Magellan RoadMate 2200T review

Although it may seem that Garmin and TomTom get much of the GPS spotlight, Magellan is no slouch and has steadfastly produced its own line of solid in-car GPS devices. Today, the company announced its latest system, the Magellan RoadMate 2200T (along with the Magellan RoadMate 2000), offering most of the latest features, such as text-to-speech functionality and multimedia capabilities, in one sleek device. Plus, you have the option to add live traffic updates and topographic maps for outdoor use. Our only gripes are its outdated interface and occasional sluggishness when launching different apps. That said, at $499, the Magellan RoadMate 2200T is solid portable nav system at a good value, especially when you consider it offers more than the similarly priced TomTom One.

The Magellan RoadMate 2200T is the most compact and probably sharpest-looking device we've seen from the company. It measures 3.7 by 2.0 by 0.6 inches and weighs 7.8 ounces for easy transport between vehicles. Magellan says you can also use the RoadMate 2200T as an outdoor product, and while feasible, we think it's a bit too clunky for hiking purposes and would prefer a dedicated handheld GPS device.

Due to its new trim size, and unlike the other RoadMate models, there are no external controls on the face of the 2200T. Instead, all commands are entered via the unit's 3.5-inch, responsive touch screen. It displays 64,000 colors at a 320x240-pixel resolution, making maps, text, and images look sharp. The screen is also viewable in sunlight and at multiple angles. Our only complaint is that the RoadMate 2200T's interface isn't as sophisticated as its competitors'; in fact, it looks pretty darn archaic. This doesn't affect the performance, but if you're like us, you want a tech gadget that looks good inside and out.

On the left spine are a SD/MMC card expansion slot, a hold switch, and a reset button, while the right side has a power on/off button, USB port, a headphone jack, and a power connector. Aside from the power button, everything is protected by an attached rubber cover.

Among the included accessories is a sturdy windshield mount.

Magellan packages the RoadMate 2200T with a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), a cigarette lighter charger, a USB cable, and a CD-ROM with additional points of interest (POI) and music and photo managers. Once again, we wish the company would include an AC adapter as a secondary power supply source.