. Best of all, the UI (user interface) screens are easy to navigate and--thanks to its large hard drive and map database--it's ready to go as soon as you open the box. While the price is not for the faint of heart, it will be a very valuable tool for many drivers (from business folk to parents) who need to get to unfamiliar locations quickly and smoothly.
Magellan RoadMate 700 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator detail :
- Plug-and-play 12-parallel-channel vehicle GPS+WAAS navigator with integrated 20 GB hard
drive
- Built-in mapping database of U.S. and major Canadian metro areas with 2 million points of
interest
- High-resolution, full-color, 2.25-by-3-inch TFT LCD touchscreen automatically adjusts to
lighting changes
- True View 3-D screen shows upcoming streets while voice prompting offers turn-by-turn
guidance
- Includes suction cup mount and data cable; 6.5 x 3.25 x 2 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty
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