Customer Reviews

Magellan RoadMate 1440 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I am very happy with the Magellan RoadMate 1440, it's just such a good GPS Navigator with all the bells and whistles!

The 1440 is very accurate at saving you time during trips, you can set it up to give you the fastest route or the shortest distance to your destination, which in many cases, is not the same route.

The highway lane assist is one of those features that you might not think you need until you start dealing with lower end GPS units that don't offer such features. Take it from a guy who used to own a tomtom One 3rd edition! This feature helps you make sure that you are choosing the correct lane to exit during a freeway interchange. You'll be glad you have this feature, trust me!

Just in case you were wondering, this unit is also compatible with the "Magellan Traffic Link" (sold Separately) which gives you FREE real time traffic alerts in exchange for small banner ads such as "AM/PM too much good stuff!" displayed on the top of your screen. a small price to pay for such a great service! In case of a traffic jam, a small timer will appear right next to the traffic warning sign, which tells you how many minutes it estimates you will be stuck in there. Click on the warning sign and it will give you a second route to follow. It will compare both routes for you and give you an estimated arrival time for each one. At this point you can opt to avoid traffic or deal with it. This is one of the best features of this unit and a must have for people who have to deal with hours of traffic on a daily basis! (yes, I live in California and traffic jams are a part of my life)

I purposely "got lost" many times to test how accurate the unit was. I would assign a "point of interest" and make the wrong turns just to see how long it would take it to catch up to me, let me tell you it's fast! in most cases it will have a new route to follow before I even hit the next intersection.

It comes with TTS (text to speech) which means it actually tells you to "turn right on Magnolia" as opposed to "turn right in 30 feet", this is a nice feature to have, but it was a must have feature for me, since my previous unit didn't have it.

One odd thing about the 1440 is that when you save a new address to your address book, it automatically assigns it to "Home" in many cases I was trying to add a place of business and it didn't give me the option to do so, it has the "Business" space but you need to add a home address before it lets you add the business address, so everytime I click on "work" it shows me a little picture of a house as opposed to a picture of a building. Nothing big really, I'm sure they can fix that with a firmware update.


1440 vs 1470

I also tested this unit against it's bigger brother, the Magellan RoadMate 1470 displaying a 4.7" screen. If you are like me and are looking at this item, you probably have been switching screens between this one and the 1470!

Looks: The 1440 seems to be a little thicker than the 1470, not a big difference, really. The 1470 feels smoother and it has rounded edges as opposed to the square look on the 1440. The back on the 1470 is silver, the back on the 1440 is black.


Display: The 1470 screen has richer colors than the 1440, at their higher settings, the 1470 is just a little brighter than the 1440, still the 1440 screen is just as bright as you need a GPS screen to be.

Response time: I tested them in situations such turning them on/off, missing my turns to see how fast it would relocate, assigning destinations and looking up Points of Interests, The 1440 responded from 1-3 seconds faster than the 1470 model. Might not seem like much of a difference, but when you're on the road, just a few seconds might make you miss your exit!

Features: they both have the exact same features, nothing different here.

Sound: The 1440 has a slight louder speaker than the 1470.


Both units are great, differences were very minimal. This choice is mostly determined on how big you want the screen and how much you are willing to pay for the difference.

I hope that this review helps you make a better buying choice!

This Magellan GPS is not a bad GPS. Indeed, for someone who has never used a GPS before, this might be a pleasant experience. But for the past two or three years, I have used a Garmin GPS. And compared to the Garmin, the Magellan is an exercise in frustration.

Let's just start from the beginning.

Satellite connection:

This thing took an inordinate amount of time to connect to the satellite signals when I first started it up. I don't know if this is because it was searching the entire world for the correct satellites, or what, but all the Garmin GPS devices I have used ask you to input your initial position manually, probably so that it doesn't have to go searching the entire sky to figure out which satellites to use and where you are. It took so long to connect, in fact, that I thought I had received a faulty unit.

On subsequent startups, the connection was much quicker, but still not as fast as my two-year-old Garmin.

Entering addresses:

Typing in your destination address is a bad experience. Why? Well, as you type each letter, the Magellan tries to figure out which street you are talking about. This is fine, but as soon as it figures out -- or thinks it figures out -- what street you probably mean, it jumps to a screen of street name suggestions. This would be fine if it paused briefly before accepting new input. But it doesn't, and so fast typists like me will inevitably choose a street or city without seeing what we have selected, because we are still typing the name. Then you have to go back and start again.

In comparison, the Garmin throws in a slight one second delay before allowing you to choose the intended street name from its list of suggestions. This prevents any accidental input.

Navigation:

Okay, this is a big one. The Magellan's navigation algorithms are, for want of a better word, funky. I had the machine set to give me the fastest, rather than the shortest, route. However, its alleged fastest route is almost never the actual fastest route. This is a huge problem, essentially negating one of the main benefits of a GPS. I know how to get to a lot of places around town in a roundabout way, but presumably a GPS is able to calculate the most direct route. However, as I entered in destinations into the Magellan, I was shocked and annoyed to find that its fastest route was always several minutes longer than the Garmin's fastest route. (For comparison's sake, I was often using the Magellan and the Garmin at the same time.)

The Garmin always knew what it was doing. When I entered in an address across town, the Garmin usually told me to take the freeway (specifically, I 66), and would give me its estimated time of arrival. The Magellan, however, wanted me to take an odd, non-freeway route, with an estimated time of arrival of several minutes longer than the Garmin's calculation. I double-checked the Magellan's settings to make sure that freeways were enabled, and indeed they were. For some reason, the Magellan simply wasn't using them. When I decided to take the Garmin's advice, the Magellan eventually recalculated the route, and now that it was on the freeway, it gave me an updated time of arrival -- several minutes shorter than its original so-called fastest time.

The Magellan's fastest time calculations are simply wrong. I know this not just from my experimental observations, but also because it has a neat feature where you can see a screen listing the estimated time of arrival using its various different navigation settings: fastest time, shortest route, etc. Frequently, it's "fastest time" was actually longer than the rest of the navigation options. This makes absolutely no sense and is indicative of a bug in the navigation algorithms.

Voice guidance:

Had I never used a Garmin GPS, I would have thought the Magellan's voice guidance was perfectly adequate. However, with the Magellan and the Garmin sitting next to each other, both trying to explain what to do next, the differences -- and the shortcomings of the Magellan -- were obvious. The Magellan's computerized voice was stilted, and nowhere as natural sounding as the Garmin. The Magellan would say something like, "Right Turn, Point Five Miles, Harrison Street." The Garmin would say, "In Point Five Miles, Turn Right on Harrison Street."

Voice guidance on freeways was even worse, a crying shame considering the high speeds at which one drives on the freeway. You should not have to use any brainpower to decipher what the GPS is trying to tell you, and yet the Magellan required some concentration and decoding. It would bombard you with various route and exit numbers, giving you far more information than you need to take the next exit, and rattling off that information without natural pauses. It was frustrating.

Freeway navigation theoretically should have been made more pleasing than the Garmin by the addition of Magellan's interesting sounding Exit Sign Technology. This feature allows you to display the various green freeway signs on the screen of your Magellan, highlighting the sign that you want to follow. This is supposed to be easier than just listening to the voice telling you which exit to take. But it really just adds confusion, as I have to stare at the different reproduced signs, (which are not actual pictures of the real highway signs, by the way, but just generic green highway signs that usually look nothing like the real signs), and try to figure out what it wants me to do. Again, this just requires more brainpower and makes it more likely that I will get confused at 80 mph and miss an exit.

And the Magellan's timing was off. Timing on a GPS is a very subtle, yet important feature. The GPS has to be able to tell you when to turn at different times depending on what speed you are going, how far ahead the turn is, whether you're going to need to switch lanes quickly to make the turn, etc. Garmin's programmers got this right; Magellan's didn't. Again, this is something that I might not even have realized had I only been using the Magellan, and had I never used a Garmin. But, having had a successful GPS experience for years, the deficiencies in the Magellan's voice and timing algorithms were evident.

Display:

The navigation display colors are horrible. I don't know if the Magellan engineers had never used any other GPS devices, or did not focus group their display, but the colors they chose to delineate roads and routes are completely nonsensical. During the day, in order to indicate the routes to take, the Magellan highlights your suggested roads in a light yellowish green line, which is displayed over a slightly darker yellowish green background. At night, the color scheme is not much better. Now, my eyes are fine. I am in my late 20s and I can generally see things on a LCD monitor with no problem, and yet I had trouble seeing which roads were actually highlighted.

The Garmin gets this right. It overlays a bright pink line against a gray background during the day, and a dark blue background at night. This is much easier to see. There are never any questions over whether or not a road is actually highlighted. I always know where I'm supposed to go.

It is really ironic that the Magellan, which has an amazingly clear and bright LCD screen, would be so inferior in this area to my old clunky Garmin with its faded screen. But because of the questionable choice of colors, the Garmin crushes it.

Does the Magellan have any pros?

Sure. As I said, it has a beautiful screen. It is generally a fast machine (except for connecting to the satellite, sometimes). Its navigation interface, although cluttered, gives you quicker one touch access to destinations than the Garmin does. This is handy when on the highway, for instance -- it takes two taps to see the list of nearest gas stations (Where to, Gas), compared to four taps on the Garmin (Menu, Where to, Food/Fuel/Etc., Gas Stations). The Garmin is less cluttered, but it takes longer to wade through its many submenus. Finally, the Magellan's standard closing phrase ("You have ARRIVED!") sounds far cooler than the Garmin's ho-hum "Now arriving."

Bottom line:

My two-year-old Garmin GPS is a far superior device to this brand-new Magellan. Had I never known the Garmin, I would be satisfied with the Magellan. But I know what a GPS device is capable of. I simply cannot use the Magellan because it is incredibly frustrating and gets a lot of things, most notably navigation calculations, very wrong.

My advice? Look at Amazon's list of best selling GPS devices. The crowd is rarely wrong, and in this case the crowd and I both agree: If you want to get somewhere, Garmin is the way to go.

The Magellan 1440 is a 4.3 inch GPS unit equipped with maps of North America. I have a previous Magellan GPS unit and found this to be an improvement in several key ways as detailed below:

Pros:
1. The 4.3 inch screen does not sound like a significant upgrade from a 3.5 inch, but it is like going from a standard definition TV to a HD television system. It is a noticeable difference. Graphics are nice, and you get pop-ups showing the correct freeway ramps to take, plus the unit zooms in on tricky freeway intersections and the like. Nice feature.
2. Set-up: I found this to be quite easy and straightforward. In fact, all I did was power up the unit and let it find a satellite location. This does take a few minutes, so don't expect directions in moments. However, after the first satellite location, it only takes mere seconds for subsequent location finding. Power is scant, so you will need to power up the unit with either the included power cord for the car, or the USB cord.
3. The unit itself is about the width of your thumbnail, which is pretty small. A speaker is located in the back, with the USB cord on the bottom.
4. The holder which is included is far better constructed than my previous model. It feels more secure and stable, and the hook-up to the unit is a slide-in slot on the back rather than the previous holder which was like hands. (let me note I didn't have problems with that holder, but this feels more secure).
5. One touch is a feature that takes you to the things you would probably want beyond directions such as your route home, points of interest, gas and battery power and satellite strength. It is very easy to locate and works well when driving.
6. Points of interest include AAA listings and are fairly good. Some locations will be out of date, but overall you can find the things you need most. It has helped me locate things like a gas station when low on gas!
7. Ease of use: it is straightforward and easy to use. Easy to punch in a location and have the GPS locate you a route.
8. Brightness seems fine in broad daylight. A driver may want to go to system features and turn off the battery saving feature which seems to make things dimmer at all times.
9. Traffic feature: for a pretty low price, you can buy a power adapter which allows you to receive traffic updates for your unit. This is (considering the price) a great feature.

Neutral:
1. Location of USB port: my previous model had the USB port located on the left side which was terrible because I then a cord running invariably underneath and behind the unit to the power plug. This model makes an improvement by locating the port underneath. I do wish the unit had been oriented other way so that you don't have to scrunch the cord to run it the other direction (is this for a British car because no American model has power located on the left side of the driver, and most drivers will place the item near the center.
2. Spoken languages: Not much choice here, just English, French and Spanish.
3. No capacity I am aware of to add voices or sounds off the internet.
4. There is a micro-SD slot, I have no idea what to use it for since it is not explained anywhere. Map updates of some sort? Nothing is noted anywhere that would tell the user what the purpose of having this is.

Cons:
1. Quite honestly, I have not encountered any real problems or issues.
2. If you must have features such as Bluetooth, or voice dialing, this does not have those features.
3. On/Off button: My previous unit had a button you had to press and hold down for a few moments before start-up. This unit has a sliding on/off button. Frankly, after some use, the button is an annoyance. Not a major issue, but I don't like this button!
4. Can't tell my location: actually no, that isn't true! - I can tell my present location, but compared to my previous Magellan here is the difference - I had a digital compass with an altimeter. Neat stuff when driving across the Mojave desert or Imperial Valley below sea level. I can't find this feature anymore on this unit and greatly wish it was there because it was cool. Definitely not pleased with this. Knowing your position relative to a compass was a nice feature. Knowing your altitude was a bonus. Why was this taken out?

Overall, I find this unit to be a simple and reliable source of driving information. It has many features relative to the price. It is easy to use, and uncomplicated. Having only used Magellan GPS units, I cannot comment on other models such as Tom-Tom or Garmin (they have some cool commercials though), but I believe a buyer cannot go wrong with this unit if you're looking for an easy and basic GPS unit. Overall, I am quite pleased. I do not believe a user will be disappointed in the slightest with this unit.

May I also recommend this friction mount:

HDFMB-2: i.Trek V2 Open Front Heavy Duty Friction Mount Base for Garmin, TomTom, Magellan GPS Devices

I have owned many GPS units... Garmin, TomTom, Navigon. While there is no perfect GPS that I have come across, this one has many great features...and some issues.

The unit takes forever to start up. And even though the GPS indicator shows a strong signal, the unit is still "acquiring a signal." Go figure. This has repeatedly happened to me under an open sky. Wait, wait, wait ....

What I liked....

Love the screen. Very nice colors and crisp text.

Thin design.

Great easy to see street names and the POI's are easy to spot. Especially the ones that are branded.

Lane Assist is great. I like it better than TomTom, Garmin or Navigon.

The windshield mount was easy to put on and stayed on after.

The AAA tour guide was absolutely the best.

Finding POIs was a snap. Easier than TomTom or Navigon. But about on par with Garmin

Things I didn't like....

The charging cable mounts right under the unit AFTER you mount it to the windshield mount. Very, very awkward and hit or miss.

When you search for POIs you don't get the address, just the name. You have to click on it to see the address. The Maestro 4350/4370 (I own the 4370 also) shows the address which makes it a lot easier to identify.

Traffic was useless. I live in the greater Washington, DC area, and this unit (with optional lifetime traffic cable) couldn't get a traffic station signal. The 4370 easily did.

Start up and getting a signal is always a problem.

The unit has gone 'crazy' more than once. Clear sky, major road and it thought I was a mile away. Once it showed me 30 feet off road on the school field I was passing.

Conclusions...

The user interface and screen are the best I have seen. When the unit works, it does a good job. Most of the time, it's hit or miss. The graphics are great, the size is great, the routing so-so, the POIs great, the AAA Tour Book absolutely the best. I really wanted this to be the one. But sad to say, it doesn't seem to measure up to all my needs.

Let me state up front that I'm very happy with this product. I've got some experience with the Garmins and I find the difference between the models to be very minimal so I think you'll be happy with either one. That being said let me review the areas I believe are important in any GPS.
Satellite Acquisition: The Magellan acquired a satellite within a minute or 2 each time I tested it. Once acquired, the signal was never lost. I've found the Garmin acquisition time to be slightly faster but the time difference is not enough to worry about.
Setup: The Magellan was very easy to setup. I actually had my wife go through the setup without using the manual to see how easy it was to follow since she's not really technically inclined. She got through the process very quickly, with the only mistake being the time zone selection. We're in Arizona which doesn't recognize DST so that's always a little tricky for us. For 99% of America, this shouldn't be a problem.
Regular use: We had very few issues using the software built into the Magellan. It was pretty straight-forward with only an occasional wrong button pushed. Again, we purposely did not use the manual to test ease of use so we probably would have had zero problems with the manual by our side.
Effectiveness: The maps, directions, mileage and time calculations, and gas station locations were spot on every time. We also purposely veered off course on several occasions and the unit recalculated the routes quickly and accurately.
Graphics: Large, colorful, and easy to follow. Very similar to Garmin. The one thing about the Magellan I didn't like is that the map zoomed in and out depending on where we were on the route. Not sure about the algorithm used here as we found that aspect a little annoying. We would prefer the zoom to stay at the same level unless we manually changed it.
Speech: The speech used was clear and smooth. We found it to be a little more natural than the Garmin but again we're splitting hairs. The Magellan also spoke up more frequently than the Garmin, speaking our selections as we entered City, Street, Number, etc. I actually liked this aspect. What I didn't like was how the Magellan treated minor route deviations. It described a bend in the road and a fork in the road as a "slight turn to the right". If we weren't familiar with the route this verbiage could have confused us to the point of actually thinking we might have to turn right, which would have put us off course.
Accessories: Included with the GPS unit are a power plug that plugs into your vehicles cigarette lighter and a mounting frame that sticks to your windshield. Have to be careful here because the windshield mounts are illegal in some states. I recommend considering a "bean bag" type mount that just sits on your dash and is kept in place by it's weight. I also would like to see, as standard accessories, a carrying case, an A/C charging plug, and a screen cleaning cloth. I believe these should be standard because you want to keep the screen as safe from smudging and scratching as possible. The A/C charger should be standard because the GPS can be used as a carry along when you're not driving but still need directions. Having to find a car to recharge it in this case is a decided inconvenience.
Recommendation: I have no reservations in recommending this unit. It is extremely handy not only for trips to unfamiliar cities but also for unfamiliar parts of town if you happen to live in a fairly large city. Having tried to read directions and maps while driving at the same time I can tell you that these gadgets are a godsend. They remove all the stress of worrying about getting lost once you learn to trust them.

May 6 2009

This is a great piece of equipment. The CPU on this G.P.S. is very fast. Route calculation is fast and accurate. If you live in New Jersey and travel on the Parkway/Turnpike/Route 80, Lane Guidance works perfectly.

I drive 700-800 miles a week an and this is a must have. I did not want a unit with Bluetooth or FM Transmitter which is missing from this unit, and maybe that's the reason it works so well. The 3D map is amazing unlike the Roadmate 1412. After 25 miles of driving, a message popup saying that the G.P.S. needs to reboot to improve performance after that I haven't seeing any other issues so far.

The map in night mode is also a great improvement over the Roadmate 1412 and not too bright. I have owned a garmin 660 and a magellan roadmate 1412(horrible G.P.S. unit) and I have to congratulate Magellan on this one.

Great product so far.

I would recommend this unit to anyone who is in the market for a great Navigation unit at a reasonable price.


May 7 2009

***** About the Reboot

I called magellan today May 7th and they said that there is patch coming out on May 8th to fix the Lane Guidance which is the cause of the reboot.

guess I'll fine out tomorrow.

My initial impressions of the Magellan RoadMate 1440 were pretty good. The packaging, instructions, and ease of initial use were all top notch. Overall, I feel this would be a good unit for a GPS newbie or someone that does not want all of the bells and whistles. For those seeking more, you might want to go elsewhere.

After digging in and using the 1440 on the road, I found the build quality to be lacking. It feels cheap in the hand and for this price point, I expect more. The charging connector and stand connectors are somewhat delicate and I fear they would break easily if dropped or thrown into a travel bag or vehicle compartment.

Without even reading the instructions you can begin using the device, so it is easy to operate. I found that you had to actually click through more menus and windows though to get the information you want. Garmin's interface tends to be cleaner and more accessible. I want to see all travel information (ETA, Mileage, etc) on one screen. I do not want to continue hitting a button while I'm driving in order to see all of the data. I had trouble finding some options, but that could be because I'm used to the interface of other manufacturers.

The voice instructions were very clear, in fact one of the most clearly spoken systems I've heard. Road names were much more clear than my previous Garmin. The screen, however, is difficult to read when in sunlight. Even after making adjustments I just could not get it just right. Also, with no audio output you will not be able to hook this up to your car speakers. The volume was clear and loud though, so that might not be an issue for you.

I found the system to be very peppy, but it took a little while to find POI that you hand typed. You also had to get the spelling very close to the actual POI, otherwise it would not find any results. GPS signal lock came fairly quick and you could get going on your way in little or no time at all. Point to point directions were good for the most part, although some items and roads were outdated even with an upgrade to the system.

If you are a first time GPS user or someone that wants to enter the market at this price point, then the 1440 might be a good match for you. If you have used other GPS devices and enjoy certain features that other devices might offer, then you might want to look elsewhere.

If you are looking for a solid GPS which can get you around unfamiliar areas and to unfamiliar destinations, and without any non-navigation bells and whistles (such as Bluetooth, mp3 player, etc.), the Magellan RoadMate 1440 will get the job done for you. BUT if you are looking for a GPS to help you find shortcuts around your common routes or to help get you out of traffic jams, then this GPS is not suitable. And of course, if you are looking for bells and whistles like bluetooth and mp3s, then hit the back button on your browser now.

When I turn on the GPS unit, it does take about 15 seconds to boot up. Once that is done, the interface is pretty easy-to-use and understandable. The touch screen is not too sensitive, yet does not require one to press too hard to make an input. The Magellan has almost NO delay in picking up the GPS signal.

I tested the Magellan out as I went on a routine trip around town. Finding destinations was easy, as you can search either by category or by name. I had no troubles getting to where I wanted to go, as in the GPS would get me exactly to point B and not some other place 500 feet away. The lane guidance feature is also pretty nifty and I was amazed that all the signs shown on the display were identical to the real thing, down to the exit number! There have been a lot of changes to the roads here in my area due to recent construction, and it seems the maps are updated to reflect these changes. I was pleased about that.

Where I wasn't happy with the Magellan was its choice of routes. The GPS loved taking me on main roads that tend to be clogged with traffic. I noted how it would want me to take a left turn that I typically avoid because it is not a protected left turn and the oncoming traffic makes the turn almost impossible to make. Also, I could not find an instant reroute button that I could hit if I were to get stuck in traffic or a closed road and wanted out.

Overall, the Magellan 1440 is a GPS that I wouldn't mind having when I am visiting a friend's new house or on vacation in a new city. But I am going to have to continue to rely on my senses to find ways out of traffic.

The Magellan RoadMate 1440 is a nice little GPS unit, affordably priced. Since all GPS units have come down in price, I now consider them a "must-have" in every car. But with all the choices out there, how on earth does one decide????
Out of the box, the 1440 comes with the receiver, pre-loaded maps of the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, windshield mount, adhesive disc for dash mounting, power adapter, USB cable, user handbook, user guide on CD Rom.
In our household, we also have a Garmin Street Pilot, a Garmin Nuvi 350 and a Garmin Nuvi 360. The 1440 would probably be closest to the Nuvi 350 (the 360 has bluetooth connectivity, pretty much the only difference).
Ease of use: Go outside, turn it on, and set home. After that, its pretty intuitive. While I appreciate the importance of reading user guides, its my own ridiculous personal habit not to refer to them until I get in trouble. Haven't had to pull out the user guide on this one yet, so that is a positive. The OneTouch feature enables you to keep your favorite places loaded and easy to find without a lot of searching around. The question I always have is, if its a favorite place, won't I already know how to get there?
Screen: the 4.3 inch screen is larger than the 3.5 inch Nuvi and while not a selling point for me, might be very important for some people. I don't want to have to even look at the GPS, as I'm hoping it is going to tell me what to do without having to look at the map. But a larger screen size definitely makes the glances at the GPS more fruitful. Good resolution, and easy to zoom in and out. The touch screen works well, one touch and you return to main menu. As with the Nuvi, I like knowing how many miles left to my destination.
Voice: I can't figure out how to change the voice. She is annoying and sometimes hard to understand. For the most part, not a deal breaker. I do prefer the nice Australian on my Nuvi though.
Multipoint routing: has it, so does Nuvi. Its not often I need to program in several stops. The nature of a "stop" is that it is actually your destination. Then you go to your next destination. Not a big deal for me.
Built in tour book: similar to the Nuvi, if you are looking for a restaurant, hotel, or gas station, the RoadMate helps you find it. This is actually a must-have feature of a GPS. You are in an unfamiliar town and need a Starbucks? Have no fear, the RoadMate will direct you right to the closest one.
Suction cup: OK, I must admit I feel silly talking about this in my review. But if you've ever had your GPS fall off your windshield, this becomes major. The RoadMate window mount is amazing. In fact, it is now a permanent fixture in one of our cars. I actually prefer friction mounts and would recommend getting one with whatever GPS you choose. I like this one: Bracketron UFM-100BL Nav-Mat GPS Friction Dash Pad, but there are a few out there.
How to get where you're going: similar to Garmin, Magellan enables you to choose how you like to get where you're going. Freeway? Shortest route? Fastest route? Choose your mode. Its important to select the mode that suits you. We had this unit programmed in "fastest" mode. It then was going to take me 4 miles out of my way to get me to a freeway when I knew the backroads would be easier. Yes I know a freeway is "faster", but not if you have to drive through heavy traffic to get to it.
Text to voice: This is an absolute must have for any GPS you are ever going to buy. If it doesn't have it, don't buy it. You need your GPS to tell you where to turn, and where to go. Hopefully it will do this in an understandable voice. Your GPS is the person reading the map in the passenger seat. You wouldn't want that person to write notes and shove them in your face now would you?? The RoadMate has text to voice, and it works well. Sometimes too well, as it seems as though the many reminders of what is coming up next make me think I might have missed something.
Highway lane assist is a handy little feature where the unit tells you what lane you need to be in for your upcoming exit. Useful in your hometown, probably essential if driving in a strange place.
Accuracy: If you purchase a GPS from a high volume GPS retailer (read: Amazon) it will come preloaded with the most current maps. After that, if you feel as though your maps are outdated, you can download new ones. (I've never done this and figure by the time my maps are that out of date, my GPS will be too.) I have not been "steered wrong" by the RoadMate, but I'm sure with enough use it would happen someday. They all do it, probably more a function of poor mapping on someone else's part than GPS malfunction. I like that this unit comes with Canadian maps, since I"m 2 hours from Canada. If I were travelling to Europe or Asia, I'd probably download those maps.
Traffic: the 1440 is compatible with Magellan Traffic Link, which will steer you around traffic jams. You must purchase traffic link, but the service is "free" (there are little ads). If you frequently commute through heavy traffic, this would be a nice feature, but I haven't used it so can't really comment. I do know when I'm stuck in traffic, I wish I had it.
Bluetooth: the 1440 does not have bluetooth connectivity. My Nuvi 360 does, and I use it for hands free phone use when driving. I like it, but its not essential.
Overall, this is a nice little unit. I personally prefer my Nuvi 360, but when writing this review and comparing prices, think this RoadMate is a pretty good deal. Use their website to compare features, in order to select the unit that is right for you. The 1440 is good value, worth every penny.
Extras: in addition to the above mentioned friction mount, I highly recommend this little carrying case: Lowepro 4.3-Inch Navi Sleeve GPS Carrying Case (Black)

Was excited about receiving this product, seemed to have a lot of features for the price. Well, didn't turn out so well for me. I decided to navigate myself to work just to test it out. The unit plotted the course just fine from my home, but for some reason had me located one block over. Then it kept telling me to turn to meet up with the fictitious position it had me in.

Not deterred, I stayed true to course and it finally caught up with me and navigated just fine. Coughed it up to first use shake out. When I returned from work I decided to give it another shot. Everything started great, completed about 90% of the trip then froze up. Thought about re-booting, but let it unfreeze, which it did in about 5 minutes. I'm still hanging in there, it's new so it will work itself out, NOT!!! Froze up again 10 minutes later. To it's credit, it realized it was crewing up and displayed a message that it must re-boot to optimize navigation. I'm like cool, okay, now we are getting somewhere. It re-booted and BAM! froze up again where it remains.

I will return it, but don't think I will try this model again.