10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
Fairly easy to use, fairly easy to learn
Date of Review: Jan 16, 2007
The Bottom Line: Great device; gets you where you need to go, even if you make a wrong turn; the voice guides you without having to look down to see the map.
I've had this Magellan for about a month. It took a few trips to learn how it works. The good: It was fairly easy to learn. It easily slides into a pocket or purse. The voice instructions are thorough and very useful -- you hardly need to look at the device when you are driving. There are a variety of ways to route: by address, by intersection, by Point of Interest, (as long as you know the city or zip code, it's pretty versatile.) You can also save a place in the memory if you decide that you want to return to a place that you are just stopping at unexpectedly. The maps are very clear and mostly very accurate. If you make a wrong turn, it will recalculate and get you back on track pretty quickly (within 5 or 10 seconds). You can also, pre-plan a multi-destination trip before you leave. It has a battery in case you want to carry the Magellan with you when you walk or go in someone else's vehicle. I got the AC adapter so that I can charge the device up and program it before heading out, although I generally leave it plugged into the car charger when driving. There are some quirks that you must get used to -- such as: you have to know the name of the city or the zip code to find a route -- that can be annoying because I often don't have that information when I am away from home. Another issue that is frustrating is that you have to cancel the current route in order to check on a possible new destination. And, it is best to use a pointer (such as a pencil eraser) to tap the window because it's easy to hit the wrong spot using just your fingers. Not sure if those are universal GPS issues or not. Overall, I really like this little gadget!
