We have reviewed many GPS products by Magellan and have always been impressed. They have always been on the forefront of their industry. Well navigation's patriarch has done it again. This time, it is not a true GPS unit, but rather a protective case that enhances the GPS portion of your iPhone, and turns your iPod Touch 2G or 3G into a GPS enabled device when appropriate apps such as MapQuest, Google Maps or the Magellan RoadMate apps for the iPhone.
This was tested with an iPod Touch 2ndGen and 3rdGen. The software that it was tested with was the Magellan RoadMate app (by Magellan) as well as AccuTerra (by AccuTerra). It was used as both a handheld as well as mounted on the vent of my car.
The unboxing and activation was extremely (and impressively) simple. After unboxing it, I hooked it up to my USB port and charged it for a couple of hours. While that was happening, the Roadmate app was downloaded. The app itself took about 35 minutes to download as it is over a gig. I suggest you download it directly to iTunes on your PC and install it from there. The process will go a lot faster because of it.
Once the Magellan RoadMate app and AccuTerra was installed, testing begun. So, how was it tested ? Well it was tested on several different levels;
- General Directional and POI discovery
- Long haul driving
- Head to Head with a True self contained GPS device (Magellan 3065)
- Acquisition of location and signal
The first was 3 fold. It was tested on a 145 mile journey from the border of MA/NH to Glen NH and the White Mountain National Forest. This was done head to head with the previously reviewed Magellan Roadmate3065 Commuter.
Since both devices are Magellan, top notch performance was expected. The only difference is that the tough case does not have traffic capabilities. There was also a 2 minute/1 mile difference in favor of the tough case. When questioning tech support (which was quick to answer and very helpful), it was mentioned that there could be subtle differences in the navigatigational algorithms.
The Tough Case took less than 20 seconds to acquire the GPS signal. It calculated my route of about 130 miles in about 15 seconds. While I knew the route I was going to take, I purposely got lost to see how quick the recalculation would take, and it was lightening fast; less than 10 seconds.
The case itself doubles as a charger and is advertised to double your iPhone/iPod Touch battery time. In testing, with gps and gaming use, I managed 6 hrs of time. That was great.
The case ads about 3-4 times the width to the iPod Touch/iPhone, but with that sizes, comes IPX-7 waterproof standards up to 1 meter for upto 30 minutes. I took the risk, and actually dropped my iPod Touch (in the tough case) into my fish tank for about 20 minutes. There was actually no damage, moisture or condensation found, and my iPod was working perfectly still.
There is no sensitivity loss while it is in the case. It is just as if you were touching the iPod itself. The Magellan Roadmate software is an exact duplicate of what you would see if you had a GPS device. The software is so intuitive that ease of use will amaze you.
As a sidebar, I am suggesting the optional download of Accuterra, since it is also GPS ready and has great tracking features as well as topographical features as well. It is perfect for the walking and hiking you may do with a gps. While the Roadmate devices also have a feature that allows for walking navigation, it is not protected from water or shocks as the iPhone or iPod touch would be in the Tough Case.
This is a highly recommended product. You don't have to be an explorer or an outdoors man to need it, you simply need a destination and the desire to protect your iPhone or iPod Touch.
You can learn more at www.magellangps.com. If your are ready to buy, head on over to Amazon.com for a great deal.
Great review! I am still
Great review! I am still working on getting my loaner unit from Magellan for my test. It's nice to add extra functionality to the Touch that provides great extra usability.
Blog Comment
I wish you would have review the Toughcase using an Iphone. There are some drawbacks to the case to use it everyday. For one, I believe there is no direct quick access to the silence button on the side of the iphone. Also, I read in another review that when using the case, the headphone jack does not work, so you are unable to use the ipod features of the iphone. I had hoped your review would have been more objective and complete.
roadmate tough case
Jeff, while i can not respond to the silence button issue, i can state for a fact that the headphone jack works great and i have never had an issue.
Not worth the money.
I recently got a the toughcase and I have not been able to get acceptable results. I own a iPhone 3GS and the internal GPS is appalling. I expected the toughcase GPS to be superior and be the savior to the iPhones internal GPS. Wow was I wrong. In testing I found the GPS to be 95% as bad as the internal iPhone GPS. I recorded a tracklog with MotionX lite while I went for a 2km walk. While walking I noticed the 'here i am' icon in MotionX lite was moving sporadically like it does when using the internal GPS. it was not a good sign. When I got home I downloaded the tracklog and took a look at what was going on. The problem evident in the tracklog file was a delay in the data. Frame packets would be similar to this
1sec,15sc,1sec,3sec,16sec,3sec,15sec and so on.
The 15+ second gaps makes it as bad as the internal GPS. Not to be beaten I assumed it might be a fault with my iPhone so I took the unit to a friends place and used there iPhone. I did a 200 meter walk about the street and records a tracklog. The tracklog showed 2 frames.. yes 2.. So not a problem with my iPhone. i then tried a 2 different firmwares on my iPhone 3.13 and 4.01. I iPhone was originally 3.12. Results where all the same, delayed frames like the internal GPS of the iPhone (google iphone gps lag). Each time when testing I checked I had 2 blue LED status lights on the case indicating Battery and GPS features enabled.
I contacted Magellan support and got a reply in 16 hours. They completly misunderstood the problem and started talking about a roadmate update is not yet available. i never mentioned roadmate in my support ticket.
So far the Magellan toughcase only value to me is ti is waterproof and has a battery. An expensive way to waterproof you iPhone and extend the battery life.
Complete waste of $$$
Tough Case
I have no idea why you are having such problems. It worked flawlessly on my iPod Touch. The gps got me to where i had to go, and i had no problems. As for an upgrade to the Roadmate app, the one i have is the most current one and again, worked fine.
ipod 4th gen?
Do you know if it will work with the Ipod 4th generation, if not when?
No it will not work with the
No it will not work with the ipod touch 4. I researched the Hell out of this one and even Magellan could not answer the questions for me. They had no CLUE about their own product!! Anyhow, I found a guy who bought one and tried it with his ipd 4. Martin was saying that: There is one on/off switch in the ToughCase, but you have to take the iPod/iPhone out to actually use it. (I guess that's hard to believe; but it's true.)
Also he sid that he got it to work but the itouch 4 didn't fit well into the caseS - yes I said cases. Apparently, you need to snap your itouch into and internal case first - THEN that case sanps into the larger case and then you snap the flaps down.
I itouch 4 is also dodgy on my bose sound dock - the "fit" just isn't there. So, all in all, you may wish to wait until the ToughCase is released for the itouch 4 (but consider the price - you can buy a pretty good Garmin for the $200 price tag Plus the car software $60+) - you may want to check out Dual Electronics GPS dock. It comes with a FREE auto/car dock and FREE car nav software.
Let me clarify that last post
Let me clarify that last post I made.
When you buy the ToughCase, you have to ALSO buy the software for the car (which is costly) - you don't have to do this with the Dual system - it's free.
What is nice about the ToughCase is that it's completely sealed - so taking in on the boat or hiking is a little safer than the Dual.
Magellan ToughCase Audio Output
The audio output only works when the power to the ToughCase is on. This is because the audio is shunted through the ToughCase circuitry.
A bit of a drawback because it would be nice not to have to use the ToughCase battery just to listen to music, but nonetheless it works and is necessary to permit the waterproofing.
I hope this helps. I almost had the same panic when I first tried it and thought I had a defective unit, but it's fine. As long as one of the two lights is on (battery only or battery+gps) it will work.