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

My brother, a serious RV’er and computer whiz, told me his friends were sold on either Garmin and Magellan and the others got tossed. He said that these two used different logic and that people loved one or the other depending on how they think and suggested I use them before I bought one. I borrowed a Magellan and Garmin before taking a trip in the Washington country side and used them both together and apart. Both machines got you there more or less the same. However these features made a big difference:

The Magellan remembers just like my computer…(if I put in a “ya” it takes me to Yahoo) so I don’t have to write out cities each time. It also helps narrow choices so when put in a “Fi” it will bring up all the streets starting with Fi. Having to write in “Washington” “Ellensburg” on the Garmin for each place I wanted to go in that city was a pain.

The Magellan has a trip planner so if you are going to five stops it gives you the optimal route. You can add, subtract, or re-order stops (addresses or POI, etc.) as you go. Garmin has a similar feature but it is spendy.

It gives me all the AAA info without going for the books. If you want a place to eat or sleep you know if you’re looking at $ or $$$$ before you get there. Also it suggests interesting sights along the way and rates them. Garmin doesn’t have this.

I like the way the Magellan is organized. I find things were at my finger tips and I didn’t have to hunt for what I use the most.

The traffic warning feature doesn’t cost a thing after purchase.

I love my GPS and am glad I did my homework.
Rating: 5 / 5

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

A feature I liked was the lane assist on the Garmin. Problem is that the nice photo like image that they promote seldom appears. When it does appear, you must catch it right when the exchange is announced because it goes away very quickly. Nice feature but poorly implemented. At other times, lane arrows appear with the proper lane highlighted. This is nice and seems to work well. The Magellan seems to use the lane arrow system, but I have not used it enough yet to make a valid comparison.

Turn buy turn. The Magellan dings a bell as you reach the turn and the Garmin announces the street again. Personal preference, but I like the bell. The Garmin changes from miles to feet as you approach a turn-nice. The announcements on the Garmin usually come a tenth or two of a mile late. It will say to turn in one mile and the display will have 0.8 miles as the turn-irritating.

Map look. I prefer the Magellan maps. The Garmin pretty much displays a wide line that you are driving on with little detail around it even in the most detailed mode. It is a very bland looking map with little color and contrast. My old unit displayed the next turn at the top and the street you were on at the bottom. Both new models omit the current street at the bottom. The name of the current street scrolls down by the road on the Magellan, but you have no indication where you are on the Garmin.

Traffic alerts. Both have it as an included lifetime service. You get little ads that do not interfere with the map and they go way after a time. Whether they work depends on the traffic reporting. At times the Gaming re-routed me, but it stuck me in a 2 hour traffic jam by Arrowhead stadium and the green traffic indicator was on all the way indicating clear sailing. My old unit had it and seemed to work about the same way. It is no guarantee and only works in and near cities that broadcast the info. It is useless out on the freeways.

Bells and whistles. The Garmin has more features but at a higher price. I had bluetooth on my old unit and did not like it. Did not use it on the Garmin. Don’t have it on the Magellan. If you do not need an MP3 player(that only plays MP3 format) or a picture viewer, the Magellan has all the other features for about $100 less.

The Magellan has a slightly bigger screen and is thinner. The Garmin has a little better mount. The Magellan seems to have more settings you can tweak to your tastes. Both units are smoother and quicker than my old unit. Both will get you there, the Magellan just seems to make it easier and slicker.

I hit the wrong button. I really rate this unit at about 4 1/2 stars.

Update.

After more time with the unit, I like it even better. The lane assist, while not as visually appealing as the Garmin, is a lot more useful as it stays on until it is time to make the turn unlike the Garmin that just stays on for a short amount of time. Turn assistance is also better on the Garmin. On a turn that comes up soon after your next turn, it will announce “Right turn at 1st street followed by a left turn”. This allows you to get in the proper lane. The Garmin merely announces “Right turn at 1st st.” The AAA info gives you much more info than just POIs. You also get ratings, descriptions and prices. Nice.

Another update.

After applying the software update from Magellan, it is even better. The voice is louder and clearer. That eliminates the major complaints I read about this unit, the muffled street names. The interface is slightly changed in the address book and makes it easier to pick the right entry.
Rating: 5 / 5