Strengths: Easy to use. Larger screen. Text to speech.

Weaknesses: A bit slow to re-route. Does not always give shortest routes.

Summary: This Magellan model overall is a pretty solid entry for those looking at getting into the GPS market and just want a basic, no frills, simple to use navigation system.Directions and menus were all pretty simple and straightforward, I don't think I even read the instructions. Just plugged it in the care, turned on and used it. Simplicity is always a plus.The screen is a nice 4.3" sized screen and it's easy to read in day or night conditions; it does dim down during night for less distraction. And sound wise, all the voice guidance and tones are quite loud and easy to hear and understand.The meat of it, the navigation quality, overall is pretty solid. Enter the address or use the fairly large POI's guide and you can select how you want to get there (less hwy, more fwy, shortest time, distance, etc.), and the unit will guide you there effectively. The text to speech and street names is definitely nice too, as I don't really have to look at the screen most of the time.The only complaint I have is on occasion, the routes it gives are a bit questionable, as usually I would take a different route and feel I get there quicker than what the 1412 suggests. Also, while overall the re-route is decent, there have been a couple times where I've been waiting for it to re-route, yet once it has, it's either almost too late or too late. But this is more of a rarer thing in my experience, so I guess it's not too much of a flaw, as all GPS units will have their own quirks.No extras or anything though, but for a starter unit or just a decent, simple GPS unit, it does the job overall.

Strengths: 4.3" screen, POI database, speed, GPS chip

Weaknesses: Have to connect power cable to unit instead of mount, battery life so so, menus can be cumbersome

Summary: My old unit was stolen so I had to upgrade. This is a good unit for the money with very new maps as of this post. POI database is good and it has nice newer features like auto switching between day and night.

Strengths: Screen, POI,

Weaknesses: Battery, No wall charger

Summary: As a basic GPS, it does the job quite well. Very responsive, capture the satellite signal quickly and fast recalculation if you go the wrong way. The screen is big and clear. It has 6 million POI. TTS is OK but it would be better if you can choose different voices. I had a Garmin Nuvi 350 before. It had a lot of features like mp3, photo view and etc, which I never used them but actually paid a lot for them. RoadMate 1412, on the other hand, has all what I need: a basic GPS. The only problem of this unit is that the battery life is not so good. Garmin products have much better batteries. There is also no home charger. But I found that my Nuvi 350 home charger has the same input/output and it fits the RoadMate slot perfectly. So I just use it to charge at home and it works flawlessly. Bottom line, if you want a decent basic GPS, it's a good choice. But if you'd like to have some extra features and don't care about the price, Garmin GPSs will be better.

Strengths: GPS is light and very bright

Weaknesses: Takes a while to get signal when first turn on.

Summary: This GPS is decent if you are looking for a bargain priced GPS. The display is nice and bright. I usually turn on the GPS before I start my car so that I can get signal. It may be caused by the location, too.

Strengths: unknown

Weaknesses: Wouldn't function at all.

Summary: Just like many of the reviews I read my 1412 was a reject.Kept rebooting endlessly.What a total disappointment.Returning it to Costco asap.Why does Magellan keep on supplying junk units when it obviously has quality control issues

Strengths: Bright, clear screen; good routing; excellent price for the features.

Weaknesses: Tinny speaker; some slow response time; slightly slow to lock on to signal.

Summary: This is an excellent bargain - to get a brand name GPS with 4.3" screen, 6 million POI, and text-to-speech (spoken street names). It does not have Bluetooth, traffic, or play MP3s. The screen is very bright and well laid out. I've compared it to my previous GPS (Magellan 3140) and it seems to have better routing logic. One downside is that searching for POIs is a bit slow - a search for Starbucks near my office took 6 seconds longer than the 3140, perhaps due to the larger POI data base. I also found that it took 30-60 seconds longer to lock onto a signal on startup than the 3140 - not a big deal, but a bit annoying. Finally, while the spoken instructions are well-pronounced, it sounds pretty tinny (again - the 3140 has better sound). I suspect that is because the unit is so thin and, therefore, the speaker isn't as good as it could be. Overall, I'm very impressed because the important things are the routing, the accuracy and the clarity of the screen.

Strengths: Contrast was good, very bright, lightweight and good size

Weaknesses: Certain things had slow response time

Summary: The unit was very quick to re-route when 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. The unit changes to a black screen automatically, when it gets dark out to make it more comfortable for night driving. This is a good simple to use GPS for any person who's not looking to have other features such as MP3 or bluetooth. Also, it has a better response time when looking for Point of Interest than the Garmin Nuvi I've returned in exchange for this.