RoadMate 1470: Best Magellan GPS systems available?
In terms of GPS navigation devices present in today’s market automobile owners usually think of powerhouse brand names like Tomtom and Garmin. I can’t blame them personally because I’m quite guilty of being bias when it comes to GPS device brands. On my defense, I want to get the best. Garmin and Tomtom produce several of the best GPS gadgets available in the market today. However, our goal is to seek for alternatives and have an open mind when it comes to gadgets and electronics.
You see, in the tech industry a year seems like ages due to fast pace development of new devices. The latest gadgets you see today might be obsolete after a few weeks time. And handheld GPS systems are not an exception to this! We’re in constant search for newer, better and cheaper GPS product. Now, we’ll get to know if the RoadMate 1470 is indeed one of the best Magellan GPS systems.
The Magellan GPS systems product line was founded during 1985 in California U.S.A. It mainly produces GPS consumer products for public use. However, Magellan GPS products only appeal to average consumers mainly due to less advance features and sometimes exorbitant prices that reach up to $300. Of course, deep pocket tech consumers can avail them, but why settle for a GPS device with “lesser” features if you can buy another (for the same price) with “more” good stuff under its hood?
Perhaps, that’s one of the reasons why the Magellan Roadmate 1470 was born. This Magellan GPS device answers what the crowd is looking for: cheaper and more navigation features!
Product Features and Review
First to notice on this Magellan GPS system is its Display screen. It has a large 4.7 in. touchscreen display with sleek black finish (similar to your PDA). Also, with a touchscreen feature, navigating on the entire interface of this gadget is a breeze. Even big guys won’t have a problem navigating this GPS device.
Second is the interface. Magellan 1470 comes with a user friendly interface that doesn’t confuse its users on navigating functions on its screen. It has easy to access bookmark function that allows its users to retrieve saved destinations and other hot spots.
Third is Navigation functionality. Unlike other GPS gadget that comes only with the map of the United States, the RoadMate 1470 has a built-in Canadian and Puerto Rico maps in addition with the U.S. map. Of course, several POI (Points of Interests) such as ATM machines, restaurants, motels, hotels, parks and others are preloaded on this Magellan GPS system.
The RoadMate 1470 has a wise feature called the Quick Spell, this comes in handy when you’re in a hurry and want to navigate a particular destination quickly. By only typing a few letters of the street name, this built-in feature will do the rest of the job and find the correct street location instantly. This is similar with using Google when searching for information in the internet.
You don’t need to type the whole words (or correct spelling), Google will help you find that info by combining algorithm and keywords. Thanks to Quick Spell, car and truck owners don’t need to be a spelling bee champion in order to find their way. Additionally, this Magellan GPS system also allows route comparisons. What it does is that it compare the shortest and the fastest route to take to get to your destination of interest. Some parameters can be added as well (like if the user doesn’t want to take the freeway).
This handheld GPS device only weighs 10 ounces, has a microSD card expansion slot, voice capabilities for navigation instruction and a pretty good battery life. You can get the Magellan RoadMate 1470 for $157. It’s a good price for a sleek and very functional piece of equipment.