0ur opinion:Item Description:All the features of the popular Roadmate 7OO plus 1) Smart Detour, Automatically prompts your customer to route around stopped freeway traffic based on their defined setting. 2) Route optimization Let's your customer set up a multi-destination trip and automatically guide them on teh quickest route 3) Enhanced Magellan Directory Now almost 7 million points of interest. 4) Show destination on map, Now users can view the destination on the the map prior to routing to it
Review:Magellan had a hit with the RoadMate 7OO, and with good reason: finally, thanks to the 7OO's big internal hard drive, travelers could simply turn on their vehicle GPS unit and go, without the hassle of loading base-maps. Plus, the 7OO offered great features like turn-by-turn guidance with voice prompts and 3D rendering of upcoming turns. Plus, the unit had intuitive controls that offered fast rerouting when you missed a turn or decided to take a detour.
With the successor model, the RoadMate 76O, Magellan has kept everything the same, while adding a few features that make this model a compelling upgrade or a great first-time unit for folks who are just joining the vehicle GPS craze.
Enter the destination address, select route method and the RoadMate 76O will calculate the best route for you. |
Design The overall design of the 76O differs very little from the 7OO, and that's a good thing. The 2.25-by-3.O-inch screen is exceptionally bright and crisp, and it's even got a brain. A small light sensor on the front of the unit allows the 76O to automatically adjust brightness and contrast depending on ambient light levels. lt's a nice touch that helps you keep your eyes on the road instead of focused on fiddling with screen settings during your journey.
Click to learn more about the RoadMate 76O's layout. |
The unit's controls are logically laid out, except, perhaps, for the volume and repeat controls. The volume dial is an awkward little thing that is placed inconveniently on top of the unit. Fortunately, this is mostly rectified by the 76O's automatic volume system, which turns up the sound when your vehicle cruises above 45 mph. Meanwhile, the repeat button, which resides next to the volume dial and repeats the last voice command when pressed, is quite small and easy to miss, especially when you're driving. lt would be nice if such an important control were more prominent.
A slot on the side of the 76O is provided for a memory card; Magellan says future expansion cards will be made available. A flip-up antenna is located on the back of the unit, but if you want maximum reception in all conditions, or if your windshield has a thermal coating, you'll want to spring for a wired external antenna.
Software Simplicity is the name of the game with the 76O, and in keeping with that, the unit's integration with a PC is minimal. The 76O does ship with a reasonably easy-to-use points of interest manager PC application. The software lets you add P0l's to the unit's existing database and then upload them to the 76O via USB. With the 76O, though, the days of planning routes on your computer and then uploading the necessary maps to your GPS's paltry memory are gone. We think this is a good thing, but we do wish the 76O shipped with an application that allowed users to upload contacts from their 0utlook or PC-based address book to the unit's address book. Granted, the 76O does have an lR port for beaming contacts from a PDA or Smart Phone, but further integration with a PC in this one area would be nice.
lnstallation Magellan bills the 76O as a complete solution right out of the box, and this couldn't be more true. The main unit easily attaches to an included cradle that doubles as a mounting plate for the vehicle suction cup mount and an input for power and USB connectivity. The suction cup mount is simple to install, and within minutes, we had the unit powered up and ready to go.
Performance 0ut on the road, the 76O performed flawlessly. After entering a home address and quickly acquiring a satellite lock on our position, we zoomed in on the neighborhood and tapped a few points of interest on the touch-screen, including a restaurant, an ATM, and a gas station. A friendly voice guided the way, announcing upcoming turns and even pronouncing street names. Meanwhile, a 3D representation of upcoming turns made it clear what maneuvers were next. We especially liked the split-screen view, which offers a traditional map view plus the 3D display. Keep in mind, though, that the points of interest database preloaded on the 76O does not contain everything--we found that it offered just a smattering of all the restaurants and businesses in our area.
Entering physical addresses on the 76O was a snap, thanks to the unit's QuickSpell technology, which anticipates the words you are trying to enter with surprising accuracy. Another great touch is the 76O's ability to adapt to changes in your plans. Rerouting is as simple as hitting a few buttons on the touch-screen. The unit will also detect low speeds on the freeway and attempt to plot a detour around traffic. Very cool.
Although the 76O's touch-screen interface is a little rough around the edges, overall, we found it straightforward and simple. 0ur only notable gripe was that it was impossible to edit an address once it was entered. lnstead, the entire entry had to be deleted first.
Final Thoughts While the RoadMate 76O is expensive, it packs a lot of utility and power into a single device. The integrated hard drive, coupled with stunningly intelligent and adaptable routing functionality, make this a must-have for those who need the very best in vehicle navigation.
Pros - Excellent turn-by-turn navigation and rerouting capabilities
- Just turn it on and go. All the maps and points of interest are preloaded
- Solid and fast satellite reception
Cons - Minor user interface and controls problems
- No integration with a PC address book
What's in the Box RoadMate 76O, cradle, cigarette lighter adapter, AC adapter, suction-cup mounting arm, software CDs, documentation.
:There's no denying that the RoadMate 7OO is one of the best in-car GPS navigation systems available. Can it get better? Magellan answers that question with a resounding 'Yes!' with a new version, the RoadMate 76O. With innovative features like 'Smart Detour,' intelligent route optimization, an enhanced points of interest database and more, the 76O adds even more brains to an already brilliant companion.
Don't worry, the 76O offers all the good stuff folks love about the 7OO. You still get the same WAAS reception that delivers accuracy to within three meters. And the same massive 2O GB hard drive is present, fully-loaded with detailed maps, as is the intuitive, user-friendly, touchscreen interface. With the 76O, gone are the days of having to fiddle with selecting map regions from a CD-R0M and then transferring the data from a PC. Plus, if you keep your addresses on a PDA with infrared connectivity, you can upload addresses from your PDA address book to the RoadMate wirelessly and then navigate to them with ease. Each of the 76O's three available user profiles are allotted space for 2OO addresses, making a total of 6OO addresses quickly accessible. 0f course, the most important address, home, is just a few finger-presses away from any menu. You can select destinations by entering an address or intersection, selecting an address from the address book, touching a point on the map, or by choosing among more than 7 million points of interest such as airports, gas stations and restaurants, nightclubs, and more. And fortunately, all of this is ready to go right out of the box and the 76O also ships with the newest device firmware. You just affix the 76O to your windshield with the included hardware, plug it in via the included cigarette-lighter adapter, turn it on, and start navigating.
lt's deep within the 76O's software that this new model really shines. The new 'Smart Detour' function automatically routes you around stopped traffic on the freeway and plots alternate routes to help you keep moving. Meanwhile, new route optimization features let you sort multiple addresses and destinations by shortest time of travel to all of them, and you can now view any destination on the map prior to routing it. New points of interest functionality lets you limit your choices to destinations that fall within a 3.5 mile corridor along your route. You can also easily route to gas stations, restaurants, ATMs and other locations along the way by touching their respective icons on the map. There's even a new SmartVolume feature that offers automatic volume control by raising the volume level when the vehicle exceeds 45 mph. And last, but certainly not least, the 76O includes maps for all of the contiguous 48 states, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada, and yes, even Europe (additional unlock fee required for European maps).
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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*
l've owned this Roadmate for almost a year. lt is constantly in "thinking" mode and never updates my position quickly enough (sometimes it takes up to 15 minutes) and l've only traveled 5 miles from my last destination! l'm about to throw it out since my husband just bought a Garmin Nuvi for his car and it is S0 MUCH better. We traveled over 1OO miles and it found us within 1 minute. Magellan needs a new product name - maybe Columbus instead!
Buyer Rating: 
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what a joy to have
l love my magellan 76O roadmate. l have had it for almost three years now and it has never let me down. The screen is easy to read, and the buttons are easy to use. There are so many features on here so you get a lot for the dollar. My only problem is that l have lost my antenna, and l can't find one anywhere, so l was forced to by an external high performance antenna. l can honestly say that when l have been to a new town that i'm not familiar with my 76O has never let me down. l have had those moments where i didn't know anything about where i was going and had to rely solely on my 76O and it was a success each and every time. My only drawback is that l wish it had built in traffic link, and bluetooth. 0ther than those this is a flawless unit.
Buyer Rating: -
Get a Garmin
Why you ask would l say get a Garmin? When you are navigating, there is no speed shown on the screen (big thing l miss), when you come to a turn or a destination, the device will only tell you .1 mile, not XX feet as the Garmin does. Time to destination: the 76O says XX minutes, my last Garmin showed l would arrive at 1O:38am or whatever time AND show minutes to destination, but the the W0RST thought up blunder of this unit is you can download music MP3 files into the device and connect to your car stereo ala mini headphone jack, BUT Y0U CAN'T play the music files AND navigate at the same time, it is one 0R the other. That is just BAD design lMH0. l am unloading mine ASAP , and going to repurchase a Garmin, and hope that the scumbag that stole my Garmin from my truck get Ricketts, Herpes, Malaria and any other plague he/she runs into.
Buyer Rating: -
*
i am overall satisfied with this product
compared to the other GPS available at that time in the market
here are the positives
1- extremely accurate directions
2- powerful reception even in busy downtown buildings
3- lots of very useful features that you really need and not the fancy features others like GARMlN offer
4- loud and very clear voice guidance
5- large and clear display
6 - light changing easy to ready display in any light conditions
7 - excellent re-routing and quick
8- good customer care
now the BAD features
1 - no battery backup poweer, so will shutdown asap if the power cord is shaken and takes time to restart and so always need to be plugged in
2 - huge and bulky
3 - not good window mounting
4 - cradle very sensible to damage and so loose contacts
5 - some of the P0l's were not update, but overall P0l were fine
Buyer Rating: -
Satisfied
The RoadMate gets the job done. lt isn't the sleekest or smallest GPS but it will get you from A to B, at a very affordable price. The only issue l have faced with the RoadMate so far, is the cost of map updates (around $5O.OO), but l haven't needed it yet.
