Customer Reviews

Magellan MAP 330x 3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am very happy with the Magellan MAP 330x GPS. I had purchased it because, for the price, it was better than any of the other brands. It has a good battery life (9-10 hours from 2 AAs depending on how often you use the light feature) , and comes with map software which is a must for this type of GPS. The features it has meet or surpass other products in its class. The only problem I have with it, is that in order to see any local streets you must be zoomed in pretty close, but you can't expect much more since the screen is only about 3"X2". I feel that its very accurate... With the map software I can see all of the rural streets around my home. Sometimes it takes a while for the unit to orient its self, but once it has gone through its cycle it stays locked on, even in my basement. I did my homework on this one, and I would recommend it over the other brands, unless they can come up with a better package... Though the others might have products in the same category, they don't package their GPS with the software and the data cable so they can ding you with the cost of buying it later. ... It would be worth your while to do some research before you buy though, so take the time to look around on the above web pages, and visit epinions.com to help you make a sound purchase.

I've had my MAP330 for over a year now. It works well for both street navigation as well as hiking uses. I purchased the MapSend Topo CD and was impressed with the detail it downloads into the 8 meg of programable memory the MAP330 has in addition to the 8 meg reserved for the base map (16 meg total). Magellan provides FREE software upgrades for the unit that are available at their website. I have downloaded and installed three upgrades since purchasing the unit. Each has added new features that were desirable to have. Did I mention that these are FREE?

I don't think you can get more GPS for your money than the MAP330. If you purchase the MAP330X you get lots of extras for very little additional expense.

This is my second Magellan GPS (Map 315 before), I think it is an excellent unit, very useful for almost every situation, works good with your computer. Things that need some improvement: Software mapping in SouthAmerica (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador), free software for jpg mapping conversion to upload to unit. Maps for outside USA.

This device is great. I have only had it for a little over a week but I have been extremely satisfied. I originally bought it for geocaching... I have already found two caches in my area with very good accuracy. I dont know who wrote the review aoout how inaccuate it was, but that is false. His must have been broken or smething. I have also made wavepoints to show surrounding points in my area. It was very easy for me to learn how to do most things on it. The best thing about this product, is what comes with it. With the CD-ROM, and car kit, for very little extra cost this has to be the best gps for the money.

MAP 330 is NOT for street navigation as it does not give turn-by-turn driving directions, as advertised. It draws a straight line from start point to destination point and YOU have to figure out which streets to follow to reach your destination. The software has outdated database and failed to locate my house and some other locations which were successfully located by other softwares. Even software does not give turn-by-turn driving directions, but draws a straight line from start to destination. That leaves you fully dependent on printed maps to work out your route. I found free services (...) better than this expensive product.

I purchased Magellan MAP 330X two years ago. That one was working really fine. But because its design was not as cute as I would expect, I sold it off eBay one year ago. Then I was searching for a replacement one, and it was found to be Garmin eTrex Vista. So I purchased it and used it during the 2002 Christmas vacation in California. To my much disappointment, it is really quite inferior to MAP330. The only reason I bought it was it it looks cute, easy to fit my pocket. However, on technically side, there are many problems. After making painfully decision, I decide to sell it and buy back the MAP300 again.

First, Garmin's GPS does not come with the detailed city maps, which is sold separately for $99+. It is quite expensive. Magellan's city map comes with MAP330X. (Garmin's GPS is already sold higher than comparable Magellan's). Second, Vista's map on the screen is not floating. For example, if the street name is "Main St.", and the first two character "Ma" is happened to be cutoff on the left side, the screen only displays "in St.". Very bad, isn't it? MAP330X's text names are floating to fit in the screen. Third, very very bad, Vista is very slow and difficult to lock the satellite signals. And once it does lock, it is quite easy to get lost (see other reviews for any Magellan GPS). This is the main problem that makes me abandon it finally, even though I like its stylish design so much. Fourth, once it lost the satellite signals, it displays the message on the bottom of all screens and just will not go, which blocks the necessary information (such as elevator, distance, street name, etc.) that I will like to see even though the signal is off. Fifth, it is quite difficult to navigate the map to left, right, up or down. In MAP330X, you just move the cursor, using one hand only, can do it, whileas same functionality in Vista needs two steps and needs two hands. It is not likely to do it during driving. Sixth, although Vista outside design is quite cute, its button locations are very bad. It is very difficult to manipulate them using one hand during the driving. You may say it is not supposed to use it during driving. But using it during driving, so what, it is just a quite look on the screen, just like drinking an soda or eat a bite of McDonald. It does not cause any problem when using probably. Plus, it is only useful during the driving when one needs to figure out if he/she is in the right direction on highway, or if miss an exit, and how far it is needed to get the destination. Without the proper use of it with one hand, you bet how many people will be buying a GPS. Seventh, when Vista is first turned on, it locks the screen to scan the satellite frequencies (which is already quite long compared with MAP330X) and does not allow you to go to any other screen further. This is also very bad feature. Sometime I just want to see the map of last location, I don't really need to track the current location; or I just want to setup configurations, why should I have to wait the satellite signal? There're also other major issues such as not showing what's the version number of the firmware, how much memory is left, what kind of external map is loaded, etc.

In this deflationary world, I make purchase carefully on high-tech gadgets. I understand the prices will drop quickly. So if I do buy it, I really expect to own it and consider the money is discarded. If a company does not provide a good product, it cannot expect to sell it too many, because nowadays there're on-line auction and trading sites everywhere. If a customer does not like the product generally after using it, he/she will sell it, say, at eBay. Therefore, the used ones get circulated again and again in the secondary trading market, making the new ones difficult to be mass sold.

This is the most complete GPS system package available. Great for hiking, hunting, fishing, traveling, this package does it all. This is a fantastic deal.

this is a fine device -- works great and the mapsend cd, when bundled, works well and is a great value. i've downloaded detailed maps of several cities (from the CD in my laptop to the gps handset) with no problem. another plus is that there are current updates for firmware and software on the magellan website, which is easy to navigate. the antenna is sensitive enough to function almost everywhere in my house and car.

only downsides are: 1) you can't save multiple tracks in internal memory -- you have to upload them to your pc after every drive or hike, then erase them from memory if you want to start with no "breadcrumbs"; 2) the mapsend cd makes it nearly impossible to plan a trip ahead of time and download it to the handset; and 3) the car lighter adapter that came with my bundle is mated to the pc data cable -- not a big deal but makes both more cumbersome than they'd be if separate.

all in all, for the price i'm exceptionally satisfied -- best value i could find and such a cool toy! ... er, navigational aide.

This is an excellent product. I'm very impressed by it's capabilties.
As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, the one minor inconvience is the battery cover. I believe the fault lies in the fact the springs in the battery cover are located on the same end, consequently one battery's negative end is postitioned against the spring, while the other battery's positive end (which is too small) is postioned against its spring.If they could move the positive terminal spring to the opposite side, it would result in much better electrical contact.
If you have trouble closing the battery cover, check the positive terminal against the spring(it has a tendency to move out of position while loading batteries).
Make sure both batteries are securely in position, and you can firmly close the battery cover.