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Magellan RoadMate 2200T GPS unit reviewed

Let's face it, getting lost trying to find grandmother's house is no way to enjoy your holiday travels, but considering the coinage you're dropping to drive there, financing a GPS unit could be an issue. Enter Magellan's RoadMate 2200T, which provides a no-frills alternative to the fancy (and pricey) navigation units also out there. While the screen size and list of extra are both short of breathtaking, reviewers at GPS Magazine were thoroughly impressed at the value presented in this $400 device. Noted as a "strong performer," the crew admired the newly-revamped routing engine, and found that its Exit POI, Route Exclusion, and SmartDetour functions were all well implemented. Also, they found the actual map screen "among the best they'd seen," stating that it presented information in a useful and easy to read manner. However, a low-end unit typically drops the ball in at least a few areas, and the 2200T was found to have an "essentially useless" MP3 player, as it can only be used when not navigating your routes, a volume control "awkwardly buried in the menu system," and text-to-speech performance that doesn't live up to the TomToms and Garmins of the world. Regardless, the RoadMate 2200T was deemed satisfactory in the areas that matter most, and while we'd still eye a few otheroptions before making any snap judgments, these folks felt it was simply "the best GPS in its price category."