Before I try to answer the question, what is Magellan GPS content manager, a couple of words about the brand? Statistics show that Magellan is the second followed by TomTom, but on the first podium is Garmin GPS for everyday use brand.
These are just the stats, and it doesn’t mean that one is much better than other. Everyone has pros and cons.
Very simple and understandable is described in Wikipedia
„Magellan Navigation, Inc. is an American producer of consumer and professional grade global positioning system receivers, named after Ferdinand Magellan, the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe. Headquartered in San Dimas, California, with European sales and engineering centers in Nantes, France and Moscow, Russia, Magellan also produces aftermarket automotive GPS units, including the Hertz Neverlost system found in Hertz rental cars. The Maestro, RoadMate, Triton, and eXplorist lines are Magellan’s current consumer offerings. The company also produces proprietary road maps (DirectRoute), topographic maps (Topo), and marine charts (BlueNav) for use with its consumer GPS receivers.“
Our topic is not about the specifics of different Magellan GPS units like some of them can be found even in my reviews. When searching some details about one of the most popular GPS for ATV like Magellan eXplorist TRX7 I discovered that very popular search keyword related to the theme is „Magellan GPS Content Manager. “
I will not discover the America if I claim that GPS device’s software, firmware, and maps should constantly be updated. Road and street constructions are in progress everywhere so overdue maps could lead to dead end, time loss and a waste of money. According to the Federal Highway Administration, it is 4.2 million miles of roads in the USA.
Various brands have a different update policy.
Garmin offers a “nuMaps Guarantee,” which means you’re entitled to free map updates for the first 90 days. After three months, you should open your wallet to purchase updates either you can take advantage of Garmin’s nuMaps Lifetime package for your region.
TomTom charges about 60 EUR for quarterly map updates yearly for Western Europe. I think that it is expensive and this is one of the reasons why I step back from this very good brand. I was the TomTom fan for a long time, from the very beginning of road navigation GPS era back to the beginning of the century.
Before I continue the topic of Magellan GPS updates and content manager, in particular, some words about so-called free GPS map updates.
The Internet is full of free offers or some for a tiny price. If someone offers the same product for $5, even for free at all but GPS manufacturer for $50, do you really think that it is not a stolen product?
It is internet piracy and sometimes even offline steeling at all. So when you purchase GPS map update CD for $5, then you are in a company with a thief. Map updating requires a lot of material and human resources to end up with the final product and how would you feel if you would not be paid for work.
From the other hand, you are free to choose smartphone app where updates, as a rule, is for free and even most expensive application is cheaper than standalone device price. Another story is whether the app can compete with factory installed car GPS or dedicated navigation system. In general, not.
Latest GPS units can be connected to the internet either with installed SIM card or pairing with your phone, so the argument about lack of immediate information is inappropriate. In some features, those GPS devices even can beat the iPhone or Android online GPS navigation applications.
About Magellan GPS content manager. I will be honest and I admit that I have never owned a GPS of this brand and all the information is obtained from the Internet. I do not see anything wrong with that because we can get almost all the necessary knowledge on the topic online.
In other words, let’s say I have Magellan GPS device but all papers, instructions or CDs are missing. How can I update firmware, software or get latest street maps?
It can be done with a help of content manager.
Content Manager is a PC and Mac application that synchronizes with your Magellan GPS device to deliver new map updates and product information. To update your GPS download content manager and follow the steps below.
- Download and install Content Manager on your Computer
It is free, and it is available for all popular Windows and Mac OS. It’s small in size and can be installed in under a minute. The hardware requirements should be sufficient if you are using Windows 10 or one of the latest versions of Mac OS.
2. Turn on your GPS. Wait for the menu to appear and connect to your Computer using the USB cable. Usually, Magellan GPS comes with Micro USB cable.
3. Content manager will automatically prompt you for the update or select „Check for updates now.“
I found that real users are very satisfied with software’s controls which are easy to learn, thanks to the interface’s efficient layout. By me, that managing addresses, downloaded contents, and access to the general information about your GPS device on separate tabs is a great solution. All downloaded information as well as addressed can be easily managed and stored on your GPS device. The information includes model and serial numbers, software version, internal and card memory and you can even find a mileage report, which includes your total and top speeds, longest trip and so on.
Those are pros, but the cons cannot be found at the moment.
My conclusion is that Magellan GPS content manager is a convenient, easy to learn and friendly tool to keep car GPS device or GPS for ATV trails updated.
??
Sveicināti vēlreiz!
Es uz šo lapu nonācu no latviešu godigsdarbsinterneta.com. Cik sapratu tad latviski rakstīts koments jums nesagādās problēmas. Vispirms gribas pateikt, ka weblapa par GPS navigāciju man ļoti patika un tajā ir daudz noderīgas informācijas. Es gan neesmu liels speciālists šajā jumā, bet, kā jau gandrīz visi autobraucēju, arī es lietoju navigāciju. Pārsvarā gan lietoju Waze, bet man ir arī kvadrocikls un pa mežu braucot, ir gadījies apmaldīties. Esmu mēģinājis dažādas telefona aplikācijas un pat mūsu Jāņa Sētas maksas aplikācijai ar topo kartēm, nav ne vainas, bet vairs negribu riskēt ar savu dārgo Samsung. Varbūt nomainīt pret Caterpillar? Man gan tas telefons kā tāds nepatīk. Ko jūs ieteiktu lietot Latvijas 4×4 braucējiem kur nav parasto navigatoru celiņi un taciņas? Es nedaudz papētīju to Trail Tech Voyager, bet uz ātro roku nekur tādu aparātu neatradu pie mums. Man tīri simpātisks likās tas Magellan Explorist verķis. Ko jūs ieteiktu?
Paldies
Ainis Z.
??
Sveiks Aini! Dabiski ka nav problēmas latviski vai arī krieviski. Par kvadrocikliem, džipu neceļeim vai sniega močiem runājot. Jāņusētai nav ne vainas un Garmin Latvija, cik noprotu, piedāvā samērā labas kartes šīs markas GPS navigatoriem. Neesmu tās lietojis, bet Garmin ir okei tākā arī produktam ir jābūt labam. Man gan vairāk, par nožēlu tikai teorētiski, imponē Trail Tech Voyager. Kāpēc? Tur ir iespēja pašam veidot savus neceļus un dalīties ar draugiem. Var paskatīt manā rakstā, tur ir labs video kā to izdarīt. Par nožēlu Magellan Explorist jaunākie modeļi Latvijas offroadistiem pagaidām nespīd. Var jau būt ka var ka var kāds atvst no ASV, jo es pat UK Amazonē to neatradu. Ja skatāmies ko cilvēki reāli pērk, tad vadoties no reālajiem nopirktajiem aparātiem no manas weblapas, tad topā ir Trail Tech Voyager, vidēji ap 20 gab mēnesī un Magellan Explore ap 5 gab. Trail Tech gan arī pa kāda tiem atgriezts atpakaļ. Es domāju tāoēc ka cilvēki uzmanīgi nepapēta ka tas nav parasta veida GPS navigarors, bet gan trailu un nav lietojams braukšanai pa lielceļiem.
Excellent article on the Magellan GPS Content Manager.
I use two GPS devices depending on which car I ma in. My wife’s car has a built-in navigation panel but the maps are out of date so I can’t find my way around new neighborhoods.
My other car does not have a GPS so I have a Tom-Tom with lifetime map updates.
My son has a Magellan and it is always out of date, I have to remind him constantly to get the maps updated so I am going to tell him about the Content Manager. Maybe that will help.
By the way, what is the cost for North America?
Thanks for the information.
Ed
Thanks Ed for stopping by. The first of all I’d like to say that it is great that your family members have different GPS brands. None is perfect, but at the end, you can see pros and cons in different driving situations. For example, not long ago TomTom was my favorite brand, and still, I sometimes use my old Go720 especially when driving winding unknown roads. So far I have not found other GPS unit which shows off the next bend of the road so well. About Magellan GPS map update prices. It slightly depends on the model and price range is $30-$70. It can be easily checked here.
Hey I think you have done a great job on your site. I can see you have done a lot of work. Your navigation is well defined and it is easy to find the different topics on your website. The addition of google Adsense is a great way to just monetize the traffic to your site. Great job
Thank you, Paul. I feel great when reading such words. Honestly, I enjoy what I am doing more and more. I am constantly learning and it makes you feel young. So I’m trying to provide real and valid information to those who are looking for it. Not always it succeeds perfectly, so we are humans to communicate and with a common effort try to find the right answer.
This is really cool. I am a truck driver and I have been using my iphone gps for a while now, but since I updated it has been giving me wrong directions and I just can’t trust it anymore.
So i have been looking around for a good gps, but there is so many to choose from which makes it hard to make a decision.
I am glad I came across this article, it cleared every thing up for me. I am definitely going to look into this Gps.
Thanks, great review.
Thanks Garrett for stopping by. Luckily there is a wide selection of dedicated GPS devices for truck drivers. About some of the as Garmin dezl 560LMT and TomTom PRO 7250 you can read in my post. Magellan produces budget range e.g. RoadMate 6630T-LM with dash camera for about $230 is a good choice if your track is not equipped with a dash camera.