Magellan GPS Navigation Premium Car Kit Pre-Release Unboxing & Review *VIDEOS*

[ShaneXman]

good idea! ... i'm not sure i have the space for it ... sorry for the distraction on this thread.

They have smaller ones out there, just do a search for "beanbag mount". You just have to make sure it has the flat surface to attach the suction cup to. They are actually really cool, and they make concealing the whole unit a TON easier.

And different topic, can the place / remove be used w/ one hand? ... I assume you don't have to move the 'arm' each time you place/remove.

Yes, you can insert and remove the phone with one hand. You can see me do it in the video. Check it out.

And have you had a chance to use w/ iPod Touch? wondering if similar experience?

I don't own an iPod Touch, but if you would like to send me yours...I can try it. LOL

 

[orpheus1120]

Shane, any idea how to pre-order one of these for people like myself from Asia?

 

[ShaneXman]

Shane, any idea how to pre-order one of these for people like myself from Asia?

Can you purchase from Amazon?

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Magellan-Prem...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1262202763&sr=8-1

 

[orpheus1120]

Item is forbidden for sale outside of USA.

 

[ShaneXman]

Item is forbidden for sale outside of USA.

Hmmmmm, I'm not quite sure then. Sorry bud.

Maggie...would you mind chiming in on this?

 

[UmichAg]

Music?

So, how would this work if you're also wanting to listen to music via iTunes on your iPhone?

Would you have to use a cord from the headphone jack that goes either directly into an AUX-input on your stereo or to an FM transmitter?

If so, would all audio (e.g., music, phone calls, text-to-speech driving instructions) be played through your car stereo?

 

[pjo63]

Airplane Mode and the Magellan Car Kit

Shane,

Have you tried using the iPhone in Airplane Mode while attached to the Car Kit?

Just wondering if Magellan's (or any other) Navigation app will work in Airplane Mode (maybe Apple disables Location Services altogether when in Airplan Mode).

Would be interested in hearing back since you would now be able to test it.

Thanks.

 

[ShaneXman]

Shane,

Have you tried using the iPhone in Airplane Mode while attached to the Car Kit?

Just wondering if Magellan's (or any other) Navigation app will work in Airplane Mode (maybe Apple disables Location Services altogether when in Airplan Mode).

Would be interested in hearing back since you would now be able to test it.

Thanks.

pjo63,

To be honest, up until you posed the question, I hadn't even thought about testing it...or if it would even work.

Well, on my way to work today I got the answer for you.

It turns out navigation does still work in Airplane Mode, so long as you are using the car kit (since it has the built in GPS chip), and it wouldn't matter what nav app you are using either.


Here's some proof:

I hope this helps.

 

[navguy]

Shane - you may see a related poste elsewhere, but i thought i'd ask within the Magellan thread ... i have noticed that it takes my TT car kit about 20-30 seconds to achieve a lock from cold start which is typical for GPS-only device and slower than the iPhone's assisted GPS (due to triangulation help) ... how do we know for sure that the satnav apps are using the mount GPS vs. internal? is there anyway to tell w/in the Magellan app or mount? When you remove the iPhone from mount while w/in the Magellan app - does the GPS signal get disrupted for a few moments as it transitions over to iPhone GPS? Thanks!

 

[pjo63]

Shane - how do we know for sure that the satnav apps are using the mount GPS vs. internal? is there anyway to tell w/in the Magellan app or mount? When you remove the iPhone from mount while w/in the Magellan app - does the GPS signal get disrupted for a few moments as it transitions over to iPhone GPS? Thanks!

Well, look at Shane's reply to my question about Airplane Mode (which disables the internal GPS chip on the iPhone) -- the Magellan Nav app seems to work fine while the iPhone is in Airplane Mode as long as the Car Kit is connected.

(Shane -- thanks a lot for checking that out for me. Getting my Car Kit on Wednesday and would rather my incoming calls go to voice mail while I'm navigating.)

 

[ShaneXman]

Shane - you may see a related poste elsewhere, but i thought i'd ask within the Magellan thread ... i have noticed that it takes my TT car kit about 20-30 seconds to achieve a lock from cold start which is typical for GPS-only device and slower than the iPhone's assisted GPS (due to triangulation help) ... how do we know for sure that the satnav apps are using the mount GPS vs. internal? is there anyway to tell w/in the Magellan app or mount? When you remove the iPhone from mount while w/in the Magellan app - does the GPS signal get disrupted for a few moments as it transitions over to iPhone GPS? Thanks!

andersonGPS,

HMMMmmmm, I'd say that the Magellan Kit achieves a GPS lock (assuming your outside) within a few seconds of the application starting up. If you take into account the application boot up time, it's more like 20-30 seconds are you described, and even faster when mounted in the car kit cradle (undoubtedly because of the stronger GPS chip).

Additionally, if you look at my post above to pjo63, I've provided screenshots of me using the Magellan App this morning while in Airplane Mode. When turning on Airplane Mode, and starting up the Magellan App (outside of the car kit cradle), the "Looking for GPS signal..." indicator will continuously spin with no end in sight due to the iPhones internally GPS chip being disabled. If I go back into setting, turn off Airplane Mode, and then fire up the app...GPS lock is almost instant. So with this information at hand, it seems fairly certain that the app is utilizing the car kit's GPS chip solely (since cell service/triangulation and the internal GPS chip are inactive).

Within the Magellan App, there is no detailed GPS reception information, except for the typical "reception bar" signifier (like AT&T reception bars) which can be found by clicking the OneTouch button in the upper right hand portion of the screen. (*note* - with Airplane Mode on, there are no reception bars).

I know TomTom has the "Car Kit Tool" which supposedly gives you all the information you are referencing above, but it's a separate application. Is this not the case? I hope that Magellan will also release a standalone app or just incorporate it within the Magellan RoadMate App itself (or both). This would help to answer all the unknowns in question. Maggie, are there any plans to release something like this?

Regarding your question about switching from the car kit GPS to the iPhone, I haven't yet had my GPS signal get disrupted when removing the iPhone from the car kit's cradle. Whether or not it does lose receptions for a moment or not, I'm not 100% sure...but I don't think it does. Seems like a smooth transition without any faults, so I hope this clarifies your concern.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. I hope I've helped at least a little.

BTW, for those who are wondering (and have asked), I DO NOT work (nor am I affiliated with in any way) for Magellan. I just happen to be a lucky consumer who was offered the chance to receive the car kit early, and accepted.

 

[maggie-macrumor]

Hmmmmm, I'm not quite sure then. Sorry bud.

Maggie...would you mind chiming in on this?

Hi orpheus1120 & Shane,

Users outside of the US can pre-order the car kits on our website http://www.magellangps.com/products/mobile.asp?PRODID=2230&SEGID=594. Please note you might need to change your location which is on the left side that says "Your location is."

Thank you,
Maggie

andersonGPS,

HMMMmmmm, I'd say that the Magellan Kit achieves a GPS lock (assuming your outside) within a few seconds of the application starting up. If you take into account the application boot up time, it's more like 20-30 seconds are you described, and even faster when mounted in the car kit cradle (undoubtedly because of the stronger GPS chip).

Additionally, if you look at my post above to pjo63, I've provided screenshots of me using the Magellan App this morning while in Airplane Mode. When turning on Airplane Mode, and starting up the Magellan App (outside of the car kit cradle), the "Looking for GPS signal..." indicator will continuously spin with no end in sight due to the iPhones internally GPS chip being disabled. If I go back into setting, turn off Airplane Mode, and then fire up the app...GPS lock is almost instant. So with this information at hand, it seems fairly certain that the app is utilizing the car kit's GPS chip solely (since cell service/triangulation and the internal GPS chip are inactive).

Within the Magellan App, there is no detailed GPS reception information, except for the typical "reception bar" signifier (like AT&T reception bars) which can be found by clicking the OneTouch button in the upper right hand portion of the screen. (*note* - with Airplane Mode on, there are no reception bars).

I know TomTom has the "Car Kit Tool" which supposedly gives you all the information you are referencing above, but it's a separate application. Is this not the case? I hope that Magellan will also release a standalone app or just incorporate it within the Magellan RoadMate App itself (or both). This would help to answer all the unknowns in question. Maggie, are there any plans to release something like this?

Regarding your question about switching from the car kit GPS to the iPhone, I haven't yet had my GPS signal get disrupted when removing the iPhone from the car kit's cradle. Whether or not it does lose receptions for a moment or not, I'm not 100% sure...but I don't think it does. Seems like a smooth transition without any faults, so I hope this clarifies your concern.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. I hope I've helped at least a little.

BTW, for those who are wondering (and have asked), I DO NOT work (nor am I affiliated with in any way) for Magellan. I just happen to be a lucky consumer who was offered the chance to receive the car kit early, and accepted.

Hi Shane,

To answer your question regarding a potential Car Kit App like TomTom's, we are planning to wait until we officially release our Car Kits to the public. From there, we will see if the majority of the public requests it.

Thank you,
Maggie

 

[ShaneXman]

Hi Shane,

To answer your question regarding a potential Car Kit App like TomTom's, we are planning to wait until we officially release our Car Kits to the public. From there, we will see if the majority of the public requests it.

Thank you,
Maggie

Thank you kindly for the clarification. I believe that said app would definitely be beneficial, or at least making the in-app GPS reception information a bit more expansive. If there's already talks about it BEFORE the car kit is released, I'd have to imagine there will be talks about it once it IS released.

As always, we appreciate you listening and relaying our thoughts.

 

[navguy]

Shane - thanks for responding so thoroughly!

andersonGPS,

HMMMmmmm, I'd say that the Magellan Kit achieves a GPS lock (assuming your outside) within a few seconds of the application starting up. If you take into account the application boot up time, it's more like 20-30 seconds are you described, and even faster when mounted in the car kit cradle (undoubtedly because of the stronger GPS chip).

... just to clarify, if there is no "assist" from cellular triangulation, typically it takes standalone GPS devices (car kit included) about 20-30 seconds to get a satellite fix from a cold start (i think my iPhone 'assisted' GPS acquisition is shorter say 8-10 seconds in Maps) - since this begins during application boot up, it's hard to distinguish just how long. the nice thing about the TT car kit free app is that you can watch it acquire 8-10 satellites while it secures a "fix" - usually taking 20-30 seconds from a cold start. I would expect Magellan and TT GPS mounts to secure satellites in a similar manner - and similar to other non 'assist' GPS devices.

Additionally, if you look at my post above to pjo63, I've provided screenshots of me using the Magellan App this morning while in Airplane Mode. When turning on Airplane Mode, and starting up the Magellan App (outside of the car kit cradle), the "Looking for GPS signal..." indicator will continuously spin with no end in sight due to the iPhones internally GPS chip being disabled. If I go back into setting, turn off Airplane Mode, and then fire up the app...GPS lock is almost instant. So with this information at hand, it seems fairly certain that the app is utilizing the car kit's GPS chip solely (since cell service/triangulation and the internal GPS chip are inactive).

makes sense that in Airplane Mode it would use mount GPS, but if not in Airplane Mode, how can we be sure ... if the assisted GPS fix in the iPhone is faster than a cold boot of the mount - i just don't know which one it chooses to use ... it would be nice to validate somehow (thinking out loud ... maybe i can look at Coordinates page in satnav app and TT free app and compare - i'll have to check this)

I know TomTom has the "Car Kit Tool" which supposedly gives you all the information you are referencing above, but it's a separate application. Is this not the case? I hope that Magellan will also release a standalone app or just incorporate it within the Magellan RoadMate App itself (or both). This would help to answer all the unknowns in question. Maggie, are there any plans to release something like this?

yes it does, and it's why i'm asking the question - so may be good, maybe not good to have this info in the customer's hands ... btw, it is a nice little app to help confirm that the mount is operating - and it provides other info like mount model no, serial no, firmware version, etc

Regarding your question about switching from the car kit GPS to the iPhone, I haven't yet had my GPS signal get disrupted when removing the iPhone from the car kit's cradle. Whether or not it does lose receptions for a moment or not, I'm not 100% sure...but I don't think it does. Seems like a smooth transition without any faults, so I hope this clarifies your concern.

maybe, maybe not. i'd like to know for sure. i would expect if an interal app looses it's GPS signal from one source (mount) and has to transfer over to another source (iPhone), that there would be a momentary pause and 'no GPS signal' or lagg for a few moments ... maybe not, but i figure a seamless transition between the mount GPS to iPhone GPS would not be intentionally designed into apps, just yet - lots of other basic things needed before this would be prioritized ... to test this, i just remove the phone from mount while navigating to see if there is a disruption.

most may not even care since it seems to be working just fine, but if for some reason the 'enhanced GPS' feature is being bypassed because the iPhone GPS acquires satellites faster than the mount during a cold boot ... might be wasting our money

just asking the question

 

[ShaneXman]

Shane - thanks for responding so thoroughly!

... just to clarify, if there is no "assist" from cellular triangulation, typically it takes standalone GPS devices (car kit included) about 20-30 seconds to get a satellite fix from a cold start (i think my iPhone 'assisted' GPS acquisition is shorter say 8-10 seconds in Maps) - since this begins during application boot up, it's hard to distinguish just how long. the nice thing about the TT car kit free app is that you can watch it acquire 8-10 satellites while it secures a "fix" - usually taking 20-30 seconds from a cold start. I would expect Magellan and TT GPS mounts to secure satellites in a similar manner - and similar to other non 'assist' GPS devices.

That's the way I understand it as well, although I do wish there was a way to "watch it acquire 8-10 satellites while it secures a 'fix'" with the Magellan App. Maybe with future updates?

makes sense that in Airplane Mode it would use mount GPS, but if not in Airplane Mode, how can we be sure ... if the assisted GPS fix in the iPhone is faster than a cold boot of the mount - i just don't know which one it chooses to use ... it would be nice to validate somehow (thinking out loud ... maybe i can look at Coordinates page in satnav app and TT free app and compare - i'll have to check this)

Honestly, IMHO it wouldn't behoove Magellan to advertise their mount as a GPS signal enhancer, and then just simply take a shot in the dark as to which GPS receiver is being utilized while in the kit. I would guess that when the phone is placed in the cradle, that the cradle's superior SiRF Star GPS receiver would take over. Ideally, it would be best if the Magellan App would reference both GPS receivers simultaneously, and choose the strongest one at any given time. Once again though, maybe a standalone car kit app (like TT), or a more in depth GPS reception portion of the current app would confirm and reassure individuals regarding which GPS receiver is being utilized and how strong the signal is.

Let me know what you find out using satnav and the TT app.

yes it does, and it's why i'm asking the question - so may be good, maybe not good to have this info in the customer's hands ... btw, it is a nice little app to help confirm that the mount is operating - and it provides other info like mount model no, serial no, firmware version, etc

Once again, I agree 100% (*hint* Magellan *hint*). BTW, I downloaded the TT car kit app to see if by ANY chance it might possibly work with the Magellan App...but no dice. LOL

maybe, maybe not. i'd like to know for sure. i would expect if an interal app looses it's GPS signal from one source (mount) and has to transfer over to another source (iPhone), that there would be a momentary pause and 'no GPS signal' or lagg for a few moments ... maybe not, but i figure a seamless transition between the mount GPS to iPhone GPS would not be intentionally designed into apps, just yet - lots of other basic things needed before this would be prioritized ... to test this, i just remove the phone from mount while navigating to see if there is a disruption.

most may not even care since it seems to be working just fine, but if for some reason the 'enhanced GPS' feature is being bypassed because the iPhone GPS acquires satellites faster than the mount during a cold boot ... might be wasting our money

just asking the question

Obviously there is a certain amount "unknown" when dealing with products without tangible results, so I guess I will just have to trust that the cradle is doing what it was intended for. But as I said before, I haven't had any lapses or lost GPS reception when removing the phone from the cradle. Maybe Magellan just happened to find the magic transition programming. ha ha

 

[ShaneXman]

Just a heads up guys/gals...

Maggie just posted this in another thread!

Hi All,

We are glad to announce that the Premium Car Kit is released ahead of schedule! Users can now order the Car Kit on our website. Please note that we have already sold out of our first production batch! Order yours today before it sells out!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Thank you,
Maggie

 

[navguy]

Obviously there is a certain amount "unknown" when dealing with products without tangible results, so I guess I will just have to trust that the cradle is doing what it was intended for. But as I said before, I haven't had any lapses or lost GPS reception when removing the phone from the cradle. Maybe Magellan just happened to find the magic transition programming. ha ha

just to close the loop on this, i agree.

after a few more days experimenting, here's what i have found ...

it definitely takes the TT mount 20-30 seconds to secure a 'fix' - again, typical for unassist GPS (and i'd suspect Magellan) ... that being said, the satnav app is securing a fix w/in 8-10 seconds of cold start so it must be initially using the iPhone assisted GPS ... i have watched closely at about 30 seconds into navigating (from cold start) - the app does lag and look like it's switching over to mount GPS ... so behaving as suspected and intended

also, i can remove from mount while driving (carefully) and notice a lag as it switches back over to iPhone GPS

would be nice to see definitive proof, but hey, some is better than nothing

 

[orpheus1120]

Hi orpheus1120 & Shane,

Users outside of the US can pre-order the car kits on our website http://www.magellangps.com/products/mobile.asp?PRODID=2230&SEGID=594. Please note you might need to change your location which is on the left side that says "Your location is."

Thank you,
Maggie

When I changed the location to Singapore, there isn't a "add to cart" button below the car kit photo. I ended up defaulting my location to the US, add the car kit into my cart THEN changing my location to Singapore.

However upon checkout, this is what I saw:-

Online orders can only be shipped within the U.S., Canada, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland, and paid for either in U.S. dollars or EU euros.

Why allow me to change my location to Singapore if the site doesn't ship to my country?

 

[maggie-macrumor]

When I changed the location to Singapore, there isn't a "add to cart" button below the car kit photo. I ended up defaulting my location to the US, add the car kit into my cart THEN changing my location to Singapore.

However upon checkout, this is what I saw:-

Online orders can only be shipped within the U.S., Canada, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland, and paid for either in U.S. dollars or EU euros.

Why allow me to change my location to Singapore if the site doesn't ship to my country?

Hi orpheus1120,

I am terribly sorry, but I just found out that we are currently have some issues with import/export & taxes. Therefore, we can only ship to within the USA and Canada. We are working on opening international fulfillments. Once again, I am terribly sorry.

Thank you,
Maggie

 

[mac mac mac]

So, how would this work if you're also wanting to listen to music via iTunes on your iPhone?

Would you have to use a cord from the headphone jack that goes either directly into an AUX-input on your stereo or to an FM transmitter?

If so, would all audio (e.g., music, phone calls, text-to-speech driving instructions) be played through your car stereo?

Shane,

I currently have the TomTom car kit, but I'm thinking about returning it and get the Magellan instead. The aux jack on the TT kit does output audio to my car's stereo via the cassette player (I have an 02 Accord and it doesn't have an aux port), but the sound is terrible so I use the headphone jack instead to output audio. I'm curious if the Magellan outputs same audio quality via the aux jack as the iPhone's headphone jack.

Also, do you know if Navigon will work with the Magellan kit with the iPod touch. I know the iPhone will. Thank you for the great review.

 

[mnpackerfan]

Adhesive disks

Just received the unit, will play around with it the next couple of days. The kit seems well made, and I mounted it on my dash with the included adhesive disk. Now I'm kind of thinking of putting the unit on a different part of my dash. Does anyone know where I can buy the adhesive disks by themselves? Not sure if the ones on this Magellan unit are different size than on other suction cup mounts.

 

[BrownStarfish]

Music through the bluetooth speaker...

I received mine yesterday as well and I noticed that I get music (both ipod and Slacker) coming through both the kit's speaker and the 3.5mm audio out. Phone audio works like it should, only coming through the kit speaker.

I assume this is a software issue with the phone, right? It shouldn't output audio out of the 3.5mm jack and bluetooth at the same time. Is there anything I can do to correct this? I'll try a reset and re-pair the bluetooth in the meantime. Any other ideas?

Kind of PITA to turn the volume up and down for calls at present...

Update - The kit's speaker is on even without BT enabled/paired, so it works as a hardwired speaker as well as BT. I would have designed the kit speaker to work on BT only, and the 3.5mm as an extension of the headphone jack. Guess I'll have to get used to turning the dial up and down...

 

[EDH667]

I received mine yesterday as well and I noticed that I get music (both ipod and Slacker) coming through both the kit's speaker and the 3.5mm audio out. Phone audio works like it should, only coming through the kit speaker.

I assume this is a software issue with the phone, right? It shouldn't output audio out of the 3.5mm jack and bluetooth at the same time. Is there anything I can do to correct this? I'll try a reset and re-pair the bluetooth in the meantime. Any other ideas?

Kind of PITA to turn the volume up and down for calls at present...

Update - The kit's speaker is on even without BT enabled/paired, so it works as a hardwired speaker as well as BT. I would have designed the kit speaker to work on BT only, and the 3.5mm as an extension of the headphone jack. Guess I'll have to get used to turning the dial up and down...

I noticed the same problem on the kit I received yesterday. Kind of aggravating since I am used to aux output muting the speaker for the music on the TomTom car kit. Having music coming out of the kit speaker kind of defeats the purpose of using the aux output!

 

[navguy]

Update - The kit's speaker is on even without BT enabled/paired, so it works as a hardwired speaker as well as BT. I would have designed the kit speaker to work on BT only, and the 3.5mm as an extension of the headphone jack. Guess I'll have to get used to turning the dial up and down...

so are you saying that the phone audio works thru BT connection to mount speaker? ... and the music is hard wired connection to mount speaker? or some combinatoin of both? i'm confused ... and i don't like to be confused before spending this much money

 

[navguy]

... after reading the Magellan App thread, figured i should keep the Magellan car kit question on this thread. and as a prospective buyer, just trying to understand ...

Sounds like the music comes out of the Aux Out, but the phone calls (and music too!?) come out of the mount speaker ... this sounds odd. logically, if you're using the Aux Out, all sounds should come out of it and mute the mount speaker ... maybe i'm missing something

also, do the other satnav apps work the same on these points? Navigon, TomTom, others?

Maggie - am i describing this correctly? and if so, what's the official word from corporate? this doesn't seem consistent w/ other device uses of Aux Out? is there an app solution? or is the wired into the hardware?

thx!!