Customer Reviews

Magellan Meridian 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

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

 

 

After I opened the box and inserted the batteries, it was ready to go! The best thing that happened since sliced bread. Easy to use, accurate, good enough to use with just the base map. How did I live without it for so many years? Besides your location (with backtracking dotted line) it gives you your speed, accurate direction in degrees from North, and many many more, including fishing conditions, sunrise and sunset. I am still trying to figure out however if the moon rises at 9:05 AM (as they show on the Magellan GPS) or at 9:05 PM!! I think this is a booboo...
Buyer be aware of just as much cost for the accessories such as the mounting bracket ($...+), the Streets USA Map CD ($...), the cigarette lighter adapter ($...), the SD memory card ($...), etc.
Still, an excellent GPS for the price.

If you can still find one of these it should be pretty cheap and a good base unit. This was one of the first GPS units that I ever learned how to use. Magellan offers a great line of products and once you are ready to upgrade you will already know the fundamentals of the Magellan interface. I would highly recommend this as a starter unit. They are fairly durable and the satellite lock is adequate for the earlier models. If you are looking for a model that shows city streets in detail this is not for you.

After using it for several days, I am really impressed with the amount of technology that's packed inside. Satellite acquisition is pretty good, but it has trouble inside buildings, even wood-framed. The accuracy and repeatablity is better than the manual claims, but battery life is worse. Also, it is easy to accidentally hit the buttons, especially the power button. They should all be recessed slightly to prevent this. I found that the "backtrack" feature is really nice, as it shows a simulated street display that is easy to follow. The installed map of major roads is pretty much what it claims, so if you need more detail, the extra memory & MapSend S/W is necessary. I wish, however, that it was possible to use other (read less expensive!) software to upload map data (for example, Microsoft Streets & Maps). Overall, I like it and will probably upgrade the memory & add more mapping data. However, I am a bit leery of the reported errors in the Magellan S/W, so I'll check things out a bit first.

I am very impressed with the performance and reliability of this product. There is a learning curve with which one must deal, however, easily overcome by using the included CD Rom Users Manual. Secure Digital Cards from various manufactures can be purchased affordably, yet maps seem to only be downloadable from Magellan Mapsend Software, and not some of the other popular varities