4. Design

Figure 14: The Magellan RoadMate 2000

The design of the MRM 2000 is vastly improved over previous RoadMates. Most of my complaints about the RoadMate 3000 and 6000T have been addressed in the 2000. Those annoying buttons that cluttered the RoadMate 3000 and 6000T are now gone, and the overall footprint of the device is considerably smaller.

Even though the RoadMate 2000 is Magellan's least expensive unit, I also happen to think it's Magellan's most attractively designed unit to date. The unit itself is 4.28" wide and 3.15" tall. The screen is 3.5 inches diagonally (or 2.11" wide x 2.81" tall).

Figure 15: Left side of the MRM 2000

Looking at the MRM 2000 sideways we can see that the unit is relatively slim, measuring in at 1.12" thick. The rubber flap on the left-hand side covers the SD memory card slot and the reset switch.

Figure 16: Back of the MRM 2000

The MRM 2000 has a single speaker located on the rear of the unit. I found the speaker quality excellent. Even when traveling at highway speeds, the voice prompts were crisp and loud without distortion (note that the MRM 2000 does not read aloud street names, as there is no text-to-speech capability on this unit. Instead it reads stock instructions, like "turn left in .5 miles").

Figure 17: An interesting side-note, the MRM 2000 is powered by Windows CE

Nothing new here - Magellan's RoadMate's have long been running on top of Microsoft's Windows CE environment. Although this is the first time I've seen Magellan actually print it on the unit.

Figure 18: The Right Side of the MRM 2000

The power button is conveniently located on the top-right side of the unit. The rubber flap below covers the power connector, headphones jack, and USB connector. The only significant physical design flaw I could find with the MRM 2000 is the fact that you have to pull open the rubber flap to connect the power adapter to the unit, resulting in the flap dangling half open when you drive with the 12v cigarette adapter connected. It's visually unattractive, but functioned well (i.e. didn't come loose and wasn't hard to connect / disconnect).

5. Powering on the RoadMate 2000 for the First Time

Figure 19: The Reset Switch on the MRM 2000

The QuickStart guide states that the Magellan ships with the reset switch in the off position in order to conserve battery life. So before you can power up the MRM 2000, you need to lift the protective rubber flap on the left side of the unit and use a pen (or similar object) to slide the reset button up, as shown above in figure 13. I suppose Magellan has their reasons for shipping the unit this way, but I have to think this will cause countless calls to Magellan Support by customers who didn't read the QuickStart Guide and think the unit won't boot.

Once powered on, a first-use wizard launches, and asks a few basic questions about how you want to set the MRM 2000 up.

Figure 20: Language Selection

I was only actually able to choose English (US) on this screen. Perhaps the additional languages are for future support?

Figure 21: Unit of Measurement Selection

After entering the language preference (you can only select English, the other languages are all grayed out, so I'm not sure why the unit asks for this) and unit of measure preference (miles, kilometers), the MRM 2000 returns you to the main menu and you're ready to navigate.

Figure 22: Magellan RoadMate 2000 - Main Menu

Here you see the MRM 2000 powered on. I found the screen brighter than previous RoadMates, and easy to read in the car -- even in bright sunlight.

6. Mounting the MRM 2000 in the Car

Figure 23: Mounting the Suction-cup Mount to the Windshield

The suction cup is quite large on the mount, so the mount is held very firmly in place.

Figure 24: Attaching the Quick-Release Bracket

After the mount is connected to the windshield, you attach the quick-release bracket to the end of the mount. Now the MRM 2000 can be snapped in and out of the bracket without adjusting the windshield mount.

Figure 25: The MRM 2000 Attached to the Windshield Mount

Connecting the MRM 2000 to the windshield mount was easy, although I found the mounting hardware slightly excessive given the relatively small size of the 2000. Magellan's mounting hardware has always been problematic. It has improved significantly over the past few years, but still lags behind Garmin's mounts.

Figure 26: The MRM 2000 Mounted in the Car

The Magellan RoadMate 2000 looks good mounted in the car. The design of the unit is quite simple, making it blend in nicely in almost any car, and the screen is large enough that you can read it easily.

I found that the unit vibrated slightly when driving. This can be eliminated by mounting the unit such that the bottom of the mount touches the dashboard, although I prefer to keep the unit higher up in the windshield so it's in my eye-line. Mounting hardware is always a tricky thing to get just right, as evidenced by years of sub-standard mounts from many GPS manufacturers. Of the major GPS companies, Garmin seems to do the best job, with TomTom in second place, and Magellan third. I'd prefer to see a ball-and-joint style mount that connects to the back of the unit.

Figure 27: Connecting the 12v Power Adapter

Figure 28: Connecting 12v Power

You have to open the rubber flap on the right side of the unit to expose the power connector. This would make sense if the 2000 was a handheld geocaching unit that would mostly operate on battery power. But given that the MRM 2000 is an in-car only navigation unit, you're going to have it connected to the 12v power cable 99% of the time. This is unsightly and detracts from the overall appearance of the unit. I would have preferred it if the power plug was either integrated into the mount, hidden in the rear of the unit, or at least covered by a separate flap that wasn't quite so large.