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Customer Reviews and Ratings for Magellan eXplorist XL |
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100% of our reviewers recommend this item.
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Michael
Jul 12, 2008
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It is good quality, but it has a fatal flaw: you cannot input coordinates directly into the machine. I'm still attempting to work out the controls and how to use it, but it seems ok.
Recommend? YES
70 viewers found this helpful.
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Charles from Alberta, Canada
May 8, 2008
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Magellan eXplorist XL is a good piece of hardware. But, it's poor in map and software update. This company is out to suck money out of the user of their machines. They don't tell you the maps (topo or street) are not up-to-day and no update is forth coming. They hope you are naive to buy their new model again. I can tell you I won't! I will find a brand that will provide updates for their gps machine (old or new).
Recommend? YES
69 viewers found this helpful.
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Jim
FL
Jan 2, 2007
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This is my first GPS unit. I love it. It has a great battery life, is easy to use and input information. The actual mapping software purchased separately takes time to learn. But once the map is in the unit, you can easily find your way around. As for the base map...you will need to buy a topo map or a streets map. You really cant to much without either one of those. They are very detailed however and should meet your needs. I love this device and dont leave home without it.
Recommend? YES
65 viewers found this helpful.
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Dave
MI
Prior to 2008
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I've had my XL for over a week now and I am very happy with it. Extremely easy to learn and use. Excelant battery life. Great map detail with Direct Route.You can clearly read all text on display including street names. Very solid perfomer.Highly recommend.
Recommend? YES
65 viewers found this helpful.
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Terry
TX
Prior to 2008
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This unit has a very poor built-in base map. I live near two large lakes in Dallas and the built-in map didn't show either lake. For the area where I live in north Dallas, it showed Interstate roads but that was about it. Very disappointing.
I thought that once I downloaded the detailed maps on the SD card (a nice feature), it would not matter. So I tried to install the MapSend DirectRoute software on a high-end, XP laptop - I could not get it to work. The program simply would not launch and it would not display an error message before terminating.
That was it. I returned it and after further research for my father-in-law's needs, I decided on a Garmin GPSMAP 76C.
Couple of other notes on the XL. The GPS satelite reception was exceptional - it was still computing my location 10 or so feet inside my house. The unit is a bit heavy with the large display and 4-AA batteries. It also doesn't have any audible alerts (e.g., for upcoming turns). The display is also not as crisp as the smaller-size screens because you basically have the same number of pixels spread out over more space.
I spoke with two GPS stores before buying the Magellan and both stores were not high on this unit. One store told me to try Garmin because of the better built-in maps and auto-routing capabilities even with the built-in map (on the GPSMAP 76C) - the other store gave me some warnings about the software. I also could not find hardly any reviews on this unit on the web. Despite the risks, I tried the unit, only to take it back. The GPSMAP 76C is far superior.
Recommend? YES
70 viewers found this helpful.
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Matt
OR
Prior to 2008
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I have been using handheld GPS units from various manufacturers for years, and this one is by far the best I have ever owned. The primary reason being is the excellent screen size. It has the largest screen size of any handheld on the market currently. This allows me to use the unit in the car, on the ATV, on the boat, and backpacking. In response to the review above, the screen size is actually 320x240, not 220x176 as the magellan website says. This gives a resoluton of 115 pixels/inch vs the garmin's 76c 105 pixels/inch (160x240). Whoever told you this equates to "the same number of pixels spread out over more space" was not well-informed. The large screen allows one to easily use the unit in the car while driving. I returned the garmin I previously owned, because although it worked flawlessly, the tiny screen is worthless while driving, and I wanted a multi-purpose GPS. The screen is easily readable in sunlight also, which is another important consideration when purchasing a gps unit. Also, the unit DOES have audible alerts for upcoming turns. The GPS lock is excellent, I can hold a lock inside the house, inside my jacket, etc, and obtain the lock quickly with a warm start. The newest garmin units out there are also very good in this regard. Software installs fine, no problems. However, you must be warned that the basemaps that come presintalled do not provide adequate detail. You have to purchase additional maps, and they arent cheap. I have both directsend and topo, and are extremely powerful when used together. There are POI's from trails.com included on the TOPO CD, which are great for offroading and hiking. Battery life is excellent, and it takes AA batteries so you dont have to worry on long trips. The only downside to the unit is the Magellen/Thales support team. If you are the sort of person who always has to call customer support with new gadgets, or have problems installing software, I'd think twice. They are notoriously bad in responding to emails, phone messages, etc. Overall, I'd give this unit a 5/5 if you want a multi-purpose GPS. If you want something for hiking or geocaching only, I'd go with soemthing more compact with the small screen.
Recommend? YES
77 viewers found this helpful.
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John
OH
Prior to 2008
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I got one of the first XLs and have been using it for some time now. I have both the DirectRoute and Topo software for it. Together they make this a very useful and well rounded GPS. This is my fifth GPS and I have used them all extensively for aviation, hiking, and travel.
I love the SD memory card. I use a 1 Gig card which has both driving and topo maps on it. You can select either and have the best information availible for what you want the unit to do. Once you are use to the system it is a simple matter to navigate to the right file and upload it.
The large screen is GREAT! To me this feature alone makes the unit worth its price. It is clear and very easy to read. I know there are many "Auto" units out there but I like the fact that this unit is not limited to the car only. As I said, I use it for many things and I like the fact it uses AA batteries. I run mine on rechargable AA's and it has excellent battery life and low cost batteries.
It has a powerful reciever. My step-son has a new Garmin which is a great unit with lots of features but he is amazed at how much more powerful the reciever is on the Magellan XL. It is nothing to turn the unit on while in-doors sitting at the kitchen table and have the unit easily lock on six or more satellites and get a quick fix.
All-in-all this is a great value in GPS if it does the functions you desire. It doesn't do everything, but it does many things very well. One should look at the functions that they want in a GPS and then decide what works best for them. For me this was the first choice on my list and after using it for some months I still feel it was the best overall value for my uses.
Recommend? YES
70 viewers found this helpful.
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james
CA
Prior to 2008
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this unit is totally awfull. the firmware of this unit is very poor. sometimes when i use, this unit suddenly hang and i can't do anything to restart this unit. the only way to restart this unit is by remove the battery and put it on again. too difficult to convert map from another gps to this unit. the basemap of this unit also very poor. some ISLANDS is not found in this unit. also, sometime when I use this unit, it suddenly restart. when I rename some of POI int this unit, then do restart, sometime the POI's name back to it's old name. totally DISGUSTING. another...the symbol for POI is too few and much of them is useless. next, the buttons. the quality of black paint at the button is very bad. you can remove it easily. the audible alert is too low. the button often not respond. it's not because the button, but the firmware of this unit. one thing that i like of this unit....this unit is heavy ......so......i can shoot my neigbour's dog by this unit remotely. i believe this unit is made by ***
Recommend? YES
72 viewers found this helpful.
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J Peach
NL
Prior to 2008
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I have recently brought the Explorist XL to replace my aging Meridian Gold. I am very satisfied with the product however I do miss the Gold model as I feel it was superior to the XL.
This review is based on my experience with Magellan Meridian and this new unit. Here is a quick hit of the Pros and Cons
PROS Large screen is pleasant on my older eyes Nice bright 2 stage light (could use 3 levels) Battery compartment much more secure Capable of saving and working with multiple tracks Satellite acquisition is fast SD card is located on the side easy to get at. USB connection works very reliable with Windows XP OS Was able to interface quickly with OZI E for moving map Choice on USB start up to connect to SD or Memory 28 Meg Internal Map space Color and screen detail is superb A lanyard connection point provided (not very strong though) Accepted my Map Send Topo 1.0 Canada software
CONS Its heavy and large framed (Wearing it in clip case on belt is uncomfortable, don’t even bother to keep in your hand for a couple of hours) Nearly impossible to locate accessories in my area In order to use 12 volt power you have to use 2 cables (USB and 12 V Adaptor) No projection profiling No data screen ( I constantly am changing the only 2 data fields available to see more info) Goto point direction line to small (The rubber band I think they call it) Screen refresh sucks with topo’s loaded When in belt click I constantly manage to press the secret menu buttons and make it go into Burn in or test mode Not enough info on satellite info screen (I need to know everything) Satellite acquisition screen needs to go back to the old meridian screen The battery life listed is 17 hours. You can do it but it takes 4 batteries , so in reality that’s only 8.5 hours of the 2 battery devices. The manuals are hand me downs of the 400/500 manuals. No need of the multi level file structure they are using. The joy stick is not friendly to large fingers. The conversion software sucks. It over complicates the process needed. Loading multiple track logs on SD card, cause the unit to hang for minutes before displaying the info on your screen. You can not jump points when using backtrack (They call it follow) Geo caching options are so so. Not compatible with Street and Destinations Old version (used to load this instead of Topo to speed up screen displays on road trips). You can not see this screen in a car or in low light conditions unless you have the GPS light turned on. This was the biggest disappointment. Maybe they should talk to RIM and use the screens from a Blackberry. I can see these in any light.
Yes this review is negative. But I do like it for the most part. I will get used to it and I can see it well when the light is on. I like the ability to pull the SD card and use reader to transfer files much faster. And the ability to edit track logs and POI files using notepad is pretty good.
Recommend? YES
67 viewers found this helpful.
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