Review of the Magellan RoadMate 2010 GPS iPhone App

I’ve had the Magellan RoadMate app for about a month now.

The app itself is 1.36 GB, probably one of the larger ones out there, so make sure that you have enough room on your phone to install it.  Apparently MiTAC, which makes the Magellan software, offers a mounting kit with a built in GPS device that allows the iPhone 2G or the Touch to use this app, but my review will limit itself to the 3Gs phone.

The icon looks like this:

The app takes a little time to start up (30-45 seconds) and while you wait, you get this splash screen:

Once the app has loaded, the next screen looks like this:

From here, you can plot your trip by touching the Menu button, which gives you this screen:

The most obvious way to plot your trip is to hit the address button, which puts you at this screen:

In this screen, you can manually enter the address of your destination.  Entering this data at first seems counter intuitive, as you enter the city first, then the street name and finally the house number.  Once you get past that it is “backwards”, you will notice that the software helps you along, usually providing your destination before you are finished.

The one drawback here, is that the Magellan app does not allow for cut and paste, so you can’t just look up an address in Google, copy it and paste it into program.

There are easy workarounds though.  If you look at the screen two pictures up, there is a link to your contact book.  One way to import an address into the RoadMate app is to for instance, look it up in Google Maps, save it to your Contact app and then of course access it in the Magellan app.

A third way to plot a trip is to use the provided Points of Interest list.  The Magellan POI is pretty comprehensive and all you have to do is select your desired destination and it is automatically routed.  If it is any indication, the POI feature listed every course in Pinehurst that I have played over the years.

Upon the launch of the POI feature, you get this screen:

For instance, when you select “Coffee”,  you are presented with these choices:

Choose the Starbucks you want and you are automatically routed to that point.

A final way to create a trip, is to use the One Touch feature, which once again, can be seen in the screenshot two a few pictures up.

The Once Touch feature gives access to your home address, previous destinations and pre-entered routes.

Once on the road, the app announces turns by road name, rather than just “turn left or turn right” as some other programs do.  In my use of the RoadMate, the directions are accurate and the program calculates and reroutes quickly, figuring out your new intended route in stride.

That being said, there are some things to be aware of.  First, the app has a built in speed monitoring feature that is set to an almost zero tolerance.  Change it in the preferences before your female computer companion nags you to death for speeding.

Also, if you have your phone set to vibrate, the turn by turn directions can’t be heard.  You need to have the ringer, on.

Through trial and error, I found that the RoadMate app isn’t compatible with my iPhone mount/charger/FM transmitter.  The FM transmitter interferes with GPS signal.  Once I figured that out, I just bought a different mounting device without the transmitter and I haven’t lost the signal since.

Finally, you need to keep your phone plugged into the lighter because the GPS feature depletes the battery rather quickly.

Of course, one important feature that I saved for last, is the iPod integration.  Yes, the Magellan RoadMate app allows you to play and access your music library from the program itself as this screenshot shows:

If you need to leave the program, say because of a phone call, the app starts up where you left off.

The Magellan RoadMate app is selling for $79.99, but I bought if for $59.99 last month and I’m sure it will be on sale again for that price.  Keep in mind, that unlike some of the other GPS apps, the Magellan app has no monthly subscription fee.

Overall, I can highly recommend the Magellan RoadMate as it delivers on its promise and hopefully it keeps getting better as it is updated through the year.

If you are interested in buying this product, please consider using this link, , as you will be supporting The Virtuous Republic as I will earn a small commission on your purchase.

With that being said, if this app wasn’t worth its price, I would have said so and of course would have never provided a link.

Tags: app, Apple. iPhone, GPS, iTunes store, Magellan RoadMate 2010