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Nearly all of the more established GPS device marketers are continually working to improve their global positioning products. They are adding more convenient applications to make travel easier for travelers who use tires, hiking boots, or any other form of transportation imaginable. While these manufacurers are honestly intending to make these GPS devices accessible for the typical consumer, the summation of all the technology available in the device will understandably be rising costs. The best that these designers can do for the consumers who can’t pay for all the new gizmos is to make absolutely basic versions of the GPS devices that are affordable for Joe 6-cylinder. A nice option is the Magellan Roadmate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.

Magellan GPS devices are somewhat singular because this company has always manufactured their most popular models to be affordable as well as convenient. The disadvantage of affordability, of course, is that cutting edge technology is rarely available at low prices. As a result, the quality of Magellan’s GPS models has earned mixed reviews. Magellan responded to this issue by producing several higher-quality models for the more specialized GPS users.

Magellan Maestro

If you are looking for an affordable navigator for your car, the Magellan Maestro series gives you quite a few devices which are particularly for vehicle navigation. Magellan Maestro models are available in the 3000, 4000, and 5000 designations. Each of the 3000 models are quite affordable with a few like the Maestro 3100 available at below $200 which is outrageously cheap for a GPS device with 2-D and 3-D views. Perhaps their most convenient option is the QuickSpell feature, made to facilitate easy input for road names.

Every other remaining feature, including the performance is under par and hanging is very constant. With the exception of a couple of the 4000 and 5000 models, the Magellan Maestro is just not reliable, but the price stays reasonable.

Magellan Roadmate

As explained by the name, this group of Magellan GPS devices were made for cars as well. However they are distinguishable from their Maestro relatives when it comes to appearance. Roadmates are constructed to be easier to carry, having a smaller profile but keeping the same interface. The outcome of these improvements is the Roadmates are similarly easy to use and even easier to keep than the Maestros. A great unit is the Magellan Road mate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.

In the area of performance, the Roadmate is a bit improved with one or two models like the Roadmate 1212 benefitting from the Centrality Atlas III Processor. If you prefer investigating the menus, you may observe a rather annoying interval as you are pressing the buttons. The battery life isn’t very impressive either; it’s capable of running for about 3 hours until a recharge is necessary.

On the bright side, the Roadmate is thought to be better than some of the Maestro budget devices, logging many more POI’s over the Maestro 3100 which has a paltry 750,000 points of interest. The Roadmate closes the gap with other brands by installing more than 6 million points of interest. Text-to-speech, which is generally a handy feature, is also offered by a few of the reasonably priced models. The price isn’t prohibitive either, which is extraordinary for a slim device. A good device to look into is the Magellan Roadmate 1470 Portable GPS Navigator.

Despite the fact that there are only two line-ups to select from, they each have at least 10 models per group with many different price tags and functions. The lowest priced models aren’t very useful for frequent users on account of the repetitive crashes, but the higher quality models are quite satisfactory and will be suitable for travelers to be happy with.

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