Magellan Roadmate 1412 Review: Occasionally Sluggish Performance

Although the old Magellan RoadMate GPS systems were obviously cheap with their poor navigation systems, the new Magellan RoadMate 1412 is a testament to the fact that RoadMates are now both affordable and functional.

At 3.3x4.6x0.7 inches, the 7.1 oz Magellan RoadMate 1412 is a widescreen beauty that costs $399.99. Plus, it's simple to operate. It uses 30-channel Centrality Atlas III reception, which is very sensitive and thus works consistently.

The widescreen is reminiscent of the Maestro GPS line, as is the menu setup of the Magellan RoadMate 1412. The screen is split: One has large icons for Enter Address, Points of Interest (POI), and Show Map, while the other has the POI for exits, the setup menu and the trip planner; both have icons for Home and location.

The POI database on the Magellan RoadMate 1412 can be searched through their names or categories. The 32 categories are arranged so that things like Gas Station, Restaurant and Coffee are near the top, and then some have subcategories, such as specific types of restaurants. All searches can be performed relative to a specified location.

The way the Magellan RoadMate 1412 keeps you up-to-date on traffic conditions is really helpful. (Its real-time traffic receiver is free for a year, then $40 a year after that.)Since the connector is combined with the power cord, there's no antenna strung across your dashboard, always a good thing. The Magellan RoadMate 1412 shows you traffic incidents, or only certain types if you choose, when you click the traffic icon, and it automatically redirects your route around them.

I was glad to find that I could hear the Magellan RoadMate 1412 clearly even on the highway. Text-to-speech was great, pronouncing street names even I couldn't get. Routes were good, sometimes using the exact ones I'd seen before on other GPS systems.

However, there were times when the Magellan RoadMate 1412 would do strange things, like recalculating even when I was on the right route and the signal was still strong. Also, I saw the hourglass a little more than I'd like with simple things like scrolling to the next page of directions.

Although the Magellan RoadMate 1412 is supposed to be one of the elite, as opposed to the Maestro line, it and other RoadMates are starting to blur the line quite a bit with their less than stellar performance. In fact, the Magellan RoadMate 1412 lacks some things that the Maestros don't, like the AAA assistance info and tour book.

However, those are minor things, and the Magellan RoadMate 1412 still works well most of the time. The widescreen and user interface are about the best out there.