Customer Reviews

Magellan RoadMate 1475T 4.7-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Unlike other reviewers who have predisposition to certain brand, e.g., someone who used a Garmin for long time and now came to criticize the Magellan, I am a long-time user of GPS of both Magellan and Garmin since 1998. My first Garmin cost me about $1500 and my first Magellan cost me about $2000. My later Garmin and Magellan cost me $800, $500, $300, etc. When the baby TomTom came to market, I also tried it.
One thing that is lacking in most of the previous reviews of this product is an objective opinion. People usually write the review based on their predisposition, not based on objective criteria.
The biggest advantage of any Magellan is its routing capability. For example, when you only have vague idea of the address of your destination, a Magellan would provide adequate context for you to figure out where you need to go. One time, I had forgotten the street number and exact spelling of the street name. I simply type in whatever part that I could remember and the Magellan gave me a list of the road names to choose from. Eventually it took me to where I need to go. Based on that experience, I formulated a test for evaluating any new GPS unit I buy. All the Garmin I tried failed that test. A TomTom unit I tried passed that test.
Another marvel of a Magellan GPS unit is its bell sound signaling the turning point or highway exiting point. This is extremely useful in the complicated highways like in New Jersey, I never miss a turn with a Magellan GPS, but often take a too-early turn with other brands.
The spoken language of Roadmate is clearest of all the GPS units over Garmin or TomTom. When I used Garmin nuvi 680, it would mispronounce "state road 1" as "stage road 1"
I also like the seamless integration of the traffic information into the routing. It only provides the traffic incidents related to your route, or if you do not have a route, it provides only the incidents within 15-mile radius of the current location. It does not provide too much traffic information to burden you unnecessarily. With Roadmate 1475T, the traffic is free forever. In contract, with a Garmin nuvi 680, I had to pay $19/year for traffic subscription! And in nuvi 680, the traffic information is completely separate from the routing, and I have to make decision of which traffic incidents are relevant to my trip.
Other strong points of Roadmate 1475T are its large screen size, clear view of the screen, and its customization of the screen menu to fit anyone's taste.
However, Magellan does share some weakness of all the GPS units. For example, the less perfect map accuracy. There are occasions that a Magellan would say the destination is on the left side of the road when actually the destination is on the right side, and so do all Garmin or TomTom units. One time, my Garmin nuvi GPS attempted to direct me to drive into the middle of a lake! Another weakness of any GPS is the confusion of which direction (left or right) to go at the beginning of the route, and the efficiency within a city. My suggestion of using any GPS is to also print a routing map from Yahoo Maps or Google Maps before you go on a trip so that you have some idea of the routing.
Update on Nov 30, 2009:
I also published a comparison of Magellan Roadmate 1475T and Garmin nuvi 1490T under real-time situations in my car side-by-side. It contains more details of the feature comparison of these two GPS units. To read that review, please click the link "See all my reviews" above next to my name.
More explanation of the bell sound of Magellan GPS I mentioned above: it makes a distinctive bell tone depending on the kind of turn you will be making: a "Dong-Ding" for a right turn, a "Ding-Dong" for a left turn, and a "Ding-Dong-Ding" for a U-turn if allowed.

I previously owned a Magellan Maestro 4250 and was pretty happy with it except that it was a little slow to acquire satellites and re-route. When it broke, I researched and decided to buy a Garmin Nuvi 765. It had all the bells and whistles of my old unit and more. While it did a good job of getting me to my destinations, I found the interface to be quite clumsy. Often, you got into a few pages of menus and the only way to get back to the map or routing screen was to hit back-back-back-back until you finally got there rather than having a menu tab to hit. Entering an address is odd too. You first pick a state, but if you forget to change from the last state you used it keeps it and you go on entering street and number and it can't find the address. Then it hits you that you did not pick the right state. You can enter a zip code, but it does not confirm the state until you are completely done entering the address. The Magellan lets you either enter a city name or zip code first and it displays the matches for you to chose from. You then just type in the street name and number. It uses a typing aid that blocks out letters and numbers that can not be part of your address. For entering destinations, the Magellan wins hands down.

A feature I liked was the lane assist on the Garmin. Problem is that the nice photo like image that they promote seldom appears. When it does appear, you must catch it right when the exchange is announced because it goes away very quickly. Nice feature but poorly implemented. At other times, lane arrows appear with the proper lane highlighted. This is nice and seems to work well. The Magellan seems to use the lane arrow system, but I have not used it enough yet to make a valid comparison.

Turn buy turn. The Magellan dings a bell as you reach the turn and the Garmin announces the street again. Personal preference, but I like the bell. The Garmin changes from miles to feet as you approach a turn-nice. The announcements on the Garmin usually come a tenth or two of a mile late. It will say to turn in one mile and the display will have 0.8 miles as the turn-irritating.

Map look. I prefer the Magellan maps. The Garmin pretty much displays a wide line that you are driving on with little detail around it even in the most detailed mode. It is a very bland looking map with little color and contrast. My old unit displayed the next turn at the top and the street you were on at the bottom. Both new models omit the current street at the bottom. The name of the current street scrolls down by the road on the Magellan, but you have no indication where you are on the Garmin.

Traffic alerts. Both have it as an included lifetime service. You get little ads that do not interfere with the map and they go way after a time. Whether they work depends on the traffic reporting. At times the Gaming re-routed me, but it stuck me in a 2 hour traffic jam by Arrowhead stadium and the green traffic indicator was on all the way indicating clear sailing. My old unit had it and seemed to work about the same way. It is no guarantee and only works in and near cities that broadcast the info. It is useless out on the freeways.

Bells and whistles. The Garmin has more features but at a higher price. I had bluetooth on my old unit and did not like it. Did not use it on the Garmin. Don't have it on the Magellan. If you do not need an MP3 player(that only plays MP3 format) or a picture viewer, the Magellan has all the other features for about $100 less.

The Magellan has a slightly bigger screen and is thinner. The Garmin has a little better mount. The Magellan seems to have more settings you can tweak to your tastes. Both units are smoother and quicker than my old unit. Both will get you there, the Magellan just seems to make it easier and slicker.

I hit the wrong button. I really rate this unit at about 4 1/2 stars.

Update.

After more time with the unit, I like it even better. The lane assist, while not as visually appealing as the Garmin, is a lot more useful as it stays on until it is time to make the turn unlike the Garmin that just stays on for a short amount of time. Turn assistance is also better on the Garmin. On a turn that comes up soon after your next turn, it will announce "Right turn at 1st street followed by a left turn". This allows you to get in the proper lane. The Garmin merely announces "Right turn at 1st st." The AAA info gives you much more info than just POIs. You also get ratings, descriptions and prices. Nice.

Another update.

After applying the software update from Magellan, it is even better. The voice is louder and clearer. That eliminates the major complaints I read about this unit, the muffled street names. The interface is slightly changed in the address book and makes it easier to pick the right entry.

I have had a Magellan 3225 for over a year and love it. A friend wanted to buy my old one and I wanted traffic service on a new one, so I bought the 1475t[...]because it included lifetime free traffic service (as opposed to other models that charge $60 a year for traffic).[...].

While the 1475 is an improvement in terms of speed (very fast startup and response, super-fast routing, the ability to see the various proposed routes, predictive city names means less typing, and of course, free traffic service to help route you around traffic jams. All very useful.

Unfortunately, the new model has several basic problems that make it far less useful than the previous one--in fact, these limitations make the unit unacceptable for me.

1) The voice is not as good as it was on the 3225. It's the same voice, but it sounds choppier, mushier. And when it goes from canned text to text-to-speech (street names), the tts is so mushy it's almost unintelligible. Its really poor--especially considering that the older model's tts was very clear.

2) The power plug is on the bottom. Some people have complained it's too close to the bracket. My complaint is that it means you MUST use a bracket or mount. I don't want a visible mount because in large cities this encourages car break-in, as theives look for GPS to steal

I have a silicone mat that holds the GPS in place--and this worked perfectly with the 3225 that has the power plug on the side. But with the 1475's power plug on the bottom, there's no way for the unit to sit flat! This combined with the larger size means it also doesn't fit in my car. (Speaking of larger--the wider screen really didn't seem very valuable--when you drive, you are going "up" on almost all GPS, so a taller screen might make sense, but a wider one didn't seem more useful to me).

3) The touch-screen requires that I use my fingernail to get it to respond properly. I noticed that with the demo model in the store, but thought that was just because it had been overused. But my brand new GPS had the same thing--a touch with the fingertip often got no response, so I had to use my fingernail. This makes it harder to use--and I'm not sure how the screen will wear over time.

4) The traffic feature (the main reason I bought it), has yet to work. It's always "acquiring signal" and never managed to acquire it. Perhaps I wasn't close enough to a road that was covered by the system (though I was only about two miles from the 101 freeway), but even so, it should be able to get a signal so it can give me an accurate time for the route, shouldn't it? And yes, I have the proper traffic cable, which came with the unit as advertised.

I also have quibbles about the interface--the screen space taken for the large +/- buttons at the bottom could be better used showing useful information--like all the data that's crammed into the lower left corner and requires repeated presses to see. I don't need the GPS to tell me my speed, my car has a speedometer for that purpose. If the GPS would tell me when I was speeding, then I could see the use of that function, otherwise, it's superfluous. I'd like to be able to see the distance remaining and ETA together, but I can't, because giant +/- buttons I will never use while driving are taking that space. Plus, the poor voice calls ETA simply "TA" - why?

When I press on the top line to hear the next maneuver, it sometimes gives me the one touch menu--I don't want that, but the design makes it difficult to get the right result on a click.

Finally, a complaint about Magellan's routing: sometimes they get a route in their head and won't let go. And if I miss a cutoff or take a different street, instead of simply rerouting, their route of choice is often, "When possible, make a legal u-turn."

I can understand if this is the ONLY navigation option, but a GPS's job is to get me from where I am to where I want to go--so if where I am isn't where it thought I should be--it should figure it out, not insist I make a u-turn and go back where it wanted me to be. Recently with my older model, construction blocked a route, and the GPS kept insisting I make a U-turn back to the road that was now impassable. That wasn't helpful. I had to drive miles out of my way before it stopped telling me to turn around! To credit the 1475, it's so fast that it quickly finds a new route--but still only after first wanting me to pull a u-ey.

Last but not least, a question about traffic service. I don't understand why this unit has lifetime free traffic reception (if it could actually receive it, as mine couldn't), whereas models such as the 3250 (which have the form factor and voice I prefer) require a $60 a year subscription for the same data? I'm sorry, but that sounds like price gouging--if the service can be offered for free on some units, why does it cost so much on others?

BOTTOM LINE: Overall the 1465t has many worthwhile features and it's tremendous speed is noteworthy. It's too bad that poor plug placement and a hard-to-understand voice get in the way--since both the voice and plug were well done on their previous generation.

I am delighted with this purchases.

My brother, a serious RV'er and computer whiz, told me his friends were sold on either Garmin and Magellan and the others got tossed. He said that these two used different logic and that people loved one or the other depending on how they think and suggested I use them before I bought one. I borrowed a Magellan and Garmin before taking a trip in the Washington country side and used them both together and apart. Both machines got you there more or less the same. However these features made a big difference:

The Magellan remembers just like my computer...(if I put in a "ya" it takes me to Yahoo) so I don't have to write out cities each time. It also helps narrow choices so when put in a "Fi" it will bring up all the streets starting with Fi. Having to write in "Washington" "Ellensburg" on the Garmin for each place I wanted to go in that city was a pain.

The Magellan has a trip planner so if you are going to five stops it gives you the optimal route. You can add, subtract, or re-order stops (addresses or POI, etc.) as you go. Garmin has a similar feature but it is spendy.

It gives me all the AAA info without going for the books. If you want a place to eat or sleep you know if you're looking at $ or $$$$ before you get there. Also it suggests interesting sights along the way and rates them. Garmin doesn't have this.

I like the way the Magellan is organized. I find things were at my finger tips and I didn't have to hunt for what I use the most.

The traffic warning feature doesn't cost a thing after purchase.

I love my GPS and am glad I did my homework.

I have been a dedicated GPS user for the past 4 years. Usually i only buy Garmin, until i recently purchased the 755t. The first unit i got had a defective screen that picked up letters and numbers from different parts of the screen, imagine trying to unlock the device and never being able to put the right pin in. Also the volume was ridiculously low, i could barely hear it with everything turned off. I got a replacement from Amazon and had the same problem. After an hour on hold with Garmin, Yes an HOUR on hold, i was told it was a software problem and i had to wait. I paid way too much for that unit to wait. I never had it lock up though like alot have reviewed.

Then I did alot of research and i came up on the 1475t. I absolutely love this unit, the Volume is LOUD. very clear, and the text to speech is excellent. I live in San Diego and the traffic receiver works great, the screen is very responsive and accurate. I was able to get all my addresses on there quick. it is not perfect, it has a couple of details that needs to be fixed. Sometimes the routing is weird, and the charging cable is a pain to put on.

After dealing with Garmin's horrible quality and horrible customer service, i am giving this 5 stars as it had made my work alot easier. it gives you alot more details on the freeway onramps you need to take. and i am very nitpicky about my electronics. I will only buy Magellan from now on. I am very impressed

Fantastic product! I am glad that I bought this unit as an upgrade from my Magellan Maestro 4250. I bought my Magellan RoadMate 1475T after reading reviews on Amazon.com for this product and was relieved to find it more reliable and improved in almost every way from my Magellan Maestro 4250. In a side-by-side comparison of the two (both with current Firmware and maps) on a two hour trip from Virginia through Washington, DC into Maryland, I found:

- The 1475T gave none of the occasionally incorrect turn recommendations that I have experienced with my 4250. At one point in my trip, the units gave conflicting recommendations at the same time (one said "turn left" and the other said "turn right"), I went with the 1475T and it was the correct course of action.

- The 1475T displays information in a more useful way from the 4250. There is less clutter and the map is displayed in a larger size on a similar sized screen. I found myself looking more and more at the 1475T (rather than the 4250) as the trip progressed.

- The 1475T provides an option to avoid toll roads where the 4250 has always seemed to favor them.

- Turn direction and other information spoken by the 1475T is given at more appropriate times than the 4250. The turn "ding" of the 4250 always seems to ring out at the last possible second causing me to miss turns in the past if not careful. The RoadMate gives a slightly earlier warning in this regard, but not too early.

- The 1475T did fewer course recalculations along the way.

- The 1475T was a great value at less than half the price I paid for my 4250 two years ago.

- The Traffic Link feature is a plus.

RoadMate 1475T negatives:

- The unit did not come with a case or AC charger adapter. You will need to fully charge the battery before upgrading to the latest Firmware version. I used my Maestro 4250 AC adapter and it worked just fine with the RoadMate 1475T. I ordered a leather case from Amazon.com and see excellent deals on adapters on Amazon as well.

- The female voice spoken by the RoadMate 1475T is slightly more mechanical and less natural sounding than the Magellan Maestro 4250, confirming other reviews on this webpage.

Before my purchase, I did in-store comparisons of the 1475T to Garmin and TomTom GPS units costing more. I found the 1475T screen navigation more intuitive and user friendly. Garmin units require street numbers when entering an address, while Magellan give a range to chose from. If you need to go to a location without a street address (National Park, military base with building numbers not street numbers), the Garmin will let you down -- a deal-breaker as far as I am concerned. Additionally, I found the map display of the Magellan more attractive and appealing than either Garmin or TomTom.

Okay, in trying to buy a new gps I read all of the reviews I could get my hands on about the 1470/1475t (same gps, t = traffic cable included) and now that I purchased the Magellan 1475t I would like to throw my hat into the ring on this. I have never used a Garmin or Tomtom so I cannot compare among brands, only my thoughts on this specific model are provided. Here are my thoughts (I am trying to give you info not present in the other reviews or clarify confusing info only, so this is not a complete run-down of the 1475t):
- It DOES have a qwerty keyboard, all you have to do is update to the new software (free) and then you can choose between qwerty and abc
- it is pretty easy to use the POI and address inputs as a way of getting where you need to go. I find it very easy to input destinations using the variety of options (exact address, POI's, destination prediction)
- I like the "exit predictor" (it shows you a little diagram with what lane you should be in) it is specific to your exact location. For example; if you are on a 5 lane highway and the 2 left lanes veer left and the 3 right lanes veer right, it will show 2 different freeway signs (the left one has 2 lanes, the right one has 3 lanes) and fade out the wrong way and keep the correct sign/direction bright, very handy in my opinion.
- I haven't had any problems with things being on the wrong side of the streets or in different locations altogether.
- the banner ads really aren't too intrusive (and I hate pop up ads), if that's what I have to put-up with for lifetime free traffic than I think it is a fair trade
- The multiple stop (trip) programming is a little less intuitive but that could be due to the user, not the device. It seems that once you got to destination "a", it doesn't know when you leave and go to destination "b, it would want to take me back to "a".
- the 1475t takes longer to start up than my maestro 4000, but once it starts going it is pretty responsive, my guess is that it has a lot more data to process upon start up considering all it can do that my 4000 could not.
- the voice quality is not that bad. Considering all of the nuances of the English language it is actually pretty good. I especially like that it says the street name when telling me to turn, takes some of the guesswork out knowing exactly when to turn (in the past I found myself asking "does it mean this street that I am at RIGHT NOW or the one that is just a little bit ahead????")
- Traffic: it appears to work but wasn't able to utilize it in Denver as there were no accidents to avoid, so no good report from me on this. Limited in usefulness now as it is only available in MAJOR cities (not Colorado Springs for instance, maybe someday...)
- The connection for the cable is as bad as everyone has reported, terrible design and even worse quality control by Magellan for not correcting this. 1st, the connection is right next to the mount and so it does get in the way and it is not easy to plug in. Why can't this be on the side where common sense says it should be? 2nd, the cable is in an "L-shape" and that compounds the problem by forcing the cable to the center, thus, more interference from the mount. 3rd, the cable being on the bottom does interfere with positioning of the gps while in the mount and in use (in my case, the cable pushes the gps up as I have it mounted on my dash and there isn't enough clearance between the gps and the dashboard for the rigid cable connection).
- The AAA guidebook is a nonissue for me, I had it on my 4000 as well and never used it for anything but I guess in the right hands it could be useful (those that need a hotel or AAA approved auto repair).
- Boo to Magellan for 2 omissions; they did not include an ac (home plug-in) adapter nor did they provide a soft case to store it in (my Maestro 4000 came with these), all about those profit margins I guess...

Overall, I think this is a great gps and you get a lot of bang for your buck in features. Some other reviewer reported you could get it for $150 at some place called "BJ's" but I didn't bother looking that up until after I paid $[...] (d'oh!!!). I would recommend this gps and would give it an 8/10 with the 2 points off coming from the cable connection and lack of charging cable for home and no case. I hope you find this review helpful as I usually don't post reviews but felt compelled to on this one as there was a lot of contrasting information on other reviews and wanted to clear up some information for future users.

I went shopping looking for the Garmin Nuvi 265T or 265WT, and instead brought home the Magellan Roadmate 1475T because it had an instant rebate and the features were comparable to the Garmin. I read some quick reviews when I got home and there were mostly very positive reviews about the 1470 model, and I quickly found out the 1475T is the 1470 but with the optional traffic receiver already included in the box so you don't have to buy it separately. I was excited that this was a great buy and took it out for a test run.
The first time I used it, on my way home, it totally bypassed my house and took me nowhere near my house. I was curious where it was going to take me but gave up and decided to just go towards my house because it was late. But I did stop and re-entered my home address, but this time included the hyphen (dash) mark between two numbers and it did end up taking me to my house. The hyphen is optional though, and I thought that since there isn't any other possible address in my zip code with the same street numbers it should of known this. Oh well, I thought no big deal, I just have to remember to include hyphens.
The next day I was in another town and decided to go to a local Lowe's Home Improvment Store. I searched the POI's and could not find one. I searched by name and category and couldn't find one. Then I tried searching for "LOW' because I might be spelling it wrong but still no luck. After much fiddling, I finally typed "LOWE'S", and included the apostrophe (') between the E & S and finally got multiple locations to choose from. At that point I was thinking that this device requires you to be precise with your searches or you won't find anything. I'm not a genius and sometimes I won't know the exact spelling of a POI, so I'll be screwed when that happens. Heck it didn't even have a Lowe's listing under it's "home improvement" category, and there was one literally 2 miles from my location.
Another thing that irks me is that it always tells you your destination is on the wrong side of the street. All three times that I arrived home it told me my house was on the opposite side of the street, and I tried arriving from both sides of the street, and it always told me the opposite side. This also happened when I arrived at somebody else's house in another town. This would be a big deal if my destination was on a wide, busy, two-way street and I'm looking one way for my destination and end up passing it because it's on the other side!
Another negative, and this is well documented in other 1470 reviews, is the location of the USB port on the device. It's too close to the mounting bracket and the cable part that attaches to it is "L" shaped, so it's impossible to plug in the unit and then mount it. You have to mount it, THEN plug it in. But then your doing this blind because you don't have a clear view of the USB port when it's already mounted. This is annoying,and requires lots of fumbling when your setting up. However you can work around this by mounting it on the suction cup before you attach the suction cup to the windshield, then plugging it in, then attaching both to the windshield. At first I thought I was doing something wrong, then finally realized that this is clearly a design flaw.
Another flaw - Lane Assist feature. This is a great feature when it works, but once it told me the exit is on the left when it actually was on the right. The device also depicted the exit to be on the right, but the voice kept saying it's on the left. In unfamiliar territory, and when you're not looking and just listening to your device (like you should be doing most of the time), this can cause you to miss your exit!
There was one thing this device did very well - avoid a traffic jam. It alerted me of upcoming traffic on an expressway. I told it to avoid this traffic, so it took me off the expressway and guided me to another expressway that runs parallel to the other one. I got off the expressway just when traffic was slowing down, and I knew there really was a delay because the electronic traffic sign on the expressway confirmed it. I got home in no time thanks to the device. This was one of the primary reasons I wanted a GPS. I live and drive in the NYC and Long Island area and think this feature is a necessity if you have a GPS. That's why I was originally looking for the Garmin Nuvi 265T, because it has lifetime free traffic, and so does the 1475T.

I really wanted to love this device. The screen is big and beautiful. The One Touch interface is convenient. The AAA guide is useful. The maps and routing are easy to use. The Magellan "chime" right before a turn is appreciated. The price is right - lower than other devices with comparable features. But I can't get past the deficiencies, especially since they seem so basic. And after reading all the horror stories about Magellan's customer service I'm afraid of what will happen if I ever need the device serviced. I have another 28 days to return this device for a refund, which I will do way before that. I'll probably spend the extra $70 and get the Garmin Nuvi 265WT. I've only heard positive things about the device and the company.

We decided we needed a GPS for our trip which we are on right now, especially because our plan included driving in the Smoky Mountains area. I didn't want to spend $200-$300 on a device which I wasn't even sure of retaining, so I just grabbed the Magellan 1475T which came at an incredible price of $149.99+tax at BJs. We've been using this for the last 8 days, and will continue to use this until our return. I am simply amazed at the features & performance- the GPS locks to a satellite signal within 10-12 seconds of being switched on, even when I tried it from within our hotel room. Contrary to what another user has mentioned, this GPS does have a virtual QWERTY keyboard. And its ability to show a list of matches even as I type the first 2-3 letters is quite useful and time-saving. It allows one to save an address to the address book right away from the search results. We've used it in the Smoky Mountains area, and interior rural areas in OH- it has never failed to lead us to the correct address, and on the correct side of the road. It has everything a good GPS has to have- Estimated Time of Arrival, Total distance, distance left, turn-by-turn list, current speed/ direction, and quite a few more. It announces the next exit or turn 2 miles ahead, and then 0.5 miles ahead, and once again just before the actual exit/ turn, announcing the exit number/ road number/ street name each time. Another great feature is the built-in AAA TourBook which allows one to scout around for nearby attractions even as one is driving.

A device has to do its main job satisfactorily, and this GPS exceeds expectations. It is highly intuitive, and I have been able to use this to good effect without ever having to consult the manual to learn how to use a specific feature. The absence of add-on features such as Bluetooth, MP3 player etc. does not bother me, because I wanted a good GPS, and this is a fantastic bargain. We are very happy with the Magellan 1475T & have decided to retain it. I have used a Garmin 760 a few months ago but returned it as I was not very happy with its performance- it was very slow in getting a satellite signal, and it seemed to be trying to be everything (GPS, MP3, Bluetooth) but ended up not being particularly good at anything.

Hi

I've been using a Garmin StreetPilot 2720 for years and love it. Then I thought, free traffic and a battery would be nice so I ordered the Nuvi 755T. See my review there, but I was shocked at how bad the menus are on the Nuvi systems. So many button pushes it drove me crazy. It took 19 button pushes to do what I could do in 8 on the old StreetPilot. So I returned the Nuvi 755T and ordered the Magellan 1475T to see if it was any better.

The 1475T is clunky. My first shock was that Magellan only have ABC keyboards! That's incredible, do they not understand it's 2009? It was very damaging of my opinion of Magellan to see this long gone way of thinking still hard coded in, no option to select ABC or QWERTY. Crazy!

It's slow to start compared to the Nuvi. It has an equally tiresome menu system that sees you pushing buttons like your playing a computer game. It also has many sub menus to try to make POI's easier to find I guess, but you find yourself searching and searching the sub menus when it would be quicker to do a global search.

Like the previous reviewer I found the Magellan had a few quirks. I set my home location while parked in front of my garage. When I returned home from one end of the street the Magellan told me my house was on the right, when it is, on the left. Coming from the other direction it said it was on the right and it was, someone moved it back!

Testing the recalc function had some quirks also. I left my house and turned the wrong way out of my drive, it was two blocks before the reclac kicked in then it had me doing 3 rights and a left to get back on track, not a simple left at the end of my street! Odd. Other recals have been better but I lost some confidence in it. (Garmin has some quirks also but I've learned to watch for them and can correct accordingly, basically never trust a GPS totally to find the best route, local knowledge is often better. Watch for GPS units running you parallel to freeways thinking the shorted route through a minor road is quicker. GPS don't understand about traffic lights and stop signs!)

The Magellan screen display is only ok. The lane assist is not really that good, it shows a mock image of the highway signs. Garmin lane assist is slicker and more informative. The Magellan display has some lag, it's not smooth and could be refined a lot. In fact the display lags the actual location of the vehicle so you pass a point a moments before it shows you arriving at a point.

Now the big issue that had me returning the unit, the sound, my god it's shocking. The text to speak is not good at all. There seems to be two systems operating in the Magellan. One is the standard repeated commands like "turn left on...". The "turn left on", comes out well, but the next part "...Chicago Ave" sounds like a person trying to speak out the sides of closed lips! Imagine someone trying to talk with their lips almost closed and not moving them, then add in some speaker distortion! That's the exact sound quality of the street name announcements. It made it very hard to understand what the street names are that are actually being spoken, I had to keep looking at the unit and read the street names to check I heard right. Any noise in the car and it was impossible to understand at all.

The "turn left on.." was clear, "street name." was absolutely fuzzy. I think Magellan use prerecorded language for the common instructions and a voice emulator that simply is not up to the job for the street names. It was a deal breaker for me, what's the point of text to speech if the speech is just a mumbled sound?

I now have returned to Garmin and have the Nuvi 765T. The speech emulator is wonderful, clear and loud. I actually think Garmin have done a wonderful job of this aspect in their systems, it's close to natural speech. Their displays are also a cut about Magellan. Garmin provides great info in a logical way on the map screen. Both have cumbersome menu systems with excessive button pushing and these could easily be improved, but I've worked out some of the shortcuts and I'm feeling happy enough.

Here's the bottom line... I would recommend a Garmin over a Magellan and be confident in my recommendation. There is nothing in the Magellan system that would make me say it was a better deal than a Garmin, even though Garmin models are a few $$ more than Magellan, I think you "get what you pay for!"