Magellan eXplorist 500 Handheld GPS Receiver

Pros: Ease of use, rechargeable battery, geocache manager, & memory expandability with SD memory cards.

Cons: High price for additional mapping software ($100+.

The Bottom Line: Pick one of the new Magellan Explorist units and buy it. With all they have to offer, they are well worth the money. Very reasonably priced.

Review: I am new to the world of GPS so I did a lot of research into the different handheld GPS units. The primary two companies that appear to be at the forefront of the industry are Garmin and Magellan. I investigated each company and its products and was ...

Pros: SD card expandible and use of replaceable AAA batteries

Cons: Not being able to turn back light off

The Bottom Line: Great handheld mapping GPS. It's easy to use.

Review: I own a Magellan eXplorist 210 and an eXplorist 500LE. Both are palm-sized and fit in a universal vent-clip cell phone holder in the car. Verizon, Radio Shack, and cellphoneshop.com sell these holders; the cellphoneshop.com version was cheapest, had the ...

Pros: Interface, menus, color screen, ease of use

Cons: tiny joystick, Nee to purchase more detailed maps

Review: This is the GPS that has helped me Geocache across the US. It has the right software to put the geocaches right on the screen. You hook it up to the computer and load your caches and they are on the map to find. All of the menus are very functional and ...

Pros: Lightweight Simple to use Well formatted screens Lots of features for the price. Excellent reception.

Cons: Hard to enter data Needs investment of rechargeable batteries

The Bottom Line: I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a GPS receiver in this price range. Functionality improves with purchase of accessories and software.

Review: This unit was purchased as a replacement for my Magellan Meridian Gold series. I was quite surprised when I got it to notice how much smaller and lighter it is. I don't know the specifics but the screen seems almost the same size and the color screen ...

Pros: Excellent file management system. Small size. Great reception.

Cons: Buttons wear down. Interface cable hard to attach.

The Bottom Line: Great value in a full featured GPS.

Review: I have had this unit since it was first introduced 2.5 years ago, and it works great. The file management system if the best of any GPS. If you are an experienced user, you will like how you can save track, route and POI files, move them into folders ...

Pros: Sensitive receiver, easy to connect to PC, expandable, good battery life, reasonable display.

Cons: Poor user interface, not waterproof (see above), poor customer service.

The Bottom Line: If you're prepared to put up with a slow and clunky user interface, this unit works well. Beware that maps may be expensive.

Review: This is my 5th GPS unit and was bought for general use (hiking, skiing, occasional driving and as a backup for gliding). My initial impressions are that it has a very sensitive receiver, the display is adequate but the user interface is poor. PC ...

Pros: Compact, quick,waterproof, light

Cons: Only works with Magellan maps, poor Magellan Support

The Bottom Line: It depends what your needs are. Check out what Garmin can offer and what software you want to run on the unit. Look around.

Review: I wanted a small GPS unit principally for my off road mountain biking activities. It's a real hassle stopping the bike unfolding the OS map (nb the Ordnance Survey maps are the best topographical maps available for Britain) and working out precisely ...

Pros: simpy couldn't find any in comparison to Garmin

Cons: expensive, inaccurate, terrible customer support in India

Review: Very disapointed with overal quality of base map( inaccurate, missing highways and major cities). I purchased additional software and guest what now you need a memory card, pay for the software and still it is not what they claim (3D and accuracy). Try ...

Pros: Fast satellite Acquisition Small and compact Takes SD-Cards Topo Map Canada

Cons: Small joystick Battery compartment poor Overall low quality

Review: Recently bought a Magellan Explorist 500 LE and it was defective so took it back for a replacement. CONS: Battery post plate keeps sliding up. Battery cover won't fit perfectly tight and every one I looked at is the same way. It takes more expensive ...

Pros: None. The eXplorist 500 is overpriced and only good for short trips.

Cons: Losing or damaging the non-standard proprietary charging cable makes the eXplorist 500 worthless.

Review: The Magellan eXplorist 500 has a lithium ion battery and a non-standard proprietary power and USB connector. This makes it inappropriate for travelling because the eXplorist 500 cannot be recharged with a standard 12 volt vehicle inverter or a mains ...