Magellan RoadMate 700 - 3.8 in. Car GPS Receiver

Want two reasons to thank the US government? They gave us the internet and GPS.

One of the biggest names in GPS is Magellan (Thales Navigation, Inc. - pronounced 'tahlis'). "Turn it on and go!" is their trademarked slogan. It truly is that simple. The RoadMate lineup includes the 500 and 700 series. The difference in price is about $300 and WELL worth it.

Those new to GPS, it's global positioning via feedback from satellites. So it tells you where you are at any given point. Different brands and models have different accuracy levels. The Roadmate 700 is accurate within 9.8 feet.

With the Roadmate 500, you get a 128 meg card (only 100 megs are usable) and are expected to download maps (from the four included CDs) of different regions or states based upon your travels. This is adequate if you only need your city. For example, Southern California takes up 74 megs of space and leaves very little for other states. Northern California is about 57 megs, so the entire state would not fit onto this GPS unit. You'd need to buy a large and very expensive Compact Flash card. These cards run about $250 for the 1 gig and $450 for the 2 gig cards. So, for the extra $300, it is well worth the money for the 10 gig hard drive already in the 700 series.

With the 700 Series, the maps are already loaded into the 10 GIG hard drive. It incorporates the 48 contiguous United States and most of Canada. So there is no need to find a PC and download as you go. The USA and Canada take up (roughly 3.5 gigs of space) so there's ample room for saved addresses and map updates.

Why I love this GPS and would never drive without it: From anywhere I am at any given moment, I can touch the screen and tell the Roadmate to get me to my home or any saved addresses. Going to a new place for the first time can get a bit stressful...not any more. The sexy female voice or the commanding male voice will guide you to your destination with ease. You will, however, need to turn down your music in order to hear the directions. The speaker is loud, but not that loud.

How it works: At the main menu, touch the screen to find by city or state. Then find by street and then tap in the street address. You may also store addresses you use for business or pleasure and give it a 1st, 2nd or 3rd level priority.

The (choice of male or female) voice will tell you that your turns are coming up and to make a left or right turn. If you miss a turn - not to worry. The GPS will either tell you to make a safe U turn or will recalculate a new route for you. That is perfect for my mom!!!!! LOL

Another great feature: Let's say you're told to exit the freeway, but there are two exits - one for North and one for South. The voice will tell you to exit by saying, "Prepare to exit on the right." Then it will say, "Keep to the right, followed by a keep to the left." This means take the second exit offramp. It can also navigate you through 3-way forks in the road and other tricky situations.

Let's say there is a major amount of traffic or a road closure in your route. You may pull up the turn by turn view and simply remove that part of the trip. The GPS will automatically re-route you.

There are four modes of routing. Calculating routes from the fastest (most direct), the shortest (shortcuts), most use of freeways and least use of freeways. The latter being wonderful for vehicles that are slow or folks who hate to use freeways.

There are three view options. The map view, the turn by turn view and the 3D turns. You can zoom in or out on the maps for better detail or a general idea of the area. If your view of the satellites should be blocked by, let's say, a freeway or bridge, the view will automatically switch to the turn-by-turn directions, so you can see your next turn. Once back in the view of the sky, the 3-D view will appear again.

On Vacation: Let's say you need to go to Chicago for a meeting or Orlando on vacation. All you need to do is pack up the GPS and its components and you will never need to ask directions. What a stress reliever! It's like having a friend from that area with you at all times. The RoadMate 700 will let you know nearest points of interest, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, hospitals and more.

European maps will be available soon, and there's a slot in the back of the 700 for an extra memory card of Europe.

Various companies are paying the satellite companies for listings in their GPS units. For instance, let's say you want to know where the nearest McDonald's is. Simple. After a few finger taps, the unit will tell you the address and phone number and get you there in minutes. Mind you, not all businesses list with the GPS companies, but as the technology becomes more popular, more and more businesses will catch on to this new craze.

Great safety feature: Let's say you get into an accident or get stranded out in the middle of nowhere. The GPS unit will tell you your longitude and latitude so that you may tell EMS or rescue folks exactly where you are.

GPS caching: This is a fun hobby that is growing in popularity. People find web sites that list buried treasures all over the US. Using your GPS, you can find these treasures and dig them up. So you get to the place and dig up a box and it has a DVD in it. You replace the contents with something of yours and move on. It's a fun thing to do and you never know what might be in there.

What's in the box: Read-me first guide, a coupon for $30 toward any Magellan accessories (providing you spend more than $49), the GPS unit, a cradle, an AC vent mounting plate and a suction cup / windshield mount (it's taped to the underside of the cardboard packing plate).

You'll notice that there's no mention of a manual. That's because there isn't one. Well, there is a reference manual on CD that is included. The GPS comes with an on-board tutorial that walks you through the process. It's so simple that you won't need a manual to get going. That's perfect for my mom! She refuses to read manuals!

Accessories I recommend: The RoadMate 500 and 700 come with a cheap metal A/C mount. Mounting this unit to the front of an A/C vent is not only ugly but not good for hot days. The newer models are shipping with the suction cup mount, but if your box doesn't have one - call Magellan. They will ship you out a suction cup mount free of charge. On hot days, most suction cup mounts will fail and fall off the windshield. In late March 2004, they released a dash mount and swivel head. The mount will sit on my dash (assisted by Velcro) and the GPS will have a better view of the satellites. They also offer a small case to protect the GPS in transit or a larger protective bag for the GPS and all of the accessories you use. You can also buy a second cradle to mount in another vehicle. That way, moving it to a second vehicle is a snap. You can also purchase an AC adapter that will enable you to plot routes in your home or hotel room.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're experiencing bad reception in your rural areas...BUY THE OPTIONAL EXTERNAL ANTENNA.

Both the RoadMate 500 and 700 allows you to store addresses and preferences for up to three drivers. You can edit user 1, 2 or 3 to the user's actual name as well.

W.A.A.S. Technology: The Magellan 500 and 700 uses WAAS technology. This means that it reads TWELVE satellites for better reception and more accurate readings.

Personal use: The night I got the GPS, it was pouring rain and I wanted to go to a party in Hermosa Beach. I had never been to this particular club and programed the address into the Roadmate 700. I never had to stop and check maps or ask for directions. The GPS got me there with no stress or drama. All I had to do was concentrate on the LAME DRIVERS in the California rain.

If you do nothing at the main menu, the GPS switches to map mode. It moves along as you drive showing the various streets around you. I love this feature. In a moment of brain lapse, you can tell if your street is to the left or the right and if you're headed for a dead end.

Dude, where's my USB cable? While the Roadmate 500 does include the USB cable to interface with a PC, the 700 does NOT include one. Since the 700 has a built-in 10 Gig hard drive, syncing with a PC is not needed UNLESS you buy maps of Europe and other country's maps that become available. In that case, the USB cable is not very expensive at all. But then again, there is no included card with the 700 either. So you're back to spending an additional $200-$400 for a larger card.

Final thoughts While heavy & bulky, the Magellan RoadMate 700/760 is a great navigation tool. When I bought my new GMC Envoy XUV, they offered a CD-based GPS system for around $1700. That means, having to switch CDs on road trips. NO THANKS. It also means not being able to listen to CDs while using the navigation system. The Roadmate is portable (meaning you can put it in any car - you can't walk around with it) and does much more for less money. I bought mine at Ocean Electronics - www.oceanelectronics.com (they moved from New Jersey to North Carolina (919) 321-8465) and paid no sales tax. The guy who runs the place (Mark) was very helpful and explained the differences between the models and makes of GPS. Yes, you can spend around $100 - $300 on units with less technology, smaller screens, that don't talk to you or allow for touch pad screens, but you'll miss all of these features while trying to drive safely.

I paid around $1,060 (and no tax) for mine and the internet has better deals than the $1200 - $1400 price tags in retail stores. (You can find them for very little money now. In the $200 - $300 range)

This GPS unit would be perfect for real estate professionals, traveling salespeople, delivery folk, the transportation industry and anyone interested in getting to their destination(s) without getting lost.

While the RoadMate 700 is NOT a battery-operated handheld capable unit, I find it easier to buy an inexpensive GPS unit for hiking and camping. They allow for the use of topographical maps.

If you live in a city that you never leave, the Roadmate 500 will be enough for you. I like the thought of being able to take it on vacation and have every city in the machine already. Built on technology proven and road-tested by over 4 million drivers using the Hertz NeverLost System , GPS vehicle navigation has never been easier.

Eye Candy: On any dashboard, this GPS unit would become a thief's reason to break and enter. Get in the habit of removing the GPS unit from the vehicle (stored in the optional protective sleeve) and put in a briefcase, purse or hidden in the vehicle.

If you have any questions, please visit Thales Navigation / Magellan at www.magellangps.com or call them at (866) 399-0488 or (909) 394-5000.

UPDATE I have noticed one thing about using the 700 (vs. the 500)... The time it takes to find an address is a bit slower. NOT because of the technology, rather due to the fact that when entering information, the 700 has many more cities and states to choose from. For example: I live in Southern California and chose the city "Hollywood." The 500 will know that it's the Hollywood right here near me. The 700 will offer Hollywood California, Florida, Alabama, Maryland or South Carolina as the city you're trying to navigate. So there are a couple more buttons to click before you find your destination.

Thales Navigation, Inc. also offers the option of buying a two-year extended warranty. The cost to insure the 500 is $99.95 while the 700 will run you $129.95. Yes, they do offer the warranty for all of their products, but I'm comparing the Roadmate 500 & 700.

UPDATE 2: I was having problems with my RM 700. The display was turning off in the middle of a cycle. I noticed that the spring-loaded clip on the mount was not grabbing the 700 anymore. So the unit wasn't making contact with the leads on the mounting plate. I called Thales and the CS rep asked when I bought it. I replied April of this year and he asked for my name and address. He told me a new mounting plate would be sent to me and that I should receive it within 7-10 business days. That's the way CS should be with every company. The new plate would have cost me $45.

It showed up and the 700 works fine again! Thank you Thales!

UPDATE 11/23/04: So I finally got around to updating my Roadmate 700's firmware from version 3.14 to the current 3.52. Here's a HUGE tip: DO NOT plug the USB cable into the USB port in the front of your PC. Use one in the rear of your PC. The tech at Thales told me they have been getting reports of trouble from the front ports (probably not being powerful enough).

You will need the GPS, its cradle and the optional items: AC adapter and USB cable. The optional swivel head, allows the GPS to stand on your desk - like a mini-PC monitor instead of flat on its back.

The new update has a few new features. When you're driving along your route, icons of malls, gas stations, banks, ATMs, restaurants, etc will scroll by. If you need to figure out where a certain service or shop is, you can just touch it and it will give you the phone number and address of that place. Finding a hotel nearby just got easier. Also, you now have the option of a split view window. A map on one side and the 3D turns on the other. They have also added updated maps to all the newer streets. The entire update process took about 8 minutes with a high speed connection. Cool update!

12/9/04: Thalis contacted me and asked if I'd take a new survey. I gladly agreed. The survey asked various questions about my satisfaction and personal use and had me rate it on each point. Then, it got a little more interesting. The folks at Thalis have big plans for the future of GPS units. I'm not sure if the following features would be add-ons to existing GPS units or for future GPS units. Larger screens, the ability to play MP3s, instant traffic reports (like the ones online), multiple point routes, a rechargeable battery - so you can take it hand-held out of the vehicle and much more. Another cool feature they talked about, is "Auto re-routing." Let's say you come upon a huge traffic jam. Currently, I'd have to take my eyes off the road, punch a few buttons and exclude a particular section of my route. The future plans include a system where it will re-route you automatically. How cool is that?

UPDATE 6/6/05: Some of you have emailed me asking about prior destinations. Let's say you're on the way to a friend's house. If you need to find to closest ATM, you can tap the ATM icon on the screen. It will take you to that ATM location and then automatically put you back on the original course. Also, if you need to change course and go to another location, rather than re-entering all of the info to find location one, all you need to do is tap "address book" then tap "previous destinations." It keeps the last 10 destinations in memory. Hope this helps.

UPDATE 6/29/06:
For the last two years, my 700 has been asking me to update to the newest maps. I don't wish to spend $100 each year, so I opted to do the upgrade every other year. Boy, am I glad I did this one. It's packed with new features.

Before I left for San Jose and San Francisco this weekend, I spent the $100 for the upgrade. Apparently, this upgrade is so huge, that it not only updates the maps and points of interest, but it adds two great features and makes my model 700 a 760.

It's not a download but a trio of CDs shipped out. The upgrade, the manual and the P.O.I. discs.

Now I have the option of multiple destinations and auto-rerouting when traffic gets ugly. I love this upgrade and it was easy, albeit, time consuming.

While on my recent trip, someone wanted to eat at a specific restaurant and I entered the name of the place into the GPS and it picked the closest one. To my surprise, it was right where it said it would be. Why a surprise? Before I did the update, I tried this and places either moved or the POI database was old because when I arrived, the place was not there.

There's also the option of the voice announcing the specific streets or highways in addition to directions. I find the secondary voice annoying and don't use it.

This upgrade takes about THREE hours to complete, so be patient - the results are well worth it.

UPDATE: 6/19/07
After going through a few of the spring-loaded connectors and because the unit (all of a sudden) takes far too long to calibrate itself on the first route of the day, I have decided to upgrade to the Magellan Maestro 4040. After seeing how thin and lightweight the new generation of GPS are, well, I'm glad mom likes her 760 GPS.