Magellan RoadMate 1470 4.7-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Reviews

1. DO NOT UPDATE YOUR UNIT

   by Twig

   This WAS a nice unit. I went through the registration, etc. like a good user. I was informed there is a system update and went to the Magellan website and followed the directions (including installing their Content Manager).

   After downloading and installing the latest software upgrade the unit went through 2 blue screen update windows and is now looping between starting up and “Your unit needs to be restarted to maximize performance. Please wait while your data is being saved” endlessly.

   Their FAQ’s make no mention or reference but after “googling” the message it appears this problem is widespread.

   Now I have a very expensive paperweight just before a trip. Lesson learned.

2. Can’t find its way out of a paper bag

   by Carol Ponemon

   Seems my magellan has to many problems to fix. Tech support is terrible. They want to replace my new GPS with a reconditioned one. Can you imagine and they want me to pay for the shipping! After 30 days they will not give you another new one and they feel they have enough customers to treat you like dirt! So RUN don’t walk away and choose another product!

3. horrible horrible horrible

   by nokia6230

   This is *not* my first GPS. I’ve owned and used a Garmin, TomTom and VW in-dash unit during my short lifetime. And I have to say I found this to be the most frustrating piece of electronic device I have paid for. Ever. If I could smash this thing to pieces I would. In this age of being able to research and read thousand of reviews before making any kind of purchase, I’m disappointed that I didn’t catch this *** before i paid for it. Let’s go over the Magellan’s so-called ‘highlights’:

   * Ability to personalize OneTouch search icons with your favorite places
   
   – Absolutely no need for this. If it’s your favorite place, it’s going to be in your previous address history list. Why go waste time putting it on the main menu?

   * Announces street names and directions at each turn
   
   -like somebody else pointed out (but I seriously doubted) the street name voice level and the turn-by-turn voice level are NOT the same volume. I could not believe this was an issue. My old as dirt Magellan Roadmate760 did not have this problem. Suffice to say, you would have to set the volume to the least acceptable level for the teeny tiny speaker. Anything louder and it cracks. So at its most acceptable, the car has to be completely quiet with the radio off and the windows up because otherwise, you’re not even going to hear the GPS.

   * Ultra-wide 4.7-inch touchscreen display
   
   -the screen is 4.7 inches but the icons do not maximize it at all. It could have been a 3in screen and wouldn’t matter. The worst part is the car icon. It gets bigger when you zoom out of the map. So let’s say you zoom out of the map to a 10mile view so you can see the surrounding roads… well, you can’t because the car icon would be covering 25% of center of the GPS. You’re not even going to be able to see how far off the turn you are relative to the car’s position. This is unacceptable. It looks likes a first time GPS programmer designing the layout for his/her first-ever GPS.
   
   – the lane guidance is Ok. It has led astray a couple of times so I wanted to see where the map was going by zooming out.. well, you can’t. Once it’s engaged, you’d have to wait until after the turn before you can access the map again. Grrrreat.
   
   -I got to the 3D map view by accident. I spent 30mins trying to get back to it to turn it off. (while on an active navigation, touch anywhere on the map and it’ll give you the option for 2d or 3d).

   * AAA TourBook and Roadside Assistance menu
   
   -I wanted this to work but the few times I tried searching by name, nothing came up. Meaning it kept searching.. searching.. searching. It wasn’t because the place didn’t exist, it was because the unit is S L O W. I fired up google maps on my phone and found it in no time. We even had time to call the place, verify they were still open and subsequently texted the address to our friends. And the unit was still searching.

   * Permits multi-destination routing
   
   -When they said multi they meant one main destination and one other alternate destination that you can keep inputting. Not as I was expecting from older Magellan RM760 — up to 10 destinations inputted at one time and optimized by the unit.

   * Maps of United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico
   
   -GPS does acqurie a signal pretty quick. But there’s that issue where the unit just SHUTS OFF for no reason at all. I’d like to think I’m tech savvy but I cannot replicate why the reason this unit does this out of the blue. So even if it has all these maps, you can’t even use it if the things is off. I’ve started looking over the turn-by-turn list ahead of time so I’m not caught off guard when the unit shuts off and I have no idea which way to take.

   So don’t make the same mistake I did. Stay away from Magellan in general, and this 1470 unit in particular.

4. Awesome!

   by Barbara in FLA

   Started using this on a trip to Orlando. It replaced a TomTom that I couldn’t update, it was THAT old. Works well. Only drawback is that it doesn’t give gas prices. “Maggie” also tends to be a little nagging at times. Glad I bought it.

5. Great GPS except for the reception issues.

   by James H. Ham

   Let me first say I’m impressed with the overall quality of this product. The 4.7″ screen is large and bright, shows a lot of information and is an overall good device when it works properly. The feature which displays exit signs before you reach an exit is also quite helpful, and the processing speed is nice as well, it doesn’t skip around a lot and gets good frames per second.

   The major issue I have with the Magellan Roadmate is connectivity. About half of the time I turn on the device and select ‘view map’ or program in route guidance, I just get the ‘Acquiring Signal’ message, and it never actually gets the signal. Restarting the device occasionally fixes the issue but I don’t consider it to be very reliable because of this exact issue.

   I like the device and will continue to use it, but I can’t really recommend it because of the poor signal reliability.

6. nuvi vs roadmate

   by Mike G

   I have a Garmin Nuvi 765T in one of my vehicles and I like it very much. I bought the roadmate for the other vehicle. I like almost everything about the roadmate except the brightness of the screen. I would have given this product a 5 star across the board rating except for the screen and the manual. I don’t really care about the manual because the product functions similar to the Garmin and I could figure it out quickly. If the screen was brighter I would be a very happy camper.

7. The Magellian 1470 is a great GPS

   by Roy E. Runkle

   I like the feature of the voice giving you directions while you’re driving so if you’re in heavy traffic–it’s like having someone in the car following a map and giving you directions. You don’t have to take your eyes off the road.

8. Great GPS

   by Tom McCreary

   This GPS is replacing an old one, and we really like its features. It starts up really quickly and the POI’s are great and the AAA database is great because it gives us prices and ratings. This is a great GPS for the price.

9. Magellan 1470 review

   by Billy Abrahamsen

   No problem using GPS immediately out of box. I applied update and the feature set seem to have increased as well as additional locations were now available that were not there before. I highly recommend.

10. Broken

    by T. Pitman

    It worked for about a month. I tested it a couple of times without problems but then one day I had to rely on it to get me somewhere and it froze up on the way. I had to turn it off and it won’t boot back up anymore. I called Magellan and they said I have to send it back because it’s a software defect. They are going to send me a refurbished unit. I should have listened to the reviews. This has been a repeat problem for a lot of people, I hope I don’t have to play this swap game until my warranty runs out.
    

11. Replacement unit

    by C'Ann Henderson

    Why in the world did they put the plug on the bottom of the unit? This unit (1470) isn’t as quick as my older unit, but it’s getting me where I want to go. At first it kept directing me to Mexico cities, but think we’re past that now. The screen is a nice 4.7″ and it is slim lined. I should have bought the electrical plug immediately. The unit is fine for my needs.

12. Great unit for a sub-$150 GPS

    by Daniel Correia

    I’m not entirely sure what all the fussing about this model is all about. I guess isolated experiences are what drive some to write poor reviews. But here’s my take on this unit after having it for a year…

    I bought this through Amazon in April of ‘09… It came bundled with the FM Subscription-free traffic link (which is pretty much useless where I live, but free is free…)
    
    I was initially impressed with it over my old Magellan Maestro GPS (larger screen, more up to date maps… seemed to have more features, intuitive, etc).

    The screen seemed “huge” to me at the time, compared to my 3.2 inch Maestro, but after a year, I’m complete accustomed to this one and wouldnt think about getting a smaller one now (Size DOES matter, apparently).

    Initially, it did suffer from slow startup times… long times acquirning satellite signals, and a few minor glitches in the software. As well, it initially lacked the ability to automatically change timezones when you crossed into one (I do regularly for most of my trips, and it was a handy option on the Maestro)… however all these were addressed in firmware updates. The current update (I applied only a week or so ago) has made this unit more than ideal as one would expect from a unit costing less than $150.

    I did have one issue that required me to call customer support. Last fall the unit just failed on me. It ‘crashed’ so to speak… the user interface was glitchy, with imporperly assigned icons and mis-aligned text in the menus… and then it just up and died on me. It wouldnt turn on. Magellan cutsomer support (again I am unsure the reason for gripe in other reviews) came to a fast resolve and rescue, sending me one OVERNIGHT as a replacement, with me returning mine for the mere cost of postage (A $5 inconvenience… big deal, I had my replacement overnight) and I live in Canada — getting overnight service is typically unheard of. In any event, excellent customer support, and turnaround time. I have no reason to complain.

    The replacement unit has been otherwise flawless. I really have no complaints nor arguments on this unit whatsoever.

    I have used the Points-of-interest feature more times than I ever thought I would. Looking for something as specifc as a Dunkin Donuts, or a Sunoco gas station is a breeze — but also as general as “mexican restaurant”… it works well to list them, how far away they are, and routes me there in as few clicks on the screen as possible.

    As for the Traffic Link feature (which is normally a seperate purchase, but came included when I pre-ordered). It works, in the areas that the coverage map claims. When travelling through southern New Hampshire, Boston, and down through New Jersey especially, it gave me great info regarding traffic delays and alternate routes (and the odd banner ad for Quality Inns) — but again, cant complain about the ads, because again, free is free. If you dont have it, it’s not really necessary.

    This unit doesnt play MP3s, it doesnt display pictures, it doesnt have games. Which is good, because I want it to help me get around… and it does that perfectly well.

    Is it a perfect unit? Of course not. Keep in mind folks, no GPS is. ALL GPS’s are flawed in some way or another. There are billions of streets, routes, and roadways… with traffic pattern changes and reroutes being done daily. (This unit, just last week, told me to turn left down a road that was no longer there. It used to be… but the interesection had been changed since the map was updated. Fortunetly I have a BRAIN and realized that driving over a curb and through a field wasnt going to get me where I wanted to go. So I pressed on forward about 50 feet and my GPS gave me an alternate route, which then worked. No harm in thinking for ones self.)

    The Roadmate 1470 GPS is a great unit for the sub $150 price point. I’s well contstructed (doesnt feel cheap to the touch) and works just as well. It’s intuitive and easy to learn, it has a decent amount of features to do what it’s intended to do. The included accessories (the mount, and the power cable) are equally well constructed. (The suction cup mount has fallen from my windshield only ONCE since I’ve had it… in extreme cold.)

    I’d easily recommend it (or the similar next release, for the sake of the updated maps)

13. Nice for the price.

    by geemaniac

    This is the first new GPS unit I’ve had since my Mio C310X several years ago, which I was pleased with. Since Mitac now owns Magellan, and reading the reviews, I thought I’d give the 1470 a try. I am not disappointed.

    The RoadMate 1470 is as slim as they come and has a screen that’s easy on my aging eyes and visible in almost all lighting situations. They have changed the mounting system so the power cord can be attached before putting it on the holder. The lady’s voice is clear and does a good job in pronouncing most street names, but there isn’t a choice of voices, nor can you choose a vehicle. You get an arrow.

    Entering addressing is easy, even here in Utah with their unconventional numbering system. Normally you would enter the city, then the street, then the address. With this unit you have the option of entering the number first (such as 18N 2300E). This was almost impossible to do with the 310X. As you enter either letters or numbers, when the unit has enough information a selection will pop up, saving some typing.

    There are quite a few POI’s (6 million? And the AAA Tour Book info) which seem to be recently updated. I haven’t had any problem with the maps, although the latest one is called Spring 2009. Magellan now has some software called Content Manager that syncs your PND with your computer that will alert you to any updates, although the maps are available on micro SD card only.

    Since the 1470 runs on Windows CE, it’s possible with some “modification” to run many other programs such as an MP3 or MP4 player, book reader, word processor, calculator, etc., although they can’t be used at the same time as the map feature. Since the capability is there, I find it odd that there is no headphone jack, so if I want to listen to music, it’s through the speaker only.

    I also miss the “Fly Over” feature on my Mio, where you could travel your whole route at around 450MPH. The 1470 does have several choices of routes that you can view at the same time and pick the one you want. You can also see turn-by-turn written instructions and if there’s a leg you want to bypass, you can eliminate it and the unit will quickly reroute.

    All in all this unit has some fine features for the price point.

14. Cant ask for much more

    by 929 couple

    Purchased this unit as a Christmas present in 2009. Did a ton of research and decided to go with this one. All I can say after nearly 5 months this is the easiest, most reliable GPS on the market. The satellites are found within seconds. If I change my route the Roadmate makes corrections extremely fast. The voice is very clear and loud enough to hear with music on and the window rolled down doing 55 MPH. The screen is very easy to see and the voice navigation is spot on. The audible chime before attempting a turn of any kind is also quite helpful. It also does not have that annoying “recalculating recalculating” during an addition or change to the route. The visible road signs where applicable also are helpful. The software is also very up to date as a brand new subdivison was easily found in the address search. The points of interest library is ridiculously huge making finding restaurants and the like very easy. I would recommend you not install the firmware update as this seems to be a huge issue; we did not as well.
    
    In closing after doing all the leg work I am extremely happy with this purchase. It has been spot on in navigation in our home state as well as trips to Florida. It gives my wife peace of mind when driving in unfamiliar territory and has exceeded my expectations.

15. magellan roadmate 1470

    by Steve

    I bought the Roadmate 1470 when it first came out, along with the traffic add-on. The screen was good, and it was functional. The routing was bad in several cities, especially New York, where it insisted on dragging you through midtown traffic even if you wanted to go uptown. I had similar, though lesser problems in Baltimore and other cities. Also, in NY in didn’t distinguish between addresses in Manhattan and Brooklyn with the same street numbers, even after you use the correct zip code, etc., so once when I was in Queens it kept trying to route me to Brooklyn rather than Manhattan. Even so, it was usually functional. By the way I’ve found the traffic add-on to be basically useless, sometimes missing traffic jams and other times warning me of nonexistent delays.

    At one point I downloaded a software update. It turned out to be seriously buggy, and cause the machine to freeze and die in the middle of a trip. When I contacted them, they were aware of the problem and agreed to replace it, after I sent it back, etc. Even though they knew I downloaded software with a fatal flaw, they made no attempt to contact me, even though they had my email address and phone number.

    Less than a month after I received the replacement product, it died. It simply refused to power up. The rep told me to try several steps, such as holding the power switch down for ten seconds [not mentioned in the manual, etc], but that did not work. The second time I connected the machine to the computer, but not the first, it started up. The rep said I had a “loose connection.” I said I wanted a reliable replacement device without a loose connection, but he refused to authorize it. I am now looking at Tom-Toms.

    In short, if you want a marginal product with abysmal support, Magellan’s got a deal for you.

16. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT

    by Alicia Sanchez

    If you need a great gps for this price range this is it. I got it because it was on cnets best gps list. IT IS GREAT.

17. Gets me where I want to go

    by N. Wynn

    I have used this GPS for only a couple of months but I was able to turn it on plug it in and go. It gets me where I want to go without any problems. There are features I haven’t used yet so I can’t comment on those but putting in an address and getting mapped is pretty simple.

18. Magellan Roadmate 1470

    by Clyde M. Dickerson Jr.

    Bought this unit as a first time user of a GPS. Really looking forward to using it the following week end on a trip to FL from MI. Used it around home a few days just to get the feel of the processes. Unfortunately, when I tried to update the system on line through a Magellan website as stated in the manual the program froze and the GPS wouldn’t upload past the start screen. I contacted Magellan by phone and they were very courteous and confident they could help but after a short time they learned nothing could be done except send it to them for repair or replacement without charge. Timing was an issue due to my trip start date so contacted the seller, Amazon.com. They allowed me to return the item for a refund without cost including postage for the return. Nothing but satisfied with my treatment by customer service and the promptness of her response to me. Took the trip with a borrowed GPS from family and was really happy with the invention. If I had it to do again I would have made the purchase with more lead time to my departure date to cover for such a problem.

19. Could be great unit with a some software fixes.

    by LONZ

    Bought new unit. When I tried to update the software over the internet, unit froze. After discussing with Magellan customer service, sent it to Tennessee for repair/replacement. Unit I got back was a refurbished unit even though I never used the original. Although it was refurbished, it looked new. The navigation part works great and has a lot of good features. When I use other features, it often gets to a point where the “go back” button does not work and you have to turn the unit off and start over. Software fixes so that (1) updates could be made without the unit freezing (2) the “go back ” button would always work, would make this an outstanding product.

20. decently priced decent navigator

    by S. Youn

    good points:
    
    – simple layout
    
    – clear voiced directions
    
    – reliable routes
    
    – portable size
    
    – affordable price

    bad points:
    
    – lag in touch screen clicks and loading new screens
    
    – confusing icons and access to certain menus

    overall: the magellan roadmate 1470 does its job and is a decent navigator considering its lower price compared to other navigators