Magellan RoadMate 1212 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased the 1212 from a big box store recently and so far I like it. It is very easy to use and the interface (Windows CE Core 5.0) is easy to use and the voice direction is clear and easy to understand. There are a few quirks though....
1. Sometimes the system lags when you press a button and you have to press it again or wait.
2. If you enter into a submenu from the map or route screen it is difficult to get back to the original map menu. Though the system seems to still keep you on track and let you know about turns etc...
3. The included software link and software on the installation package are not very useful. You get a standard PDF version of the user manual which contains a good amount of information on the operation of the product and was useful. The software POI (Points of Interest) editor allows you to enter additional points of interest and upload them to the GPS. Only one problem with this software. Unless you know the longitude and latitude coordinates of the place you want to add you won't be able to and the software is very basic in that you can only enter known information and there is no way to look it up or select it. Other software Vantage Point and Mapsend and mapsend manager are not for this unit and therefore do not work.
4. This may not be a problem with the routing algorithms of the software but it insist that I take a turn into a oneway street to get to my house which is not possible. On the upside is that if you turn around and go another direction the unit quickly calculates a new route for you. Same thing it does if you miss a turn. As a side note: the maps for this unit according to the magellan site are from 2007 and the site lists the unit as a new product and there are no updates for it. I have not contacted magellan asking them about an update but the other products seem to have one so eventually we'll see one for this one.
In the box:
The unit comes with a suction cup windshield attachment kit and a power cord to plug into your car lighter. If you want to connect it to your PC you will have to purchase a separate usb to usb mini cable.
Some other neat features it has..

-You can edit (from the unit) and add your own points of interest.
-The unit contains a SD card that you can backup and restore saved information on.
-the unit can be carried with you around town and so if you are walking it will tell you where you are, direction etc...
- the screen has "+" and "-" buttons to easily adjust the topview detail. again the lag sometimes hits here.
-It is sensitive to where I am moving and even vertical direction when moving around just inside my home office here.
-If you touch and drag your finger on the screen it will move the map accordingly though with a slight lag.

When purchasing this unit I also looked a the comparable Tom Tom 130, I chose this unit because the text talk (where it speaks the street, destination and road names). The tom tom unit had that as an add on for ~$100
All in all for the less than $200 that I paid for this unit I think I got my money's worth and I like the unit so far. Only time will tell if my needs out grow or the maps become dated too quickly.
I you are looking for a unit under $200 and are willing to put up with its little quirks then you will be quite happy using this little gem.

One thing you might consider before purchasing any GPS unit is to figure out where you want to install it. I have not found the perfect position but I am thinking that on the drivers side near the door on the windshield near the dash. So I would have to operate it left handed. But that seems the most out of the way. I also tried installing it way up by the rear view mirror but it seems a little close to my head to read easily. The windshield attachment is fully adjustable and is about 6 inches long fully extended.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Magellan RoadMate 1212 3.5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Product Description:
Affordable, thin, and amazingly easy to use, the Magellan RoadMate 1212 enables you to find virtually anywhere in seconds without reading the instructions. The sharp 3.5-inch color touchscreen adds pleasure to driving. See your position on the interactive map, plus distance to the next turn, distance to destination, estimated time of arrival, street names and more, all at a glance. The simple touch-screen menu presents easy options! Voice guidance offers worry-free driving with spoken turn-by-turn directions so you can keep your eyes on the road.

Clear 3.5-inch QVGA color touchscreen shows your position, POIs, route, ETA and more on the interactive map




Easily find your way around town with built-in maps of two North American countries and Puerto Rico. 6 million pre-programmed Points of Interest (POI) enable you to search and select nearby services, and recreation and business locations. Find gas stations, restaurants, hotels, ATMs and more. Phone numbers are included (when available) so you can call ahead for information and reservations.


The Centrality Atlas III processor and built-in high-sensitivity antenna provide the fastest position acquisition in the industry for reliable navigation. QuickSpellTM intelligently searches and checks spelling so you can enter your destination with just a few touches of the screen. SmartDetour prompts you to route around sudden slow traffic.


The integrated rechargeable battery provides navigation for up to3 hours when power is unavailable.


Thin, elegant and completely mobile; take your Magellan RoadMate anywhere for easy, accurate navigation.
Innovative easy-to-use interface makes it a breeze to find the route to your destination in seconds--without even needing to read the instructions.
Click to enlarge.


Adjustable mount for your windshield or dashboard.




Key Features Include

SayWhere Text-to-Speech that clearly announces the street name of your next turn.
3.5-inch QVGA color touchscreen that shows your position, points of interest, route, estimated time of arrival and more on the interactive map.
Built-in pre-loaded maps enable you to navigate the Unites States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
6 Pre-programmed million of Points of Interest (POIs) make it easy to find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs and more. Search by name or category near your position or near any city.
Thin and stylish--Combines style and functionality in a pocket-sized design.
Innovative and amazingly easy-to-use, route to your destination in seconds without even needing to read the instructions.
Touch an onscreen interactive POI icon for a nearby destination to see name, address, phone number (when available), and get an instant route.
QuickSpell, predictive spelling, guides in you address entry by eliminating irrelevant characters as you type.
SmartDetour automatically prompts you to route around sudden slow traffic.
Centrality Atlas III Processor provides superior GPS performance and navigation.
Rechargeable battery lets you navigate for up to 3 hours when power is unavailable. Recharges while driving via the included vehicle power adapter.
Automatic re-route never lets you miss a turn and quickly get back on track whenever you take a detour.
Customizable route method help you select Fastest Time, Shortest Distance, Least or Most Use of Motorways, and Avoid Toll Roads.
Create and store personal Points of Interest for easy reoccurring trips.
Auto night view adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing.
SD-card compatibility so you can back up your address book.

What's in the Box
Magellan RoadMate 1212 receiver, vehicle power adapter, adhesive disk for dash mounting, windshield mount, basic cradle, preloaded map on SD card, user manual on CD-ROM, quick-start guide, reference manual

Get 68% OFF

Want to read more honest consumer review about Magellan RoadMate 1212 3.5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator now ?

Magellan RoadMate 1220 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review

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

Get 38% OFF

Want to read more honest consumer review about Magellan RoadMate 1220 3.5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator now ?