5 comments about Magellan RoadMate 3000T Portable GPS Navigator and MP3 Player.

1. I bought the Magellan 3000t about 8 months ago and use it a fair amount with good results. When I saw new maps being released I ordered them via the Magellan Web Site. I received the DVD in 2 days and I expected to be wowed. I was but not the way you expect.
   
   I loaded the DVD and entered the security code provided and it tells me I have a bad code!
   
   I called tech support and got a promise of a call back within 48 hours. That was a month ago! I have called back several times and finally someone gave me a new code, same result! Email got me a notice saying call tech support. I finally got an email saying they are having issues and will send out replacements once they figure out how to fix the problem!
   
   This is my 3rd Magellan but will be my last I can't stand the non English speaking support staff and non responsive email support.



2. My father got me this unit at J&R in Oct. 2006. It was used correctly and crashed after 3 hours of use. I mailed it to Magellan for repair and it came back working, but only lasted another 3 hours before crashing again. Company promised new unit which was never received. Now, 1 year and 2 months after purchase, Magellan WILL NOT REPAIR THEIR 3000T UNIT and offers a trade-in that involves returning unit and buying a new model for more (LOTS more - $60 to $120) than a new one of same model from Amazon would cost.
   
   The customer service department seems to be set up to fulfill the legal obligation of having a service department, and not much more. Magellan is too cheap to even provide a good phone signal for their dumpy boiler room. Their deeply foreign-accented techs and clerks do not understand my English and I have to ask them to repeat about every fourth word they speak. This service is a real insult.
   
   The machine worked fine for the 6 hours it worked.
   
   I'll try a Garmin next.



3. When I first received this product, many maps were already out-of-date. Magellan makes updates that are supposed to fix both the bugs in their original software and to add more maps. Usually, when you have some sort of product that relies upon software, normal updates are free, for example, Windows Service Packs 1 and 2. However, despite how much Magellan charges for this product, they also charge for updates. This is particularly unfair since the updates, according to the Magellan web site, fix bugs in the original program. I would have to pay $ 80.00 for an update. I'm not going to pay it. When the maps finally get too out-of-date, I will buy another GPS device from a manufacturer that provides their updates without charge. Garmin doesn't charge for updates. I haven't checked anywhere else yet. Despite the lack of updates, the Magellan works reasonably well.



4. I have ZERO sense of direction so this has served it's purpose. It does have a bit of a delay when missing a turn and needed to recalculate. If your car is parked in a parking garage and then you pull out and want to use it right away...it has worked for me...I have to drive around for a few minutes before it picks up signal. Other then that the colors are great, it's easy to learn, great volume. I'm sure there are other Nav systems way better but I'll keep this one and use it.



5. We use this unit at work, and I take it around the country. When it works, it's right on. However, it takes some getting used to.
   
   The menus are not intuitive. The power on/off/powersave function is awkward. Sometimes system locks and you have to restart the system. Previous destinations buried under "Address Book."
   
   I'd look elsewhere.

No comments about Garmin GPSMap 76Cx Handheld GPS (010-00468-00).

5 comments about Cobra Nav One 4500 Mobile GPS Navigator with Traffic.

1. I am very pleased with this GPS unit. I was alittle worried after reading some of the reviews, but am very happy that I still ordered it.
   
   The graphics are by far one of the best. It has very detailed graphics, unlike many of the other brands that have a more cartoon look to them. The graphics are compariable to what you would find in a in-dash unit. It is very user friendly, and easy to navigate. The unit does weigh a bit, but have not had any problems with the suction cup as I read about. As long as the window is clean it works great. I have even drove over some really bumpy roads and the unit has not come loose.
   
   For the money and what you get this is a terrific unit, and would highly recommend it.



2. The unit is very large and bulky. It does have a very large viewable map which is nice. The unit I had worked about 1 week then would not power up. I am completely dissapointed with this brand and unit and am trying another one.



3. I got the unit for Christmas, attracted to the good display, but leery of the reliability, both due to other's reviews. I have no serious references to other GPS units, aside from one in an ACRUA MDX that was built into the console, and was very impressive. My 4500 is away to be repaired now, they say for about 3 weeks, with very little use when it worked. I was careful with it as was possible and used it only on major highway trips.
   
   I don't understand how, say an Acura, can have GPS that can sit out in cold and extreme heat, and survives daily driving, and the 4500 Nav One breaks while being treated like delicate china. I also bought every accessory that SHOULD have come with it for the price.
   
   I hate to give bad reviews, but I have to say, if you need a GPS you can count on, this model is high risk. I would want to know this if I was considering buying it. The software can be a little bugged. I got stuck in some loop (it refused to lock in one zoom level) while on the road and eventually had to shut it down and reset to defaults. No idea why. It's sometimes not very precise and a little sluggish in real time rerouting, which can be frequent, as the unit gets lost for no apparent reason while cruising down an Interstate.
   
   It does look nice, and has many great features when it works. That said, I had higher hopes for a portable GPS that really isn't portable, unless you have a portable power source. It was missed on my last road trip when it quit working, and will be missed while in the shop. For me the unit is more a toy than a tool fortunately, because as a needed tool, I would not highly recommend it.
   update: Only took about ten days and got a new replacement for the crashed one. The new Nav ONE seems to perform better than the defective one did, meaning it doesn't get "lost" and recalculate for no clear reason, as before.



4. This is my first GPS system so I did a lot of research online before I went ahead purchase it in March 2007. I wanted a large screen one and traffic system. 4500 seems to be the perfect match.
   
   Pro: large screen, real-time traffic system saved me many times, and reasonable routing suggestions. I don't have the rerouting adaptation problem as the other reviewers and if I get into a side road, it'll recalculate immediately. Maybe they fixed it in the most current software batch. Their customer service is superb.
   
   Cons: I had this unit for 5 months and have to return it now. As many reviewers said, this unit has slower routing calculation and I didn't realize it would be a problem until I was driving on a highway waiting for the exit.
   
   Even though I have the most current database batch, I would see some not-so-new highways disappeared suddenly during the drive. It would come back eventually but it doesn't feel good to see yourself driving on a blank space for several miles, especially if you travel to a unknown place at night.
   
   Road side of a destination seems to be wrong 80% of the time. We all know after 1 month of usage to ignore the final destination instruction.
   
   After 2 months, the address book, all travel location information, and user settings were wiped out automatically and I have to reset everything. After it happened so many times, I called Cobra and they gave me another software patch. It seemed to fix the problem.
   
   When used in big cities with a lot of traffics, its routing instruction can be so wrong. It usually gives me the worst routing suggestion, i.e. chose the busiest road, or a longer route, or use local highways with a lot of construction going on instead of an interstate highways that are much less congested, etc. This unit's routing logic seems to work better with mid-size to small-size towns.
   
   The mounting is cumbersome. After taking it off and putting it back on whenever I have to park somewhere, the V12 cord connected to the car broke. I had to call the customer service and they sent me another cord immediately. Did I mention that their customer service is very good?
   
   The final flaw which makes me wanted to return it is, one day the beautiful female voice was gone. Never come back again.
   
   I feel sorry to have to put a bad review on a product. I hope it would help others to avoid the frustrations I have gone through.



5. It is fun to use, has great versitility, and is easy to program. I can't ask for much more.

No comments about OnCourse Navigator 6 North America Deluxe Edition (1GB & 3.5 million POIs).

No comments about Cobra Gpsm 3000 Mobile GPS Navigation System.

5 comments about Nextar X3 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator and MP3 Player.

1. I got this GPS unit last week, and for an entry price range unit, I was really blown away by the performance and functionality of this unit. This unit only takes about 5 to 10 seconds to acquire satellites and locate my position, and I love the ability to select major road as a route option and the ability to navigate by higher level view or zoom in to local streets.
   
   In the high level view, I really like that every street is named so I really know what's around me, and I can really see where I'm going. When I pull off route into a McDonald, the GPS recalculate my route in seconds when I get back on the road. I haven't tried out the MP3 player or the photo viewer yet, I am sure it work fine but I really don't need this unit for those function anyhow.
   
   I've owned and use other navigation products from the Tom Tom One, to Mio C220, and even the Garmin Nuvi 360, I like this GPS unit the best. This product really exceed my expectation, so I highly recommend this product.



2. I got it from staples, which has a very bad reviews. From my personal view, I found that this unit is reasonably good especially when you look at the text to speech function which is really nice at this price tag. It receive the GPS signals in about 1-3 mins, while the first time you use it may take longer time. The directions are clear and accurate.
   
   One common problem one may encounter is that this unit may automatically shut down. However, after you change the setting for the sleep time, the problem will be gone. Some guys in the staples review give this unit a poor score due to this, while they don't know /change this setting.
   
   The turn by turn and text to speech function is excellent. Some other guys in the staples review found that the battery maybe poor, however, for me ,it may last about 2 hours. This is reasonable for me since most of the time you will drive you car. Another good thing is that you can charge the battery by directly connected to computer.
   
   Some minor problems with this unit is that it may not respond very quickly (compared to MIO C220) when you touch the screen. However, it is good enough to handle.
   
   Anyway, this unit is a deal especially when you can get at a sub200 price.



3. Bought one, had to take it back because at full volume I couldnt hear it. Got another and still had the same problem. Now I have a Garmin and can hear it fine.



4. I loved everything about this unit. It was super-easy to use. Quickly responsive. Provided street names. Had all the features one could want. But we regretfully had to return it after one short trip. We soon discovered that when traveling at a faster speed on the open road, the volume, even at maximum, could not be heard over the normal road noise in a Honda Accord. If you're alone in your vehicle, no music and just in-town traveling, it would be ideal.



5. It's 3-in-1 product. gps, mp3 player, and picture viewer. I did not use other than gps. It's a great product other than
   
   1. It can be slow to update. On road it can be annoying, if your turns are within 200 feet or less. By the time gps's done saying, I've already missed the turn at the speed of 20miles/hour.
   2. It does not get gps signal that easily.
   
   good value for the price overall.

No comments about Garmin GPSMap 60 Handheld GPS (010-00322-00).

5 comments about TomTom GO 700 Portable GPS Navigation with Hands-Free Calling.

1. This product has proven to be just what the advertisment say it is. I have used it so far to travel from Maine to Boston, Maine to Atlanta, GA, Maine to Maxwell AFB, AL and all over Maine. I have been very impressed at how easy it is to set up and use. Everything you said would, came with the unit.
   
   I will be buying another one in the near future as my wife needs it to keep from getting lost on long trips. Thank you.



2. Well...this product looks great, but the love affair ended there. I was very shocked when I recently bought this unit and found out that the maps are very, very, VERY outdated. It seems as if they are from around 1990 as so many highway updates are not included. Subsequently, the device is more or less useless as every time it hits a new stretch of road or new on-ramp, it gets "lost" and stops giving directions.
   
   I contacted Tom Tom and even though they have newer maps and that they admitted that the maps in this piece of garbage are outdated--they had the audacity to tell me I had to purchase a new set of maps for $110.
   
   So, make sure you add $100 to trhe purchase price, because it will be completely useless out of the box!!
   
   I am a professional who drives daily over a 3 state region and will buy a Garmin and surely encourage you do the same!!!



3. I received a refund after ordering/receiving/returning two TomTom GO 700 as neither was the latest version. It would have cost me additional money to download updates on my new purchase.
   The company demonstrated prompt, efficient and courteous customer service.



4. We've used our GO 700, Gabby, extensively for about 12 months traveling throughout the upper midwest not only for finding backroad routes but motels and restaurants as well. We even hauled her to Washington, DC to help us navigate the labyrinth of roads to find the stuff we wanted to see. It's exceedingly easy to use and the features on their PC software, TomTom Home, make it a simple task to maintain currency of software, maps, POIs, etc. It even includes a feature to backup and restore your GO! And operate your GO from your PC!
   
   Our GO 700 broke today and I called TomTom Customer Service. I has already done the diagnostics prescribed on their website and getting an RMA number and instructions to facilitate an exchange took less than 30 minutes and both calls were people answered by the third ring. Based on other comments here, I think TomTom has dramatically improved their customer support.
   
   The BlueTooth technology is way cool! Say Gabby finds a motel we want to stay at for the night. She displays the address and phone number and will even place the call from our cell phone if we want her to!
   
   Even with maintaining software currency, Gabby has her quirks. For instance, you pull into a town and are jonesin' for Subway. Unless its nearby, Gabby won't find it. There's no facility I've found for keying in a particular restaurant. We were entitled to one map update after buying Gabby and it'd be nice if they included a one year map subscription update given how quickly things change and the lead time that must be required to get it on the Gabby map.



5. I am about to embark on my second struggle with TomTom customer support because my second unit just failed. Getting the first one replaced was a nightmare. It's difficult to communicate with support, they respond slowly and their products are unreliable.

4 comments about Nextar 3.5-Inch Touch Screen GPS Vehicle Navigator With MP3 Player.

1. Just picked one up today, had to drive an older downtown area, worked great. I had to drive under numerous overpasses, then down a street with very tall builidngs and never lost the aquisition signal. Kind of a key feature. Mine had a manufacture sticker of 12/07 so it was pretty much up to date. The POI is very cool, and very accurate. Sound level was good, I could here it in the background while the radio was at low volume. Very clearly spoken.
   
   I was just amazed by the fast response. I have seen other units that were quite slow, not this one. For the price I paid, couln't beat it.
   Was on sale at a local retail chain.



2. The Nextar x3-03 is probably the best buy out there because it does include an a/c and d/c adapter and a cover along with free map upgrades when available - so they claim. The ac adapter is a benefit for outside sales people (real estate agents) so that you can program all your stops before hand. I recently purchase the tomtom and navignon and found them to be very useless especially the navignon because of the voice directions. It gave me about 5 steps when entering and leaving a ramp from the highway and I felt it would be really confusing if I did not know where I was. In addition to that, the navignon for some reason was trying to reroute me down streets I already knew they were dead ends. I return the tomtom and navignon back to staples and kept my Nextar.
   The beauty of the nextar is in its simplicity. The prompts are at the right time without added conversation! It is very easy to select your your next location within seconds while at a traffic light - or rather I should say parked in a safe location. Entering address information was much easier than the others because of the simple predictive text which looks up streets as you are typing them in like Pac for pacific - the navigon would pull up wolfpack once you starting typing and that to me was no useful.
   If you need a tool, the nextar is it, if you need a toy and graphics and more of what you don't need and less of what you really need, then I would certainly go back and purchase the tomtom and navigon. The sound and graphics are pretty cool.
   The downside, I do not believe there is any quality control and be prepared to send a unit or two back. I originally purchased mine at Kmart which has a very good return policy, problem was, their inventory is light and they have been out of them for 6 weeks. So now I have purchased from Amazon because their exchage policy is just as easy.
   Be aware that the battery does not last overnight as I believe the unit is always in standby mode even when you thought it was off.
   Nextar is very up front about their problems and issues which you can read about in the support section [...]
   I hope this helps anyone trying to make a decision. Best bet is to buy all 4 brands from a place you know they can be returned and try them all out for a day to see which one fits your needs.



3. I opened the package, hooked it up to the wall outlet and started reading the manual.
   As soon as the battery was charged fully, my preference you can turn it right on if you choose, I decided to see if my city had any POI's. I turned it on, input a few personal options and entered in my home address, I then located the POI's and found on in my home town that I had never been to, selected it as my destination, and off I went. It was great, turns were on the spot, the maps were awesome and the speed alert saved me from a possible speeding ticket!!!
   You will not be disappointed!



4. I got this because it was inexspensive , but it keeps showing me error messages and I debate returning it. When it functions properly though, I like the way the maps look and they are always accurate. It's very easy to use, which is another reason I like it , and hesitate to retun it for something else. I hear some others have all kinds of bells and whistles but are more likly to get you lost or be inaccurate. .
   J~

No comments about Binatone Carrera X430 GPS Unit.