Magellan CrossoverGPS Automotive GPS Receiver

My husband has been looking for a GPS system for a while now. This particular unit has both the off-road(hiking) features and the in-car features that my husband wanted. It is the only GPS unit that I've seen that has that ability. More importantly, it was at a price I could afford. This item normally sells for $400.00. I could not afford that, however, I was able to stretch my budget and get $269.00 for this one.

First of all I would like to commend Magellan for having the vision to make a GPS that not only tells you how to get to your destination via street directions, but that also has the ability to do TOPO. Unfortunately, they should have waited until they had the software to back it up.

Now, as far as functionality, the unit is not user friendly at all. To navigate the area on the screen, (which is very clear and bright) you have to use your finger to drop and drag to the desired location on the screen. This gets really frustrating especially when you have a location that is way off the current view of the map. You find yourself dragging the cursor a million times to get it where you need it, while at the same time touching your finger accidently to menu options that are on the screen that take you out of the mode your in and into another, forcing you to start all over again. This is unacceptable for a unit that costs nearly $400 in retail stores. Sure a touch screen is nice, but they needed to also implement a directional pad for navigation instead of using the screen.

Secondly, the unit does not zoom in enough to see what you need to see as far as the TOPO features go. It only zooms in to something like 80 meters, which is not even enough to see off road trails. Whats the point of having TOPO features, when you can't even see the trail your on? And speaking of TOPO, the software to upload the unique features of your area, will not even be available for months yet, after contacting Magellan personally. Their current software called "MapSend" is not compatible with the Crossover, and they released the GPS before the software was ready. Let's say your out 4 wheeling, and you want to know whats around you, like mines, springs, and other structures, your out of luck, because the Crossover simply won't tell you, due to the fact that the software is not available yet. True it comes pre loaded with TOPO maps of the United States, but it only tells you elevation and land contours, it does not tell you where dirt trails are or any landmarks at all unless you load that information into the unit via software that is not available yet. So as a TOPO GPS it is totally worthless, for now. Why even make the unit TOPO if you can't use it? Did we miss something here Magellan?

Thirdly, the menu system in very hard to navigate. The on screen buttons are very small and you find yourself pushing the wrong one if you have large fingers like I do, or pushing 2 at a time because they are too close to eachother. Now even pushing the buttons with the touch screen is a chore, as the pressure that is needed to activate a button, is extreme, and you have to push on the screen very hard to get a button to function. Also, some of the buttons in the menu system, are so tight into the corners of the screen, you almost need to use a stylus to activate them. Sorry, but a touch screen is supposed to make functionality easier, not harder Magellan!

Overall, this unit is not worth the time or money. I find myself going back to my older more reliable TOPO model and leaving this one at home. It's a great idea, but Magellan really needs to rethink the functionality of this product, and maybe next time design the software that will take advantage of the TOPO features before putting models like this on the market. Functionality...what a concept. I suggest staying clear of this one people! It's not a good GPS, and as far as TOPO goes, it's worthless.

WOW! Where do I start? First I got it used at an Ebay dealer for a ridiculously low price. The unit has a 3.5 inch touch screen, voice assist, 3 navigation choices (vehicle nav, marine and outdoor) and it works extremely well. It takes less than 30 seconds to acquire position even inside the house. When looking up addresses in car mode, it's almost psychic in it's intuitive ability to display what you are going to type next! I was looking for Quaking Aspen in Stateline Nevada and before I could text the entire word Stateline or Quaking, it came up with a choice. Not only is it for the car but for hiking and even the boat as you can get a free program online (easygps.com) to convert waypoints and coordinates to the proper format and then download them to an SD card and use it in the unit. FANTASTIC!!! For hiking it might be a bit unwieldly as it is rectangular having no provision for a lanyard but you can hold it easily and slip it in your pocket. Also, it has a battery saver function that shuts down the screen but continues to navigate. Great for Geocaching as you save your coordinates to the SD card by name and download them when wanted. OK, want more? Well then, it also has a photo viewer to see pics saved on your SD card and no, wait...it even plays MP3 files saved as well! As for the rechargeable battery, I left it on at home while going out and 6 hours later it still showed 2 bars indicating the use time to be about 8 hours. Not shabby and kits are available for a soft or hard case and 12 volt chargers. I totally am enthused by this GPS and used to use a bulky tablet PC for GPS. I still will bring the tablet on trips to go online, but this is my new choice for Auto, Marine or Outdoor GPS.

The Magellan Crossover is not the end-all be-all of GPS systems. As a matter of fact you can get a much better Car type GPS brand new for around the same price you can find a used or refurbished Crossover.

The "crossover" functionality is nice but as mentioned by many the quality of the loaded topo maps is really bad. It's OK in a pinch but if Hiking or even Dirt Biking is your thing get a GPS designed for the job.

Where I think the Crossover really comes through is as an inexpensive all weather Motorcycle GPS. The Crossover with the most recent update available from Magellan is a great waterproof Motorcycle navigation system. Systems designed for motorcycles are way overpriced. An equivalent Car (not waterproof) system is a fraction of the price. Yes I know the MC systems have other features like HUGE letters to type with, but you know you should not be typing while riding regardless of the key size right?

With the Crossover and a $20 handlebar mount available on eBay you have a very good MC nav system for under $200. Troll the auctions on eBay and you may even get a Crossover setup for under $100.

I've used Crossovers on 2 bikes now, through rain, sleet and snow.
Here are the issues I've had with the 2 Crossovers I've owned (both purchased used on eBay)
1) Sometimes I have seen water get in under the first screen layer(touch layer I assume) but this does not seem to effect the unit and will dry out.

2) The touch screen can be a bit touchy and sometimes does not do as I expect when touched (fires wrong function or types wrong letter). This does not happen a lot but it does happen.

3) In really bright sunlight (sun behind you and hitting the screen right on) the screen can be hard to see. In this case I just block the sun with my left hand from time to time to get a good view of the screen.

4) This unit is discontinued by Magellan so I don't think many updates are in your future.

Keep the rubber side down…
Lewis

This GPS works as a road map for the car as well as a trail map for hiking or horseback riding. Excellent concept. Works great, small enough to be portable, but large enough to work in the car. Many accessories available for both applications.