Magellan RoadMate 300

Pros: Screen just the right size, had more Florida roads than my Tom Tom One

Cons: NO BATTERY! Lack of PC interface software, customer support frustrating

Summary: Overall, a good performer. Navigates well and does a fairly good job for the price.

The user interface was not as intuitive as I would have first assumed. My wife has a Tom Tom ONE and I have used Garmin's Street Pilot and both were much less frustrating to use during the learning curve.

Once I did figure out the interface, it became easier to use and performed as advertised.
I question the choice of colors for the maps. Other map formats are included but all look just as tacky and cluttered as the default map setting.

But the lack of an internal battery is an unforgivable ommision. We like to use our GPS units often at theme parks and malls to guide us back to our parking space, and also for hiking in parks, and the lack of a battery makes the unit useless for pedestrian mode and causes the unit to cut off suddenly if the power cable is disturbed.

The website also referenced the Roadmate Manager Software that can be used as a PC interface, but this software was not included with my unit. I was told by customer support that my model didn't need it and that it normally isn't included with my particular model. This was after the website told me to use the software to update my unit after giving me an authorization code. This is the only unit I know of that doesn't include some sort of PC interface. What am I to do if there is an update or bugfix that needs to be applied to the unit? How can I plan trips ahead using a much easier PC application? I can't due to the lack of the PC interface software.

Taking the card out and programming it with the computer is not an option, which I have learned by reading other user's experiences trying this themselves. They were scolded by tech support after trying to update maps on the card and their GPS's stopped working. This required the user to send the unit in to be fixed and wait for it to be sent back.

My experience with customer support was cordial but they were usympathetic. They didn't seem too concerned with the sofware omission and declined to assist me.

I could not recommend this unit to anyone, and due to my experience with customer support would advise anyone shopping for a GPS navigation tool to buy another brand.

This is a shame, because if the battery issue, the lack of concern from customer support, and the PC interface software issues were properly addressed, this unit would be a fine choice.