Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Competition is good and I am happy to see another respectful contender in the GPS navigation arena. But competition is competition, so for the purpose of this review I have borrowed my wife's Garmin Nuvi and ignoring other drivers raced eyebrows, drove around for several weeks with two GPS navigators.
First, what I really like about RoadMate:
- it is small and slick and fits into my shirt pocket
- it has three hours of battery life
- it has fast and very well organized user interface
- its address input feature is just great; in general I am able to enter a destination address in RoadMate two times faster than in Garmin.
- RoadMate shows exit services and has lot of useful location-sensitive information only a touch away
- it has a pretty loud speaker
- it finds satellites faster than Garmin and loses them less frequently
- when building the route, it allows you to select several travel options for that route (fastest, shortest, most highways)
- it understand multiple intermediate points and optimize the route among them
Now, things I am not particularly fond of:
- the screen is two times dimmer than Garmin's screen, but still perfectly usable
- it takes RoadMate 35 seconds to start up (Garmin's startup time is 20 secs)
- it never bother informing the driver when it lost satellite reception, conveniently freezing the display with no further directions
- it never informs the driver about missing a turn, recalculating the route in silence (now I appreciate Garmin's "recalculating" message)
- the map has bugs and is not yet upgradeable (I hope this is temporary)
- no maps for countries other than USA and Mexico are available (I hope this is temporary too)
- the so called 3D map is hardly 3D and has limited zoom capabilities
- the text to speech system suffers from chronic tonsillitis and is sometimes difficult to understand
Now for real problems:
It is sad when an almost perfect design is nearly destroyed by two drawbacks. Each problem may be relatively minor, but their combined effect is disastrous.
The first small, annoying bug: when the unit zooms into the map at an intersection, it never returns back to the original zoom. This means that after the first turn you get maximum zoom and unless you adjust it manually while driving, you have no clue as to what lies ahead.
This problem alone could be OK if not for numerous bugs in voice prompts. This is the part where improvements are overdue.
RoadMate voice guidelines software is way behind the competition. It may tell you to "stay on the current road" several times and then suddenly tell you to take exit. It may bother you with multiple advices to "stay on the current road" without any visible reason. At the fork it may or may not tell you whether to keep left or right. It may prompt you to take a "slight turn" just because road bends but sometimes it really means a turn. Even worse - if right exit happens to bend to the left, the unit sometimes tells you to take a "slight left turn".
To be frank, voice prompts are usually correct, but bugs mentioned above are too often. In the end I just want to see the next turn at the unit's screen.
It all boils down to the simple question - would you turn your attention to the road and rely on buggy instructions or start adjusting zoom level at 3.5 inch GPS screen?
In comparison, Garmin unfailingly starts prompting you for any turn enough in advance to let you make any necessary changes, and keeps reminding you of the turn. It almost never makes mistakes in voice instructions. It always tells you whether to keep left or right. Also, Garmin always zooms out to show the next turn (unless the next turn is a few hundred miles away).
Well, RoadMate is not a terrible GPS system, but in light of other choices, I would not necessarily recommend this one.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Magellan RoadMate 1220 3.5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Product Description:
The Magellan RoadMate 1220 device boasts the acclaimed OneTouch menu, a 3.5-inch color touch screen, and a pocket-size design. Preloaded maps and points of interest for the contiguous 48 United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico make the RoadMate 1220 ideal for around town and vacations. Easy-to-use features give you confidence on the road and deliver a rewarding navigation experience. Turn it on and go!
Turn it on and go! Click to enlarge.
OneTouch favorites menu affords instant access to your personalized bookmarks of favorite places and searches anywhere you travel. Click to enlarge.
Multi-destination routing with route optimization lets you plan your trip with multiple stops in the order you want or optimize a trip for the most efficient route, helping you save time and money. Click to enlarge.
QuickSpell with SmartCity search narrows your address and city searches, making destination entry easy. Click to enlarge.
Preloaded maps give you information and directions as you travel the contiguous United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
The Magellan RoadMate 1220 includes many premier features, starting with Magellan's exclusive OneTouch favorites menu, QuickSpell with SmartCity search, and highway exit point of interest (POI) search, to name a few. Magellan's attention to detail delivers a superior user experience.
Intuitive and robust navigation
The RoadMate 1220 lets you bookmark your favorite destinations and searches with the OneTouch favorites menu so you can access them anywhere you travel. With a single touch, find your favorite cafe or restaurant when you're traveling within any city.
QuickSpell with Smart City search help you quickly enter addresses and narrow your address and city searches, making destination entry easy.
Multi-destination routing with route optimization lets you plan your trip with multiple stops in the order you want or optimize a trip for the most efficient route, helping you save time and money.
Safety first on the road
You can keep your eyes on the road as you drive because spoken street name guidance announces the street name along with audible turning cues.
Ready to roll
You're ready to travel with preloaded maps and points of interest for the United States and Puerto Rico that make the Magellan RoadMate 1220 ideal for both business trips and vacations.
With millions of points of interest at your command you can easily locate gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, coffee shops, and much more.
When you're traveling down the Interstate and need to find gas, food, or lodging in a hurry, touch the highway exit POI icon to see which upcoming highway exits have the services you need.
Do you often find yourself tied up in traffic? The RoadMate 1220 is Traffic Link compatible, offering live onscreen traffic-incident reports. (The Traffic Link accessory is sold separately).
Turn it on and go!
The Magellan RoadMate 1220 is loaded with premier features you'll need to get you where you want to go.
Magellan RoadMate 1220 Features
OneTouch favorites menu affords instant access to your personalized bookmarks of favorite places and searches anywhere you travel. With a single touch, find your favorite cafe or restaurant when you're traveling within any city.
3.5-inch color touch screen provides powerful navigation that's easy to view and use.
Spoken street names and directions so you can hear and see where you need to turn next.
QuickSpell with SmartCity search narrows your address and city searches, making destination entry easy.
Multi-destination routing with route optimization lets you plan your trip with multiple stops in the order you want or optimize a trip for the most efficient route, saving you time and money.
Preloaded maps give you information and directions as you travel the United States and Puerto Rico.
Millions of points of interest (POIs) help you easily find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, coffee shops, and much more.
Highway exit POIs search shows you gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more near upcoming highway exits.
Branded POIs display your favorite coffee shops, restaurants, and more by their respective logos.
Traffic Link provides live, onscreen traffic notification updates. (This accessory is sold separately).
Customizable route method lets you select the shortest distance, fastest time, most use of freeways, or least use of freeways to customize your route.
Address book enables you to create and store contact information.
Auto night view adjusts your screen's color and contrast for easy night viewing.
Automatic re-route lets you quickly get back on track in case you missed a turn.
Plan route on map by simply touching a destination on the map screen and then directly routing to it.
Rechargeable battery gives you the freedom to drive wireless or plan your trip when your vehicle's engine is turned off.
What's in the Box
RoadMate 1220 GPS receiver, Pre-loaded maps of the contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, Windshield mount, Adhesive disc for dash mounting, Vehicle power adapter, User handbook
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