Guest post written by Dylan Coe

I have come to believe that the purpose of a GPS is to reduce the number of times that I have to stop and ask for directions while on family vacations.  To all men everywhere, this is a wonderful thing!  However, can a GPS device be used in our everyday lifestyle of commuting back and forth to work?  For most of us, we don’t even think about the route to and from work because we have driven it so much.  It is as though the car knows the way.

Magellan has come up with a GPS device that is real helpful for everyday commuting especially if your drive often encounters traffic congestion.  Simply by letting the RoadMate 3065 Commuter know when you drive each day, it will wake itself up, download the traffic situation, and tell you the best way home as soon as you get behind the wheel.  This is a nice tool which helps justify having a GPS which is used all the time instead of just on longer trips.  While using this in traffic, the Magellan offers alternative routes which used on our most recent trip through Minneapolis.  I found that it took us out of the traffic jam and put us back on the Intestate once we passed the high traffic area.  This feature makes the RoadMate for commuters but also for moms on their way to a museum, soccer game, or other event that they don’t want to sit in traffic waiting for.

Rachael says that the unit “looks nice”.  From my perspective, it is sharp looking but looks aren’t as appealing to me in a GPS.  What matters to me is a screen size, ease of use, and battery life.  The screen of the RoadMate 3065 is 4.7” which is a decent size.

As far as ease of use, Rachael said she likes the RoadMate 3065 better than our Garmin.  I think she is right as the 3065’s software is smooth in giving you enough notice when to turn and where to turn.  I had much easier time with it once I set the device to “not zoom in on turns”.  I like where I can see a bigger picture of an intersection rather than a close up view.

That last area that concerns me is battery life.  The battery life for the RoadMate 3065 is adequate with a stated 2 hour time in between charges.  With so many things to plug in now-a-days such as phones, portable DVD players, iPod FM transmitters, and a GPS there is a battle plan for what is plugged in and when.  This is where is it is nice for a GPS device that has a decent battery life.  I turned the brightness down and muted the volume and got close to 3 hours of battery life.  This is plenty of time to provide power for other devices before needing to plug the GPS back in.

My wife used to be so proud of me when I would ask for directions.  Now that I have a good GPS unit, I need to find another way to make her proud.  Maybe I should give her a break from being a stewardess to the kids while driving down the road and let her drive?  I don’t think my customer service is as good as hers is so I think I will continue doing the majority of the driving on long trips so that the kids get the best customer service available!  Gentlemen, while your wife is providing drinks and munchies to the kids, the RoadMate 3065 is a solid GPS to use on long trips.  What sets it apart is that it is the best one out there for everyday commuting.  This may be feature you need to convince your wife to let you get it!

You can purchase the Magellan Roadmate 3065 for $219.  This would be a great Christmas for the on the go mom or the dad who would like to ask less directions.   This unit would also be a great gift for the teen that is driving and you would like peace of mind that they aren’t going to get lost.

Win It!

One Empowering Mommy reader is going to win a the Magellan Roadmate 2035 to make long and short trips easier! The Magellan Roadmate 2035 offers:

* OneTouch™ favorites menu lets you bookmark your favorite places and searches.
* Large 4.3″ touch screen with maps of the contiguous United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
* Free Lifetime Traffic alerts provide real-time traffic information with no subscription fees.
* Spoken street names announces streets and directions for each turn.

1. Visit Magellan and tell me another one of their products that you would like to own. (Do this one first!!)

Extra Entries:

2. Subscribe to this blog by email. Leave me a comment letting me know you did so. This will be verified.

3. Grab my button (found in the sidebar) and post it on your blog. If you have an old button, make sure you grab the new one. This must be up when the giveaway closes.

4. Leave a comment on another one of my posts – must be a nongiveaway post. Leave a comment with which post you commented on. If entering many different giveaways, it must be a different post for each giveaway.

5. Enter another Empowering Mommy giveaway. You may only use a giveaway one time for an extra giveaway.For example if you enter the iCute giveaway and leave it as your extra entry on this giveaway, you may not use the iCute giveaway as an extra entry on another giveaway. Let me know which giveaway you entered.

6. Follow me and Magellan on Twitter and tweet the below statement. Please leave a comment with your twitter name letting me know you did so. You can do this once a day.

Tweet this – Win a Magellan Roadmate 2350 to make traveling easier this holiday season!  @rachaelcoe http://bit.ly/brZR2h

8. Become a fan (or like) of Empowering Mommy and you may leave the below comment on your Facebook page. (Comment is not mandatory. I would just love if you did) Please leave a comment along with your facebook name letting me know you did so.

Win a Magellan Roadmate 2350 to make traveling easier this holiday season!  @rachaelcoe http://bit.ly/brZR2h

9. Like Magellan on Facebook. I would love it if you would leave them a comment letting them know that Empowering Mommy sent you. (It is not mandatory to leave a comment – I would just love it if you did!) Please leave a comment along with your facebook name letting me know you that you liked them.

10.  Subscribe to Magellan’s YouTube Channel. Please leave a comment letting me know you did so.

11. Click the like Facebook button at the bottom of this post. You will find this right below the disclosure statement. Please leave a comment letting me know you did so.

This giveaway ends December 8, 2010 at 12:oopm PST and is open to the US only. Make sure that you leave your email address in each comment. Leave a separate comment for every entry that you make so that these will count for you! Have fun and I look forward to announcing the winners of this great giveaway!

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of this product. You may or may not agree with my opinion. I was sent product free of charge to review. No one from the company was involved in the writing of this post. I was not paid to write this review.

Author Bio: Dylan Coe is the father of two little ones and an Assistant Pastor.  He loves spending time with his family, checking out new gadgets, and entertaining.  He blogs occasionally for Empowering Mommy but thinks he does it every day since he is married to her.