- All
- Refurbished
- Pre-owned
5stars
59ratings4stars
40ratings3stars
15ratings2stars
9ratings1star
18ratings
Easy to use25% agree
Good value50% agree
Reliable performance25% agree
139 reviews
Reliable GPS does the Job
This GPS does exactly what I need it to do, get me from point A to point B throughout the day. Does it have it's quirks, sure. For instance, sometimes when a street changes names, it states it as a turn. Not a huge deal though, if you look up, you can see the routing and realize it's just a road name change. Haven't had it for that long, so I'm not sure if it has this feature, but it would be nice if you could look things up by zipcode as opposed to city or town. I live in the suburbs of Baltimore, so sometimes areas are considered Baltimore, other times a specific town, but being able to look up a street in the Baltimore area under just Baltimore or zipcode, instead of the specific town would be nice. Example, if you live in Pikesville, your return address could be either Pikesville, MD 21208 or Baltimore, MD 21208 and both would be correct, but not so in the GPS, you have to choose Pikesville. This GPS is a little on the bulky side, but I like it, and enjoy having all the buttons right up front. That way I'm not stuck using the touchscreen, although it has not given me any reason not to like the touchscreen. I have no problem seeing the screen, no matter what time of day. Buttons light up at night, which make it easy. And when I make a wrong turn, or make a detour, it automatically recalculates a new route so I can still find my intended destination. Overall, I'm very happy with this GPS. It doesn't have many of the extras other GPSs have now days, but if I want to watch a movie or listen to music, I have better devices for those activities. Devices which are intended to do those things. And this GPS does a pretty good job at what it was intended to do, get me where I need to be.Read full review...
Great product that's fairly easy to use
I love that it has voice prompts. The only problem is sometimes it's not accurate...on the way across the country, it wanted me to turn left when I was to turn right. Had my human co-pilot not noticed it, I imagine we would have had to back-track.
I love that the screen is easy to see. Sometimes the touch screen is hard to use while driving...and isn't as sensitive as I'd like it to be.
I love that you can choose to zoom it out so you can see your trip ahead, and I love that you can zoom in to about 750 feet in front of you...which is helpful when looking for a rest area!
I had investigated many different types of GPS' and found that this is by far the easiest one to use, you can use it right out of the box!
The cradle to the windshield mount is hard to remove so when you need to bring it in the house to download trips and such...you really have to put some effort into getting it off the cradle.
Overall, I am very satisfied with this product, and feel confident in it's abilities. I've had some issues, but overall it is a great product.Read full review...
Great unit, but don't buy one!
The Magellan RoadMate 700 was a breakthrough when it
came out, well worth the roughly $1000 I paid for my
first one. It's all the more impressive now that you
can have one for well under $100.
Pluses:
The unit has built-in maps of the entire USA (and
Canada, I think). That means it's plug-and-go.
Attach a suction cup, plug into the cigarette lighter,
and you're ready to navigate. You don't have to take
it to your PC and download maps of your region into
it, as you have to with many of the low-end newer
units. This also means you can take your RoadMate
when you fly across the country. In a few seconds,
you can stick it into your rental car and drive off
navigating. I've done this and been very glad I did.
Having good directions in an unfamiliar city is even
more valuable than at home (duh).
The routing algorithm is as good as any unit out there.
The user interface is simple and intuitive, so you won't
need to read the manual. The voice is pleasant, easy to
understand, and not gravelly like a small Garmin that I
tried. The receiver is excellent, usually gets a fix
quickly, and is usually able to maintain a fix under
reasonably dense tree cover and in all but the deepest
of "urban canyons." Newer units with the SirfStar chip
set are probably even better, but Magellan had among the
best pre-SirfStar receivers, and it's definitely good
enough to keep you navigating in most places. The maps
will be a little out of date now that this unit hasn't
been made for a while -- but all GPS units' maps seem to
be out of date and it doesn't seem to me that these are
noticeably any more behind than other units.
Minuses:
Here are what I see as the major disadvantages to
the RoadMate 700:
1. Mounting it is a pain. The gooseneck suction cup
it comes with really isn't adequate for the size and
weight of this unit (it's bulkier & heavier than newer
units). I had a hard time finding a mounting method
I was really happy with.
2. The touch screen isn't very responsive, especially
compared to newer units. Expect to have to press several
times, sometimes get a delayed response, and sometimes
you'll get the next letter, like you type "M" and the
unit thinks it was "N".
3. The software is buggy in small, strange ways. For
example, I put a place in my address book and then
changed its name and it stayed at the bottom of the
list instead of moving to where it should now be in
alphabetical order. And sometimes I press a button
and the speaker will give me 3 or 4 seconds of static,
as if it was trying to play a pre-recorded voice message
but nobody remembered to record that one.
4. There are a lot of bad units out there! I have now
had five of these units at different times, and had
to return three of them. One of them had a bad
touch-screen. One had a touch-screen that stopped
working when it got hot. One came to me with no map
installed. I think this model had manufacturing or
reliability problems even when it was new, leaving a
trail of bad units in the field. Some of these bad
units show up on eBay, sometimes with good disclosure
and sometimes not so much.
For this latter reason, I think you'll be happy
with the RoadMate 700 if you get a good one, but
the odds might be against getting a good one.
I highly highly recommend this unit -- if you
buy it from your mom!
If you're buying from a stranger, choose something else.
Really.Read full review...
Has all your basic functions, works reliably
I bought this item used simple because it was so damn cheap. It has been working great! Has all the basic features I have seen in every other gps, and the side part with the buttons may seem odd but it's very handy!!
Things I like.
-The rubber stand is nice and simple and works great.
-You can change voice to male, female, and UK male, UK female. (I live in the USA but I set mine to UK cause it sounds cooler)
-You can update the points of interests and maps online for a few bucks
-Has a built in tutorial on the gps
There are also a few minor things that do bother me.
-The screen is a little hard to see during the day, even after toying with brightness and contrast.
-The gps does not say the name of the road outloud, so you have to take a quick glance at the gps to see the next road ( but it is printed rather large at the bottum and easy to see and find)
Example - "In 1.5 miles turn right" instead of "In 1.5 miles turn right on Jefferson Street"
-How you find points of interest (POI) is not done too well. And you can't search for POI while the gps is directing you somewhere. (you have to cancel route, search, then start route again)
-and lastly the gps reminds you of your turn at, if i remember correctly, 5 mile, 1.5, .5, and then right at the turn. which sometimes is VERY useful in a busy area where you are hopping roads, but on a straight forward route it can be annoying (you can easily fix this with the volume control on top of the gps)Read full review...
roadmate 760 - great value - gets the job done
I am a gadget nut and love technology that works. I have used a variety of GPS systems to include newer models that have come out since the 760. This includes TOM Tom units and other models in the Roadmate series. I continue to return to the 760 as my favorite. The 760 simply and accurately gets you from point a to point b. It calculates fast enough that you can follow the instructions and quickly re-routes if you make the wrong turn. If I was going to improve on it, I would make the satellite acquisition time faster when it is first powered on. I have traveled with it, plugged it into my rental and have to sit for upwards of 10 minutes while I wait for a lock. Once locked it simply gets the job done. I use an optional exterior antenna that magnetically mounts to the roof of the car. The internal antenna works, but, I have found the external antenna more reliable.Read full review...
Released way before it was ready!
What's GOOD:
Relatively large touch screen, excellent street and destination database, very smart routing algorithms, nicely designed maneuver prompts. It really did change my life (while it was working). It was the most useful gadget I've encountered since the cellphone.
What's BAD:
First of all, the air-vent mount is a complete disaster, and Thales Navigation (the manufacturer) never should have released the unit until a better system had been invented. It's unstable, and and frequently slides around and falls out during turns. In one vehicle I had to make a rather unsightly harness with wires to mount it in. Then I bought a new car, and the air vent mount has already scraped and scratched up the dashboard. Only by reading Cnet reviews did I learn that Thales now offers a free windshield suction mount, which is supposedly better. Why didn't they tell me that or send me one? Thales has proven a very difficult company to deal with in various respects, and I'd recommend buying a GPS receiver from a company with better technical support if possible. Another problem: when you start it up, the RM 700 usually takes a long time to find satellites and figure out where it is: up to 30 minutes or more if you're in a city. Thales told me the solution to this is to buy their rooftop external antenna, which improves reception. I'm not an engineer, but I don't understand why that's the fix for this problem, when the unit never loses reception once it has found its satellites. I'm skeptical of a solution that requires buying extra accessories -- if accessories are required for satisfactory performance in routine use, then why aren't they included? After a few months of only intermittent use (for occasional long trips only), my RM 700 stopped working. I think it's probably the hard drive that failed, although I can't really say for sure because Tech Support isn't available after hours or on weekends. Before buying this thing, I worried that a hard drive wasn't the best data storage method for automotive use, and now I think I was right.Read full review...
Magellan RoadMate 700 stacks pretty well.
I own 2 GPS devices...one, the Magellan Roadmate 700, and the other, the TomTom Limited Edition (I gave right at $125 for the TomTom) The Magellan is a little bulkier-but pretty well built. Not as many bells and whistles as the TomTom, but basically still in the same ball-park. I like the fact that the Magellan corporation took the time to think through everything one might want (frills) to go with the device...and included them in the package deal. To that end, I would say that most electronic devices I have purchased in the past few years are just 'rock bottom' devices...no extra frills. In other words, most companies want to nickel and dime you to death. I think they call it 'guaranteed revenue'...I call it a SCAM.
So, now that the Christmas rush is over, and you will be hard pressed to find a GPS unit for $125 - The Magellan Roadmate 700 might be a good investment for you.Read full review...
Magellan RoadMate 700 GPS
We have one of the RoadMates in each of our vehicles, Jeep, truck, car, and four wheeler. We use it for snowmobiling and I have been asked to purchase several on ebay for friends and family. I love how easy to use this is. It looses contact with the satellites every once in a while... so it will be in search mode until it locates the required 7 or 10 satellites. But that is few and far between. I do have to say that I have found that it doesn't always know where the address is... but that is not the Magellan's fault. I think I need to upgrade my maps. It's been a few years and there are subdivisions and new houses being built constantly. I would and do recommend the Magellan 700 to everyone.Read full review...
Magellan RoadMate 700 GPS - GREAT!
I enjoy driving and traveling to new locations, by my sense of direction sometimes fails me, especially when traveling city streets instead of major highways. And, even if I am on the RIGHT road, I sometimes need that little assurance of seeing the street name - to be certain that my mind has not wandered away at the last intersection and a turn was missed...
But the Magellan 700 is never lost, so I am comforted every time I look at the name of the road I am on, the name and distance to my next turn, and the total distance remaining to my destination... I am a HAPPY USER!
If you want the more expensive bells and whistles (20 channels vs 12, or voice recognition vs touch screen), then pay the big bucks for the newer systems... But for an inexpensive alternative, that does all you need, get the Magellan 700!Read full review...
Magellan 700 Roadmate
I love having a map of all 50 states, not just regional maps and also the auto re-route feature. You will NEVER get lost again and can find any place with a push of a button with this little unit. A friend had one of these and I compared a lot of other units at compairable prices. This was my choice hands down. I plan to purchas another just like it for my wife's car. She borrowed mine and I'm having problems getting it back. She loves it. The only draw back is you have to purchase an external antenna seperate. This unit will not work inside your car without it. If not for this I would rate this item as 5/5 Excellent.Read full review...