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Magellan RoadMate 1700

The Magellan RoadMate 1700 sports a large 7 inch screen at a very affordable price. Big is not always what one seeks in a GPS, but this model in particular is perfect for applications such as recreational vehicles and trucks. This is an excellent deal as the device averages for around $170 (as of September 2011.)

Pros
• Affordable Price for the size
• A bright, large 7-inch screen
• Excellent Points of Interests supplements by a tour book by AAA built right in
Cons
• Does not come with a traffic receiver
• Video input is more complicated to setup than some on the market
• May not accommodate particularly small vehicles

The Magellan RoadMate 1700 have a monolithic screen compared to some GPS devices on the market today. However, its large size does not make for a heavy device, as it only weighs in at 10.7 ounces. The exact dimensions are 7.5 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches, this provides for a GPS big enough to provide a huge 7-inch screen.
The 1700 has all of the major features that you would expect in a GPS. It features maps for Canada, Puerto Rico, and all 50 states of the United States. There are even maps for Mexico available. This costs an extra 50 dollars for an activation key in order to access the Maps to Mexico.

Another major draw to this device is the AAA Tour book that comes installed. This features multiple destination routing as well as over 6 million different points of interest. One drawback is the fact that the device does not feature a Bluetooth interface for cellular phones. This feature is only available in the premium Maestro brand of products. It also lacks the option of a traffic receiver. Another unfortunate thing is that this does not have the ability to add an optional traffic receiver to the device.

The map view on this line of products is very clean and not cluttered like some GPS devices. There are one touch shortcuts available via an icon in the upper right corner. The zoom icons are placed near the bottom at the center of the screen. Whereas the lower left corner features all of the pertinent data relevant to navigating. This information includes speed, direction, time, and elevation. As soon as you activate a particular route the information of time remaining, estimated time of arrival, and distance to destination becomes available via the same data field.

The points of interests are the major selling point to Magellan’s line of products. Higher end products, such as the Maestro 4350, are known for excelling in Point of interest information. The 1700 is just as extravagant when it comes to POI info. There are a full 27 different categories available for navigation. You can also specify and limit your search to areas near an address, near a particular city, or near wherever you are currently. If you have already specified a route you can also search for points of interest near your destination. It is also possible to specify if you want to view just specific categories.

If having a gigantic 7-inch screen on a portable device is ideal for your dashboard’s size this is definitely a device to look into. This 1700 is a great companion as it can accommodate finding a myriad of points of interest. However, if your car is compact or smaller it may not be the best option out there.