Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM and Back-Up Camera Review

Last holiday season I did a review on the Magellan RoadMate 3065 and we thought it was a very good GPS.  This year I was able to use and review the Magellan RoadMate 9055-LM and if the 3065 was good – this one is better.

Among some if its notable features the 9055-LM has a 7” screen, a touch screen interface and the ability to change your route on the fly.

We road tested this GPS with a drive from South Dakota to Texas, and used it in the Dallas area for 4 days – a place where we had never driven before.

The GPS comes pre-loaded with maps of the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.  Prior to leaving on our road trip we made sure the maps were current by attaching the unit to our computer and using the Magellan Content Manager software to check for the latest updates.  If any are found they get downloaded straight to the GPS.

Among the accessories included is a vehicle power adapter.  The battery in the unit will only work for about 30 minutes – so you definitely want to keep it plugged in to your vehicle.

The touch-screen interface requires a bit of a heavier touch than say an iPad, but once you know how much pressure you need to apply, it is easy to use.  While driving there are a number of featured buttons that will display on your road maps.

• Traffic Button – If you are in a big enough metropolitan area you will get real time traffic updates by pressing this button.  Whether there are delays in your routes due to accidents or lane closures and the anticipated delay time you might expect because of them.  This is a free service and does not require a subscription.

• Amenities Button – Running out of gas on the interstate or highway?  Hungry?  Press this button and you will see the nearest gas stations and resturants to your current location so you can fill your tank on your car or your fill your stomach.

• Volume Button – You can change the volume of the speaker by using this or mute it all together.

• Blue Tooth – You can pair a phone with the Magellan RoadMate, allowing you to make hands free calling using the unit.

The speaker is located on the left rear of the unit.  We affectionately nicknamed our 9055-LM “Maggie”, due to the female robotic voice that gives you your directions.  My husband found the voice a little difficult to understand at times, especially if we had the radio or CD player on.

There are many options to choose from when configuring this GPS, and you’ll want to make sure to do that before you start your trip.  You can change the sound that alerts you to turns, choose to use toll roads or not, change the language, distance units, brightness, time zones, keyboard layout and more.  The unit will automatically switch at night to a darker screen in the back making it easier to see and navigate with.

Planning your trip is as easy as entering the address of your destination.  Don’t know the street address?  That’s okay you can enter in the destination name (ie. Best Buy, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers or Shell) in the Points of Interest function and it will find all of the locations within a certain distance.  You can also search by location such as shopping, gas, restaurant, business, etc.

Once you have decided where you are going, you can get to your destination by choosing the fastest time, shortest distance, using mostly freeways or least use of freeways.  If you decide midway through that you would like to change your option the unit will re-calculate the route and if there are any changes it will update your  route accordingly.

During your trip you may find yourself needing to stop somewhere else.  In that case you can add a destination to your route.  The 9055-LM will get you to that location and then continue you on from there to your final destination.

The Highway Lane Assist feature notifies you to change lanes so that you will be positioned for exits and/or turns.

Curious to know how long you’ll be on a specific road before you have to turn or change lanes?  Then you can switch from the map view to the ‘Turn List’.  This is a text based list that will show you the street names that are up coming along with arrows indicating which direction you will need to turn.

You can detour on your route if you would like to avoid traffic or an unanticipated road closure.  The 9055-LM will take you around the problem and then bring you back to your original route.

A pop up along the bottom of the screen also lets you know your estimated time of arrival, distance and driving time remaining to your location, speed, direction and elevation.  This is very handy to have all this information available with one touch.

Along with the RoadMate 9055-LM you can choose to install a Back-Up Camera kit.  When engaged the unit functions as a camera so that you can see the blind spots behind you when pulling out of your garage or parking spaces.  This is a huge safety device so that you can see small children or pets who may be in the rear of your vehicle that you would not see using just your mirror.  If you aren’t mechanically inclined, it can be installed at any Best Buy Mobile Service center.  To see why this might be beneficial for you check out the following video.

To sum up our review here is what we liked and what we thought could be improved about the RoadMate 9055-LM.

Liked

• Large 7” screen
• The ability to choose between taking toll roads or not
• Highway Lane Assist feature works well to get you into the lane that you will need to be in for freeway exits or turns
• Not necessary to know the exact address of a business to locate it using the Points of Interest function
• Included Power Adapter
• Ability to add the Back-Up Camera kit to use with it, for safety
• Small enough profile to put into your glove box when not in use

Needs Improvement

• The Points of Interest function doesn’t always work – for example both when searching for a specific brand of gas station and for a store, when following the directions given, neither were at the location we were brought to.
• Even with the unit at full volume, you will not want any competing noise.  Music or loud talking may cause you to miss a turn or lane change.

The RoadMate 9055-LM would make a great holiday gift for your loved one.  It is available for a retail price of $279.99 at MagellanGPS.com,  Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and other retailers, along with the Back-Up Camera Kit ($149.99).

[box] Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above to review in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. This post uses affiliate links.[/box]