The Magellan RoadMate 700 offers a powerful dash-mounted navigation tool with turn-by-turn voice prompts, making it easy to get to new and unfamiliar locales anywhere in the lower 48 U.S. states and Canada (For a fee it can be loaded European maps using the Magallen web site and the included USB connection cable). It also features a bright color TFT LCD screen (2.25 by 3 inches), touchscreen input, WAAS reception (for 3-meter accuracy), and multiple ways to select your route and then view it on screen.

True View 3D navigation shows you the actual road layout.

The RoadMate 700 is one of the few GPS devices that's ready to go as soon as it's unpacked. Its whoppingly huge 20 GB internal hard drive comes preloaded with detailed road maps for all of the U.S. and the southern (most populated) section of Canada, so you won't have to fiddle with selecting map regions from a CD-ROM and having to transfer the data from a PC. If you keep your addresses on a PDA with IrDA capabilities then you'll enjoy the RoadMate's ability to upload the addresses wirelessly and point you right to your destination. In fact each of the 3 profiles that the unit keeps track of is allotted space for 100 addresses, making a total of 300 addresses available. Of course the most important address, home, can always be accessed with just a few clicks and from any menu and the RoadMate 700 will guide you back with ease.

You can also choose a map view, or the maneuver list.

Quickly locate points of interest and amenities along your route.

But the RoadMate 700 shines as a virtual co-pilot. During our tests, it consistently acquired a satellite lock quickly (within a minute) and displayed our current position. From there, we searched through the vast library of POIs (points of interest) to find our destination (Seattle's baseball stadium). The RoadMate 700 has four different modes of getting you to your destination--shortest route, shortest distance, least use of freeways, and most freeways. Selecting shortest route got us to this venue using very practical directions that weren't far off from what we normally would choose.

If you're traveling to a destination that's not a widely known POI (such as a friend's home), no problem. You can enter the exact address into the RoadMate 700--using the touchscreen to tap letters and numbers into several search screens--to have it create a route. (You can also save 100 destinations in the address book.

QuickSpell minimizes typing.

Overall, we were quite thrilled with the RoadMate 700's features: the color screen was bright and readable even in direct sunlight and the voice prompts were clear and not distracting to our driving. Best of all, the UI (user interface) screens are easy to navigate and--thanks to its large hard drive and map database--it's ready to go as soon as you open the box. While the price is not for the faint of heart, it will be a very valuable tool for many drivers (from business folk to parents) who need to get to unfamiliar locations quickly and smoothly. -- Agen G.N. Schmitz

What's in the Box:
RoadMate GPS, a windshield suction cup mount, a 12V DC vehicle power adapter, 110V AC power supply, USB data cable, universal cradle and a user's manual. Unit always ships with most current firmware.

POSITIVE: Wow! The crisp display and big screen was one of the factors that attracted me to the Roadmate. The Garmin LCD has 256 colors while the Raodmate has a TFT with 32,000 color capability. The roads are more easier to look at because of the color rendition. You can even adjust color settings to make it look like the Thomas Guide Maps. We've been using the Roadmate for about 2 weeks now and so far the WAAS is always active. This results in greater accuracy. According to my wife once she is in front of her patients house, the Roadmate acknowledeges that destination has been reached. It also tells whether the house is in the left/right of the street. This proved to be very valuable since she doesn't have to look left and right looking for the house. It recalculates routes very fast in case you miss a turn or exit.
Another thing, don't worry about the flimsy aircon vent mount, just call technical support and they send you a windshield gooseneck mount which is very nice. Now that's what I call customer service! It grips very firmly to the windshield like your rearview mirror. I think it is better than the bean bag dash mount.
The LCD display is very intuitive. It automatically zooms in while your getting near your destination, and it also shifts to 3D when your approaching a turn. When you lose GPS signal while your in a tunnel, the display automaticlly goes to the turn by turn mode so you can still be guided. The touch screen is amazing. Those using the old GPS units with buttons will want this unit.

I also like the route exclusion feature. For example, I always want to avoid the 91 freeeway because of the terrible traffic. You can customize it to always exclude it or you can just touch the 91 route in the turn by turn display and tell it to disregard that freeway, and alas! you are directed to take another route.
The unit also assigns up to 3 users, each user setting is customizable, just like when you log in Windows. Within each user you can save up to 100 addresses. Previous destinations are also saved automatically. This is comparable to the waypoint feature in the Garmin 2610.
The voice guidance is all you need! No need to look at the unit while you are driving. As of this time, we have not been misdirected by the vocal guidance on any route. But I will update my review if we experience such. This equals to SAFETY while driving.
For those worried that having a hard-drive in a portable GPS unit might be bad, the internal harddrive that comes with this unit is similar to the microdrive in compact flash cards. The unit is made for rugged use, unlike the ones on PC's.
Roadmate 500 vs 700? I'd say go for the 700. The fact that you don't have to buy additional CF cards in the future justifies the $200 hundred dollar difference. Not to mention that you still have to pre-authorize CF cards for $50 prior to use, although your first one is free.
Another bonus, the unit can be used for off-road driving! I hav'nt tested it but the Magellan website says it is capable of that. I have to call tech support to confirm.

NEGATIVE: BAD! The one thing that really bothers me is that there is no post-office listings in the POI. How can they forget the USPS locations. I occasionally look for post-offices while I travel. There is a mention here that the documentation is bad. That is quite true. If you are a non-technical type of person, the manual will suffice. For example, I want to know how to update the firmware and maps, there is no mention of that in the docs. Even though the Roadmate 700 comes with an internal hard drive, it still has a compactflash port, there is no mention of that in the manual if it is operable or not. It does not come with a USB cord nor an AC adapter like the Roadmate 500. How come? This is the top of the line unit.
The waypoint feature of the Garmin 2610 is preferred by experienced GPS users over the previous destinations feature of the Magellan.

The price of the Magellan 700 is several hundereds more compared to the Garmin 2610 but I think it's features justify the additional cost. What I have listed here is the positives and negatives based on 2-3 week use of the GPS. Hey! The positives outnumber the negs. I also agree with the other reviewers that this isn't a perfect unit, but to date it's the best you can buy.


Never lost again   December 22, 2003
 111 out of 116 found this review helpful

I've only been using my RoadMate 700 for a short time and my experiences echo most of the other reviews here.

Update January 22, 2004: It's been almost a full month with the Roadmate 700. My thoughts now? How did I ever live without this? I've used this extensively to travel all through CT and into NH and MA. I love that I can be in a completely remote location and this device gets me home. Ever single time. I also have searched several times for things like gas stations and restaurants - and it is simply amazing. I like this better today than I did when I bought it. And I'm someone who gets tired of their electronic gadgets quickly.

Update: August 14, 2005 - I go everywhere with this device. I could not live without it. If it broke I'd purchase another on the same day - it's that important in my daily travels. I've never gotten lost with this. I tried the Hertz system while in Florida and it is similar with a smaller screen and fewer functions.

I found it to be very easy to operate. You truly can take it out of the box, plug it in, and within a couple of minutes be navigating to any address using the maps that are all stored within the 10 GB hard drive.

When starting up I find that it has a lag of 3 to 5 minutes where it has to acquire the satellite signal. This may account for some of the reports online of units being broken or not navigating properly. Once the signal has been acquired I had no difficulty with it knowing where I was. (Update 12/24/03: My unit developed a startup/fix time of around 15 minutes so I replaced it with a new unit that did not exhibit this problem. Normal startup/fix time appears to be a couple minutes unless you've moved significantly from where you shut down the device).

The 3-D navigation is nice -- though not all that I had hoped. When travelling 3D pops up a handly graphical overview of where you need to turn next. I think it is displayed a bit early though. I was navigating today and it showed me the turn in 3D about 5 streets ahead of where I needed to be turning. I'll have to see if it is my user error somehow but it seems it would be much more useful if the 3D popped up while you were in the turn rather than several streets back.

I looked at the Garmin 2610 in comparison to this unit. I also considered the RoadMate 500. The Garmin screen seemed smaller and a little harder to operate. The RoadMate 500 is the same unit at this -- without the internal 10 GB hard disk that stores all the maps.

Unfortunately the 700 doesn't ship with an AC power adapter or USB connector (which the 500 does).

The mount that comes with the RoadMate is a plastic coated metal piece that you are supposed to use to attach the heavy unit to your vents. I lucked out and was able to stick it into my dash molding on my 2002 Ford Explorer and it fits tight and is in a good position (use a flat edge screwdriver to slightly and gently pry the molding above the radio out a little and slide the bracket in there). If you call tech support they'll send a free windshield mount to replace the vent mount.

Overall I'm happy with the accuracy and especially the ease of use of this unit. It seems that Magellan has bent over backwards to make this an uncomplicated unit for people who want to plug in and navigate without worrying about loading maps or other technical details. UPDATE 3-29-05: I use this every day and love it. Cannot imagine living without the mapping capabilities. Strongly recommended for anyone who drives alot.


Magellan Roadmate 700   January 20, 2004
 45 out of 47 found this review helpful

Eversince I used the Hertz "Never lost" navigation system in a rental car, I have been wanting to own one but at that time it wasn't available in the market . I remember, with a GPS, how easy it was for me to reach my destinations in Houston metropolitan area. An area I had never been to before. First I thought to use HP Jornada 720 for navigation but lack of compatibility was the issue. Also I didn't want too many wires around the dashboard in my car.So I dropped the idea of using a handheld pc as a gps. I started doing some research and found out that there are two GPS (Garmin Streetpilot 2610 and Magellan Roadmate 700) that dont need an installation, rather could be used with cigarette lighter. Both are portable and could be moved from one vehicle to the other. I liked the idea but could not decide which one suits my needs better. Luckily we are living in an age of information, so I was able to read a lot about these items on the internet. Garmin being couple of hundred dollars cheaper and also BestBuy had one on the display where I could actually see, touch and feel it. Unfortunately, Roadmate was not on the display like BestBuy had Garmin. Anyhow I read several reviews and could make a comparison. I am sharing my views here so that reader could get some feedback. Magellan Roadmate 700 is WAAS enabled while Garmin SP2610 is not. WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) is more accurate to locate your position. Magellan RoadMate 700 has built in 10 GB hard drive . Maps of both USA and Canada are already loaded on the unit so you dont have to load them or worry about buying expensive flash cards. Roadmate 700 has little larger screen than the Garmin and that makes a difference and resolution is also good. Roadmate 700 is easier to operate than Garmin sp 2610.Voice prompts on Roadmate are very clear and pleasant. Roadmate 700 also shows a 3D heavy arrow before the turn which is good. These are the positives in the favor of Roadmate. Lets talk about some negatives. Roadmate does not have a good mounting design. Car vents are used to mount your unit. What if you have heat on . I think that wouldn't be good idea for your unit . It may also come apart and fall on the floor. Another negative about RoadMate 700 is that it does not come with AC adapter or USB cable. Also the price is higher than Garmin SP2610. Taking into consideration the pros and cons I picked the Magellan Roadmate 700. Yesterday I picked a unit at BestBuy with a 4 year warranty (US$39.99). It took me few minutes to set it up and turn it on. I was in Manhattan NYC. I drove back to New Jersey and it performed very well. I made a wrong turn and RM700 recalculated the route right away and put me back on the track. What a relief. Let me mention here about Roadmate 500 that does not come with a built in Hard drive. With RM 500, you have to buy additional memory cards. You will be required to get it activated from the company for additional cost. You will have to download the maps of distant areas you plan to drive to.That is the reason I did not buy RM 500. I am pleased to have Magellan Roadmate 700. I will keep you posted with additional findings in future. Drive safely. Peace and Love.


From San Diego to Canada - How'd It Do?   April 7, 2005
 43 out of 45 found this review helpful

Recently I bought a Magellan Roadmate 700. To test it, I took a road trip with my family from San Diego to Canada and back. Having never been on such a long road trip, I wanted to see how it performed in places we've never been before and had no idea how to get around. The goal was to never have to pull out a paper map to find our way.


The MR700 came with the latest version of the software as of this writing, version 4.3.2. The MR700 has a built-in hard drive that contains detailed maps of the United States and major portions of Canada. I bought the MR700 a week in advance so I could test it locally around town to get the hang of its quirks.

There are three aspects to the MR700 I will discuss below: Its physical design, mapping ability, and points of interest. Then I will present some ideas on how Magellan can make the product even better.

Physical Design
The MR700 is just a bit bigger than a thick paperback. It's light and when removed from its base, fits into a large purse , backpack or coat pocket. You wouldn't leave a $1000 bill in the glove box would you? Its best to wrap it in a towel or foam or the box it came in to keep the screen from getting scratched (or worse, cracked). Using the windshield mount is easy and if you brace the MR700 against the dashboard, you don't get a lot of jiggle while the vehicle is in motion. Despite some rough roads, the windshield mount never came loose.

The MR700 generates a lot of heat, but this did not appear to impact its performance. It does not generate any appreciable noise that you will hear over the sound of your vehicle. The device is also resistant to hard shutdowns (often caused when you start the vehicle with the MR700 running). It rebooted flawlessly every time.

Mapping Ability
To determine where you are, the MR700 uses the publicly available Global Positioning System (GPS). Before you first turn it on, Magellan warns you it may take several minutes to locate the GPS satellites. The only time we ever had a problem locating satellites was underground (duh!) and when we first turned the device on in a city with many large skyscrapers and other buildings. If we went into a large city with the device already on, the MR700 retained a good memory of the satellite positions and we never lost our place.

The device's ability to track your position to a map is very good to an accuracy of about 150 feet. So if you miss an off ramp on the freeway, you sometimes have to travel a ways before the MR700 realizes you're off course. Once it does, it quickly reroutes you with directions to get back on track.

The software does an excellent job of map position placement, except in places of recent construction. A freeway by my house finished major changes last year. The MR700 got very confused in that spot. On older roads the MR700 was spot on both in the U.S. and Canada.

When we first crossed the border in Canada we were getting some confusing readings from the MR700. It wasn't warning us properly about upcoming turns. The problem seemed to clear up after I switched the map mode from miles to kilometers (Canada uses the metric system), but this may have been a coincidence.

Points of Interest
Magellan says they include millions of points of interest, including restaurants, hotels, museums, tourist attractions and many others. I believe them! However, take those entries with a grain of salt. For example, the MR700 indicates two restaurants within walking distance to my house. Neither one exists. It also points to several restaurants in my neighborhood that went out of business over a year ago. It seemed to have a good handle on most fast food places, hotels, Starbucks and even some unexpected places like bed & breakfasts and small attractions like some lavender farms in Washington. We used it to find Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada (what a beautiful place). When we got hungry afterwards we used it to find the nearest Taco Time fast food chain since we'd never been (Taco Bell's better). We even used it to find some great out-of-the-way places to eat we would never have found on my own during the trip: If you ever find yourself in Redding, CA, try Country Waffles. They make the best berry & whipped cream waffle I've ever had.

The MR700 has a great feature to find the nearest point of interest but be careful: it could be in front of you or behind you. No one wants to go back the way they came on a trip.

Let's Make It Better
The MR700 was reliable and accurate for our travel needs. Never once did we have to pull out a paper map to find our way. Kudos to Magellan. Here's a list of features that would make Magellan the defacto standard for auto navigation. I'm not saying they are easy to implement, but you have to have vision.

1. TOUR GUIDE. Imagine driving down a long stretch of boring highway when suddenly, your MR700 chimes, "On the left is the Smith Hotel. An alcoholic, Mr. Smith murdered his wife in 1892. Now her ghost is said to wander the halls of this converted mansion. Do you want to know more?" You bet I do! I want the option to hear the whole story and to route to the location. Because this feature would get annoying in large cities with many attractions, I should have the ability to sort by category which topics the MR700 will report on, or even turn it off all together.

2. HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. As I described above, in Redding, CA is a little restaurant called Country Waffle. There were no road signs to point the way to this little gem of a breakfast place and it's too far off the freeway for any but the most adventurous of travelers to find. But doesn't Country Waffle sound better than the McDonalds drive-through again? Magellan has a customer base that by its nature is always on the road. Our collective knowledge about destinations we have visited is sure to be better than any one, two or three travel guides. The MR700 needs a feature to allow this customer base to braindump this knowledge into a database. The MR700 needs access to this collective knowledge so when you're looking for breakfast in Redding, you'll see my review and know where to go. Someone could have warned us how far from the action the Best Western, Vancouver was. We had to find a new hotel! Data input would be handling by a rating and review system similar to Netflix. Customers would rate points of interest from an Internet-enabled web browser. The MR700 would download these updates from Magellan (perhaps wirelessly? See Wireless Internet access below). Bad reviews, say from travelers trying to protect their "secret" fishing hole, would sink to the bottom of the review list (becoming virtually unread) as good reviews rose to the top.

3. IMPROVED SEARCH. The MR700 has a great capability to find all restaurants or other points of interest, based on how close they are. The problem is that the nearest place may be behind you. We want to go forward, not backward! Also, the nearest place may be 15 miles off the freeway when what you're really looking for is a place 20 miles up but only 2 miles off the freeway. We want to go forward, not sideways! Finally, the MR700 always lists places alphabetically. If you're in a new city, how will you know the name of some restaurant? Anyway, I don't care what the name is when I'm hungry, all I know is I want Chinese food. I need the ability to refine searches like this: All Chinese restaurants, ahead only, no more than one mile from the freeway.

4. WIRELESS INTERNET. The holy grail of navigation. Download new maps in near real-time. The device can check the Internet for which freeways are congested or where bad weather is brewing and ask if you want to reroute around or warn you if you should get snow chains. With an Internet connection, the possibilities are endless.

I hope you found this review helpful. if you ever have any questions, drop me a line: bluezoo7 @ hotmail.com.


OK product   December 8, 2005
 43 out of 48 found this review helpful

I returned this GPS after one week's use. The reason is that it doesn't have internal battery!!! Everytime you turn off the egine, this baby shut down also. It takes about 10 mins to restart.