Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM GPS navigator(Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Product Features

GPS navigator with 7-inch, high-resolution WVGA touchscreen, built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling
Pre-loaded maps of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico with six million searchable Points of Interest, highway exit POI search
Real-time, subscription-free traffic updates sent directly to your GPS unit; lifetime map upgrades for the latest maps
OneTouch favorites for instant access to your favorite places; AAA TourBook for informed choices on hotels, restaurants, and more
Spoken street name guidance lets you keep your eyes on the road; Highway Lane Assist guides you to the best lane

See Special Offers

Product Description

Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM

Introducing the Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM Navigator, featuring an exclusive extra-large 7-inch touch screen, subscription-free real-time Traffic Alerts, and free Lifetime Map Updates.

The panoramic, high-resolution 7-inch WVGA screen makes viewing your map while driving quick and easy. This ultra-clear vibrant display lets you see where you are on your route with four times the detail found in a standard sized GPS device. The included Heavy Duty Extension Mount is extremely versatile, allowing you to adjust the position of the RoadMate 9055-LM into the perfect viewing position in SUVs, trucks or RVs with deep dashboards.

With built-in Bluetooth capability, pair your cellphone with this RoadMate model to utilize the integrated speaker phone and safely talk while driving, making your drive time, productive time. An Audio/Video input also allows easy connection of external devices such as back-up cameras, DVD players, and iPods. Relax and watch movies or listen to music during your downtime.

Nobody likes to be stuck in traffic. Enjoy subscription-free, lifetime traffic alerts at any time! The RoadMate 9055 provides you real-time traffic alerts and alternate routing to avoid delays while driving.

Personalize your travel experience with the OneTouch menu of your favorite places and searches. Bookmark your favorite coffee shop, restaurant, gas station, or bank to find the nearest location--anywhere you travel.

Magellan has also teamed up with the most trusted name in roadside assistance--AAA--to help should you find yourself broken down. The RoadMate 9055 comes with a specialized location screen that, with just a touch of a button, displays your location so you can direct help to you. The AAA roadside assistance phone number also is displayed. Plus, only Magellan products include the built-in AAA TourBook with Diamond ratings and descriptions. Travel with confidence on your next road adventure with access to AAA-approved places to stay, play, dine, and more.

Nothing is more frustrating than being in the wrong lane as your turn nears. The Highway Lane Assist offers visual aids that point you in the right direction and ensures that you choose the correct lane well before your next turn (48 lower US states only). With Magellan's QuickSpell, you can also enter addresses quickly and accurately. Several different routing options appear on the map, including fastest time and shortest distance.

The Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM brings the best features of GPS navigators together with size and versatility. And with preloaded maps of the 50 United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, it's perfect for everyday commuting as well as traveling across country.

RoadMate 9055-LM Features

Large, High-Resolution, 7-Inch Screen The expansive 7-inch high-resolution WVGA screen makes viewing your map easier.
Bluetooth Enabled The Bluetooth connection turns your GPS device into a hands-free speaker phone.
Audio/Video Input A/V input plays external video or back-up cameras.
	Lifetime Traffic Alerts Real-time, subscription-free traffic updates sent directly to your GPS unit. Get updates whenever you need them
	Exclusive OneTouch Favorites Menu Easily bookmark favorite destinations and searches with personalized bookmarks so you can find them anywhere you travel.
	Exclusive AAA TourBook Guide No membership required. The Magellan-exclusive built-in AAA TourBook guide provides ratings and descriptions on AAA approved places to stay, play, dine, and save.
	Exclusive AAA Roadside Assistance If you should experience a breakdown, with the touch of a button, your location is displayed, enabling you to direct help to come assist you. The AAA roadside assistance phone number also is displayed.
	Highway Lane Assist Realistic highway signs point you in the right direction, when approaching interchanges and exits. Helps you choose the correct lane.
	QuickSpell Enter destinations with only a few touches. QuickSpell narrows addresses and locations, making destination entry easy.
	Spoken Street Name Guidance Hear street names and directions for a clear understanding of when to make the next turn while you keep your eyes on the road.
	6 Million Points of Interest (POI) Gas stations, restaurants, hotels, ATMs, and millions of other destinations are searchable from the huge POI database.
	Highway Exit POI Find gas stations, hotels, restaurants, rest areas, and more upcoming along your route.
	Multi-destination Routing Plan your entire afternoon or driving trip with all your stops in one route. Lists in either order you want or for best efficiency.
	Premium Maps Travel the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada with all the maps you need, pre-loaded on your device. And, enjoy free Lifetime Map Updates. No subscriptions or hidden fees, ever!

What's in the Box

Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM GPS Receiver; Pre-Loaded Maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico; Extension Windshield Mount; Vehicle Power Adapter; USB Cable; User Handbook.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars3.5 Stars - Decent device, but there are many better ones out thereOctober 4, 2011

By Dr. Bojan TunguzHALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Amazon Vine™ Review(What's this?)

GPS navigation devices have come a long way. What used to be exclusive gadgets that only a few could afford has become nearly as ubiquitous as the car stereo. In recent years this trend has only accelerated with the introduction of GPS navigation capabilities to the smartphones. Some of these smartphone GPS solutions are really impressive and give the standalone GPS devices run for their money. However, there is something to be said for having a dedicated device that will do one thing and do it well. That's why I have continued to use the standalone GPS devices, and will likely do so for foreseeable future.

The first thing you notice about this GPS navigator is its size. I knew that 7-inch screen is at least two inches larger than almost any other stand-alone GPS navigation system, but I was still impressed the first time I saw it. Its screen is larger than my Kindle and it's on par with the smaller tablet computers. All this screen real estate helps you see your location and directions better, but if you are driving a smaller car it will definitely reduce your windshield viewing area.

Pairing up the navigator with your Bluetooth-enabled phone is pretty straightforward. The GPS unit works well as a speakerphone and it enables you to do the hands-free calling while traveling.

One of the system's quirks that I noticed is the inability to set the correct date. For the most part you don't really need to know your date (unless you are planning a multi-day trip), but when you try to use it with some applications you may notice some discrepancies. I only noticed this bug when I connected my iPhone to the navigator, made a phone call, and then took a look at my dialing log. To my surprise, my phone call was recorded as having taken place on October 29th 2147. Unless Magellan has figured out how to place phone calls into the future, this is a pretty silly bug. Fortunately for the most part the date settings seem to work just fine.

The Magellan GPS navigators seem to be built upon Windows CE operating system. This is probably the reason why they don't work with Macs and non-Windows desktops. I probably would have never known about this were it not for a Windows-like error message that popped up one day while I was driving. Now if you've had your share of Windows errors and annoyances, you would be very disturbed by this. Fortunately the error message was easily dealt with, but it makes me weary of trusting Magellan with "mission critical" travel navigation.

The screen brightness of this GPS navigation unit leaves a lot to be desired. The screen looks distinctly washed-out, and in bright sunlight you will have to deal with a lot of problems with glare. Under such conditions unless you are directly looking at the screen you will not be able to see almost anything. It is definitely inferior to my Garmin. The large screen size somewhat compensates for this shortcoming though.

The screen uses the resistive touch technology, instead of the more expensive capacitive technology that is found in most today's tablets and smartphones. This means that the touch sensitivity is very low, and you have to press fairly firmly before the screen detects the contact. The touch response time is also not very good, nor is the precision. All of these things become very annoying when you are starting your trip and want to get going as fast as possible. If you've never used a GPS navigation unit and are familiar with smartphones, you may be very frustrated when you first start using it.

The windshield mount is very functional and it attaches securely to the windshield thanks to the very solidly built suction cup. Just like the GPS navigator, the mount's arm is very large, and when fully extended can be up to a foot long. This would come in handy if you are driving a very big truck, but otherwise it's too big for smaller cars. One annoyance with the mount is that you need to attach the charging cable to it before you can attach the GPS navigator to it. I've had many situations over the years where I would start with a GPS navigator mounted on the windshield running on its battery power alone, and then I'd be able to switch it to charger later on. The Magellan's mount design precludes this. On the other hand, it helps make the GPS unit attach more securely to its cradle.

When it comes to the actual GPS navigation, this is definitely an inferior product to Garmin's line of navigators. The good news is that it always found the destination that I was looking for, and I was taken there reasonably quickly. However, there have been too many instances of having to take suboptimal routs. This is particularly the case away from the major roads and highways. Furthermore, the amount of useful information on the screen is rather sparse, and the twists and turns of the road are not as detailed as I would have liked. When you go through an intersection the navigator momentarily loses its sense of direction, but fortunately it also recovers it as soon as you are back on the straight road. If you miss your turn there is a bit of a lag before the RoadMate realizes that. The traffic data is for the most part accurate and useful, especially if you are driving through major urban areas. In smaller towns and rural areas it's usually not accessible, but for the most part these places also don't have serious problems with traffic. The navigation software also has the ability to present pseudo 3D views of off-ramps and onramps in major cities, but this is more of a gimmick and is essentially a slightly souped-up regular navigation.

The voice of the announcer is very mechanical and not very loud. The instructions are oftentimes on a bizarre side, like when hundred is pronounced "one zero zero". You really get a feeling that you are interacting with a machine.

Overall I would rate this GPS navigator as 3.5 stars. The washed-out screen, the somewhat finicky navigation, and the mechanical voice leave a lot of room for improvement. I would definitely recommend that you take a look at some of the Garmin navigators. You can get much better functionality for a much lower price. The only category of drivers that might be better of with this navigator are the truckers and drivers of large vans. For everyone else this would not be such a great deal.