Magellan CrossoverGPS as alternative to Garmin Nuvi?

I've been thinking for a while that I would be getting a Garmin nuvi,
probably the 660 model because of the wider screen and Bluetooth
support. I had thought that it was "simply" a matter of bringing my
wife to the local store and having her try out and like a nuvi.

Well, yesterday I went to the store, just to browse, and I picked up a
flyer for this new (to me, at least) Magellan model. It sounds really
nice for the combination of driving and pedestrian navigation in
cities. The screen seems to be the same size as the Garmin nuvi 300
series, which is a negative, and it is slightly thicker. But aside
from those points, it seems to be as good as the Garmin. And it is
water-resistant.

So what do people think? I am buying my first GPS, so I don't have
the experience to look beyond the glossy marketing claims.

Is the interface better (with use, not just in the store)?

Which has the better auto navigation?

Pedestrian mode?

Since Navteq supplies maps to both companies, are the maps the same?

POIs?

I don't care about geocaching or fishing, or anything like that.

Thanks.

-AH

Andrew Hamilton wrote:
[...]

FWIW, I purchased a magellan Crossover about 5 weeks ago (my first ever
GPS) and took it back after 3 1/2 weeks.

I really liked the unit - it worked well, and did what I expected.

The downsides (please remember that I live in Canada!) are:

1) their website was "under construction" the whole time I owned the
thing - this meant I could not buy the "30 meter topo" maps for Canada -
the default 90 meter Canada maps are useless.

2) I registered online and was told there was a new firmware update, but
when I entered my map version number I was told it was invalid for the
update. I eventually got a response from tech support, who told me to
enter a false map version number - this tricked the system and I could
then get the update.

3) The update changed the appearance of the unit completely -- and the
instructions in the manual no longer matched what the unit was doing --
quite an extreme difference -- and I didn't like the new appearance
nearly as well. I could have lived with it but with the topo issue as
well I decided to switch to a more responsive company while I still had
the chance.

I now own a Garmin nuvi 360 which makes no pretense to offer topo maps,
and I'm quite happy with it.

--

Cheers, Dallas

(All outgoing and incoming mail is virus-scanned with AVG AntiVirus)

NRFPT = not ready for prime time

which is a shame because Magellan has been in the GPS business long
enough to know what things are important..so to NRFPT for the unit
itself, I would add NRFPT to Magellan.... also .. which would seem to
not bode well for any of it's products.

Garmin is not totally free of problems and issues either...

this whole field is rapidly evolving... in my opinion... much akin to
the early days of computers .. and computer software...

hang on for the ride... :-)

Don't do it. The nuvis are so much better.

Rich Owings
http://gpstracklog.typepad.com
http://gpstrackingsystems.biz