Magellan's RoadMate 1200 keeps the low-enders happy

If you thought Magellan's RoadMate 2000 series was low-end, you ain't seen nothing yet. Turns out, the company has oh-so-quietly released a (relatively unsightly) RoadMate 1200, which has managed to slip under the radar until now. Spotted online in a number of locations for less than $200, this 3.5-inch navigator features a QVGA touchscreen, a Centrality Atlas processor, QuickSpell / SmartDetour functions, 1.3 million POIs, NAVTEQ maps of the continental United States / Puerto Rico / Hawaii on a 1GB SD card and a rechargeable Li-ion that's good for around three hours. It's a real yawner, we know, but there's a decent chance this thing's pricetag could sink even lower on Black Friday with a little luck.

[Via NaviGadget]

[tiuk @ Oct 30th 2007 2:35AM]

Awesome. I love how cheap things like this are becoming.

[Syd @ Oct 30th 2007 2:38AM]

This is the kind of thing the people like me will buy for their parents, assuming the thing is easy for non-techies to use (my mom thinks my Commodore 64 is a typewriter)

[joe23521 @ Oct 30th 2007 9:51AM]

Exactly my thoughts. If my dad ends up getting that new car of his, I might get him something like this for Christmas.

[Charles Han @ Oct 30th 2007 3:14AM]

It's awesome it's getting cheaper and cheaper, but it's even more awesome that more and more gps functions are getting incorporated in phones. That way i can just invest in one gadget ^^

[Matt H. @ Oct 30th 2007 5:04AM]

Thanks Engadet
I've been looking for a GPS for my motorcycle for some time now; for a trip down to the US.
With some dual lock I think this will fit the bill.

Does anyone know if this has an ear piece jack? I can't find it in the site specs.

[Ettienne Schwagele @ Nov 25th 2007 8:33AM]

There is no ear piece jack.

[J-2 @ Oct 30th 2007 8:42AM]

Why's Engadget hatin' on this Magellan 1200? I, for one, don't find this to be "a real yawner." And, from the previous comments, it looks as though at least a few people are happy w/ a sub-$200 portable GPS unit. Like someone said, these would make awesome Christmas presents, esp. for first-timers.

Do they not like it because it doesn't play MP3s/MP4s or spit out a photo slideshow? Come on! It's a frickin' GPS device. We've got more than enough convergence devices already. Besides, if most people were using this in their cars, they already have a radio, a tape/CD player, and possibly some sort of iPod/Zune/*insert random DAP name* hookup in place. Perhaps I'm missing some hidden sarcasm?

[kadu @ Oct 30th 2007 9:03AM]

It is my interest to use GPS

[Rex @ Oct 30th 2007 10:22AM]

Why is it a yawner? It is what a RoadMate should be. A GPS device doesn't need to have anything other than GPS and maps.

[Mickey Jones @ Oct 30th 2007 10:33PM]

Get yourself a Mio c230 for less than 2 bills. It's much the same but with text-to-speech. Could be a BF contender.

[sheryl @ Oct 31st 2007 7:11AM]

I just bought this yawner at Circuit City over the weekend and it does a terrific job being a GPS. I've used a Garmin nuvi, and this is a good 2nd GPS for when the 1st GPS is being used in another car. There is no earjack, and no text to speech, but the 1200 will "ding"when you are right on your turn. The volume is good, even w the CD turned up loud.

[Papa Johns @ Oct 31st 2007 9:14PM]

Lemon.. It was working fine both on power and on battery for first few hours until I plugged the power off from the device. Then it did not power off again, maybe on and off ocassionaly for few seconds. Now it is totaly dead..

However, while it worked, it provided some functionality like other GPS devices. Yet, at CC, it was advertised as text-t-speech, which is false.

Options menu is very poor.

The device's biggest problem (besides it does not work anymore) is that IT IS VERY SLOW. When changing the route, it freezes about 40 seconds to calculate the new device. Probably, the processor is very slow (cheap ?). Not sure...

SO...Spend few bucks more get Tom Tom or some other high end model of this manufacturer, This one is very slow when it works.
Sorry Magellan !

[Ettienne Schwagele @ Nov 25th 2007 8:31AM]

I just bought this GPS as a backup unit. I think it is fantastic in its simplicity, it does what it is supposed to do. My other unit provides way too much information, I prefer the less is more approach. My wife had the unit setup in seconds with a route, without having to refer to any manual. I can see she will claim it as hers. I own 4 GPS units and I am really impressed by the RoadMate 1200, it is user friendly and the directions are super clear.

[Mike McKenney @ Nov 25th 2007 9:10PM]

I bought it on Saturday and drove 200 miles on a freeway on Sunday. The Exit POI feature did not work. I exchanged it Sunday afternoon, drove back out on the freeway and again - doesn't work. Anyone else having an issue with the Exit POI feature?

[freeman1056 @ Dec 2nd 2007 11:07AM]

Yes, I had the same problem, I called Magellan Customer Service, they said that is a brand new product and soon they will have the Exit POIs available online as an update for the unit.... I found this very irritating, how they rush a product if they don't have the software fully available yet.... well, I'll guess we have to wait.....

[ocakyoshi @ Nov 28th 2007 5:23PM]

i have had same problem with exit poi not working, i attempted to contact tech support..forget about it, end up talking with a tech in india telling me to hit the reset button on the bottom??? not one there...and more concerned that he had the correct spelling of my street rather than actually help...take out sd card and reset..freeze up unit...did you put the sd card in right? after saying to leave it out....much easier to just pull out your hair....so dont buy if your buying for the exit poi feature, other than that its a good unit

[Rob @ Nov 28th 2007 11:16PM]

I have three of them, all of them prompt to insert an SD card when you attempt to use the Exit POI feature.

Another issue I've seen with it, is when you power it off when it's plugged in, then power it back on when it's not plugged in. For a second or two the screen asking of you want to run on battery power appears, then it goes away (without any input).

Lastly, I would recommend leaving the brightness all the way up and would refrain from enabling the 75% brightness feature. On more than one occasion after doing this, when powered on (on battery) the screen was black after the initial startup screen. You can fix this by plugging it in to a power source, or if all else fails hit the reset button.

I'm experiencing the same problems with the 3 units I purchased, I'm going to bear through a call to tech support tomorrow to see what they have to say, but based on the other experience someone had here with them, it sounds like I might be waiting for a software update on their site rather than getting resolution.

[Dave @ Dec 5th 2007 10:25PM]

I'm having both the "Exit POI" error asking me for the SD card, and the issue with the screen going blank when I try to run on battery. I'll change the brightness since I wasn't getting the blank screen problem at first. I'll also happily download the Exit POI fix when it's available, even though they should not have released the product without testing that feature (which my brother loves to use on his Magellan Maestro).

Hey, I only paid $99 at Staples on Black Friday.

[Rob @ Nov 30th 2007 1:00AM]

Called today, wasn't nearly as bad as the other poster indicated. Yes, non-us based support, but clearly speaking and they have escalated the issue to product development.

I'll keep this thread updated.

[Rob @ Nov 30th 2007 11:10PM]

More information here:
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=101815

[steve @ Dec 1st 2007 3:02PM]

I bought this from Circuit City on online Black Friday and really liked it. I was amazed that you could get a device like this for $124. But then the device started locking up. It would lock up about every 15 min and I would have to restart it to unlock it. I exchanged it for another (the same model) at Circuit City and the new one did the same thing plus it would periodically shut it self off. I know that this is a new model and hopefully that can fix it with a firmware update but for now it is not worth the hassle.

[Ettienne Schwagele @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:53PM]

I have the same problem with the Exit POI function, I also get the "Please insert SD card" error. I contacted support and got some verily Indian woman, who told me to insert the SD card. Duh.

[ken smotrilla @ Dec 12th 2007 8:51PM]

So, Is this unit better than the Maestro 3100?

[stan @ Dec 18th 2007 10:44PM]

I bought it because it was so small - as well as inexpensive -- in fact bought 2. Does everything the RoadMate 300 does - with a lot less size and weight to carry in your briefcase.

I have a number Magellan products. Does anyone know how I could either use a new SD card with other data - routes, waypoints, etc. from other Magellan software? What about how to download European data.

[Louis Parker @ Dec 19th 2007 11:26AM]

its not possible to download european maps inthe sd card .u have seperate unit for european maps

[kayayche @ Dec 26th 2007 4:43PM]

i like it