Maylong ML-500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have used GPS devices for a few years now. I have a handheld unit for hiking and geocaching, and a car unit. Both of these devices are by one of the Big Three GPS makers. My expectations for the Maylong ML-500 GPS were not high, as I believed a budget price and lack of name recognition signaled a lower quality unit.
Boy was I wrong.
Maylong ML-500:
PROS: excellent route selections, fast announcement of turns, Sleep mode, big screen, microSD expansion slot, slim depth, fast and strong satellite locking, Navteq map set.
CONS: confusing Date/Time selection, lackluster auto brightness adjustment, some unusual voice synthesis quirks. The cons are very minor.
The ML-500 GPS comes with a USB cable (it does charge via this cable, but would not with a different USB cable I tried, so be aware that the Maylong USB cable may be modified), a car charger, manual, and car suction mount/cradle. A stylus is included that slides into the bottom of the device. Very handy, as there is a touchscreen calibration function that will keep your screen aligned and this is best performed with the stylus. The box lists other accessories that are not included.
Input/output options include a USB port for charging (the car charger terminates in a USB mini-B connector), a microSD slot (for storing photos, music, ebooks, etc), a headphone connector, and reset button.
The ML-500 takes a few minutes to boot from a cold start. It is able to lock satellites indoors, which is always a noteworthy accomplishment. I locked 6 satellites in my living room. Now, I don't need to navigate anywhere while inside, but I do interpret this as a sign of a good quality of GPS chip.
The ML-500 has a big 5" LCD touchscreen. It is bright and sharp. The device is very thin, less than 1/2 in. in thickness. It has a good weighty feel, without being heavy.
The Main menu presents options for Media, Let's Go, and System.
Media provides utilities for viewing photos and videos, Ebook (.txt format), and Music.
System settings include Volume (also accessible from the main Navigation screen), Power (showing charge level), Backlight (increase/decrease, or auto adjust checkbox), Date Time, Language (vast number of languages offered), and System Info. (software versions, USB mode, and Calibration functions). Time can be obtained from the satellites, but my initial setting was off. Then, I set to the current time at my location. My arrival times were off, so I had to set to an hour earlier and then select the DST (Daylight Saving Time) checkbox. I'm still not sure that is all ok. Date/time setting is a bit muddled on this device.
Let's Go is your main navigation application. It takes a moment for this to load. Once loaded, you then can select to View Map (you can zoom out or in, drag the map to a new location, etc., very handy feature), Options (below), Let's Go (select again to start navigating), or Quit back to the Main menu.
Options include a toggle Walking/Vehicle mode, set Quick Nav category that lets you specify a type of destination you can get directions to from the Main navigation screen), Demo, Prompts (when the GPS verbally announces Speed Warning-sounds good but very annoying when on, Route Recalculation, Weak GPS Signal, GPS Not Found), and Spoken Names/Numbers/Both, Day/Night view (pleasant dark background for nighttime navigation), 2D/3D view, Map Browsing/GPS mode, Map Display options (select which icons appear on the Main navigation screen for quick toggles of various functions), GPS Info (very cool space-view of satellites locations and locks, altitude, and current long/lat coordinates), Select Map (different regions are loaded as needed), Units of Measure, Language, Time Settings, Look and Feel (skins [only 1 available], keyboard mode, day/night auto adjustment), Help (simple operating instructions and troubleshooting), and About (more software information and trademarks). There were no choices of different voices or car markers.
Some observations: Yes, there are 2 places to access time and language settings. I don't quite get this ... leads to some confusion. I found the auto adjust backlight to be disappointing as I transitioned from car to street. The screen was too dim to view easily at my original setting). I also found the Walking Mode to be less than useful ... as I arrived at my destination which the device announced, then had to find parking, then needed to be guided back to my destination, I switched to Walking mode and expected to be guided to it. I was not. I will need to investigate the use of this function further.
So how does the ML-500 work as a GPS? Simply, this is an excellent GPS unit. Compared to my Garmin 255WT, the Maylong announced turns more quickly, though it did not give long term directions (e.g., stay on this road for 10 miles). Recalculations were about the same in terms of the devices recovering from wrong turns. The Maylong chose more "major" highways for fastest route, and these were better selections in each case. Oddly, the Maylong tended to announce "St" as "Saint," however, this could be because the actual road name was followed by a W for West.
Totally coolest feature: when you press the Off button, you can choose Sleep or Turn Off. When you put the device to Sleep, it pretty much comes back on instantly to whatever screen you were on when you turned it off. Very handy, as the boot and application load times can take several minutes. Presumably, like with your computer, Sleep does consume power, so I would not choose it for long-term shutoffs, as you will likely come back to a dead battery.
As Maylong is something of a newer player, there is some question about receiving map updates. Any GPS should offer, at a minimum, one map update in the first year as a free support feature. This is competitive with other major players. Maylong should also consider a lifetime update option as well.
If you are in the market for a good value in a great performing GPS, you absolutely should consider Maylong. I found this unit to outperform a comparable Garmin GPS.

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Need to get where you are going easily, quickly, and accurately? Maylong personal portable GPS is the answer from Maylong Group – the Creator of the Maylong Portable GPS. About the size of a deck of cards, this device comes with the Maylong GPS Navigation software with the familiar and ease-of-use interface. ML-500 comes with the following features:Preloaded maps of the contiguous U. S. states with 1.7 million searchable points of interest, Visual and voice turn-by-turn navigation, so you can keep your eyes on the road while navigating, Backlit 5" color LCD touch screen with 480 x 272 resolution for easy navigation in 2D- and 3D map viewing, Built-in software user interface with easy-to-use Dummies style for simple operation, Automatic re-routing calculation when off the original travel route, Included digital music player and digital picture viewer applications, Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery with up to 4 hours life, USB plug-and-play for transferring data with your PC and charging the battery, Compact design for go-anywhere portability, Headphone jack, Accessories: car charger, suction cup mounting kit, and user's manualPlease refer to complete warranty information and system specification at www.maylonggroup.com.

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