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337 of 342 persons found the following review helpful.
Roadmate 1700 - 7" display
By Mud Ducky
I purchased this because I was mesmerized in the more spectacular display. We use it in a motorhome and both of us like to be competent to see the GPS. Not so easy with a typical 3.5" unit. We antecedently owned a Maggelan unit and were happy with it but wanted a larger display.
This unit is almost idea, the display is very clear, it is easy to set up prior to a trip and it has no fluff that we have no need for like bluetooth, MP3 player etc. It's a GPS, not a multi-purpose unit. Which is what I want. I actually like the lane alter feature, that's almost sufficient to make the new unit suitable by itself. So far it has worked flawlessly. The only downside is that it will not run very long without being plugged into 12V (30 min). I suspect because of the big display. But that's not in truth a issue since we have it plugged in all the time anyway. One feature I like is the little suction cup, it takes much less dashboard/window real estate that our former unit. We us a non-skid "pillow" most of the time, but use the suction cup in the car and it's much posing no difficulty to mount.
Just wanted to make a update - We now have a lot more miles on the clock using this unit. We had no issue with it being slow or not giving us sufficient time to react like another reviewer found. And I often need lots of time due to the length of our MH and car together. We didn't have any routing issues either. Guess that's why there are a good deal of dissimilar models and companies formulating these things.
I have to give Amazon a plug as well. I looked at Best Buy and one other store, they didn't even know this model existed. Amazon shipped it and I received it in less that 18 hours. We were on a one day stop while traveling. That's genuinely good service.
179 of 183 persons found the following review helpful.
The BEST I've ever owned (and I've owned a lot of them)!
By The Great Buzzwami
This is my 5th GPS (4 Magellan's and one Garmin, plus the ones in rentals and built-into cars) and I have to say they've gotten close to perfective for what it is. I was going to give up on Magellan after my last long term one (Maestro 4040). I just purchased a Magellan RoadMate 1475T and found it an betterment over the 4040 but it took everlastingly to start-up and get a signal; plus a number of idiotic things they've done to make the displays harder to navigate and the fact the traffic feature never told me regarding a slowdown until I was in it.
I saw the 1700 and thought I'd take a prospect because I've always wanted a larger screen to show surrounding streets. I am so glad I sent the 1475T back, this unit is a huge betterment over the 1475T! The screen is fantastic and supports swipe movements over the map so you may look around, then return to where you actually are, or are going.
I didn't recognise when it comes to the AV video input when I purchased it, but what a bonus! I just plug in my 3.5mm AV cable (I got it at the Apple Store) and the display switches to video (the aspect symmetry is stretched, but what-the-heck). It's going to be outstanding to use on long trips. I would have purchased it for this feature alone.
It doesn't have Bluetooth (I could never get Magellan Bluetooth to work decently with my iPhones, Magellan seems to be Windows centric) or any other GPS add-ons that never seemed to work properly. I don't recognise if the 1475T or the 1700 came first, but the 1700 has a lot of the 'good' features that older Magellan's had, ones that seem to be back-step improvements on the 1475T. The spoken voice on the 1700 is the good old one and the 1475T had a distorted hard to perceive voice that I assume is new. The 1700 has the old, posing no difficulty to use, screens and the 1475T has further and added choices like the "Local Info" icon that leads to more mixing up choices that don't genuinely tell you anything. Also the "Save" on the present emplacement didn't work on the 1475T, but it works great on the 1700. It's a feature I use all the time, if you're someplace you want to quickly remember, just hit a couple of buttons and it's saved and named.
I've used the 1700 for over a week and it genuinely works well, locks on to the GPS signal more quickly than any GPS I've had, in a literal sense within seconds of turning on the unit. With the big screen it's much quicker for me to enter selective information and navigate. Buttons are HUGE (and pretty)! The sound is outstanding and the 3D maps are better than the 1475T (probably because of the more prominent screen). You may without apparent effort add more destinations for multi-stop trips and sort them. It's also much posing no difficulty to add an address than the older Magellan's and their "Smart Cities" is a much necessitated betterment that works. The POI's also appear a lot quicker than the the older models and are having little impact to add to the address book. There are also two pages of favorites buttons that are easy to add and easy to use.
Overall I love this unit, I'll probably keep this one for a long time. Before I could hardly wait to upgrade out of frustration.
The downside: it unquestionably needs a quicker processor. Maybe the big screen takes more of the processor, but there may be a lag when entering using the keyboard touch screen. It doesn't affect actual navigation, it's only when using the display to enter things.
It's big! I would follow another reviewer's counsel and make a cardboard cutout firstborn and see if you have the space. I just hardly do, my window in truth slopes and it's a close fit. One of the big deficiencies for me is the window mount. It's the worst Magellan mount I've had. In the past they've been actually great, the 4040 had a fantastic mount, but the one for the 1700 is in truth too small, they ought to and known this in the product trials. Even if you only applied it for Motor Homes or Trucks, I don't see how this mount could move it far sufficient from the window to get it off of it is cradle. It uses a ball joint that can't be tightened sufficient to keep it from jiggling. I'm going to have to buy the optional extended mount, but Magellan must have included the same mount they applied for the 4040. The mount is the greatest disappointment of this purchase.
The POI's are as bad as they always are. Since I've never seen any brand that has precise ones, I think they ought to give up attempting to include them. Only half of my local Post Offices are listed, none of my bestloved coffee shops appear (but all the Starbucks are there correctly) and it lists businesses that closed down years ago. If you want POI's, I think you have to buy a smart phone and look them up when you need them and enter addresses. The gas stations and hotels seems to be precise and on a trip would be utile until they get outdated as well. Even Google Maps doesn't have things correct, so I guess it's not unexpected that a unit that was fictitious months ago isn't right either.
Also, all the Magellan's I've had shows you somewhat behind where you in truth are. Since it's always been that way, through numerous models, and they've never changed it, I have to assume they do it on purpose. This may be genuinely discouraging and hindering when roads are in truth close to each other and you're not sure if you're turning down the right one. If you're stopped at an intersection, it shows you yards back. I think they will have to add an option that would move each reading 10 yards forward on the map. However, the turn chime is rectify and it's what I use more than the screen. If it chimes, I recognise the next turn is it. The close-up feature they've added works well, it zooms in on a turn and puts a huge arrow on the map, this helps.
Overall, this is the best GPS I've ever had and would buy it again in a second. It does have room for improvement, but has all the features I actually count on without the optional stuff that never seems to work. And the display is FANTASTIC!
For those that are having troubles using the AV input, you have to have the rectify cable. Three times Radio Shack tried to trade me the faulty cable, one made for audio. Only the Apple Store had the rectify one and knew what I was talking about. Magellan must have one on their accessaries online store! You have to plug the cable in after the 1700 is running, if you begin the 1700 with the cable attached, it ignores the AV and goes to the GPS. Just plug the AV cable in and the 1700 mechanically switches to AV mode. You may access the volume controls by taping on the screen. NONE of this is documented anyplace in the instruction manual or online. It's a outstanding feature that they seem to be ignoring, possibly it's liability or something else.
Please Magellan, use the 1700 as your basis for future models and improve the windshield mount.
87 of 88 persons found the following review helpful.
Great, but a word of caution
By Timothy D. Adams
Have just employed it for one day and love it. Beautiful display, very intuitive, touch screen is very sensible to the touch, voice instructions are deafening and clear and just the right amount, routing was right on, it is in truth looking good therefore far. In the coming weeks I'll actually wring it out on an extended trip throughout America (what I purchased it for) and may report more.
One word of caution, though. Its HUGE. I knew it was big, I just didn't realize how big. I had a bit of a problem mounting it in my old GMC conversion van because it took up so much windshield real estate. If I would have mounted it straight in front as I ordinarily do, it would have blocked far too much of my visibility. Ended up in a literal sense drilling some holes lower down in the dash (old van, who cares?!) and mounting it there. So here's my suggestion...cut a piece of cardboard that matches the dimensions of this unit (I think it is 7.5 by 4.3 inches) and take it out to your vehicle and see how it would fit into your field of view/windshield. Its a VERY impressive display, but it may not be right for what your vehicle may handle.
UPDATE: After much use of this unit the last few days, I've found a few flaws. First, the owner's manual leaves a bit to be desired. I've stumbled all over a heap of features the unit has, which is a good thing, but are nowhere brought up in the manual. Second, and realizing that no unit is perfect, it went a tad bonkers on me yesterday while attempting to route to a state park. It told me to turn left on a queer highway. As soon as I did that it without delay told me to make a u-turn, which I did only to be told without delay to make another u-turn! I ended up finding the park on my own regarding four miles down the initial direction. Third, the points of interest seem a bit lacking. A search for grocery stores told me the nearest was 5 miles away. One block later I passed a grocery that had plainly been there for a number of years. Lastly, I'm used to a Garmin that has a trip summary screen. (Average speed, total time of driving, miles, etc.) If the Magellan has such a screen I've not found it yet. Oh, one other thing....when I have deliberately not made a turn it tells me to make, it merely recalculates a new route and doesn't mention anything in regards to my goof. Not a word. I don't know, perhaps that's a good feature!
Still like the unit and am still pleased with the buy and would do it again, however, the honeymoon is kind of over, therefore a downgrade from 5 to 4 stars.
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