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Unlike other reviewers who have predisposition to certain brand, e.g., someone who used a Garmin for long time and now came to criticize the Magellan, I am a long-time user of GPS of both Magellan and Garmin since 1998. My first Garmin cost me about $1500 and my first Magellan cost me about $2000. My later Garmin and Magellan cost me $800, $500, $300, etc. When the baby TomTom came to market, I also tried it.

One thing that is lacking in most of the previous reviews of this product is an objective opinion. People usually write the review based on their predisposition, not based on objective criteria.

The biggest advantage of any Magellan is its routing capability. For example, when you only have vague idea of the address of your destination, a Magellan would provide adequate context for you to figure out where you need to go. One time, I had forgotten the street number and exact spelling of the street name. I simply type in whatever part that I could remember and the Magellan gave me a list of the road names to choose from. Eventually it took me to where I need to go. Based on that experience, I formulated a test for evaluating any new GPS unit I buy. All the Garmin I tried failed that test. A TomTom unit I tried passed that test.

Another marvel of a Magellan GPS unit is its bell sound signaling the turning point or highway exiting point. This is extremely useful in the complicated highways like in New Jersey, I never miss a turn with a Magellan GPS, but often take a too-early turn with other brands.

The spoken language of Roadmate is clearest of all the GPS units over Garmin or TomTom. When I used Garmin nuvi 680, it would mispronounce “state road 1″ as “stage road 1″

I also like the seamless integration of the traffic information into the routing. It only provides the traffic incidents related to your route, or if you do not have a route, it provides only the incidents within 15-mile radius of the current location. It does not provide too much traffic information to burden you unnecessarily. With Roadmate 1475T, the traffic is free forever. In contract, with a Garmin nuvi 680, I had to pay $19/year for traffic subscription! And in nuvi 680, the traffic information is completely separate from the routing, and I have to make decision of which traffic incidents are relevant to my trip.

Other strong points of Roadmate 1475T are its large screen size, clear view of the screen, and its customization of the screen menu to fit anyone’s taste.

However, Magellan does share some weakness of all the GPS units. For example, the less perfect map accuracy. There are occasions that a Magellan would say the destination is on the left side of the road when actually the destination is on the right side, and so do all Garmin or TomTom units. One time, my Garmin nuvi GPS attempted to direct me to drive into the middle of a lake! Another weakness of any GPS is the confusion of which direction (left or right) to go at the beginning of the route, and the efficiency within a city. My suggestion of using any GPS is to also print a routing map from Yahoo Maps or Google Maps before you go on a trip so that you have some idea of the routing.

Update on Nov 30, 2009:

I also published a comparison of Magellan Roadmate 1475T and Garmin nuvi 1490T under real-time situations in my car side-by-side. It contains more details of the feature comparison of these two GPS units. To read that review, please click the link “See all my reviews” above next to my name.

More explanation of the bell sound of Magellan GPS I mentioned above: it makes a distinctive bell tone depending on the kind of turn you will be making: a “Dong-Ding” for a right turn, a “Ding-Dong” for a left turn, and a “Ding-Dong-Ding” for a U-turn if allowed.
Rating: 4 / 5

I have had a Magellan 3225 for over a year and love it. A friend wanted to buy my old one and I wanted traffic service on a new one, so I bought the 1475t[...]because it included lifetime free traffic service (as opposed to other models that charge $60 a year for traffic).[...].

While the 1475 is an improvement in terms of speed (very fast startup and response, super-fast routing, the ability to see the various proposed routes, predictive city names means less typing, and of course, free traffic service to help route you around traffic jams. All very useful.

Unfortunately, the new model has several basic problems that make it far less useful than the previous one–in fact, these limitations make the unit unacceptable for me.

1) The voice is not as good as it was on the 3225. It’s the same voice, but it sounds choppier, mushier. And when it goes from canned text to text-to-speech (street names), the tts is so mushy it’s almost unintelligible. Its really poor–especially considering that the older model’s tts was very clear.

2) The power plug is on the bottom. Some people have complained it’s too close to the bracket. My complaint is that it means you MUST use a bracket or mount. I don’t want a visible mount because in large cities this encourages car break-in, as theives look for GPS to steal

I have a silicone mat that holds the GPS in place–and this worked perfectly with the 3225 that has the power plug on the side. But with the 1475′s power plug on the bottom, there’s no way for the unit to sit flat! This combined with the larger size means it also doesn’t fit in my car. (Speaking of larger–the wider screen really didn’t seem very valuable–when you drive, you are going “up” on almost all GPS, so a taller screen might make sense, but a wider one didn’t seem more useful to me).

3) The touch-screen requires that I use my fingernail to get it to respond properly. I noticed that with the demo model in the store, but thought that was just because it had been overused. But my brand new GPS had the same thing–a touch with the fingertip often got no response, so I had to use my fingernail. This makes it harder to use–and I’m not sure how the screen will wear over time.

4) The traffic feature (the main reason I bought it), has yet to work. It’s always “acquiring signal” and never managed to acquire it. Perhaps I wasn’t close enough to a road that was covered by the system (though I was only about two miles from the 101 freeway), but even so, it should be able to get a signal so it can give me an accurate time for the route, shouldn’t it? And yes, I have the proper traffic cable, which came with the unit as advertised.

I also have quibbles about the interface–the screen space taken for the large +/- buttons at the bottom could be better used showing useful information–like all the data that’s crammed into the lower left corner and requires repeated presses to see. I don’t need the GPS to tell me my speed, my car has a speedometer for that purpose. If the GPS would tell me when I was speeding, then I could see the use of that function, otherwise, it’s superfluous. I’d like to be able to see the distance remaining and ETA together, but I can’t, because giant +/- buttons I will never use while driving are taking that space. Plus, the poor voice calls ETA simply “TA” – why?

When I press on the top line to hear the next maneuver, it sometimes gives me the one touch menu–I don’t want that, but the design makes it difficult to get the right result on a click.

Finally, a complaint about Magellan’s routing: sometimes they get a route in their head and won’t let go. And if I miss a cutoff or take a different street, instead of simply rerouting, their route of choice is often, “When possible, make a legal u-turn.”

I can understand if this is the ONLY navigation option, but a GPS’s job is to get me from where I am to where I want to go–so if where I am isn’t where it thought I should be–it should figure it out, not insist I make a u-turn and go back where it wanted me to be. Recently with my older model, construction blocked a route, and the GPS kept insisting I make a U-turn back to the road that was now impassable. That wasn’t helpful. I had to drive miles out of my way before it stopped telling me to turn around! To credit the 1475, it’s so fast that it quickly finds a new route–but still only after first wanting me to pull a u-ey.

Last but not least, a question about traffic service. I don’t understand why this unit has lifetime free traffic reception (if it could actually receive it, as mine couldn’t), whereas models such as the 3250 (which have the form factor and voice I prefer) require a $60 a year subscription for the same data? I’m sorry, but that sounds like price gouging–if the service can be offered for free on some units, why does it cost so much on others?

BOTTOM LINE: Overall the 1465t has many worthwhile features and it’s tremendous speed is noteworthy. It’s too bad that poor plug placement and a hard-to-understand voice get in the way–since both the voice and plug were well done on their previous generation.
Rating: 3 / 5

I have been a dedicated GPS user for the past 4 years. Usually i only buy Garmin, until i recently purchased the 755t. The first unit i got had a defective screen that picked up letters and numbers from different parts of the screen, imagine trying to unlock the device and never being able to put the right pin in. Also the volume was ridiculously low, i could barely hear it with everything turned off. I got a replacement from Amazon and had the same problem. After an hour on hold with Garmin, Yes an HOUR on hold, i was told it was a software problem and i had to wait. I paid way too much for that unit to wait. I never had it lock up though like alot have reviewed.

Then I did alot of research and i came up on the 1475t. I absolutely love this unit, the Volume is LOUD. very clear, and the text to speech is excellent. I live in San Diego and the traffic receiver works great, the screen is very responsive and accurate. I was able to get all my addresses on there quick. it is not perfect, it has a couple of details that needs to be fixed. Sometimes the routing is weird, and the charging cable is a pain to put on.

After dealing with Garmin’s horrible quality and horrible customer service, i am giving this 5 stars as it had made my work alot easier. it gives you alot more details on the freeway onramps you need to take. and i am very nitpicky about my electronics. I will only buy Magellan from now on. I am very impressed
Rating: 5 / 5