The Magellan brand has been around since global positioning was in its toddler years. The company was a stand-alone producer of consumer GPS products for many years until, through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it became part of Thales Navigation. Thales Navigation is the worldwide brand of professional and industrial GPS equipment, while the Magellan name is the worldwide brand of consumer GPS navigation products.
The Thales Group is a global heavyweight in the Aerospace, Defense, and Information Technology industries with billions of dollars in revenues every year. With such immense clout behind the Magellan GPS brand, they are sure to be a major player in the global positioning industry well into the future. Their family of GPS positioning and navigation products are highly regarded in the industry and serve almost every corner of the consumer market.
Magellans Roadmate series of automotive navigation devices supply voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions on a continental level. Upon purchasing a device in the Roadmate series, you choose a basemap (continent) which will be installed on your device. This basemap has all of the major roads and highways in, between, and around major metropolitan areas. Your purchase includes some detail maps of areas of more interest to you that include extensive lists of points of interest and detailed maps of areas within your selected region. Additional detail maps can be purchased subsequently.
Magellan Products for Every Consumer
If you know your region so well that you feel automotive GPS navigation is unnecessary for you, you still may want to consider the other families of products offered by Magellan. The Meridian series is Magellans all-purpose, GPS line which features waterproof construction and a high degree of accuracy. (They also make marine units which include depth charts, buoy and underwater hazard locations, as well as maps of waterways.) The eXplorist series and the SporTrak series both offer robust capabilities for hikers, bikers, joggers, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
