Released in April, Magellan’s RoadMate 1340 is one of the company’s updated GPS devices with the new OneTouch interface. The new interface places a subtle icon in the top right hand corner of the display that enables owners to customize their favorite features for easy access. In fact, Laptop Mag says that the new OneTouch UI rivals Garmin in terms of simplicity, a feature I consider of extreme importance in making a PND ‘good’.
The publication had a chance to do a thorough review of the unit, and while the UI is a huge improvement on previous models, the RoadMate 1340 remains a budget unit. Following the “you get what you pay for” maxim, it’s no surprise then that the GPS delivers budget functionality.
You won’t get Bluetooth, media playback, 3D maps or live traffic updates (though you can buy a Traffic Link add-on for about $60). Moreover, rerouting took an average of 5 to 10 seconds–a bit too long if you ask me. And real position and map position were separated by some lagtime–another dealbreaker in my book.
Overall though, Laptop Mag says that the Magellan RoadMate 1340 delivers good value for the purchase price–$142.
