Nice for Starters

If you are starting out with a GPSr and aren't sure that this is something you need, then this unit is probably the best.

Compared to the eXplorist 100 this units main upgrade is the map. This is nice, but note that it only includes major highways and state roads. Still it is enough to help you figure out where you are and where you are going.

I use this unit mainly for http://geocaching.com/ and it has proved to be very good. Now that I am fully into geocaching and I am looking into upgrading to the eXplorist 500 because of it's geocaching manager, and because it has the ability to download from the computer.

My biggest problem with this GPSr is the the waypoints (or POI - Points Of Interest) will disappear. It's like the memory gets completely at least only the POIs are deleted, because all other information still remains. This is especially annoying because you have to input each waypoint using the joybutton-like control, and it is slow. I can't seem to find any information about this problem at the Magellan website, so I can't find a fix.

Battery life seems good enough. I use it just about every day for about 1 hour each time and they usually last me about 1 month. I wish that it would let me use a NiMH rechargable battery, but its power management does not recognize its charge and just shuts down. Again another reason that I want to upgrade to the eXplorist 500, because it has a rechargable battery built in.

However, if you are only going to be a casual user of your GPSr this is a great unit because of the price and the map.