Magellan has announced the RoadMate 1475T, their first product with lifetime traffic. The 1475T is identical to the RoadMate 1470 I recently (and favorably) reviewed, with the addition of the traffic receiver. It carries a suggested retail price of $299 and will be available immediately.

Read on for the news release:

Continue reading “Magellan RoadMate 1475T with lifetime traffic” »

The Magellan RoadMate 1470 is one of several new models introduced by the company in the spring of 2009. This 4.7” touch-screen unit offers Magellan’s new One Touch interface, AAA TourBook, Highway Lane Assist, exit POIs and multi-destination routing.

Continue reading “Magellan RoadMate 1470 review” »

It appears that Magellan is about roll out their first new Maestro introduction in several months. The Magellan Maestro 4700 has cleared the FCC in time for the summer driving season, and we got a sneak peak at the manual (PDF). You can expect voice commands and Bluetooth, the Magellan OneTouch interface, and a live traffic option. Given their recent model numbering schema, I’m assuming this will all be wrapped up in a nice 4.7” display. With Memorial Day and the summer vacation season upon us, you should see this one hit store shelves soon. But unless they’re hiding something, don’t expect any groundbreaking features. 

UPDATE: Read our hands-on Magellan RoadMate 1470 review.

It’s official now; Magellan has introduced three new models – the RoadMate 1340, 1440 and 1470. Each of the new models offers their One Touch interface, AAA TourBook, text-to-speech, Highway Lane Assist, exit POIs and multi-destination routing.

Here are the details:

Continue reading “Magellan RoadMate 1340, 1440 and 1470″ »

UPDATE: Read our hands-on Magellan RoadMate 1470 review.

Though there’s been no official announcement, Magellan quietly rolled out three new RoadMate units at CTIA last week, and one – the 4.7” Magellan RoadMate 1470 (pictured above) – is already available at Amazon.

The new models add features to the entry-level RoadMate series that were previously found only on the Maestro line. For example, the RoadMate 1470 includes Magellan’s new “One Touch” interface, multi-destination routing, highway lane assist, and AAA TourBook features.

I’ll post details on all the new models as soon as the info becomes available.

MiTAC has announced the completion of their purchase of Magellan’s consumer products division, and revealed some insights into their strategy and future plans:

• The Mio and Magellan product lines will coexist in the U.S., though they will share technological expertise
• Mio will add new “GPS-based lifestyle products” to their line, so maybe we’ll soon see their Mobile Internet Device that was on display at CES

UPDATE: TWICE is reporting that this or a similar device (they are calling it a UMPC ) will hit the market this fall at around $299.

Continue reading “MiTAC completes purchase of Magellan” »

The Magellan Maestro 4350 is one of several new models introduced by Magellan in 2008. This 4.3” wide screen navigator includes the updated “OneTouch” user interface, six million POIs, and text-to-speech. It also comes preloaded with maps of the entire U.S. and Canada, Bluetooth, live traffic and 3D buildings. Other features include AAA TourBook, an FM transmitter and QuickSpell auto-complete.

Continue reading “Magellan Maestro 4350 review” »

Disclaimer: These are predictions and nothing more, so keep your sense of humor and please don’t sue me.

Auto GPS predictions

• A nuvi 8×5 series will bring lane assist and voice recognition together in one unit
• Garmin discontinues the nuvi 200 series; all Garmin nuvi models will now have text-to-speech
• Crowdsourced HD traffic comes to the US with the stateside introduction of the TomTom GO LIVE series
• TomTom releases a GPS receiver that utilizes alternative positioning information for improved accuracy in urban canyons
• More manufacturers display multiple route options visually, ala Dash and Insignia
• Navigon folds, caught between Nextar on the low end and MiTAC’s aggressive promotion of the Magellan line
• Red light camera alerts will move closer to the mainstream
• More downward feature creep — expect to see Lane Assist on some mid-range Garmins, more units with lifetime traffic, larger screens, etc.
• Garmin announces a desktop application (possibly a
  revamped MapSource) that allows planning routes with POIs and
  transferring them to Garmin units with current City Navigator maps; it
  will be set up to allow users to opt into sharing anonymized tracklogs
  ala TomTom HOME
• Said application will support wireless transfer of data via ANT or Bluetooth

Continue reading “GPS predictions for 2009″ »

A little more news is starting to creep out on the sale of Magellan to MiTAC, giving us some insight into what this may mean for the GPS market. According to DigiTimes,

MiTAC also said that the deal includes Magellan's "brand, trademark, software, intellectual properties, operating staff, client base and marketing network."

Continue reading “Update and analysis on the sale of Magellan” »

UPDATE: I've posted some additional info and a bit of speculation, um, analysis.

Magellan Navigation announced this morning that it is selling its consumer products division to MiTAC International, which also owns Mio. The transaction is expected to close in January. The Magellan consumer products division created the Magellan RoadMate, Maestro and Triton product lines.

Continue reading “Magellan to sell consumer GPS division to MiTAC” »