Customer Reviews

Magellan RoadMate 760 3.8-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

I had a Roadmate 700 for 18 months, and it became an indispensible tool for my vehicle - especially when traveling to multiple locations I've never been to in a new city. On the downside, after 11 months I started getting automatic messages that my software was out of date - but Magellan hadn't released the new software. Four months later when they did, they failed to notify me even though I had registered for it.

Now I have the Roadmate 760, and the unit is even better. The flash card for saving addresses (use it, you'll be glad you did), the automatic re-routing for when you're stuck in traffic, and the automatic backlight adjustment are all handy. But after only two weeks, the new unit started freezing on startup. At three weeks it got worse, and I sent it back to Magellan - and learn they need "10 to 12 business days in-house" to fix it, plus shipping time. No apology, no offer to loan me another unit, no way to speed it up. My confidence in the company and the unit has dropped precipitously, and they seem not to care that they are converting a customer evangelist into a very unhappy user.

UPDATE on the above, 3 months later:
My love/hate relationship is deeper than before. I recently was stuck in traffic on I-95 when terrorist threats shut down all tunnels around Baltimore. I checked the gps for nearest exit, worked my way to it, then re-programmed the unit for "least use of freeways". It then guided me through areas of Baltimore that by-passed all tunnels, and I made a critical meeting in Delaware on time. My wife also uses it, and she clearly is more comfortable knowing she will not get lost. This is worth a lot to both of us.

On the other hand, the unit is freezing for the second time, and is now on its way back for repairs again. This means another two weeks of waiting for a 4 month old unit to be repaired a second time.

ARRGGHHH!

I did a ton of research and I am really happy with this device. It is a step up from the 700, and the features such as audible street names really make it a viable substitute to the factory installed units.

It uses NAVTEQ mapping like most major car companies. TomTom uses Teleatlas, which many have found to be less accurate.

The 760 has performed flawlessly, and I highly recommend it!

Some small gripes:

I live in NYC, and the only problem is that the signal can get lost for a little bit around large buildings downtown. This is true of all systems. Even if this happens, the 760 gives you the directions to follow until the signal picks up again. This might be solved by picking up the external antenna, but I haven't done that yet.

Since there is no internal battery, if you turn off the car at a a gas station, the 760 powers off. It saves the route and where you are, but still takes a minute to find satellites again.

Other than these issues, it is a champ.

Many here noted problems acquiring satellite signals. There are several things you can do to help fix this, with a Magellan RoadMate or any other portable GPS:

1. Make sure your car's windshield does not have a special layer that blocks GPS signals. Many European cars have an "athermic heat shield" that cuts the signal getting through, as do some American or Japanese cars. If your car has window treatments, tinting, or shielding that decreases the signal, you can get either a reradiating antenna to boost the signal or an external antenna to bypass the problem entirely.

2. Think about how to help your GPS receiver "see" more of the sky. The further away from the front of the windshield you mount it, the less sky the built-in antenna can see from its viewpoint. While cramming the GPS all the way forward at the bottom center of the windshield may put it inconveniently far in some vehicles, that's where it has the most complete view of the sky. If you're thinking of mounting it on a cupholder or below the dash, first put your head there and look to see if you can see at least 1/2 the sky. If not, use a roof mount external antenna that can see the whole sky no matter where you mount the GPS.

3. Also remember that in the USA or Europe, more GPS satellites are to the south than to the north. Sometimes simply pointing your car south will significantly improve the satellite acquisition time.

Several here commented about the length of acquisition time being a problem even when you haven't left the device off for days or weeks. If satellites are where the device expects them to be, the acquisition time is fast. If too many days have passed, or if the unit is turned off in one location and on in another, then it needs to go through a longer satellite location and synchronization routine to have best accuracy. So,

4. Even if you're not using it to find a route, keeping the GPS on when you move your car (so the GPS knows where it is when switched off) will help it figure out where it is much faster on next startup.

I own both Garmin and Magellan products, and have used virtually every other system--both factory and aftermarket--available. Garmin works better on foot or a bicycle, but in my vehicles, I use both the Magellan RoadMate models daily. I find Magellan built well on its long experience and extensive user feedback from the Hertz "Neverlost" system to make the Magellan touch screen system by far the easiest to use for drivers.

If you don't have one, a Magellan is to driving what Tivo is to TV. If you do own one, then remembering that the GPS works by "line of sight" instead of like a radio can go a long way towards making it easier to use.

i read all of the customer reviews before recommending the 760 to a friend. she purchased the unit the same day and called me back the next day to read me the riot act and explain how the unit actually works. Since no one else has really talked about this, i decided to write a review and possibly save someone else some grief.

The unit functions as advertised.. the problem is the demographics the unit is targeted at is the more casual traveler and not road warriors like insurance adjusters who must get to many addresses in one day.

To enter an address you must go through a tedious set of menus. To more quickly put the addresses in via a full-size keyboard, you must create an address book that only holds 200 entries and you still must go thru the tedious set of menus for every single address. To get more than 200 entries, you must delete the previous ones.

If you are an insurance adjuster or some other professional who needs to see a lot of people each day, this is way too time consuming.

Also in a city like miami, where my friend was working Hurricane Wilma aftermath, the same street name can appear in 50 different 'surburbs'. The 760 only recognizes miami and not miami lakes, hialeah, miami gardens, etc..etc. so it could not find West 63rd court in hialeah.

my friend spent hours trying to get addresses in and gave up as time is money and it was obvious that although the unit and the touch screen were nice, it would not work for her situation. The unit is also not compatible with MapSend Direct Route that is Magellan's own routing software. For $1000, you would think it would be but it is not..

So make sure the unit works as you expect it to before you leave the store. Hope this review will help someone prior to buying the unit and having to pay the re-stocking fee for a complete waste of time.

I recentaly purchased the Magellan Roadmate 760. I did as much research as possible on various websites including customer reviews here on Amazon. As advertised, after a brief review of the start-up instructional pamphlet, you really can use this one, right out of the box. It did lock-up on me once, but because I had read here about that problem in the reviews beforehand, I tried the recommended re-boot and it was fine with no re-occurrences.
I then used it to guide me from LA to La Jolla, CA with some side trips around San Diego, where I have little knowledge of its road system.
Pros: Guided me right to the address, even on a small suburban street, with nice advance warning of all exits, turns and forks in the road, even telling you which lanes to stay in where off-ramps split two ways, inlcuding actual street names, exit names & #'s.
If you miss a turn, it quickly recognized it and recalculated the course with directions to get right back to your destination.
Got me to any point of interest I requested, many of which were not major tourist attractions.
Windshield mount worked fine, better than expected even, contrary to what I had read on some reviews. I guess it might be hit or miss, depending on your windshield angle or some other unknown factors. Also had no problem with satellite recognition..which some reviews said was a problem with certain car windshield's coatings. Daylight viewing was fine, glare was not an issue as some others reported here.
I think living in a major metro area has advantages in what it can offer, with tons of POI's pre-loaded. Hopefully future updates will be available to upload or install via a memory card that will have all the latest new roads and places of business.
Has nearly all essential extras, day/night screen viewing, without the add-ons of some of the latest model, like the MP3 player in the 800 model. Who needs that in a GPS?

Cons: Would be nice to have a rechargable battery feature, like a cell phone, where you could use the lighter for power, but also take out of the car if you wanted to use for hiking or something outside the car. You have to have car power to use.
Recommend getting a carrying case of some sort...I bought one elsewhere, but the screen will get scratched or the copper connetors on the back damaged without protection. Since you have a rather expensive piece of equipment sitting in plain view, you will need to remove and carry with you many times or at least stow away in a safe place inside car, hence the need for a carrying case.

Looked at the Garmin's and TomTom's, but went with the 760 and am happy with the purchase. They might be good too, but really have no complaints with just a few areas for future improvements. If you are undecided, go with this one.

I am new to GPS, but have done a fair amount of research.
I first bought the Tom Tom 700, but that was a DISASTER. You can read my nightmare experience on Amazon.

The Magellen is so great, though, I'm actually glad the Tom Tom failed me! The Magellens' BEST feature is the fact that IT ANNOUNCES THE STREET NAMES AND HIGHWAY NAMES as it directs you! If you've never experienced this feature on a GPS, it makes a universe of difference!

The maps are very accurate, although like everything in life, not perfect. The menu and text input are good as well.

The one thing I liked about the Tom Tom better than the 760 is the way the maps are displayed. The TT has a 3D image that shows you driving forward, instead of the overhead view of the 760. Again, if I had never see the TT display, I wouldn't miss it.

Also, the theoretical Blue Tooth functionality on the Tom Tom(which I could never get to work at all with my V710) would have been a great feature.

The biggest problem on the Magellen 760 is the lack of a back up battery! If you have to turn off your car for any reason, you start from scratch! You can't use it on foot, and if your car dies and you are somewhere in the middle of nowhere, you can't use the gps to find your location and direct help to you.

I think it would be easy enough for them to create a mounting to replace the one that comes with the 760 that could incorporate a rechargable battery in it. No big deal, sell it as an accessory.

Close to perfect. Not quite there.

I bought this GPS right before my trip to Chicago and I am glad it did. Would never be able to drive in the city and the suburbs without it.
It's easy to use. It has a big screen with the maps you can zoom in and move to different points to look at the map. The voice guidance is great as you don't have to move your eyes off the road. Besides, when you miss a turn or exit it recalculates the route and you can pick the best route for you out of a few variants. Address book that stores adresses with one click is convinient. Furthermore, it gives directions to pretty much any place when you know the address or at least the name of the place.
The GPS is detachable, so that you can use in different cars. In addition, this Magellan is good for all over the country driving.
Most of the time it was very helpful. It helped me tremendously giving directions in Chicago. I get lost everywhere, so if not my GPS, I don't know how I would drive in the strange city. Unfortunately, the device does not ALWAYS work as it supposed to.
The problem with Magellan RoadMate 760 is that sometimes its screen freezes and the device refuses to give you the right directions or may just show you that you are in San Fransciso while you are still in Michigan. Happened a few times to my GPS.
can be helpful when you drive a lot to unknown places if you have patience to put up with its unprdictable behaviour.

Although you're looking at the Magellan 760, let me share with you my experiences with the Magellan 700.

I have used the Magellan 700 to get from point A to point B. When it works (actually powers on), it will do the job. However, so will just about every other NAV unit on the market.

The problem is, when your unit fails (and ours did three times withing the first year), you will deal with the worst customer service on the planet!

Our unit broke within 30 days of purchase. The unit's power would simply shut off while driving down the road (and right when you need it the most!). Sometimes, the unit would not even power up from the start. It also would search for the satellite and often lose our location. We tried changing car power adapters, etc. but no go. Fortunately, the first time this happened, we were still within 30 days of purchase, so Amazon was nice enough to send us a replacement unit. However, when the unit would not power on for the second and third time (a few months later), we had to send it back to Magellan.

When you call Magellan, you speak with a customer service rep in India! Every sigle phone number that you dial is routed to India! Unfortunately, they have no clue how to help you. To send your unit back for repair, you need to wait for an email with shipping instructions. The problem is, that never comes! In my case, I called them 7 times over the course of 10 days trying to get my shipping instructions and RMA. I begged them for an address and RMA number via phone so I could send it back (and I offered to pay for the shipping), but they will not give it to me. Each time I called, I was told that I would receive the email within 24 hrs.....but nothing ever shows up. I even gave them alternative emails to send to...but nothing.

Amazingly, you cannot even speak to a supervisor to resolve your problems or anyone in the US for that matter. You are simply stuck in an endless loop!

As I sit here today, I am holding my broken Magellan.....waiting for an email that probably will never come. My warrantee is quickly running out and I am blindly finding my way around town.

Please....I beg you to consider a Garmin or a different brand NAV....don't buy anything from Magellan!!! When this thing works, it's fine. But if it breaks (and it likely will), then good luck getting it fixed!

You have been warned!!

I researched Navagation Systems extensively before making a purchase. I decided to buy the Magellan Roadmate 760 because it had all of the features that are important to me: Voice Prompt, 4 choices of kind of route, re-routing if turn is missed, 20G hard drive that stores all of the maps for the entire US eliminating downloading maps, tons of points of interest and many more features like the choice of 12 different languages and either male or female voice.

I tested it going to my aunt's house. My sister and I both drove our own cars. My sister has a factory installed Navagation System from Toyota. My Magellan Roadmate 760 took me to my aunt's door ("you have arrived"). My sister's much more expensive system took her up a dirt road that dead ended with a fence that was locked.

The following week I was traveling on freeways in an area I was not familiar with. My husband was driving and noticed we needed gasoline. I just plugged in "nearest gas station" and it took us to one in less than 3 miles. Later, still on freeways in an unfamiliar area, we wanted to eat lunch. I again choice Points of Interest, chose Restaurants and found one we wanted, specifying "nearest". The 760 directed us to the restaurant of our choice within 5 minutes.

I have waited years to buy a navagation system...I travel a lot and have no sense of direction. I finally got tired of always being lost. I am extremely happy with the 760 and wish I had not waited for so long. I believe it is the top of the line and the portability allows us to take the system in both of our cars. I highly recommend the Magellan Roadmate 760.

I just got my roadmate today.... its a great product but it does have some bugs.... I live in New York and when i input an address for a few locations it doesnt take me to the exact address instead it took me a few blocks away on the same street.... maybe there is a bug that i have to update or somethin .... im gonna call magellan and find out.... but i tested out the intersection mapping mode and that seems to work great.... but for now i think im gonna try to avoid using address input and instead just stick with the intersection input it seems to work the best...... i also bought a vent mount for it off of ebay.... i suggest that you stay away from that cuz its not sturdy and im gonna end up throwing mine away.... for those of you who dont care for the windshield mount i would suggest you get the cup holder mount or the floor mount... but overall the magellan 760 is a great product and i would purchase it again... would have given it 5 stars but the few kinks that i got when i tested with the address input gave it 4.....

Update July 31st 2005

As of July 31st i have had the unit for over a week now and i use it for about 12 hours a day 6 days a week.... i drive a cab in the new york city area and i can tell you one thing that this product has saved me time plenty of times... i did some reading on the garmin c340 and my friend has the c330 which is very similar...
pros about garmin compared to magellan:
internal battery... more compact... traffic information...
cons about garmin:
traffic information is linked with radio stations traffic which is about 15 minutes delayed anyways... doesnt have the option to input an intersection...
pros about magellan:
has multiple destination input capabilities (good for salespeople who are on a route)... auto detour feature... intersection input works like a charm.... four choices on how you want to get to your destination instead of two....

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