Magellan RoadMate 1200 user reviews

Pros cheap price, but why sell a product that's not ready to be released?

Cons exit poi does not work; customer support non existent

Summary Beginning with the online registration, which said my zip code was invalid for my city (?) and continuing with the poor website and advertised features that don't work (read other posts on poi problem), this product is a big disappointment. On top of that, packaging says there is a 15% restocking fee. It is a shade better than reading street signs.

Pros Easy to use, offers good range of choices, great value for the price. Great basic nav system.

Cons No accessories from Magellen (AC Adapter for instance); No user guide, not listed on their support site in all cases.

Summary As a basic nav system, I am very happy with the 1200. I've had no problems other than being lead down a dead end, which is a road closed in the last year. Google maps show the same road open, so it's not just Magellen, probably NavTeq where they both seem to get their info. So, good basic unit.

My problems are not with the 1200 itself, but with the non-support it gets from Magellen. I'd like an AC adapter, but nothing on their site about one for the 1200. No specs either that would give enough info for me to go get a generic one. Also, hardly any useful info on how to leverage the 1200's features. The Magellen site says that there is no user manual available. There's also no info on upgrades to maps or ability to connect the unit to a usb port on a PC. Maps (limited to 49 US states and Puerto Rico) are contained on an SD card. No info on how they plan to keep that updates, so my dead end will be someday corrected.

So, a good unit that suffers from it's manufacturers lack of normal support.

Pros GPS unit works well

Cons Don't lose the power cord!

Summary We bought the 1200 model and it works really well, but we unfortunatley lost the car adapter it came with and you can not replace it. If you call magellan, be prepared to be on hold at least 30 minutes, we have called 4 times. They sent us the wrong power cord, because the 1200 seems to be the only Magellan model that charges via the USB port and all the others charge via a normal round DC port. You would think that a Magellan Rep would know this and sent us the round charger, even though my husband specifically asked him if it was the USB charger. We eventually had to buy a generic charger from EBAY. Moral of the story: what ever you do, don't lose the accessories that it comes with because more than likely there is not a replacement available.

Pros Sensitive satellite receiver

Cons Poor routing when using secondary roads

Summary I'm used to a laptop-based GPS navigator.
I bought the RoadMate because the laptop is awkward to use while driving.
I find the RoadMate 1200 frustratingly inflexible.
I found a borrowed TomTom to be much easier to use, and the TomTom is better at picking optimal routs.