Review on 🗺️ Magellan RoadMate 2200T: Reliable 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator by Derek Dolla

The 2200T only came out this fall (2006) so many online reviews didn't properly compare it to the competition. The closest competition comes from the Tom Tom One (same price range), although many are considering paying more money for the Garmin Nuvi 360 as well, compared to £2200. The Nuvi felt a bit cheap compared to the very solid feel of the 2200T. Given the Nuvi's significantly higher price point and the large overlap in key features, I didn't consider the Nuvi further. You may have a different mileage, but Nuvi seemed of little value to you. The Tom Tom One has received a lot of praise and I am sure it is a good product but most of the reviews online were written before the 2200T was widely available. Reasons why I chose 2200T Tom Tom:1. Spoken street names. Often referred to as 'text-to-speech', the 2200T will speak street names when there are directions ('turn left onto Main Street') so you can keep your eyes on the road (and look out for a traffic sign). Tom Tom simply says "Turn left" and you must either believe that means the next possible left turn or look away from the road to find the street name on the screen. And it is not visible on Tom Tom's website that the name of the street to turn into is always shown on this map.2. information display. The 2200T always displays the name of the street you are on above the map AND the name of the street you are about to turn onto below the map. You can always find this information quickly. Tom Tom only displays the name of the street you're currently on, below the map: there's no fixed indication of the approaching street (or exit) (a huge oversight in my opinion). You have to wait until you get close to him to see him on the map itself. This can be a problem when you need to pull into an exit or turn lane long before the turn - Tom Tom doesn't give you adequate information for this.3. Information Display (Part II). The 2200T shows a detailed view of the junction at the next turn as you approach it: this clearly shows any complex traffic you may need to navigate and it can be displayed on half the screen, with the standard map on the other half remains. The 2200T kind of guides you through the curve, which can be very helpful in complicated and unfamiliar road layout and traffic routing (which is why you buy these things in the first place). Tom Tom only has a standard map view, so doesn't offer the extra detail like the 2200T (it's not even a view you can manually bring up).4. interface design. The 2200T has a very easy to understand design. A lot of additional information is available by pressing different buttons on the map screen. For example, if you click the distance to the next turn, the last voice command will be repeated. Or click on the next turn icon in the lower left corner and it will display the entire list of turns for the route. The tom tom also has a user-friendly interface, but the online reviews I've seen don't give the 2200T a good quality rating. Expandable. The 2200T is upgradeable with off-road topographic maps (if Magellan introduces them in the next few months). Tom Tom only has street maps and Tom Tom has no plans to add topographic maps.6. Backup and restore without a PC. The 2200T will back up (and restore) all your saved data (addresses, additional POIs) to an SD memory card. No connection to a computer required. Tom Tom requires a computer with backup and restore software installed.7. Import points of interest (POI) from all popular formats. The PC software (Windows only) for the 2200T reads all common file formats (including XML) for points of interest. So if you want to pull a range of data from the web (e.g. when geocaching), the 2200T software can display it on a map. Tom Tom also has the ability to add data points, but it is not clear from their literature if all standard formats are supported.8. Battery life. The 2200T has eight hours of battery life, so you can really use it all day outside of the car (if you're walking around an unfamiliar city, for example, or if you have an upcoming topographical map update for off-road use). hiking or fishing). The Tom Tom One has a nominal battery life of just two hours, and manufacturer estimates are usually optimistic. Shame as the Tom Tom One is also very portable and would otherwise be useful when not in the car. (Note: The 2200T only comes with a car charger. If you plan to use it outside of the car, you will need to charge it for two hours when you first open the box. In this case, you can use an AC charger (if you have one ) purchase (don't plan on driving hours after you receive it. AC chargers are available from Magellan and various aftermarket vendors online.) Tom Tom has few advantages in comparison. It offers both Macintosh software and Windows, but the Magellan 2200T is stand-alone. No PC software is required to operate and secure the unit, so there's little benefit here. I hope my research will be helpful. Both Tom Tom One and Magellan 2200T are very good but I think the 2200T offers more options. I've also noticed that several people have posted comments about inaccurate maps and problems with the Tom Tom software (which uses Tele Atlas' map database). I expect Tom Tom to address these issues, but the 2200T uses NAVTEQ maps, which are the best consumer GPS available, so accuracy should be very good off the bat.