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Google might be in the middle of turning the navigation market on its head with hints that their free turn-by-turn service might make its way to the iPhone, but that’s not scaring the big players away. TomTom and Telenav have both been on the platform for months and show no sign of turning tail, and now another big-name has jumped into the mix: Magellan.
Just minutes ago, Magellan announced that their first application, Roadmate, has hit the App Store at an “introductory price” (which, more often than not, tends to be the final price drummed up for the sake of pumping launch sales) of $79.99.
Giant-fingered technology enthusiasts, lift up your hearts! Magellan has a 7-inch GPS system on the way: the $299 RoadMate 1700. The touchscreen has a resolution of 800×480 and there’s a video input jack so you can hook up your iPod or DVD player. Sounds safe!
Can’t find your way out of a paper bag? Poke a hole in said bag with your finger and then tear it open and step out. Simps, done.
Can’t find your way around town? You can get a refurbished Magellan GPS unit for $50, which is a good price since the entire GPS infrastructure is apparently about to crumble in the next year or so. You don’t want to sink too much money into a GPS system, if that’s the case.
Magellan is moving past the highly competitive consumer GPS market. The entire sector will be sold off to MiTAC International, the folks behind the Mio GPS brand, at the end of January ’09. The future of Magellan’s three brands, RoadMate, Maestro, and Triton, is unclear but one thing is for certain: there are way too many GPS options available. Sure, everyone should have the ability to make their own products, but my god, there are a lot of GPS units on the market. The world will be just fine with a dozen-less GPS options.
Now I know this Magellan RM 1200 GPS unit is refurbished, but hear me out. First, it’s only $70. Second, it’d make a good gift. And third, it comes with a one-year warranty just like a new one would.
Other stuff includes maps of the lower 48 plus Puerto Rico and Hawaii, 3.5-inch 320×240 touchscreen, 1.3 million points of interest, SD card slot, and a rechargeable battery good for two hours of off-the-grid usage.
Recertified MAGELLAN RM 1200 3.5-inch GPS Receiver [Newegg.com]
Ah, Black Friday. After working at Circuit City from 2000 to 2006, I don’t care how good the deals are, I’m sleeping in that day. This year is shaping up nicely though if the $99 GPS and $149 Blu-ray player rumors are true. Reportable, the GPS units are going to be top tier units from Garmin, TomTom, or Magellan and the Blu-ray player should be the Samsung BDP-1500. Still, I don’t care how cheap I can get a gizmo or widget, there is no way in hell its worth getting up at 3:00 A.M, only to wait outside in Michigan’s freezing November temperatures; my mother-in-law disagrees though.
Today, Magellan announced a partnership with Primordial to bring consumers a better off-road routing experience that shows you natural and manmade obstacles. It will help you avoid dense forests, lakes/rivers, steep inclines and anything else nature has to offer. Primordial’s unique and patented Ground Guidance software will be integrated into Magellan’s Triton line of devices in the future. Current Triton owners will get a free upgrade via VantagePoint. This is the type of thing that will come in handy for just about anyone trekking into the great unknown.
Press Release
I’ve always been good with direction and I’ve never seen the point of owning a GPS. As tedious as it is to jump on the computer and check out GooMaps for directions before taking off on my adventures, it is cheap and relatively free. I don’t even bother printing out directions, I just write them down. But the Magellan Triton series is certainly changing my mind. I’m still anti-convergence anything these days, but these are just too good to pass up.
The Triton line consists of six models which feature full-color touchscreens, barometers, 2-megapixel cameras and an LED flashlight. Magellan has scored a first in the GPS world with the acquisition of maps from National Geographic. Like whoa!
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