NaviGadget

Magellan Roadmate 6000T review

Dec 14, 2006 gps navigation, magellan Leave a comment

We started talking about the Magellan 6000T back in Spring 2006. There hasn’t been that many reviews about this gadget just yet. Today we got our hands one one of these which only gave the 6000T two stars out of five.

Here is what they didn’t like:

… surrounding the display are no less than 10 individual buttons along with a directional keypad. This seems all the more unnecessary given that the screen is a touchscreen. This does mean that almost everything you would normally use the touchscreen for can be achieved using the external buttons, but all that does is highlight the fact that the touchscreen isn’t anywhere near as precise as those found on rivals like Garmin GPS systems.

…tendency to lag when you jab at too many buttons in frustration. And in pretty much everything but the address finder, the speed of operation seems to hang a lot too.

The display is also a bit of a let down. Most map settings offer graphics that look like something that escaped from the BBC Micro era, although it is nice to have the option to select from a wide range of colours until you get something more bearable. Less forgivable are the abbreviated road names that appear around your location to help you keep track of where you are – again competing products often manage to display these in full and without compromising on clarity.

This may all sound really bad but don’t believe everything (or anything) you see on the internet. Go give it a try for yourself since most chain stores do sell the 6000T. Amazon sells it for $520.

full review

magellan 3000T vs sony NV-U70

Jul 30, 2006 gps navigation, magellan, reviews, sony Leave a comment

A recent review (technically just a personal opinion) came out comparing Magellan 3000T and Sony NV-U70. Sony NV-U70 (nav-u series) is listed at $500 (currently $100 rebate going on) and the Magellan 3000T is listed at $600. For the comparison, the Magellan unit tested was not out of the box, it was in-dash version whereas the Sony was out of the box.

Author thought that the Magellan interface was more intuitive than the Sony and the NV-U70 was lacking in the POI department. The review found the Magellan 3000T to be better because it found the autor’s favorite hot dog stand.

Even its [the NV-U70] tall, orange box looks trendier than what the Magellan comes packaged in. However, I immediately found searching for points of interest, with its prompt of “Category 1,” “Category 2” and “Point of Interest (Please Select),” very confusing.

As I drove, I liked that the names of landmarks, such as museums and ATMs, appeared on the map.

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Magellan RoadMate 3000T review

Jun 23, 2006 gps navigation, magellan, reviews Leave a comment

With the introduction of the new RoadMate 3000T portable GPS navigation system ($599 list), Magellan has joined a number of other GPS manufacturers with a product in the midprice range. The 3000T distinguishes itself with such features as QuickSpell and SmartDetour, but after testing the system extensively I found it lacking some of the advanced routing options that GPS buyers have come to expect.

Like other similarly priced products, the RoadMate 3000T has a 3.5-inch QVGA (320-by-240) touch screen and a built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery. The device measures 3.8 by 4.8 by 1.4 inches and has a flat profile which would make it easier to pack in a briefcase than, say, the Garmin 330C, which is 2.8 inches deep. Unlike similarly priced GPS systems that rely solely on the touch screen for input, the RoadMate 3000T has ten hardware buttons mounted around the perimeter of the case.

* GPS Guide
* Thales Magellan RoadMate 700 (Dash-Tops)
* Magellan RoadMate 760
* Expert View: Mapping Your World
* Finding the Best GPS Device

There are three buttons in a row across the top of the unit: One for power-on/off/sleep mode, one for zooming in, and one for zooming out. There’s also a volume control on the top which, when pressed, will cause the 3000T to repeat the last voice announcement. On the right-hand side of the unit, there’s a “Locate” button that will pop up a screen with your current location. From there, you can save your current location with a single screen tap—a feature we consider important. (After all, when you’re driving, you really don’t want to fumble through three or four levels of menus to mark where you are.)
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Magellan RoadMate 6000T with integrated bluetooth

Apr 4, 2006 bluetooth, gps navigation, magellan Leave a comment

The top of the line from the new RoadMate series from Magellan is the 6000T. Different from 3000T and 3050T, this model will offers bluetooth wireless technology, built-in microphone and speaker to enable you to use your device for hands free calling in your car as you drive provided that you own a bluetooth enabled phone.

Available in July, at a price to be announced, the Magellan RoadMate 6000T, with its integrated traffic receiver, will include three months of service.

three new navigation systems from Magellan: 3000T, 3050T, and 6000T

Apr 3, 2006 gps navigation, magellan Leave a comment

Thales’ navigation business, creators of the Hertz NeverLost and a leading global innovator of outdoor and vehicle navigation solutions, announced today three new portable vehicle navigation devices, the Magellan RoadMate 3000T, 3050T and 6000T. The products introduce a new intelligent design that’s compact, stylish, and even easier to use than previous solutions. They also deliver a better navigation experience by combining the award-winning Magellan user interface with the advanced speed and accuracy of Magellan NavEngine(TM) routing technology, an Intel XScale(R) processor and real-time traffic information. The Magellan RoadMate 3000T, 3050T and 6000T cater to drivers’ needs for out-of-the-box routing, traffic avoidance, multi-media functions and features that simplify driving while eliminating the frustration, waste of time and fear of getting lost.

The Magellan RoadMate 6000T is the first in the Magellan line to deliver the convenience of hands-free calling with Bluetooth enabled phones. It also includes a built-in real-time traffic receiver, a photo viewer and can simultaneously receive turn-by-turn route guidance while enjoying MP3 and WMA music files from an SD or MMC memory card. The Magellan RoadMate 6000T also delivers SayWhere(TM) text-to-speech guidance that speaks the name of the road for upcoming maneuvers. The product’s integrated battery allows drivers to operate the device without its cigarette lighter adapter, in or away from the car, whether enjoying music, inputting addresses or accessing the database of more than six million points of interest for phone numbers and locations of shops, entertainment, restaurants and other businesses.

Each device has an integrated battery; photo viewer; music player; and several useful features like SmartDetour(TM), a free integrated feature that gives drivers the option to route around freeway traffic; multi-destination routing; and route optimization – ideal for drivers who travel to several destinations in a single day. In addition, the products are designed to support fee-based live traffic updates so the systems can automatically re-direct drivers when faster routes are available…

via engadget and link