Magellan SE4

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We’re not used to this naming convention from Magellan. Their newest model that showed up on Best Buy’s website is called Magellan SE4.

Magellan SE4 is a GPS navigation system with a 4.3″ screen, preloaded with Navteq maps that includes 48 contiguous states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, text-to-speech, 6 million points of interests, and multidestination routing.

How much? $180.

Magellan 1412 for $99

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Amazon is having a ‘gold box’ sale right now for the Magellan RoadMate 1412. You can pick up the Magellen 1412 for only $99 which is listed for $299, was $150 yesterday on Amazon.

We had first talked about the RoadMate 1412 back in January of 2008 so this is not a very recent hardware – but you can’t beat the $99 for a GPS navigation system with a 4.3″ screen.

Magellan RoadMate 1700

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Magellan RoadMate 1700 is the latest GPS navigation system from the company. Even though it is not yet officially announced it’s been reported to be available through various retailers (such as Best Buy) for pre-ordering.

What’s different about Magellan RoadMate 1700 is that it has a huge 7″ touch screen display – compare that to most other high end GPS navigation systems which offer a 4.3″ screen. But there is a downside to having such a big screen: the battery only lasts for one hour – tops.

The current price of this RoadMate is $300 and is expected to arrive somewhere between Sept. 14th and 21st.

Here is the full set of features for RoadMate 1700:

Read the rest of this entry »

Magellan RoadMate 1475T

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Magellan (or should we say MiTAC?) just announced the new Magellan RoadMate 1475T.

In addition to the premium features available in the 4.7″ Magellan RoadMate 1470, the Magellan RoadMate 1475T is equipped with traffic enabled device (VPA) that offers subscription free, real-time traffic alerts, incidents and road congestion reports.

Here are the features of the new Magellan RoadMate 1475T:

  • 4.7″, WQVGA anti-glare touch-screen display
  • Features AAA TourBook listings and member Roadside Assistance menu
  • 6 million points of interest (POI)
  • Text to speech
  • Highway Lane Assist
  • Highway Exit POI search
  • QuickSpell that intelligently narrows searches
  • Multi-destination routing
  • Includes NAVTEQ maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico

Magellan RoadMate 1475T will sell for $300.

Magellan RoadMate 1470 review

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Magellan RoadMate 1470 was announced back in April and today we have a review for you – in case you are interested in spending your money on one of these. (Currently $194 on Amazon)

The first you’ll notice about the RoadMate 1470 is that its huge 4.7″ screen. Compared to the usual 3.5″ and 4.3″ screens, 1470 is a behemoth. Another thing about the RoadMate series in general is the improved interface which includes quickspell, and exit POIs.

Here are some unlikeable remarks from the review:

  • The font for distance to next turn (on the left side of the top bar) is smaller than other numbers displayed on the screen, making it more difficult to pick out this critical number at a glance
  • The bottom of the unit power cord attachment is a bit of a pain; it can only be connected after sliding the unit into the mount
  • I wish the RoadMate showed the speed limit, but you’ll have to step up to the Maestro line for this feature.

For all the positive things and the rest of the review go here.

Magellan Maestro 4700

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Magellan, which was recently acquired by Mio is about add a new system to their Maestro series called Magellan Maestro 4700. More than likely the device will feature a 4.7″ touch screen, have live traffic update, bluetooth connectivity, text-to-speech, FM-transmitter and maybe even more. We have very few details right now so you’re going to have to wait until it is put up on the Magellan Maestro sitevia

Magellan RoadMate 1470

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Magellan announced 3 new models from the RoadMate series yesterday. RoadMate 1440, RoadMate 1340, and the last one: Magellan RoadMate 1470. We saved the biggest one for last as this GPS navigation system has a 4.7″ touch screen display – kind of big when compared to most other systems out there.

Maps on the device cover US, Canada, Puerto Rico; text-to-speech feature pronounces street names, and the memory can be expanded with the microSD card slot.

Magellan RoadMate 1470 is already shipping from Amazon for $230 even though the one day old press release says it should sell for $300. $230 is not bad for a GPS navigation system with a 4.7″ screen.

Magellan RoadMate 1440

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Following RoadMate 1340 which we just mentioned now let’s talk about Magellan RoadMate 1440. Also announced yesterday, RoadMate 1440 is quite similar to 1340 but has a 4.3″ touch screen instead of 3.5″ one which changes the resolution from QVGA to WQVGA.

The other features that are worth mentioning are the text-to-speech, microSD card slot, AAA TourBook which provides ratings and descriptions on AAA approved places to stay and eat, AAA Member Roadside Assistance, highway lane assist, and the ability to get traffic update with an optional antenna.

The price for Magellan RoadMate 1440 is set $250 and it is already available for pre-order on Amazon

Magellan RoadMate 1340

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Magellan’s consumer product division which was recently bought by Mio just yesterday announced a few new GPS navigation systems; one of which is the Magellan RoadMate 1340. 1340 is at the lower end of the new RoadMate series with a 3.5″ QVGA full-color, anti-glare touch-screen display, text-to-speech feature, and maps that cover USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Magellan RoadMate 1340 will cost $180 and ship with a windshield mount and cradle; a 12-volt car adapter, and an adhesive disk for alternative, on-dash mounting.

Magellan RoadMate 1340 is already on Amazon available for pre-order.

Mio buys Magellan

OK, the title is not 100% correct, it really should say “Mio’s parent company MiTAC bought Magellan consumer products division”. But you get the idea. Magellan which was on a losing streak just got consumed by Mio which has been growing its market share here in the U.S. and the world for the last couple of years. If you remember Mio also bought Navman – another GPS navigation system maker – recently.

Nobody knows whether Mio will continue the Maestro, RoadMate and the Triton series from Magellan.

Maybe Mio is the next challenger for Garmin in the U.S. What do you think?