Strengths: none

Weaknesses: everything

Summary: I originally bought another (more expensive) version of the Magellan. It too was a piece of crap. On numerous occasions I called customer service trying to get the problem solved. I don

Strengths: Once the unit picks up satellite, it generally works. I suppose when compared to my terrible sense of direction, Garmin is definitely better. But that's not saying a lot.

Weaknesses: Takes a long time for the unit to pick up satellite and start navigation. Unit also "blanks out" and I have to completely restart probably once a week to get it to work again.

Summary: I bought this unit because it was cheap, and you get what you pay for. To its credit, the unit generally work once it starts navigating, and it does have one advantage over my old Tom Tom GPS in that it displays the name of the next road that you have to turn on. However, it can take 5 minutes or so before the unit picks up a satellite signal. This means I'm generally driving around aimlessly until the unit begins to navigate. What is most frustrating is that the thing stops working altogether at times and the map goes blank. The only thing I can do is restart the unit.Another annoying thing is trying to input intersections as your destination. Its a separate button than inputting addresses. There's too many times where I hit "address" to input my destination, start typing in city and street, realize that I don't know the exact address, and then need to start all over again using "intersection." Why don't they combine "address" and "intersection" as one function like other GPS systems?All in all, I would not buy a Garmin again and would be willing to pay more to get something better.

Strengths: Easy to use and navigate

Weaknesses: Magellan support

Summary: I bought this unit for my wife and we received it this week. It works great. When I registered the unit on line I found that Magellan's website showed there were software updates for this unit (Roadmate 2000). I downloaded the update and after some difficulty I was able to perform the upgrade. I then found that the voice prompts no longer worked. I logged back onto their webpage and found that the firmware upgrade had been removed due to a technical issue they are working on to correct. I verified all of my settings and finally called Magellan support. The support group was hard to understand (they are located in India) and were unable to help me. I asked if this was a problem related to the upgrade since the voice prompts worked fine before the upgrade and they would not say. They asked that I upgrade the unit again (although the screen showing the firmware and OS versions showed the new version numbers) but by this time I was low on battery charge and could not perform the upgrade. This unit did not ship with an A/C adapter. I asked if there was a way to backout the upgrade and he (Tom) informed me there was not. I asked the tech again if this was a known issue and what other issues I might experience with this "upgrade" and after some time on hold he once again was evasive and would not answer my questions. I asked for a supervisor and after some more time on hold he told me one would call me back within 24 - 48 hours. I was not happy with this and said that was unacceptable to which he put me on hold some more after I told him I thought 1 to 2 hours is more along my expectations. He came back and said a supervisor would call me back in an hour. It is well over an hour and no call so far. I tried their Corp office and was routed by an ARU back to India. I called their Corp office again and after attempting the dial by name directory got to a receptionist named Marti who would not connect me to management. She said she would send me to Quality Assurance and they could escalate to management if necessary. I spent about 15 minutes on hold and was finally disconnected. I love the Magellan GPS units and I have three (Blazer 12, Explorist 210 and the Roadmate 2000) and each time I have had to call tech support I am very disappointed. I have to say I will not recommend their products to anyone else since I am really getting the impression they are disconnected with their client base and provide at least some answers. To be fair Tom (tech support) did say the updated firmware will be out within a weeks time. However, until then I have a nice map on a video device with no audible prompts whatsoever. If my wife was not already used to the unit I would pay 100 bucks more and get something by another manufacturer. In summary be careful with firmware upgrades and don't expect good customer service if you need Magellan's help.

Strengths: Size and portability, no need to load maps, rechargeable Li-Ion battery, fast satellite acquisition

Weaknesses: No AC adapter, Maps limited to 48 contiguous US states

Summary: As a basic "entry-point" gps unit, this is top-notch. I paid half the retail price on this last black friday ($200 plus tax), though I probably could have gotten it slightly lower had I waited longer. I have an older Garmin StreetPilot 2610 and although that has more features (and was also a lot higher priced), a smaller, handier, basic no-frills unit at half or a third of the price fits my needs just fine. For one, I always carried my Garmin StreetPilot with me when I leave the car. Because it is way bulkier than the Magellan 2000, I had to carry a video cam bag for it. But the Roadmate, although not as compact as the newer Garmin Nuvis, is small enough to fit in my coat or jacket pocket. With the portability and form factor, this is a handy unit to bring on plane trips and then use with a rental car. The suction mount is small enough, too and easy to install on any windshield. Having a built-in rechargeable battery is nice because the StreetPilot didn't have one and only worked when plugged to the cigarette lighter.One thing I like is the superfast satellite acquisition which they attribute to the advanced processing chipset, SirfstarIII. With my Garmin, it would take a few seconds to a minute or two before the satellite signals are acquired. With the 2000, it's almost instantaneous with no noticeable acquisition time. It even worked in doors! I also like that I didn't have to load any maps; however, the fact that it only comes preloaded with the 48 contiguous states is a drawback. The website says that Europe maps cannot be added to this unit. I'm curious if maps for Alaska, Hawaii and Canada would be added. Or would the unit just not display anything if I were to operate it in Canada, for example?Documentation in the box is pretty weak. The website has a pdf of the reference manual as well as faqs. There is no ac adapter cable. Magellan seems to realize the weak documentation, as it addresses in the faq what the included USB cable is for and the SD/MMC slot.Overall, still a good unit, if you just want to use it in the 48 states.

Strengths: battery, points of interest, robust

Weaknesses: outdated maps, splitting highways into parts, too slow at map zooming, voice prompts

Summary: This is my first GPS. Originally, I was very disappointed but I feel as if I finally get used to it. Although the routing may not be the most efficient, it is usually acceptable. Mapquest and Google have much more powerful computation resources so I am no longer expecting a perfect routing from my little Magellan 2000 and verify the overall route before driving. Then, when I deviate from the GPS-generated route, I entertain myself by counting recalculations of GPS routing, until the GPS figures what was my intention. A week after my first review, the company released an update. This update fixed some of the bugs but no maps have been updated - at least not those that I use. Map zooming is still very slow. I have to acknowledge comment by another reviewer (forgetfu), that the unit does not tell how long I stay on a highway. Instead, it will give me directions to some major intersection and then advice me "continue on current road" until I am 2 miles from my next turn. Sometimes the highway is split into many short sections so I hear all the same redundant advices. When I was on the ramp for Verrazano bridge in Brooklyn (NYC), the unit directed me "make sharp left", which would mean "up" on the bridge above! What a nonsense! I called customer service and the rep was hopeless. They can tell you only what is written in the manual or suggest that the routing calculation runs on the Satellite. The good thing is that you can take it out of the car, because the unit has rechargeable LiON battery. However, if you are off the road, the unit may not store the local map. As oppose to some reviewers, I don't miss the 110V charger. Car charger is enough. The advantage of this GPS are points of interests even though they are incomplete. When driving on highway, you can select restaurant of your choice (select cuisine) that is ahead of you and gives you directions. Also provides phone number so you can make a reservation or verify they are open. The list includes hotels, shops, car repairs, gas stations etc., etc. One more thing, I dropped it from 3 feet on a hard surface and nothing happenned to it.

Strengths: I like the disply, it has good color quality. It is nice and simple for me to use.

Weaknesses: Showed me "off roading" on a new by-pass that was bulit in my town.

Summary: I like the disply, it has good color quality. It is nice and simple for me to use. Showed me "off roading" on a new by-pass that was bulit in my town. A stylus would be handy.

Strengths: Easy to use. Clear map. easy to enter addresses. Light enough to carry in your pocket book. Ez windshield clamp/ fixer and easy to detach the unit from the stand.

Weaknesses: Does not mention name of street that I have to turn into.. only mentions turn in 200m. NYC addresses cannot be entered. All addresses from 49th ave to 80 ave get one address in queens.

Summary: For $ 272 I thought it would mention the street name that I had to turn into... nope... did some nice circles the first day I used it to go to IKEA in Long island, NY mainly because I couldn't figure out how far away 200m was... the first left, the 2nd left?. But it worked fine once I got to understand its limitations. Works fine on the highway but is a little late to mention the turn on the streets. Doesn't recognise my address and when I tried to use the Map to pinpoint it, it showed I was pointing south when I was facing north. Haven't tried it out in Manhattan yet. Haven't tried other products so cant compare to similar or lesser priced ones. Overall I like it. Comes with a slot for extra memory and a USB cord but the website has no updates to download.. why the cord then? There was a coupon in the box from Magellan for a free AC charger. Hopefully they will send it and I will be able to free up my car charger site.

Strengths: Easy to install and get started

Weaknesses: Maps are incomplete can't be updated. Not very configurableNo text to speech to direct you using street names

Summary: I bought this unit because it was on sale for black friday. While I probably won't return it, I might sell it on ebay shortly. I'm not very impressed.The very first time I used it was to go to one of my customers in Dallas Texas. They are in a warehouse style office that has been around for more then 20 years. It wasn't aware of the address and couldn't get me there (the site is available to both google maps and mapquest). I was very suprised, but a GPS with incomplete maps isn't very useful.I looked for map updates. They arn't available.This is my first GPS, so I don't have much to compare it to, but one thing I find very annoying is that when I turn onto a new road, it doesn't tell me how long I'll be there. For example, if i merge onto a highway, it would be nice if it said that my exit was in 7 miles (or at least validated that I merged onto the highway going the right direction). Instead, it doesn't say anything until I'm 2 miles from my next turn.I did get this at a good price because of the black friday sales. However, if you're looking at this under normal circumstances, I wouldn't go any less then the Roadmate 2200. This unit is way too rigid and has proven pretty inneffectual the first couple tiems i've tried to use it.

Strengths: clear screen, good info to prepare you for yout next turn, quick signal acquisition

Weaknesses: no ac adapter in box, no manual in box, with confusing quick start guide lacking some key points

Summary: This is a good unit for the price. I also have a finedrive 400 and also like it - thought his unit is much sleeker and does not have any protruding antenna or anything else - which is great. If you are uncomfortable with electronics you might have a problem getting started with the unit as the included documentation is pretty minimal. the manual is available on-line, though - so go download a copy for reference. If you are comfy with gadgets you'll be fine. but be prepared for tech support people who only know how to read prepared scripts and have no real product knowledge. You need the manual and the ability to figure out any questions yourself. If you do, you will be happy with this unit.

Strengths: Clear, bright Screen. Very sensitive receiver. Heavy-duty plastic housing. Easy to use.

Weaknesses: Limited points of interest database. Only includes maps of the contiguous 48 United States.

Summary: I've been using the Roadmate 2000 GPS for 2 weeks and have found it to be a very useful and enjoyable addition to my car. It seems to be very well made and has a strong black plastic outer casing. It even works though my tinted windows, and has never lost the satelite signal since I've been using it. Its easy-to-use touch screen interface makes it simple to enter addresses and find the best routes to where you'd like to go. It allows you to select the fastest, shortest, or least expensive (no toll roads) routes. However, it only has about 1.5 million points of interest as compare to 7 million on some of the more expensive units. So don't be surprised if you can't find something you're looking for in its limited database of POI?s. That won't be a problem if you know the address of where you'd like to go. Other than that, I've been very pleased with my purchase and would recommend it if you're looking for a good GPS at a reasonable price.

Strengths: Large screen, voice prompts on turns, easy to use. Quite accurate results. Easy re-routing feature.

Weaknesses: No voice recognition available.

Summary: I've been using this GPS for nearly two weeks now and I must say that I'm quite happy with its performance. I used it during day and night time and the screen brightness was quite good with no problems. The location accuracy was good and it was able to pinpoint the location. It doesn't have the voice recognition ability which I felt that should be there. There was no AC charger but the car charger.But with the price tag it has, it is definitely a good one to be considered.

Strengths: Auto re-routing, voice prompts, alert when time to turn, accurate mapping.

Weaknesses: Suction cup and mount are not that secure on the windshield, I used the 3M tape mount for the dash and its much better.

Summary: Great GPS unit. Best for this price range. I am happy with it and I drive a delivery truck so it gets alot of use. Highly recommended. Great re-routing if you want to take a detour or accidentally get off track. Easy to use even for gadget newbies. Alot of customizable settings. I've used it in very small towns that aren't even on the local maps and it found me a way through there with no problems.

Strengths: Very good navigation, Easy to see, Good interface, Changes color at night

Weaknesses: No Text-to-Speech for Road Names, No "hard" volume buttons, No AC adapter for charging in house - only Cig. Lighter Adapter, No manual yet.

Summary: I used this unit for 10 days (HH Gregg let me try it out). I was told it DID have Text-to-Speech for the street names - "Turn on Broadway Avenue in .2 miles" instead of "Turn in .2 miles." It did NOT have this feature. However, a quick glance at the screen had this information. The routing was good, and the interface is very easy to use. At night the background changes from white to black, so it is not as bright in the car. You can easily click to see exactly where you are (if on an interstate, it will tell you how far to the last exit and the next exit), which is very good if you have an emergency. POIs were pretty good, and most have phone numbers, so you can easily call them. I have ordered the 2200T due to the Text-to-Speach and a few other features. However, this is an EXCELLENT GPS unit. Tech support was non-existent when I called, and they do not have a manual for this unit yet. It does come with a Quick Start guide. The website says the manual will be out in a couple weeks.