We have previously reviewed Magellan GPS units and found them to be well-designed, nicely crafted units. However, we discovered that they lacked one important feature. What was that notable exception? Macintosh compatibility. So, despite being very capable and respected for their GPS abilities, the Magellan RoadMate series units weren’t that easy for Mac users to love in the past since any firmware or map updates required a Windows machine. However, we discovered that issue was quietly changed recently when Mac OSX compatibility was enabled on our older RoadMate 3065 through a firmware update.
The process of updating is simple yet a tiny bit geeky. To do the update, you first need to visit the Magellan site and download and install Content Manager, which then connects to your GPS unit to determine if the software is up-to-date. If it is discovered to be so, it will download a firmware update file, which then needed to be loaded (copied) onto a blank SD memory card. Then the card is inserted into the GPS unit, and finally the GPS has to be restarted following the instructions, and update is allowed to run. Once that is complete, the update is permanent and that should be the last time you will need to do it. This allows current users to make their GPSs Mac OSX-compatible, and lets them use Magellan’s newly released Mac OSX version of Content Manager, which lets users control, update, and sync the GPS with a Mac - good news for anyone using legacy Magellan GPS units. Once updated, Content Manager notifies you of map updates, premium services that are available, etc.
Content Manager loads at startup, although in our experience, it’s rare to update a GPS unit more than once or twice a year. It is nice, though, to see all your devices, options, and preferences in one place. It notifies you when updates are available, so there is a reason for launching at startup. Our firmware updates worked without a hitch, and the 3065 unit worked even better after we were done, with what seemed like a more responsive GUI, and some tweaks to accuracy of reporting. However, a major update to the map set required a paid update, and the Magellan site doesn’t actually detail exactly what users will gain in the update, leaving them in the dark about the need to perform the update. We would suggest more detail on why a consumer would invest in such an update before spending the money on it.
We were delighted to discover that Magellan finally made their legacy RoadMate GPS units full-fledged members of the Apple community. This firmware update comes highly recommended!
Harris Fogel, with additional reporting by Nancy Burlan, posted 3/18/2013
For more information on Magellan Content Manager for Mac visit: www.magellangps.com
