Buzzillions.com - Magellan Crossover GPS Unit Reviews

Haven't seen anything better

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:01 GMT

Haven't seen anything better

Gallaher from Atlanta, GA

This is another item I don’t leave home without and it fits in my pocket. My wife laid claim to it until she got one for herself. I use this both personally and professionally to find the location of fires. I’ve used many Garmin models and love them for use in aircraft. In the air you can’t beat Garmin. Magellan is known for its superior water navigation systems by yachtsman around the world. On the road Garmin and Magellan are about equal. On the trail Magellan has squeaked ahead with this color touch screen hand held model for use on the trails, roads, and the water. Driving directions are given by audio prompts and will automatically recalculate your route if you miss a turn or don’t feel like taking its path. The tracking is somewhat smart sensing when used in a car. I found it estimates where you are based on its prediction of where it thinks you are going. This is true when travelling at high speeds in the auto map mode. At low speeds, walking, it can tell which side of t … Read more

Already out of date

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:00:01 GMT

Already out of date

polymath from Gainesville, Florida

I didn't get the product that was promised. I purchased the Crossover and in itself it is a nice unit. The main reason I purchased this model was that I could use it hiking with the detailed topo maps and on the road. When I purchased the unit I also bought the MapSend Topo3D software as suggested salesman. Not only did the MapSend not work with the crossover neither the crossover or mapsend work with Microsoft Vista making my purchase a costly mistake. Then, after combing through documentation, I find that upgraded Topos are only usable via SDcard and to top it all off the only Topos available are for Canada and Mexico. If I'm lost in Canada or Mexico I'm really screwed since I plan on getting lost in Florida and Arizona. I think that the crossover is a great product even with the 2min + satellite acquisition time. I can return the GPS unit but the software is wasted of money. It's outmoded software and I made a mistake purchasing it. The only way for me to use these products now is t … Read more

Great Product, Very Versatile

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:00:01 GMT

Great Product, Very Versatile

Davis from Fairfax, VA

This is a great product, that is very versatile. I recently used it on a 2-day canoeing/camping trip and it came in very handy. Since I had never been to this particular campground, I put in the address and the driving directions led me right to it without any wrong turns. The next day, the outfitter took us up river and we canoed down to our campsite. I had set our campsite as a waypoint so it was easy to find as we made our way down the river. Also, throughout the day, the travel computer function helped me keep track of how far we had progressed and how fast we were moving, so I knew how long it would take to reach the campsite. The next day, I used the travel computer to help determine if we needed to speed up to make it to our scheduled pick up down river on time. The travel computer function is also very useful for some of my other hobbies: biking, hiking, and kayaking. The fact that it is designed for outdoor use is also a great fit for my needs. The battery life is … Read more

Pre-Loaded, Easy Use, Needs Freq Recharg

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:00:01 GMT

Pre-Loaded, Easy Use, Needs Freq Recharg

LisaS from Bakersfield, CA & Erie PA

This has higher temperature ratings than other GPSs... I bought it because I was working in the Mojave Desert. It is great for road directions, but not so good for finding stores, post offices or restaurants...the Magellan Roadmate 760 is far superior for that purpose. I have not used it for marine applications or music. Only problem is that I use it 8 hours or more per day and the battery will not last that long. It does not have a solar recharger adapter...I would need that for hiking or camping outings. I have not found a way to recharge it without plugging it in. Maps are already pre-loaded. The unit comes with a winshield mount, only problem is that it is illegal in CA, and the sticky mount that comes with it is permanent and not transferrable from one vehicle to another. I use rental cars for work because I travel all over the country and they have not created a portable dashboard adapter for this model yet when I checked with customer service. Periodically it takes more than a f … Read more

Safer and more intuitive than Garmin

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:00:01 GMT

Safer and more intuitive than Garmin

MilGuy from Denver Colorado

Good things:(1) I have always liked Garmin and was initially going to get a top of the line handheld. However the features on the Crossover are what sold me. With the Garmin, I was very surprised/disappointed about having to spend an additional $130.00 on POI software to upload into the memory. Additionally, I would have had to purchase the $100.00 Topo software to do the same. For the final price I had all that in the Magellan Crossover – built in! All I had to do is charge it and go.(2) I also had the opportunity to download and install the free Firmware update, from the Magellan website, to the device. I found it extremely easy and very affective. I really liked the change to the driving part but was surprised Magellan didn’t make similar changes to the Marine and Outdoor/topo map options.(3) After the download and installation, I really love the additional map screen feature allowing you to see the Arrival Time, Distance and/or Remaining Time. Previously you only had th … Read more

Buyer Beware--Not an Outdoor GPS

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Buyer Beware--Not an Outdoor GPS

cam1 from Philadelphia, PA

Magellan has promised add-on detailed topo maps for this product since its inception. Like many early adopters I was willing to take the risk that Magellan would make good on its promise and that I would soon own a very capable hybrid GPS that would perform equally well both on the trail and on the road. Don't believe it for a minute! Shortly after Magellan launched this product their Marketing Department took an entirely new direction (read Triton & VantagePoint) and have since essentially abandoned the Crossover. The "topo" maps that come with the device are simply atrocious--terrible resolution, nearly non-existent POIs, etc. Magellan promised detailed USGS quality topo maps in the near future but the product is over a year old and they have yet to deliver. Don't let anybody tell you that the add-on Mapsend Topo CDROM maps (or the new VantagePoint software) are compatible with this device--they are not. I know this to be true as I spent additional $$ and time on both only to … Read more

NO TOPO MAPS. DO NOT BUY IT.

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:00:01 GMT

NO TOPO MAPS. DO NOT BUY IT.

Seattle Hiker from Seattle, WA

DO NOT BUY MAGELLAN. I purchased this primarily for hiking, so I want the topo maps. Long story short, there only 90m topo maps, and there are no detailed topo maps for the US, none at all for Hawaii. Before I purchased the unit, I called customer service [India] twice, to confirm that it DOES have hi-res topo maps for Hawaii. They told me that they know the advertisement says topo of the 48 contiguous, but they assured me both times that it comes pre-loaded with the detailed topo maps of US and Hawaii. So I ordered it.There are no topo maps of Hawaii, PERIOD, and there are nothing but 90m topo of US. (If you hike, you know that 90 meters is grossly insufficient for hiking except where the land is flat). FURTHERMORE, technical support says they don't know WHEN such maps will be released -- at which point they put me on "hold" to find out. Both times, I left my speakerphone on, and finally hung up after being on hold for over 20 minutes. Here's the deal. The unit does not work … Read more

Routing algorithm sucks

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Routing algorithm sucks

GeoBoater from Amherst, MA

I bought this primarily for vehicle navigation and so far have been pretty disappointed. Pros: Fairly easy menus to navigate and it's fairly easy to customize what you want to see on a map (like the types of POI's to see, etc). The map view is OK, definitely not as nice as the Garmins though. Cons: Routing algorithm. Not good at all. In areas where I know the roads relatively well, I often find that the "Shortest time" function will route you all over the place, usually via some circuitous highway route that I assume must have the fastest speed limits, even if it sends you in a near circle to get there. Conversely, the "Shortest Distance" option will usually send you on the most ridiculous backroads you could find that take forever and may or may not be paved or plowed in winter. In reality, I usually want something in between the "Shortest Time" and "Shortest Distance" functions, but it doesn't really do that. I've tested this unit against google maps a number of times, an … Read more

High Hopes Dashed

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:01 GMT

High Hopes Dashed

Neophyte from South Carolina

I received this unit for Christmas 2007 and had high hopes of having a GPS unit that would "do it all". This was my first GPS unit, so I am in part uncertain if this performs better or worse than other units. I want to believe that there are other units that plan trips better, acquire satellites faster, and do not plan trips that take you out of the say and poorly guide. The most disappointing event was being an an area I travel little at night, only to discover after three rounds that it was actually guiding me in circles. Though I am now very familiar with that particular neighborhood, it was not a pleasurable experience. It responds slowly, plans poorly, has multiple misspelled road names including freeway names, and is grossly out of date with the maps. There are roads in my area that have been there for several years that are not in the system maps. I have recently attempted to get trails software as the unit does not come with any, and am having trouble identifying w … Read more

Mistake!

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:00:01 GMT

Mistake!

Randy15001 from Nashville, Tn.

Bought a Magellan gps 12/06. Was very happy with it and Magellan till it broke last month. Now I wish I'd bought anything but a Magellan product. And after doing some research I find there are many many people like me. Be forewarned. Don't be taken by this company. I speak from 1st hand experience when I say that if you ever have to deal with this company after the sale you'll truly regret it! Read more