Magellan RoadMate 700

[greyhounder]

Since I do a fair amount of travelling for work and greyhound stuff (and now geocaching too) maps are pretty much a part of my life. The Wisconsin Gazeteer has been a constant companion for about 10 years and is now well worn (I wish there was a smalller version!) but I had state maps.

In a few weeks I’m headed to Kansas, and later in the year to Delaware. AAA’s Trip Tiks are good, but will divert your attention from the road as you look at the map.

I had a little money to burn, so I bought the RoadMate 700. I think it will be useful in my travels. It would be really cool if I could upload waypoints to it (it has a USB connection) but I don’t think it’s possible yet.

Do anyone else have one, and if so, what do you think of it? Any other opinions would be appreciated as well.

Bec

[houseofbrew]

I’ve seen several reviews on the system that say something on the lines of:

“The RoadMates are configured more like an “installed” unit -and not for the “GPS Enthusiast”, since it has no way to record and download or upload waypoints recorded by other Magellan units.
“

[greyhounder]

right — this is basically the same technology you would see in some of the higher end vehicles (not in my Blazer!) and in rental cars. It’s a funky map type thing that directs you to a location (address or the like) with a map and spoken directions. I got it at The Sharper Image, so you know it’s just basically an expensive toy. My hope is that in a year or so, Magellan will make it possible to upload waypoints through the USB connection, or a memory card. From what I’ve been reading, Magellan will upgrade the included software…

But I got this for strictly driving purposes. I might be able to make it work for some geocaching (maybe, if I’m creative and plan it out.)

It’s nifty, at any rate.

[Paul]

I just read a review on Amazon.com from a guy who owns a Mercedes and a BMW who said this is a better unit than the factory installed navigation system.

The cost is way out there for me. I could find someething much better to spend a grand on.

Looks pretty cool though. I will be stuck with my maps.

[greyhounder]

I’m sure I could have found something better to spend the money on too! Unfortunately, there was this little voice that said, “buy it. You will definitely use it. You should buy yourself something special once in a while…” and that voice was my mom! We should stop shopping together!

After I dropped Mom off at home, Dad spied it and asked how many hundreds of dollars I had spent on it. The look on his face when I told him was hilarious!

Bec

[Author]

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