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

navguy said:
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 :D
Click to expand...

Assume you have the kit's 3.5mm jack connected to the Aux-in of your car stereo and your phone paired to the kit....

During a call the audio only comes through the kit's speaker. You won't hear it on your car stereo.

Ipod/Slacker/Nav/apps... audio comes through the kit's speaker as well as its 3.5mm audio jack. Meaning the kit speaker will compete with your car stereo unless you physically turn it down with the volume wheel.

Maybe Maggie can give some insight as to why it was designed that way. I think most consumers would prefer to have the kit speaker only output call audio and the 3.5mm jack dedicated to ipod/apps...
 
Can you use this kit with any other navigation apps like Garmin, or Motion XGPS, Tom Tom, etc?

I have been reading a lot about the Magellan and not a lot of good reviews. Mostly crashing and then the cost of updating maps that are years out of date.

Don't take this the wrong way, I love the car kit, but am not sure the the software is up to par.

Please correct me if I am wrong and if you have any updated information. I appreciate the time you are taking to keep us informed.

Have a great day!
 
I’ve had my Magellan kit for a few days. I really like, but I have a few questions.

1. Is there really no way to stop music from outputting to the speakerphone?

2. Why doesn’t the iPhone’s Voice Control beep and responses output from the aux also?

Also, my iPhone 3GS keeps telling me “This accessory is not made for the iPhone, bla bla” and I get low level GSM static on the speakerphone.
 
EDH667 said:
Yes, the Magellan car kit will work with any of the other Navigation applications.
Click to expand...


Do the audio sounds (e.g. music, phone, etc) behave exactly the same (e.g. aux out music only, and mount speaker music at same time, and phone only thru mount speaker) whether using Magellan, or Navigon, or TomTom, or CoPilot, etc?
 
navguy said:
Do the audio sounds (e.g. music, phone, etc) behave exactly the same (e.g. aux out music only, and mount speaker music at same time, and phone only thru mount speaker) whether using Magellan, or Navigon, or TomTom, or CoPilot, etc?
Click to expand...

Yes, the mount acts the same with either the Magellan, Navigon or TomTom applications. It also plays music through the mount speaker and car speakers with just the iPod music playing and no navigation app running.
 
EDH667 said:
Yes, the Magellan car kit will work with any of the other Navigation applications.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I just may get one. I like it better than the Tom Tom carrier base.

One other question I have is... Looking at the Magellan kit, does the cradle adjust to say the Otterbox case? I would really love to NOT take the case on and off. I know the video said that it would adjust to different cases, but the Otterbox is a lot thicker than most.

Thanks again for the help in advance!:D
 
EDH667 said:
My understanding is that the Otterbox case is too thick to work in the Magellan car kit.
Click to expand...

My GF has a pink otterbox. I'll try it when I get the kit. Will take about 2 -3 weeks before it arrives at my doorstep though.
 
I am using it with Case-Mates iPhone 3G / 3GS ID Credit Card Case, that is a pretty thick case and it just barely fits but it is working..........
 
EDH667 said:
Yes, the Magellan car kit will work with any of the other Navigation applications.
Click to expand...

I can confirm that it works with XRoad G-Map US East, but I have to flip the ring mode switch out of silent mode to hear the TTS. Does anyone know if that is a G-Map specific behavior?

Hi Maggie,

I hope you can answer my question as I have not heard anything from Magellan Support.

The power supply plug is long enough that it interferes with the 4WD lever in my Jeep Liberty. I have tried using my third party iPhone charger with a mini-USB cable and the GPS and Bluetooth appear to work. The blue LED, however, does not illuminate. I notice the same thing when using the Apple power supply cube with a mini-USB cable.

What I would like to know is if there is anything special about the wiring of the power supply (i.e. different from the standard mini-USB pinout of 5VDC,Data-,Data+,x,GND).

I would like to explore a hard-wired power source and want to make sure I'm providing the correct voltage, etc.

Thanks!
 
CDew said:
I can confirm that it works with XRoad G-Map US East, but I have to flip the ring mode switch out of silent mode to hear the TTS. Does anyone know if that is a G-Map specific behavior?
Click to expand...

I also had to flip the ring mode switch out of silent mode to hear the TTS for the Magellan and Navigon apps.
 
navguy said:
... 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!!
Click to expand...

That's how I'm understanding it as well. I agree, seems kind of odd, almost like an oversight. I never experienced this issue, because I never even used the auxiliary output. My Ford has the Sync system, so my calls AND music both go through the car's stereo. I did test the mounts speaker with regards to calling, music, etc., but never even considered that there may be a problem with the aux out. My bad. :mad:

Hopefully Magellan with acknowledge and correct/clarify this issue. I don't know if it can be fixed via software, or if it is out of Magellan's control due to the way the iPhone processes different sound sources. Who knows...but hopefully we can get clarification.

EDH667 said:
I also had to flip the ring mode switch out of silent mode to hear the TTS for the Magellan and Navigon apps.
Click to expand...

+1 :D

(I have the Magellan app)
 
mac mac mac said:
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.
Click to expand...

Hi macmacmac,

I cannot tell you if its the same quality as the iPhone's headphone jack without sounding bias considering I am from Magellan, but I can guarantee you that we pride ourselves on our products. If you are unsatisfied, just please free feel to let us know.

Thank you,
Maggie

mnpackerfan said:
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.
Click to expand...

Hi mnpackerfan,

The disk should be standard compare to others. You can purchase additional adhesive disks by contacting customer service.
http://www.magellangps.com/contact/index.asp

Thank you,
Maggie

navguy said:
... 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!!
Click to expand...

Hi Navguy and Everyone

I first want to apologize for not answering recent questions on this thread. I wanted to make sure I wasn't breaking any of Macrumors' rules by posting in two threads.

Compatible with other apps
Yes, the Magellan Car Kit is compatible with almost every on-board Apps like Magellan, TomTom, Navigon, G-Map, and others.

To address the AUX situation:
This is the way the car kit was designed. It acts as a bluetooth-handfrees device with amplified speaker for calls with the availability to listen to music and nav directions from your car speakers.(aux cable connected). iPhone application sounds and iPhone call sounds come from different audio sources that the aux cables don't process; therefore, the reason why the sound cuts off from your car audio when you receive a phone call.

A way around this? I know of some audio dash systems that will allow the iphone and car audio to work together making it similar to a bluetooth/phone system they have in the higher end luxury cars. But these systems usually cost $$$ more. And that is a whole different topic.

I hope I answered your question. Please let me know if I can be of anymore assistance.

Thank you,
Maggie
 
Thanks Maggie - I appreciate your response and confirmation of the way the car kit mount was designed. :)
 
CDew said:
Hi Maggie,

I hope you can answer my question as I have not heard anything from Magellan Support.

The power supply plug is long enough that it interferes with the 4WD lever in my Jeep Liberty. I have tried using my third party iPhone charger with a mini-USB cable and the GPS and Bluetooth appear to work. The blue LED, however, does not illuminate. I notice the same thing when using the Apple power supply cube with a mini-USB cable.

What I would like to know is if there is anything special about the wiring of the power supply (i.e. different from the standard mini-USB pinout of 5VDC,Data-,Data+,x,GND).

I would like to explore a hard-wired power source and want to make sure I'm providing the correct voltage, etc.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi Maggie,

I'm not sure what's different about the Magellan power supply vs the mini-USB power supply for mobile phones, but Magellan Support indicated that there is a difference and that using a different power supply would void my warranty. I certainly don't want to do that.

It looks like the best options for Jeep Liberty owners who don't want the plug conflicting with their shift lever is to buy a cigarette lighter extension. I'll probably eventually hard-wire a lighter socket behind the dash, but of course doing so would mean that I can't use the kit in another vehicle without buying another power supply. This is where I'm hoping that you can help.

When I called Magellan Support, they said that they did not have a part number for the power supply so I was not able to order another one. Can you look into this?


Thank You!

Chris Dewey

Hi All,

I noticed that when using G-Map with the iPhone in the kit, autolocking kicks in. When I use it without the kit - but powered by a charger - autolocking does not kick in. Has anyone else observed this with their navigation app?

Thanks!
 
CDew said:
Hi Maggie,

I'm not sure what's different about the Magellan power supply vs the mini-USB power supply for mobile phones, but Magellan Support indicated that there is a difference and that using a different power supply would void my warranty. I certainly don't want to do that.

It looks like the best options for Jeep Liberty owners who don't want the plug conflicting with their shift lever is to buy a cigarette lighter extension. I'll probably eventually hard-wire a lighter socket behind the dash, but of course doing so would mean that I can't use the kit in another vehicle without buying another power supply. This is where I'm hoping that you can help.

When I called Magellan Support, they said that they did not have a part number for the power supply so I was not able to order another one. Can you look into this?


Thank You!

Chris Dewey
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

I am currently investigating the situation for you. When I receive a response from management, I will know you know asap.

Thank you,
Maggie
 
A question for Maggie:

I have just received the car kit and have been testing it.

But there is one thing I do not understand; when I plug in a 3.5mm audio cable and connect it to my car stereo, music and app sounds still play through the built-in speaker on the Magellan device. Why does it do this? Can this be changed with some sort of update? Or is it a hardware thing that cannot be changed?

It really is a very stupid piece of design - when I have an audio cable connected I don't want the music to come out of the built-in speaker as well. It is a low quality speaker for music playback (it is fine for voice though), and it sounds really bad. I want the music to come from my car stereo only.

The only option is to turn down the volume on the device so that sound isn't coming through the speaker, but that creates a problem that when a phone call comes through on the Bluetooth connection, it cannot be heard because the volume is down and you have to turn it back up again. That creates a dangerous situation because every time a call comes through you have to fiddle around with the tiny volume control on the side.

The people designing this must have decided at some point to design it this way. But why? Why would we want music to continue playing through the low-quality built-in speaker after connecting it to our car stereo?

TomTom's car kit does the right thing and when an audio cable is connected the built-in speaker ceases to operate (except obviously for calls which are via the Bluetooth rather than the dock connector).

Sorry if this sounds like an attack, but a few other people have asked the same thing in this thread and haven't been answered. If there is some way to fix it (without taking it apart and desoldering a connection) that would be great.
 
gpillans said:
A question for Maggie:

I have just received the car kit and have been testing it.

But there is one thing I do not understand; when I plug in a 3.5mm audio cable and connect it to my car stereo, music and app sounds still play through the built-in speaker on the Magellan device. Why does it do this? Can this be changed with some sort of update? Or is it a hardware thing that cannot be changed?

It really is a very stupid piece of design - when I have an audio cable connected I don't want the music to come out of the built-in speaker as well. It is a low quality speaker for music playback (it is fine for voice though), and it sounds really bad. I want the music to come from my car stereo only.

The only option is to turn down the volume on the device so that sound isn't coming through the speaker, but that creates a problem that when a phone call comes through on the Bluetooth connection, it cannot be heard because the volume is down and you have to turn it back up again. That creates a dangerous situation because every time a call comes through you have to fiddle around with the tiny volume control on the side.

The people designing this must have decided at some point to design it this way. But why? Why would we want music to continue playing through the low-quality built-in speaker after connecting it to our car stereo?

TomTom's car kit does the right thing and when an audio cable is connected the built-in speaker ceases to operate (except obviously for calls which are via the Bluetooth rather than the dock connector).

Sorry if this sounds like an attack, but a few other people have asked the same thing in this thread and haven't been answered. If there is some way to fix it (without taking it apart and desoldering a connection) that would be great.
Click to expand...


That sounds like a dealbreaker for me. The app sounds and commands coming through the built-in speaker is fine. Phone calls coming through are fine too, if the aux can't process voice signals. But music? Why? Why would I ever want music coming through that speaker when I have 10 MUCH better speakers plus a sub in my car doing the same job?

When you plug an aux cable in, the music should get re-routed to car speaker only, not through the mount speakers. If that really can't be fixed, then I can't see ever buying one of these (and it's too bad, because I was actually interested in this)
 
SooneratND said:
That sounds like a dealbreaker for me. The app sounds and commands coming through the built-in speaker is fine. Phone calls coming through are fine too, if the aux can't process voice signals. But music? Why? Why would I ever want music coming through that speaker when I have 10 MUCH better speakers plus a sub in my car doing the same job?

When you plug an aux cable in, the music should get re-routed to car speaker only, not through the mount speakers. If that really can't be fixed, then I can't see ever buying one of these (and it's too bad, because I was actually interested in this)
Click to expand...


Ditto. I've been monitoring this discussion and waiting for a response on this. If this is how it was designed and it can't be changed, this is a deal breaker for me as well.
 
gpillans said:
A question for Maggie:

I have just received the car kit and have been testing it.

But there is one thing I do not understand; when I plug in a 3.5mm audio cable and connect it to my car stereo, music and app sounds still play through the built-in speaker on the Magellan device. Why does it do this? Can this be changed with some sort of update? Or is it a hardware thing that cannot be changed?

It really is a very stupid piece of design - when I have an audio cable connected I don't want the music to come out of the built-in speaker as well. It is a low quality speaker for music playback (it is fine for voice though), and it sounds really bad. I want the music to come from my car stereo only.

The only option is to turn down the volume on the device so that sound isn't coming through the speaker, but that creates a problem that when a phone call comes through on the Bluetooth connection, it cannot be heard because the volume is down and you have to turn it back up again. That creates a dangerous situation because every time a call comes through you have to fiddle around with the tiny volume control on the side.

The people designing this must have decided at some point to design it this way. But why? Why would we want music to continue playing through the low-quality built-in speaker after connecting it to our car stereo?

TomTom's car kit does the right thing and when an audio cable is connected the built-in speaker ceases to operate (except obviously for calls which are via the Bluetooth rather than the dock connector).

Sorry if this sounds like an attack, but a few other people have asked the same thing in this thread and haven't been answered. If there is some way to fix it (without taking it apart and desoldering a connection) that would be great.
Click to expand...

SooneratND said:
That sounds like a dealbreaker for me. The app sounds and commands coming through the built-in speaker is fine. Phone calls coming through are fine too, if the aux can't process voice signals. But music? Why? Why would I ever want music coming through that speaker when I have 10 MUCH better speakers plus a sub in my car doing the same job?

When you plug an aux cable in, the music should get re-routed to car speaker only, not through the mount speakers. If that really can't be fixed, then I can't see ever buying one of these (and it's too bad, because I was actually interested in this)
Click to expand...

cavemonkey50 said:
Ditto. I've been monitoring this discussion and waiting for a response on this. If this is how it was designed and it can't be changed, this is a deal breaker for me as well.
Click to expand...

Hi Everyone,

I apologize, but I am currently investigating the situation with management.

Thank you,
Maggie
 
maggie-macrumor said:
Hi Everyone,

I apologize, but I am currently investigating the situation with management.

Thank you,
Maggie
Click to expand...

Thanks Maggie, we appreciate the help. There aren't a lot of companies that provide this kind of support through popular online forums. It certainly shows that the company is interested in early-adopter feedback.

I really hope there is an easy solution to this problem too, as I live in Australia and do not have an inexpensive way of returning the device.

Cheers.
 
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