Entered CNET Catalog: 04/25/2006
SKU: 0063357114387
Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
Manufacturer description
Turn it on and go! Avoid traffic and get turn-by-turn voice and visual directions to virtually any destination with advanced, easy-to-use GPS navigation. The Magellan RoadMate 3000T is intelligently designed to make GPS navigation easier than ever with the large color touchscreen and buttons for one-touch access to key features. Enter an address and get turn-by-turn voice guidance, while the built-in dynamic map shows your location, destination and route in traditional or "birds-eye" 3D for a clear view of your surroundings. Touch an onscreen icon for information about nearby services and get routed there instantly. SmartDetour routes you around stopped freeway traffic. Built-in music player, photo viewer and rechargeable battery let you take entertainment on the road.Product summary
The good: The Magellan RoadMate 3000T comes preloaded with maps of the North America, has an accurate receiver, and includes multimedia capabilities. It also features two useful utilities--SmartDetour and QuickSpell--to aid with congested roadways and address entry.
The bad: The Magellan RoadMate 3000T's external controls could be more clearly identified, and route recalculation is sometimes slow. The unit lacks text-to-speech functionality and integrated Bluetooth.
The bottom line: Though the Magellan RoadMate 3000T lacks some of the advanced features of its competitors, it's a good value and offers some nice navigation features and an accurate receiver.
Editors' review
- Editors' Rating: 6.7
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/09/2006
The center of attention is the RoadMate 3000T's 3.5-inch, QVGA touch screen. It has a resolution of 320x240 pixels and is responsive to touch commands. Even better, the display is readable in sunlight, though it does have a tendency to hold fingerprints and smudges. Surrounding the display are eight buttons--power on/off, mute, enter, escape, a navigation toggle, Main menu, Destination menu, and Locate. There are also two large buttons on top of the device for zooming in and out of maps, and a volume dial. We certainly appreciate the last set of controls as well as the mute button, but we almost wish everything else was handled through the touch screen. Having all these external controls was overwhelming, and since they're located all over the perimeter of the RoadMate, we found ourselves accidentally hitting buttons and launching various menus when all we wanted to do was adjust the angle of the device. Also, they're not all clearly identified--for example, the Main menu button is only marked by two rectangles--so a quick read of the user guide might be worthwhile.
On the left spine is an SD/MMC expansion slot, while a 3.5mm headphone jack, a mini USB port, a reset hole, and a power connector are all located on the right side. The GPS receiver is integrated into the RoadMate 3000T, so you don't have to deal with any flip-up antennas, and the speaker is located on the device's backside.
Magellan packages the RoadMate 3000T with a windshield mount, a USB cable, a cigarette lighter power adapter, and reference material. We wish the company had included an AC adapter so that we didn't have to rely solely on the cigarette lighter to charge the device. Among today's portable nav systems, the Magellan RoadMate 3000T sits in the middle of the road, offering a fairly solid feature set but lacking some of the advanced features found in the high-end models, such as integrated Bluetooth and text-to-speech functionality. The device uses a 20-channel, SiRF Star III receiver and comes preloaded with maps of North America and a 6 million-plus points-of-interest (POI) database on its 4GB hard drive.
To start getting directions, you can enter a specific street address, choose a destination from your Address Book or Favorites list, or enter an intersection. The RoadMate 3000T also has a handy little feature called QuickSpell to help speed up the process of text entry. As you start entering the letters of your destination on the virtual keyboard, QuickSpell kicks in and dims out any characters that don't match any of the city or streets located in the system's database. It worked well, and we found it quite useful.
Once you've entered your desired location, you can instruct the RoadMate 3000T to calculate routes by the shortest time, shortest distance, least use of freeways, or most use of freeways. The system also supports multidestination routes (up to 20 locations), so if you want to make several stops along the way, just use the Trip Planner feature. For impromptu stops, the system provides 37 categories of POI--from the basics, such as gas stations, ATMs, and restaurants broken down by cuisine type, to more specialized interests, such as bowling alleys.
To supplement to text- and voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, the RoadMate 3000T offers you a number of ways to view maps: 3D, 2D track up (direction of travel is at top of screen), 2D north up (north is always at top of screen), and night mode. If you're just driving around without a predetermined destination, the RoadMate provides you with a simple view of your location and some nearby POI. However, you can get more details with the TrueView function, which offers a split-screen view of upcoming turns in 3D and 2D, or if you so desire, you can have RoadMate just list the upcoming turns. You also have access to a Trip Computer that records your average speed, total distance traveled, and drive time.
Though the RoadMate 3000T doesn't come with integrated traffic services, it does have a feature called SmartDetour. If your speed drops below 15mph, the unit assumes you're stuck in traffic and the detour icon will appear, which you can then tap to receive an alternate route. Magellan also offers an optional TrafficKit if you want real-time traffic data.
Finally, like the latest crop of GPS devices, the RoadMate 3000T has some multimedia capabilities. More specifically, it can play back MP3 and WMA music files and display JPEG and BMP images. We tested the Magellan RoadMate 3000T in San Francisco, and performance was generally good. From a cold start, it took the unit about three minutes to acquire a satellite fix, but subsequent starts were much faster. If the RoadMate has problems getting reception, a pop-up menu will first ask you if you're in a garage or indoors, and if your answer is no, it will try to troubleshoot the problem. This is a nice touch, since it shows you how many satellites it has located and you're not just left in the dark as to what's going on.
The RoadMate 3000T accurately tracked our location as drove around the city running errands. We also plugged in specific addresses, and overall, the driving directions were accurate and voice prompts were loud and clear. However, we noticed that route recalculations were a bit slow. For example, the RoadMate would alert us to take the next right or left almost as we were passing the street.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17out of 17 user reviews
Very disappointed in the quality and reliability.
Pros: Easy to use. Clear voice prompts Remembers past addresses to choose from. It's position appears to be correct.
Cons: Power cable cracked and the outer insulation broke away. Twice on return trips, it tried to send me hundreds of miles out of my way.
out of 17 user reviews
Magellan Service and Support is the Worst
Pros: GPS works fine.
Cons: Map upgrades and purchasing products from website is terrible
out of 17 user reviews
Forget Magellan - not worth it
Pros: Fairly decent screen. Voice quality decent.
Cons: Unit freezes quite often. Maps are inaccurate.
The maps through New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia are grossly inaccurate. I can't count the number of times the unit said I was off the main highways - and I knew I wasn't.
After being on wait for 35 minutes with the most awful music playing, a tech support person came on. I told him of the unit freezing and map inaccuracies. He told me a map upgrade is available - at a cost of $100. The tech support would not talk about the unit freezing. Asked to be transferred to a supervisor - all supervisors were in meetings, and I should try calling back. They will not return calls.
Am going to try to return the unit to the store.
Magellan's tech support is abysmal. please consider ANYBODY else!
Oh - according to the tech support person at Magellan, ALL MAP UPGRADES for ALL THEIR UNITS are at YOUR expense, age of unit, whether brand new or out of warranty, notwithstanding.
out of 17 user reviews
operating system crashes
Pros: looks great, large & bright screen, loud audio
Cons: operating system crashes
out of 17 user reviews
Device is fine. Mapping software is horrible!
Pros: The device itself is wonderful.
Cons: The software program is horrible. When marking multiple stops, you only have 2 options - Fastest or shortest. Neither option is accurate. In one instant, the fine software lead me into an OPEN FIELD!
out of 17 user reviews
Our Magellan 3000T failed to perform after 2 weeks out of the box.
Pros: I’m not sure what to put here because I’ve only had 2 weeks experience with the unit?
Cons: Paying a lot of money for something that doesn’t work.
I began using the unit immediately and quickly noticed that it would select routes that were not the most efficient routes to take. At times it would avoid side streets that were shorter and less congested for out of the way main roads that were congested and contained numerous traffic lights and strip development. Then it would reverse its logic and take me on sides streets for no apparent reason. On one occasion the unit completely froze up and gave no indication on the screen that it was having problems with satellite signals or any other problem. After waiting several minutes I shut the unit down, restarted it, and it began working again.
Well today, January 12, 2007, just 2 weeks out of the box, it completely gives up the ghost and quits working all together. I called Magellan’s technical assistance number found in the Users Manual to help me resuscitate the thing. They had me pushing the reset button and on/off button in every conceivable combination possible and nothing changed. They finally advised me to send the unit to them for repairs. I asked them who was going to pay for shipping. Their response was that I was responsible for shipping to them and they would pick up the tab returning the repaired unit to me. After some discussion and being put on hold for several minutes the fine folks at Magellan decided to pick up the entire amount for shipping. They indicated it would take 10 to 12 days for repairs so allowing 6 days for shipping I should have the unit back by February 3rd 2007 assuming I can get it shipped on January 16th (since the 15th is a holiday). I will return to this web site and edit my “Opinion” after I get the repaired unit back and have some time to evaluate it’s performance.
out of 17 user reviews
The best I've ever used!
Pros: clear directions, easy to use, good support (web)
Cons: nothing, really
out of 17 user reviews
I returned it, here is why.
Pros: Mounting hardware, satellite acquisition speed
Cons: Poor user interface & confusing buttons.
Let me start by saying something nice about the Magellan, it has an excellent mounting mechanism, that is more flexible, more secure, and bigger than the Garmin. The Magellan also acquires satellites faster.
For me, the make or break feature in a GPS is user interface. On the Garmin, the interface is so simple there is no need to read the manual. Everything you ever do on the Garmin ( C330, C340, C550) is done with the touch screen. The menus are intuitive and nothing is buried deep in multiple sub-menus. With the Magellan, you have to click on numerous buttons and its hard to tell which button does what. Reading the manual, preferably twice, is a necessity. If you are lost with the Garmin one red traffic light is all you need to input an address and be on your way. I have inputted addresses while driving but this in not recommended or particularly safe. With the Magellan, you are going to have to pull over and park.
The display on the Garmin is much better. On the Garmin your vehicle appears on a 3-D map as a car icon facing in the direction you hare presently heading. On the Magellan you are a flat triangle on a pretty much 2-D map. When you make a wrong turn the Garmin is quicker to realize your diversion from its plan and quicker to recalculate a new route.
Having used both, the Garmin is much easier to input addresses and searches for points of interest, (restaurants, gas, etc), it has a more up to date list of restaurants well organized by category, its maps are more accurate / up-to-date (at least in L.A. and South Florida), and it is easier to understand where you are and where you are going.
out of 17 user reviews
Great in comparison to others. And here's why
Pros: BUTTONS instead of nothing but touch screen. Touch screen IS available too. Excellent, soft lighting w great colors. Lighting fast re-routing. Easy to know exactly where you are. Speaker and voice.
Cons: Lacks a few on-screen extras of competition, such as speed (available, but requires one click). All of these things are over-priced for what they do. No bluetooth IF you need that. I do not.
First, I want stinking BUTTONS. Have you seen what touch-screens look like after a long time of use? Also, a button can be FELT without looking, which facilitates use while driving (duh). Think about it, Garmin and TomTom. While driving!!! Get it?
Plus it shows me you spent some money on the product instead of one cheap 4-inch screen with all software doing the rest.
And the Magellan buttons can do almost everything. They CAN do everything for normal use.
So far, the only thing I've seen needing touch is to switch from 2D to 3D. Since I don't switch back and forth (and it arrives in 3D mode), no need to ever touch the screen for me, and thus no need to try and decide which cloth won't scrath the thing while wiping off fingerprints.
Anyway, it is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship too.
Oh, almost forgot, I can see no reason to get the Magellan 6000T at SEVEN HUNDRED dollars except for the bluetooth phone capability. Not important to me. Cool though, just not worth another $400, or even another $200. Okay, maybe another $200.
The 3000T goes for $500, which is the only one of these things venturing near value for the cash. In my case, after returning the two broken Magellan 800's to Fry's last week, and returning the mail-order Navman 550 yesterday, I wandered back into the store yesterday afternoon wishing something new might have come out.
In fact, I considered opting for another Magellan 800, as they were on sale at $299 previously. Maybe my third try would function beyond a few days. The clerk pulled out the 3000T (totally unexpected by me) while looking for the 800.
I was in shock. IT had a price of $299 on the box. I didn't want to bother with another 800 anyway. Plus the 800 lights were TOOOOOOO bright and all one color. Otherwise, they are the same product internally, except the 3000T allows you to change various on-screen colors, which is great. I immediately changed the terrain to a soft blue from white.
And I turned down the brightness about 3 levels, which tells you right away whether sufficient brightness has been designed in.
The clerk verified the $299 price. I grabbed the thing like Grinch finding a bunch of presents under the tree. At this price, I have considered buying them for my sisters.
Oh yeah, the review.
The speaker's voice is a very pleasant female thing. That might be taken for granted until hearing the boring American voice on the Navman, or then opting for the British Navman voice because the speaker doesn't put out sufficient quality on the American choice.
Back to the Navman for a second, ONLY the Navman 550. It is a beautiful piece of work and has ALL the BUTTONS, hence my choice of only Magellan or a Navman 550.
Unfortunately, the Navman has terrible audio. That said, it CAN be heard if you love the product. And I would have put up with the one flaw were it not for other flaws.
You see, I had those two broken Magellan 800's before the Navman. And their performance so far exceeded the Navman. I said performance, meaning rapid re-routing, easy screen to know where you are.
Otherwise, the Navman and others offer extras (unneeded for navigation) that are cool to own. The Navman even tells what address you are at, a number that changes as you drive down the street. Way cool.
But that one went back via UPS yesterday, a functioning unit that has the frills but misses the basics. Too long to re-route (already too late for the missed, missed turn), completely blew a complicated on-ramp. AND the screen leaves me wondering where I am because of being too busy.
The early Magellan 3000T models (the ones on display in stores and pictured here on CNET) lacked text to explain what the buttons were for. To my delight, the one inside the box has the text (Enter, Escape, Locate, Menu, etc).
There is a remarkable sofffffft blue light incorporated into the power button that tells you the unit is in sleep mode. Just another of the thoughtful additions included.
By the way, I loooooooove extra features and frills. It took me some reflection to give them up for the Magellan. In the end, and let us not forget the features the others lack (namely, buttons), the great operation, wonderful audio, easy to program and completely accurate attributes of this model, plus them dang buttons, leads me unusually satisfied at a nearly optimum level.
Oh, I forgot about grocery stores. The Navman (ask THEM why) lacked the category altogether in the POI folder. Dumb!
My main purpose for this thing: Aside from the coolest toy to come along in years, I often go to new towns for running construction jobs. Upon arrival, I need to find a Del Taco, Home Depot, Ralphs (grocery), a church, Wal Mart, nearby dentist, hospital, police, all that stuff.
Previously, I drove around looking, tried to find a phone book outlet, then discovered maps.google, which is a great feature (Del Taco near Escondido, CA), though won't take you there, won't remember what you've found,,,).
A GPS with a thoughtful POI (Points of Interest) database (and the Magellan is quite satisfactory in that department) is like having a local in the seat next to you, taking you everywhere needed, including parks, tourist sites, even nightclubs if wanted. Last night I asked the thing for the nearest ski resorts. There they were.
Last thought: don't think the unit has no convenient features. It easily shows direction of travel (N, E, W, S, NW, NE..). A pretty green and yellow arrow indicates direction of next turn. The street name is right there next to the arrow. A red arrow points to the overall direction of your destination. Two more indicators show distance to next turn and overall distance to destination. The last is an ETA countdown clock.
When programming in a destination (or choosing one saved or driven to previously), the user is allowed to choose from:
1. Shortest Time
2. Shortest Distance
3. Least Use of Freeways
4. Most Use of Freeways
Saved destinations are those in your Favorites folder or (it keeps this category automatically) "Previous Desination," and I think there are a couple others on the page.
GET one of these things, especially if Fry's has any left at $299.99. I want a whole box full of them. Witnessing the trend, I figure full-button capability may end up completely unavailable before long.
out of 17 user reviews
Good Unit, but missing some basics...
Pros: Easy to use out of the box
Cons: No Clock????
I think the Magellan gets better reception than the Garmin, but I like the windshiled mount of the Garmin better. The dimensions of the Magellan make it easier to carry around, but the Garmin battery is advertised to last longer.
The Magellan comes with everthing needed for live traffic updates and detours, plus a 3 month subsription, which is nice.
I still don't know which I will keep. They are both really nice units...
Jim
out of 17 user reviews
Very functional, but not without drawbacks
Pros: Instructs driver via audio voice without driver needing to take eyes off the road, maps generally accurate, good knowledge of local businesses, buttons are large and easy to find when driving at night
Cons: Buttons too easy to tap accidently, "handheld" unit does not have a pedestrian mode
I previously wrote a review in which I rated this product fairly highly. ...and I still love my Magellan GPS, but the first time I upgraded it I discovered all of the drawbacks. There was a minor glitch in the upgrade software. Despite being promised a call or an email in response to the problem, I wasn't getting any kind of response. Even after other users were reporting that Magellan knew of a fix for my issue, I couldn't get them to answer my queries. After over a week of calling them every day, I finally said the right thing and they told me what I needed to do to get around the bug. Unfortunately, the brand new map is current as of when I bought the unit a year ago. None of the map updates I submitted are shown, and many of the POIs are still incorrect. That wasn't worth $70.
So as much as I like the product, I would never buy another Magellan Navigation product.
out of 17 user reviews
Easy to use and accurate
Pros: Recalulates swiftly
Cons: Needs better mounting system
out of 17 user reviews
Thank You - Semi New Magellan Roadmate Review FINALLY!!!!
Pros: New Product from Magellan - But not the Top of the Line....
Cons: Review Missed all the Features that are new to this unit.
This Editor seems to stay clear unless one of the Other Editors give a good review.
I have tried to find a direct method of communicating with the editors but there is NONE on this site. Or if there is it is NOT obvious.
What happened to all this information here:
Easy-to-use - Quick access to features through simple touch-screen menus and keypad
Intelligently designed - Designed for easy right or left hand driving, with simple menus, convenient keys and a large 3.5" color touch screen, the industrial look compliments any vehicle.
Traffic-ready - Add Magellan TrafficKit to receive LIVE traffic incident reports and avoid accidents, road work and more.
Incidents appear on screen with detailed information
Turn-by-turn voice and visual guidance - BE THERE™ quickly and safely
Built-in maps - 50 United States, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Canada.
Bird's eye 3D view - Clearly see your surroundings
Digital Music Player - Play your favorite music through integrated speaker or headphones (not included)
Photo Viewer - View your vacation pictures while you're still on vacation
Rechargeable battery - Navigate and enjoy music and pictures away from your vehicle
Multi-destination Route Optimization - Select up to 20 destinations and optimize the most direct route between them
SmartDetour - Customize the settings to automatically route you around slow freeway traffic
Auto Re-route - Never miss a turn and quickly get back on track whenever you take a detour
SmartVolume™ - Turns up the speaker at 45 MPH
Auto night view - Adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing
QuickSpell™ - Easily enter addresses with unique auto-complete feature
Complete mobility - Transfer to any vehicle with no installation
Over 6 million points of interest (POI) - Easily find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, airports, parks and more
Interactive POI icons - Touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination; see phone number and get an instant route
Customizable route method - Shortest time, shortest distance, least use or most use of freeways, avoid toll roads
Route exclusion - Select street or freeways to avoid
4 easy views - Map View, Bird's eye 3D map, TrueView™ split screen, Maneuver List
Address Book - Create and store personal points of interest for easy reoccurring trips
Instant locate - One touch shows your location; quickly advise roadside assistance or emergency services.
Oh by the way. The USER's guide is not a childrens toy to just tear up and throw away. You might want to take a look at it some time.
Add to that what about the following list of other Magellan Products that You FAILED to cover in a timely fashion....?
Magellan RoadMate 3000T North America
Magellan RoadMate 360 North America
Magellan RoadMate 6000T North America ***** Latest top of their line model....
Magellan RoadMate 700 North America
Magellan RoadMate 760 North America
Magellan RoadMate 800 North America
Magellan RoadMate 860T North America
There is also say where you are functionality that is built in here as well as street name announcements when traveling to let you know which street you are turning on.
There needs to be better reviewing of GPS units here.
out of 17 user reviews
nice product for the money
Pros: sensitivuty, accuracy
Cons: no text-to-speech capabilities
I'm waiting for 6000T, which has text-to-speech.
out of 17 user reviews
Great Unit
Pros: Fast and accurate, great price, lots of features
Cons: No text to voice capabilities, does not come with a AC addapter
out of 17 user reviews
Good but sluggish
Pros: Navigation seems very good
Cons: User interface is counter-intuitive, display changes can be SLOW
A major issue is the user interface is counter-intuitive. However, I thought I’d figure it out sooner rather than later.
The thing that pushed me to take it back…press the zoom in, zoom out, 2-D/3-D, etc. button…sometimes the unit responds immediately, but sometimes it takes minutes for the unit to acknowledge that it should do something, then awhile longer for it to do it.
I drove around Detroit for a few days – it did a nice job. I used it in Manhattan – it took a long time to acquire satellites (understandable considering the high-rise buildings), but once it acquired the satellites, I drove under cover briefly, then it wouldn’t track again until I re-booted (two bridge tolls and a half-hour later). Going up-state NY it did great. Coming back, at one point I asked it to use ‘least amount of freeway’, then I realized that I may not want to travel that route and wanted to recalculate using ‘shortest time’, although I was able to engage this function several times before – I couldn’t get the unit to do it when I most needed it.
Navigation is good, but I had too much trouble with the user interface (and I’m a gadget geek). It’s going back. I guess I’ll try Tom Tom next.
out of 17 user reviews
Great Product
Pros: Works great. Easy to use and accurate
Cons: Missing text-speech feature which 760 has.
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