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Magellan RoadMate 300 GPS Portable NavigatorUser Review: - Excellent investmentGreat investment for those who travel. Easy to use, transportable, and you will NEVER get lost. I travel for work, but have found that I used this product for recreational purposes many times. Would recommend the 300 vs. the 700. Living in the northeast ... 99.9% of my travel is in the northeast. Buy the additional computer chip for the northeast and you save $500 by not purchasing the 700. User Review:  - Roadmate 300Great price and features ! I got mine that is refurb ... it worked very well! the mount is sturdy and don't fall off. screen is clear and interface and touch screeen is good! the only downside is the software... way point has to be done on the software and not the unit!loading of map is cumbersome and awkward. have to wiat average of 4 minutes for unit to aquire satellite ! i am in Dallas/Ft Worth area! User Review:  - Prehistoric PC software, POI list is lackingThe RoadMate 300 is a recent low-end entry to Magellan's popular line of GPS car navigation systems. It's ready to operate right out of the box with a map of all US highways, although in order to get more detailed information and POI (Point Of Interest) data you need to load local maps from a PC. That's where the problems start; the ugly, cumbersome Windows-only software has lots of pretty buttons but the overall system design is riddled with nuisances and inconsistencies. For instance, although I purchased a large memory card that was more than large enough to store map data for half of the US, it wouldn't let me install more than a paltry 200-something megabyte map. Unlike other programs this does not allow you to select state-by-state: the only known selection method is the rectangular marquee. Hello? Someone is clearly asleep at the wheel at Magellan. To add insult to injury, you can't use a memory card unless you first acquire a "key" for it, that keys the generated map to the card and your GPS receiver's serial number so that you can't use the card on another receiver. Even worse, you will not be able to install European maps on an American RoadMate 300, or vice versa. It's possible to do this on a 500 or 700 model, but not on this one. Another gripe: you can't change the voice (male/female) on the unit: you have to do it from the PC while the unit is connected. Finally, there is no Macintosh version of the map installation program. I wrote to Magellan's tech support to complain about these issues, and they said that the 300 was going to be their last model requiring keys for memory cards, and that they weren't worried about Mac support because the competition didn't offer it either. Now to the unit itself: it works extremely well... mostly. Sensitivity could be better, but it has a connector for an external antenna. The voice comes out surprisingly loud, clear and intelligible. The display is bright and readable, except in extremely sunny conditions. It lacks a dimming control. Directions are reliable, and the system recalculates new routes very fast if you miss an exit or go another route. Unlike other systems it does not say the name of your next turnout out loud such as "in 300ft take the I280 North on-ramp on the right" but the simpler "take onramp on the right" followed by a ping when you hit it. This may be insufficient when dealing with complex junctions, or on streets. The Roadmate has performed well for me in California, New Mexico and Nevada although I was very disappointed by its directions in and around Las Vegas (it became practically useless, probably because the maps were outdated although I was running the latest available version) The RoadMate 300 comes with a convenient suction-cup flexible mount, a cigarette-lighter adapter, AC adapter, USB cable but no case (Magellan sells fairly pricey cases separately). It's far from being a perfect product, but it's a fairly good contender at a relatively low price. Keep in mind its days are numbered; it's great if you can get it at a good discount, but if you're going to pay full price there are probably better choices out there. January 2006 update: Garmin announced full Mac OSX support for their GPS product line, which makes them a clear choice for Macintosh users. My Roadmate 300 is going on eBay today. User Review: - Great nav software, shoddy everything else.I bought both the Delphi NA10000 and this so that I could run them back to back. The Delphi arrived partially defective, but the build quality was GORGEOUS and the PC software was VERY easy to use --especially when compared to the Magellan. Where the Magellan shines, however, is in actually getting you there. Hence 4 stars. I am currently living in LA. I just moved here for b-school and get lost regularly trying to find chinese restaurants in Balwdin Park or good mexican food in south central. This little doo-hicky does a GREAT job of gettting me there and back. Far better than the Delphi. Couple negative things worth noting: 1st. Depending on which route setting you choose, Shortest, Freeway, etc... sometimes it sends you on really strange routes. Nothing major, but there are often more turns than absolutly necessary. 2nd. The build quality is severly shoddy. Comparable to an early Compaq iPaq--all plastic in all the wrong places; buttons that feel mushy and unresponsive; the poorest mount I have seen in a while--it vibrates the whole unit over bumps such that you really must rest it on the dash; and a really cheap antanna. 3rd. It is only, really, compatable with SanDisk SD media. Lexar (even high speed) works OK, but slowly and after waiting for over an hour for tech support, the otherwise helpful rep finally confessed that really, it only works with SanDisk media. 4th. The PC software, at least compared with Delphi's, is TERRIBLE. It is slow, cumbersome, bewilderingly complex for such a simple task, and generally functions as if it were designed for Windows 98. We are talking old school Pentium 90 speed here. So while everything about the product is crap, after you deal with the crap and get on the road, the things works really well. If the antenna does not fall off, it keeps a solid signal with the satellites above, it has a solid power connection, bright screen with good clear instructions, and is generally quite accurate. As a high-tech gadget the Delphi is superior, as a GPS system, buy the Magellan 300. User Review: - Quite Pleased! After a lot of research, I decided on the RM300 because of its features, price, and SD card capability. Initial setup was simple, but the loading of map files which has to be done in regions was frustrating and time-consuming since the Magellan won't read overlapping mapfiles. I almost wanted to throw in the towel and exchange the unit for a pricier model by Garmin, but now I'm glad that I stuck with the RM300. I have to report that I am quite pleased with this unit. I'm currently using it with a 512MB SD card. The initial acquisition of a satellite by the unit took about 3 minutes. After that, it acquires a satellite fix within seconds of startup, a pleasant surprise since I travel a lot in the five boroughs of NYC and was concerned about keepng a GPS fix around the tall buildings, etc. The voice-prompting on the unit is very clear. I use mine with the Male voice-prompting. The Female voice-prompting is a little too soft to be heard clearly over loud music, etc. I have an extra DC outlet in my Jeep, so I plug the unit in there. That way, if I have to turn off the car, the unit remains on. If I'm leaving the car for a period of time, I just remove the unit from the window mount and put it out of sight under the seat or put it in my bag and take it with me. I haven't experienced the problem that others have reported regarding difficulty removing the unit from the window mount, which is quite secure. If I'm detoured or I miss a turn, the unit reroutes quickly. I love the freedom of knowing that while traveling, if I decide to explore the terrain, I can still get to my destination without having to stop for directions, etc. As I am so directionally-challenged, I used to be limited to sticking to the routes that I knew and those that I had printed from MapQuest, GoogleMaps, or Expedia. But that was before having a GPS unit. And after registering the Magellan, I got my pick of a free pre-loaded 256MB SD card. I chose Canada since I plan to travel there extensively next year. If and when I decide to upgrade, I'll probably go for another Magellan GPS unit. |
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