Software is not transferable to a new unit.
I accidently destroyed my 600 and was looking to replace it until I found out that the map software is not transferable to a replacement. At least thats what I thought I read in the e-mail support reply:

>>"I understand from your mail that, you can tranfer maps from one unit to another."

>>"I would like to inform you that you cant able to transfer the maps from one unit to another its not possible."

Uh, what? First of all that message made little sense. And second, it appears I paid over $300 for what is now useless software.

Some other problems with the unit itself is the outlandish non-standard USB connection to which the charge cable must connect, thereby making it impossible to charge a second battery outside the unit. This charging scheme also causes needless wear on the nonstandard USB cable.

With a 2gb SD card inserted the unit was very slow to start up, and occasionally the unit locked up before it got to the main screen.

The menus could be laid out more intuitively.

Still, I was looking to replace the unit because I didn't consider these problems to be show stoppers because the unit does have a good combination of features. However the inability to transfer the software is what will make me refuse to buy another Magellan.

Don't buy a Magellan
I will never buy another Magellan product. I have sent my Magellan eXplorist 600 back for repairs three times. Twice because it burned out as soon as I plugged it into my car charger (using the appropriate Magellan car adapter). My husband and I have spent half our lives on hold with technical support. When they say they'll call back, they don't. Two months ago was the last time I sent my unit back for repairs. We finally got ahold of them and they are replacing the unit with another Magellan product. I'm not excited. I guess they would have just ignored the repair order and blown us off, had we not perservered in trying to contact them. I rarely am this dissatisfied with a product. If I am, good customer service usually rectifies the problem. In this case, the product stinks, as does the customer service. Never again Magellan. I wasted alot of money on the unit and also accessories. Steer clear and don't make the same mistake!

A nice unit for what it is
I own both the Explorist 600 and Garmin 60CSX. It would be great if I could combine the two. Although both Magellan and Garmin have newer, more expensive models out, the new units have their own problems so I have not been tempted to upgrade.

As far as the Explorist, there are many things that I like about it: It is a nice, compact device which fits perfectly into my hands -- it is easy to take when traveling in foreign lands. Its screen is great -- I prefer it to the Garmin. The geocache functions are better than the Garmin. It gets good reception in spotty areas. The sd card gives it a lot of expandibility. I can load a number of separate waypoints (or caches) and maps and switch them in and out depending on where I am and the type of map I want. This has been very useful if I am traveling in more than one area and want to download waypoints for each area that I will be visiting. I get decent battery life, but carry a spare battery just in case.

Of course, there of course, other problems. First, I have to wonder if Magellan will phase out the Explorist series in the near future in favor of the Triton. The Explorist can be slower to get a lock on the location than the Garmin, although both can get good reception where other units fail.

The mapping is generally not as good as the 60CSX (although there are specific uses where the Explorist outshines its rival). I prefer how the Explorist maps look, but the Garmin topo maps have trails that the Magellan lacks; you have to manually tell the Explorist to reroute if you are using it for street guidance; the Garmin maps are updated more often and more are available. With that said, the maps work better for me if keep them smaller and I load them into the sd card in sections, but that means switching as I move from one region to the next.

The joystick can be a little iffy -- I have had problems with the rubber case breaking in both the Explorist 500 and 600 models. Although the joystick will still work, I have had Magellan replace one unit, only to find the same problem in another. This has been a consistent problem with the Explorists I have used, perhaps I am just hard on joysticks.

The USB/battery charger connection with the Explorist is not a standard port, but rather it screws into the unit, making it a little more vulnerable and a lot more cumbersome.

I have had no problems with Magellan customer support, although the turn around time can be slightly longer than Garmins if the unit needs to be repaired or replaced.

Magellan eXplorist Models are the worst!
Two times I tried to get Magellan support and was on hold for 45 minutes the first time and the second time I was on hold for more than 60 mintues until the support office closed at 8:00 pm EST at which time no one was going to answer. The support is terrible without question.

Now lets talk about the product. My two month old Magellan eXplorist 500 has died. First it lost it BaseMap which was a pain to replace. I had to pull the battery, replace the batter, reboot the unit and go into reformat mode. Then copy the BaseMap back into the unit and life was good for about a week. Now it cuts off on it's own requiring the battery to be pulled to reset and turn the unit back on. After doing this a few times for a few days, it has now finally died and now I'm stuck with a broken GPS and no support. YOU THINK THIS WILL BE THE LAST MAGELLAN I BUT?

Magellan has no support!
I have the explorist 600. Using this GPS in the field is a pleasure. Uploading the detail maps are a total pain. Not intuitive at all. My major complaint is the proprietary usb/charging cord has been unavailable for over two months! Magellan support has no clue as to when the cord will again be available. Therefore I cannot charge the battery and cannot use the gps. I will never buy their products again.