Magellan MAP410
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By, Mike Cohn "TXJEEPER"

Magellan MAP410 GPS

Final observations:

  • Magellan MAP410 Screen ShotGetting around within the GPS was for the most part pretty intuitive. We like gadgets that we can pick up and not read the directions first. We did, of course, read them and found all sorts of fun and innovative features.
  • The LCD screen has a stepped lighting system with a timer in case you forget to turn it off while on battery power. Using this and the contrast setting made the MAP410 easy to see in any lighting conditions.
  • Controls on the unit were very easy to use and the unit can be operated with one hand.s
  • Though we like the size of the screen, the unit itself as very large, heavy and a bit unwieldy compared to other units we've used.
  • On close-in zooms we often found our location indicator to be off the road most of the time (when we were actually on the road). This was normal before May of this year, but other GPS's we've used recently put us dead on in the middle of the road.
  • Acquiring satellites takes a long time on start-up.
  • On a recent outing in the woods, the MAP410 did not track satellites for most of the trip. Even when we were in open areas under clear skies, it still had trouble, even with the antenna flipped up.
  • The MAP410 has a very rugged case with lots of rubber on the back and a waterproof battery compartment.
  • Screen draws and updates are much slower than other units we've used and sometimes appeared broken up between sectors.
  • We really liked this feature: you can ask the MAP410 what nearby cities are and it will bring up a list. You can then select one ask it to point you there. Nice.
  • For our purposes, the MapSend software was not terribly useful, but it is a nice add-on for those who want it. There are simply not usually many points of interest where we go wheeling. Not the kind the CD lists, anyway. In addition, some of the lists were not complete. For example, there are two golf courses in our immediate area. One of them is part of the PGA tour. Neither showed up on the list

 

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