Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)UPDATE: 20040807 Point-to-Point routing works great and, for the most part, finds reasonable routing paths on highways and major city streets. Take the pre-set locations with a grain of salt since the pre-sets (sometimes) seem to show a general location of a landmark and not a precise point such as an entrance.
Best response time so far -- 8 satellites located in about 3 seconds while sitting in a parking lot at Muir Woods on Mt Tamalpias, CA.
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This is the coolest gadget I've used in a long time!
Setup was simple - just follow the onscreen instructions and soon the unit will be searching for satellites and locking onto your location. From my bedroom window (house is on a hill) the Meridian Color was able to find 5 satellites within a couple of minutes and then keep the signal as I moved to the other side of the house to my office. Very impressive.
As far as the MapSend software goes, it loaded fine and quickly found the COM port that had the GPS unit attached. The only tricky spot was having to upgrade the firmware on the GPS unit itself since the pre-loaded version was 3.4x and the upgrade was 5.1x. The instructions provided on the upgrade CD-ROM didn't match the software setup at all.
Fortunately the software has limited options so it wasn't difficult to figure out (Go to UPLOAD and select Program Code Only making sure that the unit is on and has a fresh set of batteries installed. Then find the right .hex file for your GPS unit that's on the CD-ROM provided.) Don't freak, just read the instruction sheets before trying to do the upgrade.
Anyway, the unit appears to be working great. The color screen is terrific and has a High/Low setting (hold the PWR button down a few seconds) to save on battery life.
The unit also insists that only one mapping image can uploaded into the unit at a time. Not good if you want to visit more than 1 region over a period of time. The trick is to "pretend" you're uploading a region but have the GPS receiver turned off or disconnected. Proceed with the map preparation until the software says it can't find your unit then cancel out. Go find the .img files in the Program Files/Magellan/MapSend DirectRoute NA/Export/Images directory and then copy them to your SD card using Windows Explorer just as you would any other file. Sounds complicated but it's really just a basic file transfer.
After the files have transferred, stick the SD card back in and power up. The maps can be found by pressing MENU/CARD UTILITIES/CHANGE MAP.
Unfortunately, it's the battery life that's the reason this GPSR gets only 4 stars and not 5. This unit is a battery hog! If you use the color screen on high don't expect more than 6 hours per set of batteries.
Because of this I've ordered a separate 12v cigarette lighter power cable for the car and will keep the power/data cable for home use. The cable only comes with a 12v cigarette plug so I've also purchased a 110v to 12v adapter so that I can use household current. I also bought a swivel mount to use at home as a cradle -- no need to use the attachment screw on the connector and the unit is upright and viewable. Extra stuff to clutter my desk but it should save me from a lot of aggravation.
Overall the Magellan Meridian Color appears to be a great GPS receiver and the point-to-point routing features for use in the car (MapSend DirectRoute software comes with the Traveler's Pack bundle) is terrific. The expandable standard SD card capability is a feature only Magellan seems to have (Garmin, are you listening?) and that, along with the color screen, should be reason enough to get this snazzy little unit.
Happy triangulating!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Magellan Meridian 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
An ideal solution bundle for recreational purposes as well as vehicle navigation.This value pack includes Magellan's Meridian Color GPS and Magellan's new MapSend DirectRoute software.MapSend DirectRoute is a powerful map software package that adds address level routing and guidance to your Magellan handheld.The value pack also includes a 64 MB SD card, vehicle mounting bracket and a 12 volt cigarette adapter and data cable.
Click here for more information about Magellan Meridian 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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