Why Not To Buy A Magellan GPS 2019-04-28
I have a couple of "older" Magellan GPS devices here. I like the fact that they don't have any kind of network connectivity, and are just designed to do one thing. The touch screens function reasonably well and of course they come with "lighter adapter" charging cables. The windshield suction cups are also better than those crappy mounts you see on eBay.
Trouble is, the maps are not very current... and won't be. You see, Magellan GPS's have a "Lifetime Map" subscription. However, "lifetime" is three years. That's right, Magellan figures that the lifetime of a GPS is three years, after which you should toss your GPS in the garbage and get a new one. Here is the content of their Terms And Conditions for Lifetime Maps:
Lifetime Maps
For all lifetime map subscriptions, lifetime refers to the useful lifetime of the device, considered to be 3 (three) years from the date of the first use. For all lifetime map subscriptions, you will receive map data updates when such updates are made available on Magellan's website during the device's useful life for that compatible Magellan device. “Device's useful life” refers to the period during which the device has all required technical capabilities, including sufficient memory capacity and current operating system, to download and use current map data. A device's useful life is considered to be a maximum of 3 (three) years from the date of the first use. A device will be considered past its useful life if it is more than 3 years old or if no updates have been downloaded for more than 2 years (24 months).
Now that sure works out well for a company that sells GPS devices eh? Don't worry, you probably won't find yourself looking for locations within the update areas... but you might. When you do, you'll probably just depend on Google to get you there, and will "worry about map updates later". Then one day you'll be annoyed enough to just go buy another GPS because it takes less time to drive to Best Buy than it does to go through the hassle of setting up an account with magellangps.com, fiddle with their garbage software to connect to your GPS, and get mew maps from smartgpseco.com.
Magellan, you are part of the problem.
Magellan GPS