Product Reviews
"It just has to work."

 

 

Magellan RoadMate 800 North America - 2007-08-06

- Magellan RoadMate 800

 

I've owned two GPSes from Garmin, and one from Magellan.  I updated from my old GPS primarily because the maps were out of date.  It had its quirks, but overall my Garmin GPS got me where I needed to go.  In contrast, the Magellan RoadMate has been a fancy paperweight.  Here's why...  

1. The GPS will say turn left when it means turn right.
2. The GPS will say turn left when it means bare left (or go straight).
3. The GPS does not list exit numbers when on the highway. 
4. The GPS runs Windows CE, and crashes occasionally.
5. The GPS changes the road name several seconds before it changes the "miles to go until next turn".  This makes it incredibly confusing.  Do I turn now?  There?  What's going on??
7. The GPS has no clock.
8. The flimsy dashboard mount broke.
9. When typing on the keyboard, the GPS will skip to the next screen when there is only one available option left.  Since it takes a second to figure out when it switches, you end up accidentally pushing the wrong buttons.  It throws you off balance, and is incredibly annoying.
10. The speaker is too quiet.

 

If this product is any indication of how Magellan builds there other products, avoid it like the plague.  This particular model set me back well over $500, but it's interface is so clumsy that it is almost unusable.  Check out Garmin's Website instead.