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| Magellan Maestro 3250 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator | 
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| Brand: Magellan
Category: CE
List Price: $449.99
Buy New: $162.00
You Save: $287.99 (64%)
New (38) Used (3) Refurbished (3)
Avg. Customer Rating:  107 reviews
Sales Rank: 908
Color: Black/Silver
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: Unknown
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: Unknown
Display Size: 3.5
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 5.1 x 9.8 x 2.1
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: Magellan Maestro 3250
Model: Magellan Maestro 3250
UPC: 063357117951
EAN: 0763357117950
ASIN: B000V4PZBY
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A very nifty gadget August 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This 3.5" GPS works very well. The instructions are on a CD-ROM which makes things a bit inconvenient but there is also a pamphlet which explains all the basics. For anyone who tends to get lost while driving
this is a beautiful thing to have.
Great GPS for auto trips. July 30, 2008
I've found Magellan units more user friendly than comparable Garmin Nuvi units and this model 3250 is no exception. I have used this GPS for local routing as well as a few longer road trips. On longer trips the routing has actually been more efficient than my older Magellan Roadmate 500 saving time and gas. I've found the POI database to be much more up to date in this unit when compared to a new Garmin Nuvi (even after updating the Nuvi's database). I did notice that this Magellan GPS wanted me to go the wrong way on a one way street and turn onto an overpass from the street passing below... These errors both occurred in Duluth, Minnesota which has a pretty complex street layout. Overall I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend it to others.
 Very portable, but a Basic GPS. July 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Pros:
- Very compact size (easily fits in pocket and still have room for other stuff)
- Text-to-Speech (announces street names)
- For upcoming maneuvers, it becomes a split screen showing in more detail (I like this feature the most. However, it would have been nice to see a more detailed view of which lane to be in for complicated highways.)
- Warns a few miles ahead of upcoming street/maneuver, and a bell/chime (whatever sound you choose) indicates that it is the spot to do it.
- Simulation of route (you can start the simulation from any place you want and up to 2x speed)
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Cons:
* Lack of POI (Points of Interests)
* POI search is slow
* Having to go through "User options" and then scrolling down to "Map options" AND THEN selecting between 2D map or 3D view. Quite cumbersome. Only zoom in/out. It would be REALLY nice to have an option on the main map screen to quickly switch to different views; for example, "North facing up", or such as "Sky view", where it'll zoom way out for you, when you're just on the highway for miles. The angle of the 3D view is also fixed - you can only zoom in/out.
* No entire overview of the route that you'll be taking to fit the entire screen (you have to manually zoom all the way out yourself)
* Although it gives the itenerary directions overview, it won't actually show you where that road is on the map (you'll have to look for it yourself). So what happens if you click on one of the streets on the itinerary? It will only give you the option to exclude taking that road. I'd be really nice to quickly preview that road automatically on the map without having to zoom-in/out scroll around yourself or having to go through the simulation.
* You CANNOT add specific roads that you want to take instead; in other words, you can't add multiple stops for the GPS to calculate everything for you. There is a thing called "Trip Planner" but it only calculates one destination at a time - it's basically just a favorite destination folder
* There is only four basic route calculation option: "FASTEST/SHORTEST DISTANCE" and "LEAST/MOST USE OF FREEWAYS" (and Avoid toll roads)
* You have to hold the power button for awhile to turn on and sometimes it does not turn on right away. It will NEVER turn on just from pressing once.
Upgrading your firmware to 4.6 will add improvement with the scrolling through the maps. Before it had to load each section of the map, which I absolutely hated, but now it just has to load the street names. However, it's still not as smooth like the Mio GPS. The arrows to indicate the route turns is also bigger and easier to see after the firmware udpate.
The manual pictures on how to snap on the mount into the cradle is absolutely horrible. The orientation is wrong, so it just makes things confusing. The cradle will not lock if you follow how the picture is showing.
By saying "Magellan" to the mic, it will allow you to use voice commands. However the commands are only for "Going home", Reroute/cancel, "Searching nearest restraunts, gas, ATM, etc" and "Where Am I" (telling you where exactly you are). The voice commands would actually be useful if it could automatically switch map views (2D view to 3D, etc) or zoom in/out for you. It doesn't always work well; often when I say "Nearest Restaurant" it ends up showing the Nearest ATM. It did seem neat at first, but it's more frustrating and faster going through the options yourself.
Thanks to another reviewer on here on recommending a case for this GPS. The case can be bought for less than $1! It's Johnson+Johnson's First Aid To Go! It's like the case was made for this GPS. It's amazing how perfectly it fits in that. You can even have room to put a small stylus. And best of all, you get free band aids!
I do not have a phone to use the Bluetooth feature for this GPS, so I'm afraid I cannot comment on that. I did get a 1-year traffic subscription (had to upgrade firmware for the code to work), but I have yet to see the benefits of it while driving.
Overall, this is a basic GPS, with some nice features but falls short in other areas. If you want something really simple to use with basic menus, then you'll be happy with this. However, if you want more customization and freedom, I'd check out some other GPS.
Great little navigator! July 24, 2008
I purchased the Maestro 3250 as a replacement for the Road Mate 300 I've had for a few years. The RM300 worked fine but it's obsolete - no new maps. The 3250 has the same size screen but does not require SD cards for maps. All maps are internal. There IS an SD card slot which is used to backup user settings and the address book.
The screen is very bright and quite readable on a bright sunny day. The suction cup base works great on the provided disk that I put on the top of the dash. It is much easier (than the RM300) to set up a location to route to and/or enter the location in the address book. Text to speech works real well. Some names may be harder for the unit to pronounce than others but all were understandable. Although limited, I really like the voice response capability. It worked quite well while driving. The built in battery is a nice touch and makes the unit portable with about 3 hours battery time. All in all, this is a very good device for the cost.
I did run into a problem during set up. It locked up and wouldn't clear using the reset. After using Ask Maggie on the Magellan website I was able to correct the problem by pressing and holding the power switch for several seconds. There was a firmware upgrade that I later installed that addressed some problems, including this one hopefully. Hasn't locked up since.
Great unit; traffic registration is a pain July 23, 2008
The other reviews discuss the unit in some depth. I will give a few observations, but then move on to the part that is a pain.
First, I chose Magellan because when I looked at a broad variety of units, it was the fastest. It boots quickly, syncs to satellites quickly, and the POI locator is really fast. You can very quickly find the nearest gas station, grocery store, park, or whatever else it is that you need. It is an easy to use unit, with all the features you could want.
I bought this one instead of the wider screen 4250 because of the incredible price on amazon. At the price I paid for this unit, it was impossible to resist. Plus, it will be very easy to carry with me when I am walking through cities and don't want to get lost.
Another thing that is great about the unit, and like any GPS, is that people with guy genes don't like to ask directions. I will hardly ever stop to do so. But, I am very happy to ask a gadget for directions. Thus, if you are a man, you can get great directions all the time and not have to fight against millions of years of genetics. Instead, you get to use a guy-toy. If you are a woman, this makes a great present for a guy. He will love it, and not realize that you are simply saying you are sick of him being lost and not stopping for directions. Everyone wins.
Now to the annoying part.
The first thing I wanted to do was install the live traffic reports. I live in Seattle. Our traffic is terrible and the roads are constantly under construction, so I figure the unit will pay for itself if it helps me avoid traffic from two ballgames.
First you need to register to get a code. This involves signing up on the website and then typing in the long annoying registration code. Which then gives you the access code. I didn't check if they are the same, but I have a feeling that they aren't.
In order to register you need to type in the unit serial code. This is printed in microscopic print on the back of the unit. You have to type it in twice (copy and paste works...). For me, figuring out which numbers were 8's and 6's almost required a magnifying glass. You might need to find someone who is too young to drive in order to read the digits. Wouldn't hurt if they printed it just a little bit larger.
Next, you get the code, but there is a warning saying you need firmware 4.6 to use traffic reports. My unit came with 2.3. Believe them. Being a guy, I tried the code anyway and it gives a nice message "invalid code". This doesn't mean you typed it incorrectly. It means you have to upgrade your firmware to the latest version.
This might be why the units were at such a great price... In short, if you want traffic, you need to upgrade the firmware.
To do so, you need to go to the Magellan site and download the firmware. They tell you the unit has to be fully charged and this can take 4 hours using the car charger. Wow. That is about $50 of gasoline these days... Since it doesn't come with a wall charger, you can charge it from your USB port. In my case I used a phone charger ... it takes the same miniUSB connector that Blackberry's, Motorola's, and many other phones use. Maybe the gps charger you pay for works much faster... for me, after charging overnight, the battery still wasn't fully charged.
Next, you need to download the software. This is easy enough to do. Note that the software says XP or 32 bit Vista only. I figured maybe they were being overly cautious. Since I mostly run Vista/64 I thought I'd try that. Nope. They mean it. The installer hangs Vista/64 nicely, tying up the machine until it finally decides your hard drive is full. On XP, however, it runs quickly. (It is a 75M download... make sure you have a broadband connection to download it)
Once that is done, upgrading the firmware is a snap. It said it could take 20 minutes or so, which is why they want the battery fully charged. For me it took about 3 minutes.
Now it is time to type the magic code in again. This is a 24 character alphanumeric string. On a keyboard, these strings are annoying enough. But on the GPS, typing MJ2PQ4 isn't 6 keystrokes. It is M J [123] 2 [ABC] P Q [123] 4. Thus, 24 characters to type is closer to 36 characters to type. That is a pain.
Using mixed alphanumeric rather than just alpha adds a lot more security to a password. For example, for a two character password it is 1296 choices rather than 676. But note that a three character alpha only password would give 17576 choices. Thus, if instead of making us type in 36 characters going back and forth between the alpha and numeric keys, Magellan made the magic code alpha only and a few characters longer, they could have the broader security they want and we could type in far fewer keystrokes. Also, it isn't as if anyone is going to try to crack the code with the GPS keypad. The security is a bit overblown, and again, could be more secure and easier for users at the same time.
In short. I really like this unit and it is a great deal for the price. Getting traffic reports to work will take effort.
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