|
| Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator | 
 enlarge
| Brand: Magellan
Category: CE
List Price: $599.99
Buy Refurbished: $129.99
You Save: $470.00 (78%)
New (26) Used (7) Refurbished (7)
Avg. Customer Rating:  314 reviews
Sales Rank: 756
Color: Silver/Black
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: Unknown
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: Unknown
Display Size: 4.3
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Clothing Size: 2GB
Size: 2GB
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 425
Model: Magellan Maestro 425
UPC: 063357118033
EAN: 0063357118033
ASIN: B000V4PZCI
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Ok, but not great... July 4, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been using GPS devices for a few years. I used Mapopolis on my Dell Axim, I own two hand helds for hiking, both by Magellan. My first real automotive GPS was a small Garmin I3, and then I upgraded to a Garmin Nuvi 350.
Recently my Garmin Nuvi stopped acquiring satellites after only 13 months of use, so I decided to switch brands and tried the Maestro 4250.
After using the Maestro for only one week I have decided to return it. The Garmins are just far superior to Magellan in the way the maps look, and more importantly the routing engine in Garmin picks better routes based on my experience of driving routes I am very familiar with.
Luckily I called Garmin and they are going to replace my unit with a refurbished one, even though it is a month outside the warranty.
Two times this week using the Maestro it had locked up on me and I had to reset the unit with a paperclip in a small hole in the unit. Now I don't always carry paperclips around with me, and I would have been screwed had I been on a road trip. Also I did upgrade to the most recent firmware on the Maestro before I began using it.
The Bluetooth function on the Maestro was not very good, I was able to sync with two LG phones. The voice quality wasn't that great, but it was useable. My address book did not sync with the unit, only the phone numbers showed up.
The voice recognition works only if your windows are rolled up and the stereo is off, and there is not a lot of road noise, and even then its functionality is very limited and not ready for prime time.
Traffic updates from what I have noticed are not that accurate and not that useful. Better off turning to a local traffic radio station.
The Magellan does boot up faster than the Garmin, and it also acquires satellites and locks on faster than the Garmin and the build quality even appears to be better on the Magellan, but none of that makes any difference if it doesn't do it's main function well... Navigating.
With the Magellan I went on a road trip up to Bear Mt. in NY state.. A few times a came upon roundabouts on Seven Lakes Drive, which can be very confusing on which exit to take. While I was driving around the roundabout the cursor was lagging behind the map screen so you really couldn't tell which exit to get off. Ok, so I had my stereo on and didn't hear the unit telling me where to get off, the map screen did me no good. The Garmin again performs much better in that respect.
I won't say that I'll never try Magellan units again, but for now I will stick with Garmin because I trust them and am more experienced with them.
No matter what unit you decide to buy, always bring maps, or printouts of your route with you. You never know when your unit will lock up or stop working.
Update 7/18/08: One thing I forgot to mention in my first review. The LCD screen is way too bright at night, even in night mode, and on the lowest setting. I found the brightness too distracting.
 Worth Buying it! July 2, 2008
Worth buying it - after checking all the reviews and comments on the web. I finally give it a shot. All the reviews on Amazom.com are pretty accurate and they are $50 cheaper at Amazon.com than Costco.
I am a mid-age chick who has no sense of directions. The POI and re-routing functions really helps me a lot. Especially when I go for sales trips and could not locate the destinations. With this little devil, I don't need to go to mapqeust.com anymore and can smoothly arrive my destination without reading the paper map.
I believe this is a marriage/relationship saver - it help me to shout up my finance's endless unwanted advice and his detour tips. Oh boy... if I could have this GPS years ago - it can really diminsh all the unnecessary fights on the road!
A good starter GPS July 2, 2008
After doing the research I purchased the Magellan 4250. It didn't have all the features I would have liked but has some that other more expensive units did not & despite some of the complaints I read I decided that if AAA recommended it then it couldn't be all bad.
Here's what I discovered:
1. A GPS is not for areas you already are fully familiar with. It will not usually route you the way you would normally go. But it will get you there in a reasonable manner. If I am in an area I don't know, I have full confidence that the Magellan will do a good job getting me where I want to go.
2. I was concerned about the screen freezing I had read about & my screen has frozen once. I had a problem getting it to reset until I realized I had a SD card inserted, once I took the card out and did a reset it came back just fine.
3. Haven't used the bluetooth while driving, but it will pair with my Razr V3. It would be nice if it had a way to connect an external microphone and if you could transfer your cells phonebook to it.
4. My area doesn't have FM Traffic so can't speak on that.
5. Maps are always going to be a problem since things change so much. I figure it is just something you have to deal with it regardless of which GPS one gets.
6. The voice recognition works reasonabbly well in my Corolla and the Text to Speech is understandable. I would have liked to be able to connect it to my radio with the USB or an Aux out but it doesn't have that ability.
A high end Garmin GPS would have had nearly all the features I would have liked to have but at more than twice the price I wasn't willing to "experiment" with GPS at that level.
Finally, IMO, I think that the Magellan 4250 is a great beginners GPS unit. It gives you a lot of features and flexibility at a reasonable price. I bought mine here at Amazon for $260 and am very happy with it.
 Solid GPS system for the price! July 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased my Maestro from Amazon at the beginning of May 2008 (for $260), after copious amounts of research (Thanks to everyone who has reviewed it so far).
So of course, the #1 complaint I read was the freeze-ups. I thought i'd take a chance for the price. So far (it is now July), I have experienced only one freeze-up (in early May), then it never happened again. I also updated the firmware a few days after the freeze, so it's possible that the firmware update helped.
but i've been extremely happy with it. It has some great features (Super Slim, Text-to-speech, voice recognition (although I don't use it that much), multi-destination planning, one-touch detours, route exclusions, traffic service, Bluetooth, HUGE POI database, etc.) and I got it for much less than the Garmin equivalent (basically the Nuvi 660).
As far as routing goes (which is of course the main reason you get a GPS), it has been outstanding. Always gets me to correct location, and re-routes VERY quickly if I happen to go off course or accidentally bypass a turn. I tested it in my hometown, which I know very well, and it often used routes that I take all the time and know to be the fastest way to get somewhere. However, some new areas are not on the Maestro maps, so I'm eagerly awaiting an update.
Not to mention I'm an AAA member, so that was another reason to get it (AAA membership entitles you to AAA updates, extended warranty, 15% off products (like map updates if they ever release them)). Magellan is also offering a free year of the traffic service right now, so that's another plus.
I gave it 4 stars vs. 5 stars because i was a little disappointed that there's no map update out yet. I wish i could give 4.5 stars.
Anyone buying the Maestro, I would also recommend the following products:
Navigon 4.3" Protective Hard Shell Case - fits the Maestro extremely well, and looks great.
Car Vent Mount for Magellan Maestro 3100 3140 3200 3210 3220 3250 4000 4040 4050 4200 4210 4220 4250 RoadMate 1200 2000 2200T Crossover 3000T 2050T 6000T 360 760 800 860T GPS - Great little mount that connects to your air vent (if you have an air vent with horizontal slats). You don't have to use a big and bulky dash mount, window mount, or friction mount.
Non-Tech Wife loves it!!! July 1, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The 1st electronic gift my user manual avoiding, tech phobic wife not only uses, but raves about. There was close to joy in her voice when telling me about finding a shorter route, bypassing traffic jams, and even taking a more scenic route.
Several product rating website says there are other GPSs as good or better (although the 4250 is highly rated), but after seeing my wife's satisfaction I'm very glad I selected this one.
|
|
|
Copyright
©
2006 Adminpal LLC | |
