Reviews for Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: - excellent up-to-date map coverage - fast gps acquisition - correct and in-time voice driving instructions - easy to view maps and directions - portable to other cars in your household

Weakness: - none of significance

I have had several auto navigation systems because I am a toy freak AND I had not found one that worked for me! I have tried Pioneer, in-dash, even PocketPC NavMan.

Enter the Magellan RoadMate 700! I could not ask for more. The maps are up to date and accurate. Driving directions are right on with my position. The lcd is viewable in all lighting. You do not have to sit in your drive waiting for it to acquire gps!

I love this unit. Pricey? Not for what it delivers and the fact that it works!

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Reply by member: TomManolo
Jun 17, 2005

It is true that it is an excellent product. I myself tried several GPS systems and none had such a nice user interface and interactivity. The GPS is also very handy when traveling since it can be transfered to any other car without a problem (specially rental cars). My overall rating is definitely a 25 star!!

But on the other side, I agree with oter reviews stating that the attachment of the GPS is pretty weak. The power cord is pretty short (not practical in a SUV) and the air-vent attachment very unstable. (I don't know if they offer other attachments in the more recent versions though)

The other inherant weakness to that GPS is that you must turn it on where you last turned it off or it might take a good 10 minutes to find you (I know, I know, all GPS have that problem, but people must know). This can turn out quite unpractical in certain ituation...

PS: I have had my GPS for 1 1/2 years now and use it anywhere I go, in L.A., or any other state.

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Works right out of the box. No programing required like other units.

Weakness: Poor mounting bracket. However I called Magellan and they sent two windshield mounting brackets for free including shipping.

This is a great unit. Very easy to use. (I have never looked at the owners manual) As for the previous review, if I want to know how fast I am going I look at the speedometer on the dash or my HUD. The Magellan tells you when and where to turn. This unit has saved me a lot of heartache within the first week of ownership. How much easier can it get? The only time I am interested in altitude is when I am in my airplane.

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Easy to use, Display is very easy to see, fairly easy to input destination. Voice directions give you plenty of time to change lanes.

Weakness: At first there are no directions. It says proceed to route but if you don't know how to get to the route?? On that same note, the other day since I didn't know how to get to the route, it just let me

When I first took it out of the box it thought I was in San Francisco (I live in Los Angeles). I thought maybe in would lock onto a satellite and adjust itself but it didn't. There is nothing in the book that tells you what to do in this case. I found but pressing buttons that there is a diagnostic and you can put in your current location & then it was fine. After that it knows where I am at all times without any problem. I really like that address input is easy and the 4 choices of street or freeway use is great. The voice is easy to understand and give you very good instructions & gives you plenty of time to react also. Some of the downsides that I can pinpoint are: mounting. I haven't even tried the windshield device as I have a car with a wide sloping dashboard. I dont' want it setting right up there and the device doesn't extend or retract. I consider this a pretty high end device. I would think that Magellan would come up with various mounting devices depending on car/van/pickup or whatever vehicle. Sell it as a universal kit, I dont' care. Also as I tried to indicate in the above weakness area, I was in a very unknown area and trying to get out. All the instructions were to proceed to route. Well if you don't know where that route is that is no help. If you make a wrong turn it is great about recalculating the route so that you dont' have to go back to where you made the mistake & start over. Since it can do that so well (and believe me I've already made a few wrong turns or taken another road that I knew better and it recalculates immediately to let you know what to do) I can't figure out why it won't tell me which way to go to start. Don't get the wrong impression from me. I think this is great device. I even use it around home just because I enjoy using it not because I need directions!

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Has the entire US address database built in; very good screen resolution

Weakness: Lame implementation of map data and gps abilities. No choices available to set up what information is displayed. Graphical fonts for adjacent roads are difficult to read.

This could have been a contender! Any GPS knows the instanteous speed, altitude, direction, up-comming cross streets and time of day. But YOU CANNOT SET THIS UNIT TO DISPLAY THAT INFORMATION! In contrast, even the Garman III+ will let you choose what information is shown (and continually updated) on the screen. The Roadmate 700 offers no choices. The menus are shallow. You have to stop navigating to your destination to find points of interest. The unit doesn't even tell you the exit numbers or road names coming up as drive along. If you don't have a destination programmed, all you get is a little arrow in the center of the screen, moving along a verticle line that is your road. No side road names, no current speed, no current time, no altitude, no adjacent addresses. It's totally lame. With a destination set, you only get the remaining hours until arrival, and still no current time, no future arrival time, no current speed, etc. You cannot set it to show this information! If you are driving down I-5, there is a bar at the top that says "I-5", and a bar at the bottom that says "Driving on I-5". Well, duh!
The ONLY thing this unit has going for it is that it has every address in the US. If you know your location and destination addresses, it will definitely get you there with precision. But pull out your Garmin Ique 3600 or Street Pilot III or GPS III+ if you want continuous display of the current time, arrival time, miles to destination, current speed, altitude etc

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Ease if use, programming.

Weakness: Would like to see exit numbers as part of display information.

I purchaed this GPS in July 2004, and have used it professionally ever since. I own and operate an executive car service and this GPS is without questions a very valuable tool to have. It took me longer to figure out the mounting bracket than it did to operate the actual controls. Once I actually read the manual, I was up and running in no time. I now use the GPS even when I KNOW where I am going. Having information at my fingertips such as estimated minutes or mileage to my destination is very handy. In terms of accuracy I am very pleased. If the GPS doesn't get me exactly to where I am going, it is off sometimes no more than a few feet. It does however, have trouble once in a while figuring out what side of the street an address is on, but it's so helpful that I don't mind an occasional blip. I like the bright display, the audio is nice and loud, and it's easy to use.
I'd like to see a radar detector built in but I'll leave those comments in the "nice to have" collumn.
Hope this helps.

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Easy to use. Plug and go. Pleasant voice

Weakness: Does not give the exit number on highway. No process to update map yet.

Extremely useful when you go to a place that you have never been before. Advance warning is good, allowing you to prepare to turn. Excellent for night driving.

I would recommend to anybody who does not want to get loss

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: Worked flawlessy out of the box. Contained windshield mount, USB and power cords for vehicle and home. Great in unit demo pre loaded as are all maps.

Weakness: No troubleshooting matrix in product manual.

After considerable research comparing Garmin 2620 and the Roadmate 700 I am very pleased with my deciding on the 700.
Turned out to be about $80-100 more expensive but so far it is terrific. One word of caution, if you travel in excess of 250-300 miles from your starting point you may have to adjust the GPS. You will know if you are not getting a signal. Good product, to bad its French.

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Magellan Roadmate 700 GPS Receiver

Strengths: - Clear, easily readable screen - Simple, intuitive interface - Usually gives good directions

Weakness: - Can be slow to pick up location when first turned on - Windshield mount does not hold as well as it should - At times, visual directions are better than voice direction.

I bought the Magellan for my wife. We just moved to a new area neither of us know, she is a "chicken" driver (won't drive where she hasn't previously been escorted to), and she has a poor sense of direction. She is not technically proficient either. She learned how to use it very quickly with almost no help from me. By the end of the first week, she was calling me at work to tell me how she was on her way from stop 3 to stop 4 of her day's journey and how much she loved this thing. The only issue encountered was when she went out and forgot to raise the antennae. The device will not pick up your location with the antennae down. That said, even when up, it can sometimes take a couple of minutes to locate you. I have seen instances where the audible direction is not as specific as it could be, which can cause some confusion. For example, we were going down a street that came to a split. The street curved to the left, and the right split was actually a ramp to another road. We needed to stay on the street around the left hand curve to the next intersection about 150 feet past the curve, where we were to make a right. Prior to reaching the split, the audio told us to make the next right, while the screen showed the correct path around the left curve. It seems that since the street continued to the left, the audio did not consider it necessary to point out to stay to the left at the split. I will also mention that the windshield mount does not hold as well as it should. It uses a mechanized suction cup, but it will give out from time to time. Today, it fell off the while my wife was driving my son to school. Fortunately my son caught it, but not until after it bounced off the dashboard. I can only hope it is still functioning after the bounce it took.
Overall, it's a good device. I have a navigation system in my car, built in from the factory. The Magellan is almost as good with directions as that, except for the specificity of the voice directions. If they can figure out a more stable mounting mechanism for it, it would be better.

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Nice GPS at last.

Strengths: Accurate and shows step by step directions if the signal is lost (in tunnels, etc.)

Weakness: Docking station can be better (hard to attach the GPS) and no battery power.

After using Garmin Street Pilot III, Navman iCN510, and Palm GPS product, this is by far the best. After almost a week, I am quite pleased with this product. You can get it for under 500 bucks on eBay or at BJ's Wholesale Club. You can also get a SW upgrade for $99 that will give you all the functionality of the 760 model costing few hundred more.

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Could be good but mine is not

Strengths: Good navigation, graphics, voice, very easy to use.

Weakness: Not very customizable, hissing sounds, sound stops working, touchscreen stops working.

Overall product design is good. But I believe there are some serious quality control issues. It makes hissing sound straight out of the box. Many times the sound just stops and you have to reboot to have sound again. Once the touchscreen stopped working.

And I've only had it for a couple of hours...

Overall: If you are lucky enough to get a properly functioning unit, it is a good buy.

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Outdated Map Updates + Hardware (Sound) Failure =...

Strengths: A running unit will help you find your way in most North American Locations

Weakness: Outdated Mapping Updates. The Sound Died on my unit.

I have used the technology of the Roadmate through the Hertz Neverlost, and figured it would be worth it to get this unit. I was skeptical about purchasing a new piece of hardware for over $1000 considering it hadn't had any kind of track record before. But, I loved the Neverlost system, so I got it 2 years ago.

Great! At first. Then, I noticed that the sound started sounding strange, like hissing and whatnot. And then, the sound.... just.... failed. No voice prompts, no *ding dong!*

For trying to navigate, try having a GPS unit guide you with no sound. It ain't good. So now I unplugged the unit. Over a grand, and what I understand is that it's hardware failure. It doesn't add up that this unit, 2 years old, could do this. My father has electronics that are from the 1980's and they still work. And they cost alot less than a thousand bucks.

There is also the problem of outdated maps, even though they are sold as updated. Case in point, my 4.26 version software. Try taking the Frederick (MD) exit off I-70 east and there's an exit configuration not in the software. I just bought the software just a few months ago, and there have been a number of routes that aren't working.

In Atlanta just this week, I drove on the exit to reach a hotel north of the city in Lothian on I-20. The unit showed there was a mile to go before the exit but the exit was behind me when I realized that the mapping was wrong there.

I want to swear by the company and the unit I purchased. But it's now a failure. Beware before you buy. At the very least, purchase some kind of product insurance. In the meantime, I have notified Magellan and plan to check with the Better Business Bureau and check on another course of action.

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Best Magellan GPS Device with Map Capabilities Download maps

Display is Average according to 4 GPS Device experts. -- "brilliant screen, easily readable during the day and at night."-pcmag.com -- "The voice prompts are especially clear and helpful, often making it unnecessary to look at the display."-pcmag.com -- "displays a high resolution map image"-pcmag.com Read more to find expert opinions on more features like Navigation, Maps, Usability, etc.

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Magellan RoadMate 700

Testseek.com has collected 3 expert reviews for Magellan RoadMate 700 and the average expert rating is 73 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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magellan roadmate 700

Magellan Roadmate 700 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 1.16 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #106 navigation GPS of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a product's...

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Magellan RoadMate 700

A good piece of kit, if price allows, but if you have a PDA, you might want to cut the expense and try your luck with a PDA driven device.

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