Bennett Marine MAGELLAN ROADMATE 300 (883629147512)

Pros: None that can't be had in any number of better GPS's. Has no distinguishing benefits.
Cons: Too many to list here -- read the full review.

To save time, I'm just going to list the "cons" of this unit. I owned it for a day, and took it back. (It was NOT my first GPS purchase.) Depending on why you're considering this particular model, you might like the Garmin 2610, the Garmin Quest, ...

Pros: Easy-to-read screen; Voice prompts very clear and informative; very accurate positioning; stylish design
Cons: Touchscreen is tempermental; slow start-up times; route calculation is slow

[UPDATE] The minor annoyances built-up to the extent that I ended up returning this device. While the external antenna greatly improved signal strength and decreased satellite acquisition times, the unit started randomly losing satellite lock, and would ...

Pros: Visually clear and audible Touch screen is a plus Tech support was responsive.
Cons: Not worth the price GPS beacon easily falls off Provided instructions are inadequate.

I bought the Magellan Road Mate 300 for my wife for Christmas. Did a fair amount of research and was willing to invest in the tool at the Road Mate 300 price point knowing that maps would need to be downloaded to the device.

After one call to tech support, the unit was up and operational. We tested the unit on a trip from Kentucky to Pennsylvania. First it had difficulty finding the directions from our home to the interstate. Was doing fine until we were in a valley outside of Pittsburgh where the unit froze on our location. A power on reset would not clear the freeze. I reset the units GPS and it came back only to occur again later in the day.

A lot of issues... the radar beacon falls off every time the unit is nudged.

The provided instructions are minimal. You need to access and print a 100 page users manual

Search is interesting. It is better to search on partial road names than full names. Saw this in numerous examples

Returned the unit,,,,just not worth the price. AAA maps are cheaper!!!

Pros: It works as advertised. Touchpad and voice prompts work well.
Cons: Need to buy an SD card for long trips, but authorization is now free.

If you are familiar with the Hertz Neverlost you will feel comfortable with the RoadMate 300. It operates similarly, but with the added convenience of a touchscreen in addition to the arrow keypad. An SD card (they are inexpensive) is needed to keep more than about a 3 state area in the unit, which is fine for local travel. Two CD's come with the USA points of interest (POI's) on them. I bought a 1GB SD card and that seems like it will be more than enough for any long trip. They used to charge $50 to "authorize" the SD card, now it's free.

Pros: All the features of units costing twice as much.
Cons: Requires user to select and upload detailed maps to use. (basemap preloaded)

Many of the cons listed in other reviews here are the product of rushed judgment or predetermined assumptions based on experience with other brands or models. The road mate 300 performs exactly as advertised. Maps loaded to SD card are not limited to the 80 Meg one of the other reviewers noted. Can be up to 240meg each with a total of three regions 740 Meg of data on one card. That’s almost the entire us on a 1 gig card. I wont take up the rest of the issues raised by other reviews. other than to say is a exceptional unit for a bargain price (especially if you search for factory authorized and warranted refurb units. Avail for around $300) but don’t take my word for it can try one and return if not satisfied with the performance.

Pros: Works fine
Cons: Maps are very old. Local maps must be loaded from CD, (minor inconvenience)

Works well, however the maps are very old. I am very disappointed they have never been updated. Documentation says they will be updated yearly. Never happened.
I will not purchase another Magellan product because of this.