Magellan RoadMate 1412 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator Reviews

• For $150 it's well worth the money

  
  By A2HID5KXEQAEI3 on 2008-06-10
  Pros:
  4.3 screen, slim design, good build quality, nice screen, nice graphics, text-to-speech works well, acquire signal fast, uses Navteq map and routing works the way you would expect if you didn't have a GPS and had to map the route yoursself, no round-around routing, has 4 routing options, fastest, shortest, maximum freeway, minimum freeway, a compass is built-in and shown in the upper left corner, plenty of POIs, 6 million of them, good quality windshield mount
  
  This model locks in signal EXTREMELY FAST and it works indoors too
  
  
  
  The first time you use you may notice some screen sluggishness but after that it's very responsive, my take is that it might have to do with some kind of first-time initialization
  
  Cons:
  No home AC adapter, only car adapter, windshield mount arm is a little short, a bit heavier than most other GPS but probably due to the case but this should not be viewed as a negative
  
  
  I picked this up at Costco with a $50 off coupon and at $150 this is one of the few GPS on the market that offer text-to-speech, Navteq map and 6 mil POIs. This model uses the Centrality Atlas III GPS chipset which is considered to be even better than the SIRF III chipset
  
  

• First GPS

  
  By A4F1J2R8IN351 on 2008-06-07
  This is my first GPS. Given the number of options available and brands, I could not decide so I have been shopping for many months. I decided on the Magellan since this is the brand provided by Hertz (neverlost) and I had success with these units in the rentals. What sold me was:
  
  The feature where the unit will complete the spelling for you of objects being searched;
  
  The 4.3" screen;
  
  The huge POI library.
  
  I compared to a Garmin NUVI 260 at Best Buy and it seemed the Garmin spent a lot more time thinking than did the 1412.
  
  The huge POI library was also a plus. I entered many known POI's and the 1412 always displayed them accurately. Finally the 4.3" screen was a seller.
  
  No complaints here and I would recommend it.
  
  

• Great GPS for the money

  
  By A3TNFQ5YUZ39RS on 2008-06-11
  We first saw this GPS at Costco for $[...]. Then, we saw the Coupon. Even without the coupon it is a heck of a deal. I would go so far as to say it is a steal! We've considered a GPS for our car for some time. We looked at Tom-Tom's, Magellans, Garmins and Navigon. Magellan just came out with a new line of hand helds and they have had a bit of a rocky start. So, we were initially a little leary of this new addition to the Magellan Auto GPS line. But, Costco had them as part of a working display and my wife and I got a chance to try the unit out in demo mode in the store. The unit was quick and flawless.
  
  Though the unit has 6 Million points of interest, not every gas station, store and Resturaunt is in there. We find the problems to be with the establishments that are 10 or more years old. We also found this problem with the other brands as well. We actually liked the Tom Tom better than the garmin as well. Garmin is mighty proud of their units and need to figure out that they need to bring down the price point if they are going to stay competitive. The Navigon and it's 1 million POI's is a little limited based on it's competition. We have a Magellan 210 Explorist that we use for Geocaching, and we love it. So, we were willing to give this unit a try and we love it!
  
  For the money, the Magellan 1412 is the way to go for a complete Navigation unit. We didn't want one to Play MP3's or have blue tooth or do traffic stuff. This unit is perfect for us and we look forward to using it a lot.
  
  We found that the unit was very quick to re-route us when we missed a turn. The Text to speech pronounciation is very good. The unit comes with a built in battery so you can do routing in the comfort of your Home or RV and then move it to the dash and 'Away you go'. The unit changes to a black screen automatically, when it gets dark out to make it more comfortable for night driving. We find the user interface to be very intuitive. We would highly recommend this unit to anyone considering a GPS for the vehicle.
  
  Happy camping. - Eric -
  
  

• easily worth 150$

  
  By AYKE9QIBQKRTF on 2008-06-12
  I'm a courier and have used garmins nuvi 360 , 680, and 750 . I have also used magellan's 3140, and magellan's roadmate 1412. I drive about 200 miles per day and do about 30 stops and this is what I have learned.
  
  the best thing to do , is to decide what features and price will fit your needs best before you buy.
  
  for me , as a courier , the roadmate works great as I can take full advantage of the route optimizer and road exclusion feature.
  
  also, for the price !! roadmate is a steal ! it has nice 4.3 in screen , snappy interface, great gps receiver , routes on par with the garmin if you don't go over 300 miles . ( after 300 mls its a total crapshoot ) plus its got current maps as of 3rd Q 2007 ! ( they are also navtek ! considered best maps of united states )
  
  I have run garmin nuvi 360 and 1412 next to each other for a whole day to help me decide which 1 to keep. ( dont need 2 )
  
  first I gotta say the garmin 360 is a better gps in almost every way. Better map display ( by far ) better routes over 300 miles , faster interface, longer batter life, better customer service , cheap map updates that come out every year ( map updates are like for magellan ) great poi loader software that makes adding red light cameras a snap . ( still haven't figured out how to add poi's for roadmate )
  
  the only drawbacks for garmin is the up front cost . And on garmin there is now way to exclude a street from a route , or due multiple stops . 1412 has both these features and also has a bigger brighter screen.
  
  So if you want a gps that has alot of bang for the buck , roadmate 1412 is probably your best bet.
  
  If you want a great gps and don't mind paying a little more , the garmin is clearly better quality !
  
  I'm keeping the 1412 only because I need the route exclusion , and multi stop routing for my job.
  
  hate to give up the garmin but I just don't need 2 !
  
  ps. I thought the 750 was the worse gps as far as bang for buck ! had same exact routes and maps as the cheaper 360 and 1412 , and 750 doesn's come with cover or home charger or blue tooth ! kinda lame !
  
  also , the highly touted, newly introduced router software on the 750 was effective at ordering up stops , but unfortunately, it was so hard to use it didn't help me on the job.
  
  for example , one lame thing about the optimizer is you have to enter your first and last stop before you can add other stops. Well, common sense tells you your gonna have to know where all you stops are to know which 1 is nearest and which 1 is farthest! DuH !!
  
  they should just give you options like least distance ! or round trip !
  
  that would make a lot more sense .
  
  second problem was after you get too the first stop , it would start routing to the second . the problem was the final addresses were off sometimes and I wasn't actually to my first stop yet . ( very annoying )
  
  final word , cant go wrong with garmin for casual use !
  
  for couriers or truck drivers , magellan is pretty hard to beat !
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Great Value

  
  By A2CAOPAHDSJQC on 2008-06-10
  This is an excellent GPS navigator for the money. I got mine for $149 with $50 coupon from Costco. Get it if you only want a simple operating naviagtion system without the frills such as Bluetooth, MP3, traffic, etc. It is very quick and excellent for getting you to where you want to go. It is also very easy to operate.
  
  
• For the money!
  By A55K1WFN6IS5L on 2008-06-14
  I've be a user of GPS units for many years. The positive reviews offered here seem to be complete and accurate; the few negative reviews don't take into consideration the cost of this unit, so I will just touch on several points to help round out the overview of this product. FOR THE MONEY, this product is fantastic; I think the best on the market. Very bright display, very simple, very accurate. The text to voice on this unit is one of the clearest and most pleasantly synthesized provider of information that I've run into. Heck, I think you could turn this unit upside down on the seat next to you and reach your destination without effort.
  
  This unit is so new that all of the newest maps come loaded into it. I live in a fast growing Phoenix Metro area where highways are always coming on line and everything is here. I must have been one of the earliest purchasers of this product because there was only one review at the time. I waited until now to fully use and review. Multiple destinations, a great address book setup, simple to change things on the fly, I must recommend this product.
  
  There may be slightly better products with more features for more money, but if you want a real performer that is heads and heals above other units at this price point, you can't go wrong here.
  
  Up date: 7/5/08
  
  Ok ... after further review. I've used this thing a lot for work. I still stand by the above info but must add this slightly negative finding. It seem the exact location that you route to is often off a bit. The unit might say "you have arrived," when in fact you are a few addresses past or before your expected address. It might say "destination on the right," when in fact, it is on the left. Once the unit was as much as a mile incorrect with its final finding. I would pull a star if I could. The unit is still a good buy and I have found all destinations I've ask directions to. I will check the Web and see if an update exists.
  
  
  
• My Mate On The Road !
  By A236V1U1P2K4OG on 2008-07-29
  This is my first GPS., although I have used them in rental cars, so not a novice. I am an educated consumer and checked out them all prior to purchasing, Garmin, Tom Tom, Mio etc etc. But reviews and features kept bringing me back to this baby. First off the satellite signal is at four bars all the time, no messing about with additional antenna's. Due to this on switching the unit on, within 15 seconds or so, it's locked on and ready to go. I found it easy to enter my home address and it got me to me destination easily. Her voice is a little scratchy, due to the small speaker. But still audible over my XM with no problems. Some reviewers have mentioned if you miss your turn it keeps saying 'do a U Turn', I deliberately missed a turn several times and each time it actually instantly recomputed my location and took me forward without having to make any U Turns...so maybe I have a different software version ? One reviewer also mentioned that the maps have not been updated since 2006, this has to be incorrect as I navigated around a roundabout in my town which has only been there for 11 months, prior to that it was dirt-track !! Plus this is a brand new unit which has only been out a few months.
  One thing I hate is the packaging, having to fight my way thru plastic, which is now in pieces, good job I don't want to return it ! My other moan is the instruction manual is on a disc, so you have to print it out.
  They suggest the quick start guide is sufficient for you to carry in the car. I disagree, you really need the full manual to use this wonderful little unit to it's full capacity.
  All in all, it get's 5 stars from me and for the money, this little beauty is a winner all the way !!
  
  
• Got this one [...]...Love it!!!
  By A8457ILBNLSQZ on 2008-06-13
  [...] The first piece I got, I was very frustrated with it. I couldn't get it to work...good thing it has the graphic display to show which/how many satellites are locked in. Mine didn't have any locked in to the GPS. I realized immediately that the product was defective and I got it replaced the next day.
  
  I love the feature to set the GPS location manually (through "user options"). So sometimes when you turn it on, at far distant place from where you turned it off, the GPS will know approximately where you are so that it can lock in with the satellites quickly. It is a great feature.
  
  I also like the screen size...the beep before each turn and the 6 million POIs. I also like the feature that when a bifurcation appears on freeway, it tells you to stay on the road with the name. I have used some GPS which just tells you to stay on the road (without the name) and it is confusing because I could have already jumped onto the lane which is about to merge onto some other freeway.
  
  I haven't used the trip planner...I'll update my reviews someday when I use it.
  
  
• Very Happy With This Purchase: Magellan RoadMate 1412
  By A1YB3PCQIBQMTE on 2008-07-24
  This is my second GPS, replacing an Omnitech unit that we gave to our daughter. I originally purchased a MIO C320 to replace the Omnitech, but found it extremely confusing to use and lacking in features, such as text to speech and keeping an address book.
  
  First, the Pro's...
  This is a GPS unit that does what you want it to do!
  It has a wide screen that is uncluttered and easy to follow and provides more than enough information to get you to where you want to go.
  The text to speech voice quality is clear and understandable. The volume level is quite good.
  Route calculations and recalculations are made in reasonable time and with excellent accuracy.
  It doesn't have an MP3 Player
  It doesn't have a digital photo viewer.
  You can't play Sudoku on it.
  You cannot play movies on it.
  It is, after all, a GPS unit! Why would I want to pay $100 - $200 more for features I could care less about?
  
  The maps are 3rd quarter 2007. I assume updates are available annually. When I got the unit home, I checked the firmware version and updated the unit to the latest version with no observable problems, and no discernible negative effect on operations.
  
  The unit comes with 6 million POI's and you can add to that. I added a list of Virginia wineries. The address book is easy to use and access and can store 100 places.
  
  Now for the con's...
  Some features are a little further down the menu tree than I would like. Getting to the address book, for instance, requires about 4 clicks, so instead of spending 2 seconds getting there, plan on spending 4 seconds! Like anything new, there's a learning curve so you should expect to some time to get familiar with this.
  
  I'm having to struggle here to think of more con's...
  
  There is no AC adapter, but these are the same adapters used for many other electronic devices such as cell phones, PDA's, cameras, etc. There is also no USB cable. Again, these are common accessories that most of us have lying around.
  
  The mapping software that is available for download onto your PC doesn't seem to be very user-friendly. I'm not sure what I would use it for anyway, other than, perhaps, to print out a route. But then, what's the point of having a GPS?
  
  For the price and the features, I really can't complain about this unit. So far, I'm VERY pleased with the purchase and very satisfied. I "almost" bought one of the competing brands for $150 more and, the only thing I would have gotten for the increased cost are "enhancements" that I don't want anyway.
  
  I strongly recommend this unit to anyone interested in a GPS unit who's strength is to get you from point A to point B!
  
  I also highly commend Magellan for concentrating on the core competencies of this GPS unit and for making it available at an affordable price. The "other guys" seem intent on adding extraneous "enhancements" in an effort to justify pushing up the price point.
  
  This is a GOOD, SOLID, GPS for the money and we're extremely satisifed to have it!
  
  
  
  
  
• Good unit, some pros, some cons, ultimately went back to Garmin
  By A2SZCYSBHL4O4R on 2008-07-25
  I read all the reviews on this unit, and decided that there were lots of reasons to try it:
  
  Smart Spelling (with limitations I mention below)
  Multiple point routing (i.e. Creating a trip with multiple stops)
  Split screen when approaching a turn
  Text to speech that is really easy to hear and does a good job with pronounciation
  Large screen
  Good price
  Ability to see time remaining to destination, estimated arrival time at destination and miles to destination (I don't think the Garmins give you all that)
  
  When I received the unit, it was very easy to set up, create "Home", and start adding address entries. I liked the sound of the smart-spell feature that blanks out street names/Cities when you are typing, only giving you those that apply. However, in reality, it doesn't give you enough flexibility.
  
  There are many things to like, but I want to point out those things that I found not to be so easy:
  
  I was driving between Phoenix and Las Vegas, and wanted to go through Laughlin, NV/Bullhead City, AZ, to avoid going over Hoover Dam, which can be really backed up. I was trying to put in the intersection of Arizona State Route 68 and Bullhead Parkway (becomes Nevada Highway 163), so that the unit would route me that way. However, with the limitation of the "smart spell", I couldn't find the intersection, no matter how many ways I tried to spell Arizona SR 68, and there didn't seem to be a way to get around it. Another irritating factor is that, unlike the Garmin Street Pilots I have used, I couldn't tell it to go from Phoenix to Las Vegas VIA Laughlin. The Garmins will ask you "Proceed to destination VIA xxx?", but the Magellan didn't do that (I found out later that I should have created a "Trip", with the routing points built in, then use the "Optimize" feature to have it route me). The minute I deviated from the route it had chosen (US-93 over Hoover Dam), it told me 10 times (!) over the next 10 miles to make a U-Turn. It never did figure out that it could route me to Las Vegas via Bullhead City, which was only 10 miles up the road, rather than hounding me to turn around. The detour feature was just confusing and wrong (detour wanted to put me onto I-40 west to Needles, CA, then north, adding well over an hour! - I'm glad I've driven the correct way many times), nor did the "exclude" feature (lets you exclude certain streets from a route) work for that route, so I eventually gave up, cancelled the route and started over again, once I got to Bullhead City. It's recalculation feature just seemed not to work too well. I really like the idea of being able to build an entire trip with multiple stops on it (the Garmin Nuvi 2xx's don't do that), but it just seems to be too inflexible, unless you are willing to completely give in to the device, without much say on where you're going. While you are en route to the next destination, it just doesn't want you to deviate, which the Garmin has no problem with (like I mentioned, the Garmin asks "Continue to destination VIA xxx?").
  
  Another thing that was causing problems was screen latency (i.e. delays). I would touch the screen to call up a new menu, make a choice or other action, and the unit would not respond for 5-7 seconds. This wasn't constant, but happened frequently enough that it got to be frustrating. I would touch an icon, it wouldn't respond, so I would touch it again, then it would catch up and I ended up going one or two choices past where I intended!
  
  I bought this for my wife to use to get around unfamiliar places, and for us to take on trips. She took it to Los Angeles, and it helped her get through rush hour traffic by using the "Avoid Freeways" routing choice, which she found very helpful. However, the same inability to route "VIA xxx" was a deterrent.
  
  So - The end of this review is that I sent it back and bought a Garmin Nuvi 260w (for $100 more, by the way), which she is much more satisfied with. We used an older Garmin Street Pilot in Europe, and it was a life saver. I think if we hadn't gotten used to the Garmin interface over 1,500 miles, we might have felt differently about the Magellan. However, the Garmin interface suits our style better.
  
  The Magellan is NOT a bad unit, it just has some quirks that we could not get around.
  
  
• won't get you lost
  By A1GEZRZ6F5WKOD on 2008-09-08
  I extensively used my companies pricier Garmin a few years ago, then bought this for myself after I changed jobs.
  
  Two features I really miss, and feel they are not exclusive to high end models; the old Garmin said "arriving at destination ON RIGHT" (or left). This one just says "arriving at destination", so I spend more time swiveling my head around looking.
  
  The Garmin also allowed me to program stops along the way during a route execution. The Magellan 1412 will only allow you to divert to "exit points of interests" and only along a freeway. Otherwise, if you're enroute, you have to cancel the route, search for what it is your looking for, then activate that route, then re-start your original route after. Or you can preplan it all -- as if you know ahead of time where you'll be needing to find a coffe shop on an old state road.
  
  The "Exit POI" feature is very nice, however. How many times have you been on a long road trip and flown past an exit you thought was devoid of gas stations or restaurants because there were no signs ahead? This prevents that nicely and lets you see within 15 or so miles what is coming up along a freeway.
  
  The POIs in the database are also pretty good-- lots more categories than I had on the older Garmin.
  
  The battery is puny, and won't hold much of a charge. Keep the power cord close by.
  
  The window mount is excellent -- better than the Garmin I had.
  
  The speaker is small, and a bit hard to hear if you have a noisy car.
  
  This one does say the name of the street-- a minimum standard in all GPS in my opinion.
  
  
• Comparison of Magellan 800, Magellan 1412 and Navigon 2100 max
  By A35Q2L2SJ05YZV on 2008-07-29
  I used to have Magellan Roadmate 800 and a few weeks ago I purchased Magellan Roadmate 1412 then I found a coupon for Navigon 2100 max. And here is the comparison chart; some of the entires are my personal opinions and might not reflect everyone's opinion... here it is:
  
  M08- Magellan Roadmate 800
  M14- Magellan Roadmate 1412
  N21- Navigon 2100 max
  
  Device specific features
  M08- Heavy; can play mp3s; can store JPGs
  M14- Slim and light
  N21- Slim and light (not as light as Mag 1412 tho)
  
  User Friendliness
  M08- Yes
  M14- Yes
  N21- Not as good as Magellan - buttons can be too close to each other depeding on the menu and the screen
  
  Volume
  M08- Can set up the volume manually with a control on the edge of the device; Volume increases at certain speed
  M14- Can set up the volume through the touch screen; Has only 5 settings; Volume doesn't increase over certain speed which can be hard to hear
  N21- Could not find the volume settings; Volume setting for over a speed can be set (No increase / Low increase / High Increase); Voice can be staticy
  
  Text-to-speech
  M08- No
  M14- Funny pronounciations on certain words; "in" sounds like "an" ... "Turn Left in 2 miles" sounds like "Turn Left then 2 miles" - "Freeway entrance" sounds like "Freeway an trans"
  N21- Pronounciation is more accurate then Magellan 1412
  
  Live Traffic
  M08- No
  M14- No
  N21- Yes - Might have to be purchased seperately; reroutes based on the traffic
  
  Zagat - Restaurant Ratings
  M08- No
  M14- No
  N21- Yes - Might have to be purchased seperately
  
  POI
  M08- ~1 million POIs
  M14- ~6 million POIs with wide range of categories
  N21- ~1 million POIs with limited range categories; shows actual brand logo on the map
  
  Lane Assistance
  M08- No
  M14- No
  N21- Yes
  
  Mount
  M08- Easy to mount
  M14- Easy to mount
  N21- Hard to mount, hard to take it off
  
  Password protection
  M08- Yes
  M14- No
  N21- Yes
  
  Compass
  M08- Yes
  M14- Yes
  N21- Not by default, has to be modifed in settings
  
  Recalculation
  M08- Screen goes blue with a progress bar until the calculation is over
  M14- Immediately
  N21- Immediately
  
  Vehicle Type
  M08- Car only
  M14- Car only
  N21- Car / Bicycle / Pedestrian
  
  Arrival Time
  M08- Display approximate number of minutes the route will take
  M14- Displays the arrival time
  N21- Displays the arrival time and the minutes it takes to the destination
  
  Distance left
  M08- Shows the miles left until the next move; Shows the miles left until the destination
  M14- Shows the miles left until the next move
  N21- Shows the miles left until the next move; Shows the miles left until the destination
  
  Turn by turn view
  M08- Yes
  M14- Yes
  N21- Yes
  
  Better for
  M08- Within the city travel
  M14- Within the city travel with better POI options
  N21- Long distance travel with live traffic and lane assistance
  
  Sluggy
  M08- Smooth menu items, sluggy map over time
  M14- Not sluggy
  N21- Sluggy menu items, smooth map
  
  Route options
  M08- Fastest Route; Shortest Route; Most use of Freeway; Less use of Freeway
  M14- Fastest Route; Shortest Route; Most use of Freeway; Less use of Freeway
  N21- Fastest route; Optimum route; Shortest route; Scenic route
  
  Tollway option
  M08- Can not avoid
  M14- Can avoid
  N21- Can avoid or forbid
  
  Allowing U-Turn (or not)
  M08- Not modifiable (Allows)
  M14- Not modifiable (Allows)
  N21- Can allow or forbid U-Turns
  
  
  
• Returned it, half-disgusted
  By A30GT91JHIBUOM on 2008-06-26
  UPDATE: In response to Dikster's comment, I am reorganizing this review, but keeping the rating the same.
  
  Magellan 1412 device-specific:
  I was going on a trip and my Sanyo NVM-4050 Easy Street 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (my review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1IQ2MOBUMBWBQ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm) conked out a few days earlier, so I rushed to CCity and bought this unit at $250. The 1412 seemed to work OK, except that it was slower at (re)calculating routes than the Sanyo. Also, at a couple exits I took off I-15N close to Mesquite, the unit returned "No POIs for this exit." [I believe the POI library is device-specific; for example, the Magellan Maestro 3200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator/4200 have 1.3 million POIs, while the 3210/4210 and higher models have 6 million POIs.]
  
  Navteq maps issue:
  The problem came when I was driving out of Page, AZ toward the Grand Canyon South Rim. The unit told me to take Coppermine Road for 42 miles and then join US-89. Worked fine for 15 miles or so - but after that, the paved road ended, and the rest of the path was dirt track!! Not something to be driven on in a Pontiac Grand Am (tried for 6 miles). Was turned back by a wise Native American (this is Navajo territory after all), who made his disgust for the GPS well-known. I later found out that if instead of starting down Coppermine Road, I had made a right, US-89 was just a couple miles away.
  
  Part-device (slow)/part-Navteq (non-existent roads):
  Incidentally, at the start of Coppermine Road, I made a (wrong) left - the GPS showed me (the arrow) as perpendicular to Coppermine Road, but it was just slow to adjust to my car's movement (should have seen the road signs, my bad). I ended up going down US-98 for 15 miles, as Magellan said I could take a right and join Coppermine Road. Except - the right was into a fenced-off farm!! I got such repeated non-existent turns all along US-98, till I returned to Coppermine Road.
  
  Device/Navteq in a city:
  On the plus side - the 1412 performed reasonably well back in Las Vegas, even pointing me to an Indian restaurant at the Rio.
  
  Bottomline:
  Still, I returned the 1412 to CCity, and will be sending my Sanyo in for warranty service (truthfully, not sure how the Sanyo would have performed in Page as it also uses Navteq maps).
  In the mean time, I will buy a Rand McNally map... One of the guides I picked up in Page showed Coppermine Road properly as partly "unimproved road." Guess I should not have relied entirely on the GPS system.
  By the way, it seems TomTom units currently do not use Navteq, unlike Magellan/Garmin/Sanyo (though I hear TomTom's situation may not last).
  
  
• This is #2
  By A1EYU0J0CCJV22 on 2008-07-19
  I purchased a Roadmate 1412 just before fathers day at Costco. It was on of there weekly summer specials. My wife and I went on vacation in the White Mountains of Arizona and the Gila Mountains of New Mexico> As a 1st time used of a GPS Ms. Magellan as my wife and I call "her" was spectacular. She now only told where to turn on the highways and paved roads she also knew the forest roads and even the location my 4-Runner was relative to a FR location. I fell in love. Called my son and he went a purchase on before the sale was over. Now I am purchasing one for my wifes Subaru Outback. I rate this a 5 and it is a very inexpensive unit.
  
  
• OK performance with some questionable directions...
  By A8YYWBJALI72B on 2008-08-23
  I bought this at Costco with a coupon for $[...] in June. After some city driving, it gave okay directions but occasionally it would give me some screwy directions when I would test it out using routes that were already known to me. The big test was when I took it to the Southwest for a road trip I took in August.
  
  It performed okay there too but still there were times during missed turns during rerouting that it made some questionable decisions. I still ended up getting to where I wanted to go, but probably not in the best manner, regardless if I selected fastest time or shortest distance. Rerouting is automatic but the unit does not say it is doing so.
  
  The points of interest feature is great and the Exit Point of Interest feature is fabulous since we did lots of highway driving. The Exit POI shows you restaurants, gas stations and dining in the upcoming freeway exits and how far away they are so you can better plan your drive.
  
  The battery life is okay but it does take a long time to charge fully after discharging and the unit did not come with a home charging adapter. The unit does not charge well when it is actively being used so you have to keep it plugged into a hot 12 volt for a few hours when it's off to charge it up.
  
  I had a Garmin before and that got stolen out of my car and it was their older "boxy" looking one. However smaller that was, it was faster routing directions (the Magellan takes significantly longer but not painfully so) and it had a choice of different voices (2 English and several other languages) whereas the Magellan only had one female English voice but had other languages available. The touch screen is decent but for some menu selections, there is a lag as the processor is working which means you can press your selection and have nothing happen for several seconds...for those of you that drive while you play with your GPS, this could be a problem.
  
  Well worth the $[...] for its features and size but I am returning mine to Costco and picking up a Garmin just because I like that interface (and voice) better.
  
  
• The Best for your hard work money
  By A1CTXLK1WDEKGN on 2008-06-17
  Can you find anything like the Magellan RD 1412 for less than $200 bucks? no i don't think so
  4.3 Screen
  6 Million POIs
  Text to speech
  Fast satellites.
  and it's Magellan.
  
  
• 1412 Excellence
  By A2V9V4NM5VBPLX on 2008-07-08
  Just installed the Magellan RM1412 and used it on a 725 mile round trip. Voice was excellent and instructions were right on, even in Chicago, where the new exways are really multiple! Could have listened to my human navigator but chose Magellan instead and it got me through the city and around the city, using two different routes. It worked flawlessley. Didn't even have the exact destination address and it got me to within sight of the house we were looking for in St. Charles, Il. I now have two of these 1412's. Also have a TomTom Rider I use on my motorcycle and it's a pain to use in the car. The 1412 car mounts(suction) work just fine. Well worth the money. Programming is somewhat time consuming (sound for POIs). Overall highly recommend.
  
  
• Great low cost GPS
  By A2S5VBSCF3J8GB on 2008-07-09
  As with most consumer electronic products, I tend to do a lot of research before I buy. I checked out Garmin, Tom Tom, Navigon, and Magellan products in all price ranges, by reading the tech specs, and playing with them at the local stores. While all of these manufacturers make good units, I ulitmately decided on the Magellan 1412. Here are a couple of reasons why:
  
  1) Features I want. I absolutely wanted text to speech (where the GPS announces the street names), and a wide screen. The 1412 has both.
  2) Ease of use. The Magellan 1412 is very easy to program, yet not too simplistic, like some of the others. Bottom line is that even my wife is comfortable using it.
  3) Features I don't want. It doesn't have minute by minute traffic updates, bluetooth capability, and it won't play your MP3s. None of those things interested me.
  4) Price. I got mine new for under $200.
  
  Since getting it, I've used it around town and on 2 long trips. It performed very well. I especially like the feature that finds POIs (points of interest) on upcoming highway exits. Very handy when you need a quick bit to eat or some gas.
  
  Overall, I highly recommend the Magellan 1412.
  
  
• My 3rd GPS and my favorite so far
  By A38VTT2YV7UF3H on 2008-08-11
  This is my 3rd GPS and I believe it's my favorite to date. It does give you the elevation of your location and the way you get to that is to tap on the "tow truck". I like that feature, especially since I live in the mountains. If you need to charge the battery while in your house, you can use the USB cable from your camera (I have a CANON). Once you connect the USB to your computer, hold the on/off button down and turn it off. It will charge the battery even when it's off. I like the way it recalculates my new route quickly. The speech is very clear for street names and turns. I get multiple satellites even in the house in a matter of seconds. My wife is hard of hearing and likes the chimes best of the 3 choices. She also likes the way it fills in while she's typing a street name or a city. Another feature she likes is how she can name a trip and make it a favorite. We couldn't do it with our Honda GPS and that aggravated her to no end. We did order a stylus for her because she has long nails and the stylus works just as well. We purchased a $5 camera bag from Big Lots and it fits the GPS perfectly. We stuck the stylus in the net pocket on the side of the camera bag. Fits fine. Hope this review helps.
  
  
• frugal
  By A1F3FY3MSW9OK5 on 2008-06-13
  this is my first gps.... i did all the research i could, and used the coupon from [...] to bring this unit down to a very reasonable price.
  i have been involved in electronics (service, employment, etc) and know quite a bit about figuring out new gadgets,but i am still learning about this 1412.... i think it could be made simpler to figure out.. i might change my rating to 5 star when i figure it out a little more.. the poi
  and the price were two important selling points... it is a necessity for some, and a toy for others....
  
  
• GPS Travel Mate Navigater
  By A2WQIZNMC4RMHN on 2008-06-27
  Only a week I had this. Did not have any problem setting up.
  Easy to read, Easy to see map and roads, Tested few trips
  Acuracy is very good no complaints yet.
  
  
• Not Worth the Money
  By A2O5LMAL2806S on 2008-07-01
  This was replacing my mio 310x, and I also own a TomTom 3rd edtion
  Pro's - 4.3 inch screen, Navteq maps -not the latest but still better then Tele Atlas, Fast Satellite lock, Cheap.
  Con's - Basic use of a GPS is to take me fast and safetly from one place to another. The routing on this is very bad.
  The faster(quickest time) routes take you through by lanes of the town, If you select most use of freeways, even then it takes you to all the by lanes to get you to the freeway. Very slow re-routing. Battery life lasts only one hour after a full charge. No battery life indicator. You cannot change the color scheme. Slow POI seacrch. The maps are on a SD card, no internal storage space. Slow POI search could be because of cheap SD card. The maps are on a SD card, but you cannot change the SD Card. Will work only with the company installed SD card. 6 Million Searchable POI for U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada and not Just U.S. Virtually no customer support.
  Returning this to get a never Mio which is of the same price for a 4.3 inch model.
  
  
  
• Good but has a few limitations and needed features.
  By A1Z8ZFTB1HSL98 on 2008-08-29
  The Magellan RoadMate 1412 was my first GPS navigator. I initially purchased my RoadMate from Costco in June 2008 because of the good price (after coupon) and then used it on a couple long trips before finally deciding to return due to some of the limitations. First, the interface is very easy to use. I never had any major problems with accuracy. It seemed to be right on when a turn was needed. Like any GPS, there were a few mistakes in the maps, however, that's a problem with the map data and not with the unit itself. I enjoyed the automatic night mode and exit POIs.
  
  The first limitation that I encountered (and the main reason I returned it) was that this unit will NOT calculate the SHORTEST route if the distance is over 300 miles. This limitation is UNDOCUMENTED. No where in the manual nor the Magellan website is this limitation specified. It is only documented on the unit itself when you try to calculate the shortest route. It's interesting that I haven't found any reviews mentioning it either. For example, when traveling on our first long road trip, this unit was adding almost 100 miles onto a segment (Dallas to Amarillo) that should have only been 364 miles, instead it was 463 miles (routing through OK City). I even tried excluding the interstate, but that didn't help.
  
  The other problems came as a result of this first limitation. In order, to force it to take certain roads, I had to setup a route with intermediate destinations. At first this was a problem because I had to figure out an intermediate address to enter, however, I eventually found the add point via map feature (you have to zoom way in to let you add a point). Magellan needs to add the ability to add a point without having to zoom way in, or use a feature like Google Maps where you can drag a route to a different road.
  
  Ok, so I finally got a route setup with some intermediate points, but the unit will only give you ETA information for the current leg of the route and not to the end of the route, so now I just lost a feature of using a GPS that I wanted.
  
  Another feature I wish this unit had is the ability to enter longitude and latitude for addresses or POIs. I believe you can use a POI editor on a PC to add long/lat, but directly into the RoadMate.
  
  All-in-all, the RoadMate is a good GPS unit for the price if you're not concerned about taking the shortest route.
  
  
• Great Value - very good unit
  By A1CGDAJI6IJ8R9 on 2008-07-18
  I bought this about a week ago, and it's worked extremely well right out of the box. In fact, it already had a charge, so I programmed a few destinations in the comfort my home, quickly installed it in my car, and I was off and running. Comments: it is accurate, voice prompts work very well, and it's very intuitive.
  
  You can charge it at home if you have a PC and a "mini USB" to "regular USB" cable. Just plug it in, and it'll give you a "need to install the proper Magellan software" message while it charges from your PC.
  
  Great product for the money.
  
  
• Good Navigator for the money w/many features
  By A3484JQLKIM4EU on 2008-07-23
  Navigation is good with selections availabe features such as fastest shortest, most highways, least highways. Maps outdated probably 2006. No utilities to work with your computer or maps to create tracks and way points. No additional maps available. Do not upgrade to the new software, navigation will be mush worse than with the original software that came with the unit.
  Trip planner works but stops at first destination and ask for next destination to be entered. Screen is not as good as Garmin, under dright sun it fades away.
  Conclusion: definately worth the money. Needs software improvement in routing area and better screen. Also need an AC charger that no store has.
  I fyou planning to use it inside the house tha only option to charge the unit is the usb port of the computer.
  
  
• Ok GPS....but often send you the 'long way'
  By A379WL38O2VDTF on 2008-07-25
  GPS is OK....but often sends you the 'long way'. It added a couple of hours to several legs of my 3000 miles trip. I tried the "Fastest Route" and "Expressway Only " routes with the same results. You need to know the route and have a rough idea before going....then, it's OK.....
  
  Just don't use it blindly..... For $150.00 though....it's not bad...
  
  I think most GPS's have this type of routing issue
  
  
• It does not get you where you want to go fast or shortest distance
  By A2QLIK70OKS89 on 2008-07-28
  The Magellan 1412 does not take you to your destination by the shortest route nor the fastest route. Driving to a known destination such as my own home, the Magellan insists you take a route that is round-about. I know my area well. The GPS shows the map of the road I am on (so I know the map is in the machine) but it insists on asking you to make U-turns and take a longer route. If you ignore the instructions it continuously tells you to turn around at your earliest convenience. I think something is wrong with it! It is very annoying and I end up turning it off.
  
  
• Just what I needed
  By A1CYTGAE5ZO549 on 2008-08-11
  I am almost 70, do most of the driving in my household,and since I was always the navigating map reader, i now need something to help me find my way. This roadmate is simple to operate, and so far has been a great help to me in finding my way around in unfamiliar areas, without having to stop and recheck a map, or printed directions. Just put in the address, and GO!
  
  
• magellan roadmate 1412
  By A269R9NIYEIY67 on 2008-08-29
  Magellan RoadMate 1412 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator A great unit. Easy to use for what I wanted. Doesn't have phone hookup or picture view which I don't need. Easy to understand directions.
  
  
• Great Product!
  By A1H8MMML99KVQ8 on 2008-09-02
  This is a great GPS for basic navigation. Some people complain that they can't do "mods" to it. But I could care less because it's purpose is to guide me in my travels. At this application it excels. Bright crisp screen, easy to use, and gets great satellite reception. Only negative thing I have to say is it does not come with a home charger (just a car charger) and does not come with a case. My friend bought a magellan mastro that did come with a charger and case but was more money and I think my screen is a better quality screen. His had less clairity and also distored when you use the touch screen which mine does not.
  
  

• Bracketron UFM-300-BX Nav-Pack Weighted GPS Dash Mount/Carrying Case
• Bracketron UFM-100BL Nav-Mat GPS Friction Dash Pad
• Maxsa 3-Outlet Power Adapter with On/Off Switch
• Bracketron Pro-Tect Protect the screen on your portable electronic devices (Model USP-100-BL)

• Bracketron UFM-100BL Nav-Mat GPS Friction Dash Pad
• Navigon 4.3-Inch Premium Leather Case (fits 4.3-Inch GPS units from all major brands)
• Navigon 4.3-Inch Protective Hard-Shell Case
• Rapid Wall / AC Charger for the Magellan Roadmate 1412 - Gomadic Brand w/ TipExchange Technology
• Magellan 930-0073-001 Maestro Roadmate 4.3 Inch Leather Case