Magellan Maestro 4040 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
I've been using GPS systems for several years, and I'm always asked "what's the best GPS?" Unfortunately, that's not an easy question to answer. Just like there's no "best" car for everyone, there's no such thing as the "best" GPS.
That being said, this is a very fine GPS system, and one well worth checking out. I've owned two other Magellan systems in the past (a Roadmate 500 and a 750M), and the improvements in this system are wonderful. Excellent screen, clear even in full sun, easy to use - truly a "turn it on and go" setup. I've always been especially fond of the way Magellan announces upcoming turns - they are the only GPS that offers a incredibly accurate "bing-bong" sound right before the turn. The key word there is ACCURATE. Yes, Garmin has an upcoming turn tone, but more often than not, it's too early or too late to be effective. Magellan gets it right every time. That, and their split screen turn view is what makes this a must-own for me. The AAA guidebook is icing on the cake, and I'm finding that to be a real time saver - much better than the typical POI database since the places have been vetted by AAA. If you're a fan of the AAA paper guidebooks, you will absolutely love having it accessible through a GPS.
I also currently have a Garmin 2610 and have found that the Magellan/Garmin combo is what works best for me. The Garmins have some advantages over the Magellans and vice versa. Together, they make a great combo.
But, if you want to buy just one GPS, the Magellan 4040 is a great choice. The Garmin Nuvi line is also quite nice, but their wide-screen versions are considerably more expensive than the 4040. If it came down to the Nuvi 3XX model or the Magellan 40XX models, I feel the Magellan gives you more for your money. On the other hand, Garmin offers better support, more frequent map/firmware updates, and is an easier company to deal with by far. See - I told you that there's no such thing as the "best" GPS! Everything's a trade off.
I've also been impressed with the user interface of the Tom Tom units but, in my area, the TeleAtlas maps they use are rather poor. Both Garmin and Magellan use Navtec maps, which (on the East Coast, at least) are much better.
Some people comment on the U turn issue. For me, it's never happened to any extent. My Garmin, in fact, tends to be far more insistent on U turns than the Magellan when you go off-route. I've also found that the Magellan (this plus all the others I've used) tend to give either the same or better routes than the Garmins (I'm on my third Garmin as well). Not all the time -- once in a while you'll get a more roundabout route on the Magellan than the Garmin, but those cases are rare.
In short, you will be happy with this unit. If you're on the fence, buy this and a Garmin, and do a head to head comparison to see which one works best for your needs and send back the loser. Chances are, however, you'll end up like me with two (or sometimes three) GPS systems on your dash.
UPDATE 5/6/07: Just took the Maestro for a 450 mile trip -- continue to be very impressed with the unit. In a side-by-side test, it routinely beat the Garmin 2610 in determining that I was off route and recalculated the new route before the Garmin even realized I was not where I should be! (Off-route situations were due to me making an unplanned side trip, and not due to bad directions from either GPS). There's also a firmware update available from Magellan that allows you to use the preview turn function at any time (just like with past Magellan units). Very easy to install and, although it warns that you should backup your address book prior to the upgrade, it did not delete any of my addresses. It's always a good idea to backup your data, but the firmware upgrade does not seem to affect it.
Update 5/18: Another trip, this one nearly 1,000 in length and the Maestro once again performed very well. My sister was so impressed with the unit that immediately upon our return she placed an order for one as well. Given that she's always shunned GPS units (even though her sense of direction is as bad as mine), that's quite an endorsement for the Maestro. She had tried a Garmin Nuvi 350 that she borrowed from a friend, and found the Magellan to be more to her style. The features in particular she liked were the fact that the direction of the next turn is always visible in the lower left corner regardless of how far away the turn is. I like that feature as well - sometimes you need a lot of advance notice of what lane you should be in when the traffic is heavy. Also, she appreciated that the Magellan gave more frequent voice prompts than the Nuvi -- it will voice "stay on the current road" when you come to a major intersection or juncture on the freeway. The Garmin does not offer that. Some people find it to be nagging, but I like all the help a GPS can give.
There are so many things wrong with this GPS that I'm sure I'll forget some of the cons I want to write about it. Put it this way, if you never owned a GPS or know how other gps's operate, this MIGHT be an OK choice, at least better than getting lost without any assistance.
First I want to comment on what another reviewer said about the Magellan being the only gps to give an alert tone at the turn. This isn't true. All Garmin's have an option to turn the "Attention Tone" on. This does the same thing as Magellans. I own and have owned Garmins, Tom Toms and the Maestro (which I returned).
First the good:
1) Clear, loud speakers.
2) Decent screen, readable in sunlight.
3) Current maps.
The Bad (make a pot of coffee and take a seat, this will take a while).
1) Terrible TTS. Speaks way too fast and is very verbose and confusing. It reads EVERYTHING on the exit sign, whether it is pertinent to your exit or not. An example would be (said very fast and robotically) "In 1/4 mile right turn to two nine one to fifteen to 95 to two three nai (how it pronounces N.Y) followed by a turn diagonal stay to right nai." What a better GPS's would say is, "In 1/4 make a right to I291, then stay to your right and enter I95 south to New York."
2) Now that you have no clue what the TTS is, you have to look at the screen. The Maestro provides a split screen .5 miles to the turn BUT this disappears quickly. So now when you look to see where the heck you have to turn, your view is zoomed out, further confusing you.
3) Now to make matters worse, you try looking at the LARGE screen to read the next turn on the bottom, but the fonts are TINY. I have 20/20 vision and it's still difficult to read. So, in other words, after doing the above 1, 2 and 3, you are basically confused as to the turn. Good luck as you finally see where you have to turn and swerve to it.
4) The processor cannot be taxed, even with simple chores. You'll get the hourglass, freezing up the system and unable to cancel out. You have to wait forever for the hourglass to disappear. This happens when you search for a POI by name (even if it's close by), when you switch to the maneuver list (if your trip is more than just a few miles) and when it doesn't pair with your phone correctly. Even going from the map view to the menu, or vice versa, will bring up the hourglass. A very slow, poor processor, indeed.
5) "Route Exclusion" feature. This is a nice feature, available on some other gps, but on the Maestro it doesn't work correctly. Say you don't like the route given. You can exclude a road and the unit will recalculate and will offer a new route without that road. BUT on the Maestro, that road keeps appearing. You actually have to exclude the exit or raods after the one you want to exclude instead. This makes NO sense, because you may want to take that exit or other roads. Magellan got this SO wrong and shows just how poorly the Meastro was engineered.
6) No ETA. What other GPS does NOT give you the ETA other than Magellan and Maestro? Don't they think it's important to quickly view the estimated time arrival, so you can make adjustments to your drive? Instead the Maestro tells you how many hours or minutes left, leaving it to YOU to figure it out in your head. Might not be a big deal to some, but to others it is. To me it shows that Magellan doesn't take the consumers needs seriously, for ETA is pretty much universal in the gps world. Obviously somebody wants it.
7) Night mode. If not in the map screen, the Maestro will BLIND you at night with its brightness and colors, even if set to low.
8) Bad routing engine. Garmin and TomTom (even with their TeleAtlas maps) consistently give better routes than the Maestro.
9) U-Turns. Or should I say "Never endi ng U-turns." The Maestro, no matter what road, will keep insisting (every few seconds) for you to U-turn (in it's annoying text to speech). This can literally go on for miles. What's worse is that there is no option to disable U-turns, as most gps's have. At least with other units, even when U-turns are enabled, they know fairly quickly that you aren't making the U-turn and it will recalculate another route. Not the Maestro.
There are so many other things wrong. The bottom line, is that the Maestro can and will further confuse you while you are driving. Isn't that what a gps is supposed to eliminate?
Magellan claims there will be updates to fix some problems (didn't mention which) but I'm afraid that there are too many to address. By the time they figure out how to fix these, new models will be available and this will go ignored, much like their units made before the Maestro.
There are much better units out there right now.
This is by far the best GPS I have ever used. I took it for a test run right out of the box and tried my best to get it confused. Every time I would on purpose make a wrong turn it would recalculate the route in a very short time and keep me on my way.
I have seen nothing slow or sluggish about this unit. The features are great and the POI were to me amazing. I live in a town of only about 8000 and it had a very large listing of anything I was looking for even some small places I never thought would be listed.
You will not go wrong with a purchase of this unit.
This is my favorite GPS ever. I'm confused by some of the reviews here. The screen and colors go way beyond expectation. I'm familiar with older magellan product and have always had excellent performance in the past. This is no exception.
The main reason I wanted this one is the wide screen. It gives clear detail of the roads off the highway while giving clear directions ahead.
The touch screen goes way beyond prior units. Its very easy to operate and insert address. The points of interest are nice on my prior units but this does it by exit. No points of interest behind like others.
Do yourself a favor and see what sub $400 can get you here. Its an incredible deal.
It is easy to use. But like one of the reviewers (RA Fellows, April 27) said, the maps rendering/redrawing is very slow compared to other units, such as Tomtom and Mio. It is quite annoying when you have to wait at least a few seconds for the hour glass to go away before you can do anything. Other GPS instantly redraw the map as you zoom in/out. Also, this GPS does not let you zoom in continuously or multiple levels at a time. Basically, you have to zoom in or out 1 level at a time, then wait for the hourglass to go away, then zoom to next level, then wait again, and so on. Takes forever to zoom all the way in or out.
Got this unit 2 weeks ago, gave it 72 hours, then took it back to the store, paying a 15% restock fee. To me, the voice prompts were not impressive, they did not sound natural or pleasant. Some of the words she says are cut off at the end, and even though they are "custom" prompts, they all sound like unnatural text to speech and are "harsh". Overall, I was not pleased with the interface, that being the visual details and mapping on the screen, the menus to find a specific place, and the voice prompts. There is NO written manual, just a CD ROM. Even though the CD ROM says "Magellan Maestro" on the label, there was NO support for the Maestro series on it.... they had every other GPS they make, but not any of the Maestro series. I called Magellan, and after going through all their unorganized and silly phone menus, got a representative that said someone would give me a call back Tuesday or Wednesday (it was Friday) because they don't have many techs that can help with that model.
On the first night, when the screen went to "night" mode, it never switched back. Even during the day everything on the background of the screen was black.
I don't appreciate being sold a product with no support documentation, and lengthy support times via phone.
I just spent double the money on the Garmin 680 and will never look to Magellan again.
I have experimented with GPS systems going back 10 years. Last one I used was Delorme USB device with laptop. After much research I narrowed it down to Nuvi 660, TomTom 910 and stumbled on Magellan 4040. My daughter steered me to 4040 based on it's sturdy looks and screen. I did read the reviews on line and even though there are negative reviews the key navigation feature on this system are really good (multi-point trip plan, detour, exclude-route, exit-poi, split-screen before turn etc.).
It does not have MP3 (which is a good thing because menus are less complicated).
Using it for last week I find the satellite reception excellent and quick to acquire signal.
Screen is very nice 4.3" and bright (even usable in sunlight).
It's portable and compact to carry easily.
TTS instruction do sound computer generated but understandable. The chime feature before the turn is excellent and accurate.
Route re-calculation is quick 1-3 seconds if you miss a turn.
Route calculation is 1-5 seconds (5 seconds for 1500 mile trip NE to Miami).
The best feature is AAA tour guide. It has all USA,Canada,PR attraction, lodging etc. guide. Find anything near given city and click Route.
You have to experience this feature to appreciate how useful it is.
Bluetooth integration is very good too (I heard it does not download phone contacts).
Some limitations:
I do see slowness on manuver list on a long trip listing.
I do see slowness when zoom-in/out though nothing that will get in the way of nevigation (it's not as snappy as Nuvi 660).
I don't like the fact it removes map when doing route re-calculation.
I think this is a very good navigation system, I gave 4* because of slowness.
Robert
PS: I did download latest firmware 1.22 (which went smooth on first try).
Just got the maestro for my new car. After a week I am sending the maestro back to Amazon. First off, this thing is soooooo slow. Simply unbearable how ofter the hourglass comes up. So much of the software just feels unfinished ... why isn't there a night mode for the menus? The TTS is horrible and overall the unit is crude and unrefined. I can go on and on but I think the problems are well documented by others. I'm buying another harman/kardon gps-500 instead.
Specifically bought this GPS, as this has a wide screen compared to 3.5". Also, this GPS doesn't have JPEG Viewer or MP3 player, which is appreciable. I would not need a JPEG viewer, as all digital cameras have this in-built function. Also, when you have a 6 Disc In-dash changer or a single disc MP3 player (or iPod connectivity), you wouldn't prefer to store the songs in an SD card and play it on the GPS..!!
Well, Used this GPS for the last one week and the experience was good. Intentionally skipped 7 exits on highway and GPS was quick to re-calculate the route and suggesting new/alternate route before every exit. As couple of other reviewers said, this GPS is not slow in re-calculating, for sure.
I gave it 4 stars, as I observed, it was little late in sensing I missed the route. one point in time, I skipped an exit an continued on the high way. GPS thought, I have taken the exit and suggested me to make right on the end of ramp. However, with in few seconds, route re-calculation was performed quickly and new route was suggested. GPS manufacturers say the accuracy is 10 meters or so, but it is not..(In some cases, could be a small issue).
Also, this GPS is little bulky, given the fact that the maps are stored on SD Cards. (Magellan Roadmate series have a 4 GB Micro Drive and the bulkiness is justified) Compare with Garmin Nuvi, tiny and easy to carry in a shirt pocket, but maestro series need a Laptop bag or an office bag to carry.
For this GPS, buy the Dash Mount (Magellan 702223 RoadMate 700 Dash Mount) which is good and pleasant compared to the Wind shield mount that comes in the box.
Finally, Magellan Maestro series is not pricey compared to Garmin (Nuvi series). And these provide the advantage of bigger screen. I would think, 3.5" is too small for MAP display. Also, Except for Road warriors, all others use GPS during week-ends or during vacation / long drives. Given the bigger screen size and a the price (same as Nuvi 350) with advanced feature of Blue-tooth connectivity, I would suggest you can try this GPS..!
My wife and I like to "road trip" on our vacations. For us this means picking a general outbound route, a turnaround destination, and a return route. We particularly enjoy using "blue highway" routes and avoiding Interstates as much as possible. We also like to take side trips off our our main route when something looks interesting.
We bought the 4040 thinking it would be an ideal replacement for mapping our trips by hand and navigating by a paper map. Our first (and last) experience with the 4040 was a disaster. This puppy's on the way home to Amazon!
Deal-breaker complaints:
1. A "destination" to this unit is a numbered street address and city. Not possible if you are "exploring" and don't know that speicific information at the destination (we usually only know the turnaround city).
2. The "multiple destination" feature is a joke. It's really multiple final destinations in sequence. There is no way to design a complete route "via" specific intermediate points. The unit forces you to go to the first destination then calculate the route to the second, etc. Royal PITA.
3. There is no "look ahead" feature for a route, other than zoom-out. All you can see on the unit is where you are, but you cannot see where you are going. While this may be OK on a freeway (with signs and markers) it is not helpful while navigating rural secondary roads.
Bottom line: IF you always know precisely what your destination is, and that's the only place you're going, the 4040 is probably as good as any other GPS system.
However, if you're in to exploring and spontaneous side trips, this thing is useless! Look for a unit with better features for "multiple destinations" and "multiple via's."
Indispensable for everyone out there who loves to travel. Very user friendly. Just get it out of the box and go.
I read some reviews of the Magellan Maestro 4040 and heard some bad things about it being slow, calculating routes the wrong way and re-calculating routes very slow. I had the unit so far a week and do not find it slow at all and in fact I kept trying to confuse the unit and each time it re-calculated the within a couple of seconds. I like the unit very much and the POI database is very large. The Bluetooth feature is not as advanced as others but it pairs well with my Motorola RAZR 3c even though the website does not list my phone as one of the supported Bluetooth phones for the 4040. You can dial the POI numbers directly via Bluetooth. The speaker in the unit is very clear and I can understand it when says the name of the streets. This was a negative in some reviews but again I have not had any problems understanding it. It has an integrated antenna within the body of the unit and there is no need to pull out an antenna like on some other more expensive brands.
It does not have an MP3 player or pic viewer, but I have an iPod for that purpose.
My only complaint is that my unit came with the wrong cradle. This is very annoying because I have to use my cup holder and can not read the screen well when it is sideways. I call customer support and the option for the maestro series guides to a recording that says "your call can not be completed at this time, please try your call later" :-) I pressed the 3rd option on help with navigation and was connected to a live person. I tried explaining this to the person but they I guess did not care because a week later it is still that way :-) I explained the problem about the cradle and they said right away that they will send me a new one and I will get it in 7-10 business days. That was last week on 5/16. They said that I would get an email confirmation, but nothing. I call again today (used option 3 :-)), and they said that they will ship me a new one today and I should see in three days. Hhmmm We should see. This is the reason for a 4 star rating instead of 5.
Other than customer support, the 4040 performs very well and is very accurate in my opinion. For $400, you can not go wrong. I don't see the MP3 player and extra Bluetooth features (like synchronizing your phone contacts - which is neat) worth an extra $200 to $300 dollars.
Remember, if you need customer support, don't use the maestro option or you will just get a recording :-) unbelievable :-) Use option 3.
For now I will keep using my unit in my cup holder :-) until I hopefully get my replacement cradle.
UPDATE: 5-25-07, I just called Magellan Support today because 3 days have gone by and I have not seen any cradle and/or updates. They told me that the cradle is backordered and they will not receive any until the first week of June on the 7th and I should see it in about 2 weeks but there is no guarantee. Their excuse is that technical support mis-informed me about the status of the cradle. This will put me into the second week of June without using my GPS properly on the windshield mount.
Unbelievable! I would send it back to Amazon but the unit itself works flawlessly and with my luck, a whole replacement would probably net me a broken unit. So I continue to wait.
The touch screen didn't work out of the box, it has a hot spot that causes it to pick anything that comes across it. I've been trying to get someone at Magellan to help me for the week that I've owned it and all I get is computer responses. When I try their tech support phone and work through the maze to the 4040 support line, it says "not available try again later".(I've 'tried again' several times with the same result.) I think I may like the unit if it ever works but after trying to deal with their tech support, or lack thereof, I will never buy anything from Magellan again!
Although the 4040 itself is a very nice GPS, Megellan packaged the wrong mounting bracket with the unit, this means you can't use it in the car. Amazon was nice enough to replace the first one via overnight shipping but the replacement unit had the same bad bracket. Called Megellan, first they promised to send the correct part overnight - did not come. Then they said it was on backorder and had no idea when it would be availible. I can't recommed anyone buy this unit until Megellan recalls the bad units and starts shipping good ones.
I love the Magellan Maestro 4040 and it does the job I expected. With the next firmware update the few minor bugs will be fixed.
I recently received a Magellean Maustro 4040. I have been putting it to the test. I am impressed. I was out of town and wanted to find a particular restaurant and a store. I was able to type them in by name and or general area and the 4040 directed us right to the front door.
The only negative things I can say about the device is: If you choose a different route than the one mapped out the device spends too much time trying to direct you back to the original route. I also received the wrong cradle in the box used to mount the 4040 to the arm. I called Magellean and they advised they were shipping the correct cradle out asap.
These two items aside the 4040 has worked well so far. It lives up to the promises made by Magellan. I would reccomend, and I have, the 4040 to anyone looking for a transportable GPS device.
I am very pleased with this purchase for the price paid. Yes, the Garmin was better but was also over $200 more. I researched, I read reviews and I can't be more happy with my purchase. I did not want to spend $499 and up which was the going price at Best Buy/Circuit City and other retail stores throughout. I did find it online for approximately $400 and Amazon came-in even lower with all the cables and mounts. Likewise, the service contract was reasonably priced. I have had an opportunity to use it several times and will be taking a trip down the east coast later this week . . . thus far, it has proven to be 98% perfect. In one case it routed me off the primarily street in a square back onto the same street . . . otherwise, it's been awesome and I would recommend it to anyone. Four major features I was looking for that this model has . . . nice size screen/easy to hand carry, bluetooth capable, voice commands, and SD Card insertable. On top of all this, with AAA integrated, it sure has made traveling, site-seeing, restaurant-going, and POI-looking very easy . . . I love it!
Size of unit is highly visible with a good size screen. Day / Night screen is very useful when driving before and after sun set. Take it with me when traveling to cities I had never been before and can now get to meetings on time and increase business callsMagellan Maestro 4040 Portable Auto GPS System for U.S./Canada/Puerto Rico
I bought the Maestro 4040 based on a AAA promotion. We were planning a road trip, and I needed the GPS system right away. AAA was not able to supply it, but Amazon could. On receiving the product, I found that the cradle did not fit the unit. I tried calling, faxing, e-mailing Magellan to no avail. We went on our trip using double faced tape to hold the unit in position. The unit worked well, but the double faced tape solution was less than desirable. On returning home, I again tried to reach Magellan. When dialing the technical support number (or being transferred to it), you are given a menu of items to select, working your way down to this product number. When selected, the recorded message is that calls are not being taken. If you call the long distance number to try to get a human voice, you are connected to someone in India who cannot help you, except to transfer you to the recorded message on the technical support number. All I need is a five cent plastic cradle that fits my unit. While the unit appears to work fine, I cannot recommend that you purchase any products from Magellan. There is simply no support whatsoever.
I got Maestro 4040 a week ago and so far i love it. There are a few glitches here and there, but according to customer service most of them should be resolved with the next firmware update.
I have used the Hertz NeverLost system several times so was swayed to the Magellan unit because of that. The Maestro 4040 is new so should have the latest and greatest and the price was right. I got the unit three days before two business trips, first to Detroit and then on to Sacramento. I thought it was a good test of the unit and if it worked, it would really add to my trip.
The shipping was perfect and came quicker than expected. The instructions are sparse but you really don't need much as it is fairly intuitive. The big thing for me was that it is not compatible with my Sprint Pocket PC bluetooth phone. In looking at the list of phones the Maestro supports, it is very limited so be careful. I have no problem connecting it to a number of different headsets and it worked perfectly in my Prius but not the Maestro.
I am also so far not very impressed with the mounting bracket it comes with. I primarily wanted this unit for travel so I need more of a universal mount than the supplied one. I ended up just leaving the bracket at home and wedging it in the cup holder or coin tray.
As for the actual usage, it is pretty good and fairly accurate. It somehow thought that an Outback Steakhouse was in the middle of a bunch of houses once but other than that, it got me around quite nicely. The three hour battery life is more like two hours but it was only a problem since I wanted to charge both my car and cell phone. The screen layout was nice as is the volume. The voice intructions are clear and easy to follow. The AAA section was very disappointing as it is not tied to the POI lookup which can be done by catagory.
I am happy to finally have one of these things and just can't imagine anyone travelling to strange places without one. The 4040 could certainly be much better but it has already had several firmware updates so perhaps it just needs a bit more tweaking to get it just right and make it the perfect GPS.
I love this GPS, it is very very precise and good for business and or leisure travel.
If you buy this unit, you had better hope that you never need support for it from Magellan. Their phone support direct dial number merely dumps you with a 'call cannot be completed' every time you call. If you actually do get to a human, they really don't care much about customer support. My unit shipped with a defective mounting bracket. After numerous calls to support I finally talked to someone in support who promised to send replacement parts. Several calls later I find that the parts are suddenly on back order and won't arrive on the promised date. The support supervisor told me 'I am under no obligation to do anything further about it'. Magellan, be careful who you outsource your support to. I returned this defective unit a bought a Garmin -- which I have never had support issues with. Ever.
Buyer beware.
And i'm very satisfied with having chose this one. Took my first trip with it earlier tonight and it got me to and fro flawlessly, so here i am writing my first ever review.
I am as bad as they come as far as directional sense goes, so finally picking up one of these things was a Godsend for me. The user interface is very intuitive and it's all prety straightforward and simple to use. The screen is a little too bright at night for me with the default settings but it can be adjusted so no biggie. And as someone said the battery life is pretty weak at about 2 hours or so, an annoyance but, i do love the large, sharp screen. I haven't dealt with Magellan customer service yet, but yes, mine too did come with the wrong mount. Accuracy is great in my limited time with it. Voice prompts are easily understood to my ears and very accurate and i had no issue with them at all.
I'm a newbie to the world of nav systems but i really am satisfied and happy with this one thus far. Maybe it's the far more experienced people who've used many a nav system who have issues with this particular one and see things i dont, but if this thing can get ME to and back from where i need to, it can get ANYONE there and back as well! :-)
I've owned Garmin GPS and used TomTom before, and I've found this unit to be as good or better. I love the small but widescreen form factor much better than the deep TomTom, and the price is much better than Garmin Nuvi. I have used the GPS on a number of trips from Seattle to Vancouver, BC suburbs and it has performed just fine. A few hiccups here & there, no more than I've experienced with Garmin & TomTom. The text-to-speech is very clear and does a good job pronouncing. Route calculation is extremely fast. Rerouting has always worked fine for me. Highly recommended.
When I received the Magellan Maestro 4040, the cradle was faulty and wouldn't hold the gps. I finally reached Magellan and they sent me a new one. I installed the cradle in my car, and plugged in the automobile adaptor. It immediately fell out. The contact did not fit securely in the gps. I tried to reach Magellan for three days constantly getting the message that my call could not go through. I complained to AAA, who endorses this product, and they were also unable to reach Magellan. Finally, in total frustration, I called the company from whom I had bought the extended waranty. They told me to call Amazon. Amazon was very responsive and connected me directly to Magellan who sent me a new car adaptor. I am appalled at the shoddy quality control in shipping this product and its constituent parts. Moreover, the fact that there was no way for me to contact Magellan directly demonstrates a lack of concern for the consumer by Magellan.
This product works as advertised. I have just moved to a new part of the country and it keeps me from getting lost. The interface is intuitive, the speed of operation is more than adequate. There is nothing that one does not need in a GPS device (MP3 players,photo storage, etc.) There is an excellent database of P.O.I.s.
On the negative side; it tends to wash out in direct sunlight, you can't preview your route unless you are moving, AND THE BIGGEST FAULT -- IT DOES NOT INTERFACE WITH A MACINTOSH COMPUTER. Of course, now that the new Macs will run Microsoft's o.s. this will become a moot point.
Overall, I recommend it highly.
The product, the actual GPS, is wonderful. We just came back from a vacation to Shenandoah National Park and never once had to rely on AAA
Trip Tik, which lately has been wrong. However, we had to duct tape
the GPS to the mounting bracket and the bracket was also duct taped to
the dashboard. Why, because the 4040 model number is very new and the
mounting hardware was for another model. Too bad the quality control
didn't catch that.
Largest screen available in a portable
Samantha is difficult to understand at times (runs words together)
Very short "boot" time
Cannot be forced to recognize an intentional deviation from a planned route
Rapid route computation time
Good value with the sale price.
THIS UNIT IS VERY EASY TO USE, LOADED WITH AAA POI'S AND VERY GOOD MAPS.
THE BATTERY LIFE IS ABOUT 3 HOURS SO KEEP IT PLUGGED IN WHILE DRIVING. SO FAR NO PROBLEMS WITH IT, I HAVE YET TO TRY THE BLUETOOTH PHONE OPTION. IT DID COME WITH THE WRONG CRADLE IN THE PACKAGE, NOT AMAZONS FAULT, I CALLED MAGELLAN DIRECT AND WITHIN 3 DAYS I HAD THE CORRECT CRADLE DELIVERED TO MY DOOR. NO CHARGE OF COURSE AS YOU WOULD EXPECT SO I THINK THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS MIS-PACKAGING ERROR. Magellan Maestro 4040 Portable Auto GPS System for U.S./Canada/Puerto RicoOVERALL I WOULD GIVE IT A 4.5 OUT OF 5.
Purchased the Magellan Maestro 4040 based on a few online reviews and timing. The Garmin Nuvi 650 had not been released yet and the Nuvi 350 was considered excellent, but older technology - so I chose the Magellan.
Pros: Large Screen, sub $400 pricing, text to speech feature.
Cons: Unit malfunctioned during a recent trip - using reset button after finding it hours later seems to have removed the rebooting demons at least for now. Tech support is basically non existent - I guess that's how Magellan keeps the price low. Also, the exclude road feature is useless/frustrating as the unit will just continue to route around and try to put you on the road you are trying to avoid in the first place.
A wish list feature would be a way to map and save a personal route with choice of interstates, etc... This would be helpful on long trips where the user knows "shortcuts" and would like the unit to prompt a personally chosen route.
The Magellan is a very good unit, but with its current short comings I would only rate it a 7 out of 10 - so I chose a more conservative 3 out of 5 on Amazon's rating scale. In my month of usage it has sometimes picked perfect routes (usually shorter trips) and other times chosen routes that did not make much sense to me (longer trips), but hey there are a lot of roads out there and so many combinations to choose from that it is hard to fault the unit for its route choice.
So, while the Magellan is not perfect (no GPS unit is) at this price and with the features included it is certainly a good choice if you will use it for recreational purposes. If you require a GPS for daily/business usage all the reviews I've read seem to favor the Garmin Nuvi 650 Series as a better choice and worth the extra $150 or so.
Good Luck and Happy Travels.
This is a great device. I am not great with software, but this was really really easy for me to use. I definately recommend it.
Take it from a real gadget person - this is one of the coolest gadgets I've ever owned. Critics are really stretching to find anything wrong with this unit. I did my homework before buying and the Maestro 4040, in my opinion, is a great value compared to other units out there. I've been using it for a week and am amazed at what it can do. You won't be disappointed.
This GPS is shipped with a vehicle mount the doesn't even fit the GPS! Furthermore, after navigating through the layers of voice mail at Magellan, you'll hear a recording stating that they can't take your call at this time. Thats it. No explanation. No option to leave a message. And this isn't just a short term support outage -- I've tried calling over several days from several different phones.
I eventually discovered a customer service number on an obscure portion of the Magellan website. I explained to the service representative the problem. He acknowledged that the Maestro 4040 was shipping with mounting kits that didn't fit the GPS and that a replacement could be sent within an estimated 10-14 days. He also went on to explain that the estimate was just an estimate and not a guarantee. He never apologized for the mistake or offered any other remedy. So, I let him ship the cradle, but I returned the GPS anyway. I just won't support a company that has such little respect for its customers.
We found this product to be very user-friendly and as informative as we had expected based on package description and reviews. Its many features took the worry out of traveling unfamiliar roads and made our week-long vacation even more fun because we knew we would not get "lost" when venturing off the planned route.
I returned my TomTom ONE XL after being led on wild goose chase with the directions the TomTom gave me and decided to go with the Magellan 4040. I was a little skeptical due to all the bad reviews about the wrong clip. I purchased the unit at a local electronics store(not sure what Amazons policy is on posting other retialers names). I opened the box and made sure th clip fit and it was perfect. The unit was on sale and it was the same price as the TomTom ONE XL after a bunch of sales/rebates. I then decided to see how it compared to the TomTom. Here are my findings
TomTom ++ = easy to use menus and sensitivity when you touch the keypad. Also the unit just seems a lot cleaner in design, fast re-calculations of routes, display has a lot of info like speed, time of arrival, etc..., I like the display colors and these are changeable.
TomTom -- = Lost trying to get home (mapquest had better directions) , unit wont let you touch POI on the map screen to direct you to it. POI (Points of Interest) are not up to date and they always seem wrong, Unit told me to make a left turn on the FDR drive in NYC in the middle of the expressway, maps dont have much detail and they seem to be missing some roads. I was told this unit is the mewest with the newest maps. New maps coming out in January '08
Magellan 4040 ++ = unit is widescreen, price, bluetooth speakerphone that works with the blackberry 7250!!, POI that you can touch on screen, AAA spots, very detailed maps, accurate routes, list of turns when you loose the GPS signal ( ie. Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnels, etc), awesome holder!, unit automatically prompts a detour icon if you are not moving for a little bit.
Magellan 4040 -- = So far some negatives are the map sometimes seems to loose its coordinates and the arrow starts to drift. I have seen this mostly in the city. Maybe GPS signals are bouncing. Unit re-calculates new routes only after you upgrade the firmware, I personally dont like the green higlight for the route your taking.
It isn't perfect, but I reviewed all of the major brands and found that they all had their faults and problems. Overall, this machine performs very well and has almost every feature you could ask for in a gps. Probably the main concern with it or any of this style unit is the fact that you can't see an overview of the route before driving it. There is a list of the maneuvers, but if you are not familiar with the area, the list is rather meaningless. Nevertheless, it does deliver impressive performance with mapping. Haven't tried the bluetooth yet but I understand there is a coming improvement in the firmware directed at the volume of this feature.
The Magellan 4040 is a good GPS that can be great if Magellan tweaks its software and improves its technical support. I recently bought the GPS and returned it within a week due a screen problem.
The unit I received had a problem with the screen where 40% of the screen was dimmer that the rest. I emailed Magellan technical support and it took them 2 days to respond back. During that time I tried calling tech support and it took more than 5 attempts before I was able to talk to a real person. Instead of replacing the GPS, Tech support (email and phone) wanted me to send the unit back to them for repairs with me paying for the shipping. Although the GPS is brand new (Defective on Arrival), Magellan would not replace the GPS. Why would anyone accept a repaired unit when they paid for a brand new GPS?, especially if its defective from the very beginning.
I ended up calling Amazon and they were very responsive. It took me less than 30 seconds to talk to a real person. Amazon immediately agreed to replace the GPS with a new unit. They stand behind every product they sell and thats why I am a repeat customer.
Terrible technical support. If you buy a Magellan GPS, hope and pray its not defective on arrival and you need technical support.
Text to Speech needs improvement. Most times you simply cannot understand what the turn directions are. The voice sounds too robotic and streams the road/exit names in a single monotone sentence.
I have to disagree with most of the complaints. Whereas a lot of people got the wrong cradle - I am guessing this was a quality control issue when the product first shipped. The cradle in my package was correct and works great. I would think this has since been resolved. The gps connects to the satelite within 10 seconds everytime. Entering an address is simple and it also allows you to just type a city (for example Boston). This is nice if you need to get somewhere but don't know the exact address. I have 20 address stored in memory - not sure how many it holds - but that is more then enough for most people. If you deviate off the suggested path - it re-calculates with 1-3 seconds. The only thing that I have found to be a little slow is when entering a POI. If you know the address - that is the way to go. The screen is very clear and easy to read. Not sure what people are complaining about there. The navigation is simple and my 8 year old kid figured it out in 2 minutes. The bluetooth is very good. My hearing isn't the best but I can use it as long as I turn the stereo off. The manual is very good for a technical manual. Lots of pics to explain how to do everything. It is in PDF format - so the computer ignorant won't like that. Nothing I can say bad. I can't comment on the customer service - but why deal with them in the first place? If it is broken - bring back to where you bought. No??
I have been using GPS units for over 10 years, my first portable was a street pilot III. I have owned Tom Tom, Garmin and Magellan. I was excited when this model was released and wanted to give it a try. As of now my plan is to return it next week.
First the out of box experience had the windshield mount bracket falling apart in my hands. I called tech support to get replacement parts and although the person answered quickly and was polite I could barley understand him between the poor connection to a location I assume was overseas to the heavy accent. I was also disappointed at how non responsive the touch screen is, you have to sometimes tap the screen two or three times to enter your selection. Sometimes the lookup or calculation is slow and you get the little hour glass on the screen while waiting for the unit to complete its task. I was also surprised that Magellan removed one of the cool trade mark features with the countdown bar that lets you know when it is time to make your turn. There are good points, the display is easy to see and very bright. This unit probably will get better over time with updates but for now I don't think it is worth the money. Stick with Garmin for now, even though they do not have the option to choose least use or most use of freeways.
This is an excellent product. In addition to providing accurate directions, the entire AAA inventory of hotels, restaurants, and more is included in this 'must have' gadget. Well worth the investment for day trip travelers and adventure travelers alike.
I have been using GPS units for over 10 years, my first portable was a street pilot III. I have owned Tom Tom, Garmin and Magellan. I was excited when this model was released and wanted to give it a try. As of now my plan is to return it next week.
First the out of box experience had the windshield mount bracket falling apart in my hands. I called tech support to get replacement parts and although the person answered quickly and was polite I could barley understand him between the poor connection to a location I assume was overseas to the heavy accent. I was also disappointed at how non responsive the touch screen is, you have to sometimes tap the screen two or three times to enter your selection. Sometimes the lookup or calculation is slow and you get the little hour glass on the screen while waiting for the unit to complete its task. I was also surprised that Magellan removed one of the cool trade mark features with the countdown bar that lets you know when it is time to make your turn. There are good points, the display is easy to see and very bright. This unit probably will get better over time with updates but for now I don't think it is worth the money. Stick with Garmin for now, even though they do not have the option to choose least use or most use of freeways.
I returned my TomTom ONE XL after being led on wild goose chase with the directions the TomTom gave me and decided to go with the Magellan 4040. I was a little skeptical due to all the bad reviews about the wrong clip. I purchased the unit at a local electronics store(not sure what Amazons policy is on posting other retialers names). I opened the box and made sure th clip fit and it was perfect. The unit was on sale and it was the same price as the TomTom ONE XL after a bunch of sales/rebates. I then decided to see how it compared to the TomTom. Here are my findings
TomTom ++ = easy to use menus and sensitivity when you touch the keypad. Also the unit just seems a lot cleaner in design, fast re-calculations of routes, display has a lot of info like speed, time of arrival, etc..., I like the display colors and these are changeable.
TomTom -- = Lost trying to get home (mapquest had better directions) , unit wont let you touch POI on the map screen to direct you to it. POI (Points of Interest) are not up to date and they always seem wrong, Unit told me to make a left turn on the FDR drive in NYC in the middle of the expressway, maps dont have much detail and they seem to be missing some roads. I was told this unit is the mewest with the newest maps. New maps coming out in January '08
Magellan 4040 ++ = unit is widescreen, price, bluetooth speakerphone that works with the blackberry 7250!!, POI that you can touch on screen, AAA spots, very detailed maps, accurate routes, list of turns when you loose the GPS signal ( ie. Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnels, etc), awesome holder!, unit automatically prompts a detour icon if you are not moving for a little bit.
Magellan 4040 -- = So far some negatives are the map sometimes seems to loose its coordinates and the arrow starts to drift. I have seen this mostly in the city. Maybe GPS signals are bouncing. Unit re-calculates new routes only after you upgrade the firmware, I personally dont like the green higlight for the route your taking.
I have to disagree with most of the complaints. Whereas a lot of people got the wrong cradle - I am guessing this was a quality control issue when the product first shipped. The cradle in my package was correct and works great. I would think this has since been resolved. The gps connects to the satelite within 10 seconds everytime. Entering an address is simple and it also allows you to just type a city (for example Boston). This is nice if you need to get somewhere but don't know the exact address. I have 20 address stored in memory - not sure how many it holds - but that is more then enough for most people. If you deviate off the suggested path - it re-calculates with 1-3 seconds. The only thing that I have found to be a little slow is when entering a POI. If you know the address - that is the way to go. The screen is very clear and easy to read. Not sure what people are complaining about there. The navigation is simple and my 8 year old kid figured it out in 2 minutes. The bluetooth is very good. My hearing isn't the best but I can use it as long as I turn the stereo off. The manual is very good for a technical manual. Lots of pics to explain how to do everything. It is in PDF format - so the computer ignorant won't like that. Nothing I can say bad. I can't comment on the customer service - but why deal with them in the first place? If it is broken - bring back to where you bought. No??
This is a great device. I am not great with software, but this was really really easy for me to use. I definately recommend it.
Take it from a real gadget person - this is one of the coolest gadgets I've ever owned. Critics are really stretching to find anything wrong with this unit. I did my homework before buying and the Maestro 4040, in my opinion, is a great value compared to other units out there. I've been using it for a week and am amazed at what it can do. You won't be disappointed.
This GPS is shipped with a vehicle mount the doesn't even fit the GPS! Furthermore, after navigating through the layers of voice mail at Magellan, you'll hear a recording stating that they can't take your call at this time. Thats it. No explanation. No option to leave a message. And this isn't just a short term support outage -- I've tried calling over several days from several different phones.
I eventually discovered a customer service number on an obscure portion of the Magellan website. I explained to the service representative the problem. He acknowledged that the Maestro 4040 was shipping with mounting kits that didn't fit the GPS and that a replacement could be sent within an estimated 10-14 days. He also went on to explain that the estimate was just an estimate and not a guarantee. He never apologized for the mistake or offered any other remedy. So, I let him ship the cradle, but I returned the GPS anyway. I just won't support a company that has such little respect for its customers.
We found this product to be very user-friendly and as informative as we had expected based on package description and reviews. Its many features took the worry out of traveling unfamiliar roads and made our week-long vacation even more fun because we knew we would not get "lost" when venturing off the planned route.
The Magellan 4040 is a good GPS that can be great if Magellan tweaks its software and improves its technical support. I recently bought the GPS and returned it within a week due a screen problem.
The unit I received had a problem with the screen where 40% of the screen was dimmer that the rest. I emailed Magellan technical support and it took them 2 days to respond back. During that time I tried calling tech support and it took more than 5 attempts before I was able to talk to a real person. Instead of replacing the GPS, Tech support (email and phone) wanted me to send the unit back to them for repairs with me paying for the shipping. Although the GPS is brand new (Defective on Arrival), Magellan would not replace the GPS. Why would anyone accept a repaired unit when they paid for a brand new GPS?, especially if its defective from the very beginning.
I ended up calling Amazon and they were very responsive. It took me less than 30 seconds to talk to a real person. Amazon immediately agreed to replace the GPS with a new unit. They stand behind every product they sell and thats why I am a repeat customer.
Terrible technical support. If you buy a Magellan GPS, hope and pray its not defective on arrival and you need technical support.
Text to Speech needs improvement. Most times you simply cannot understand what the turn directions are. The voice sounds too robotic and streams the road/exit names in a single monotone sentence.
It isn't perfect, but I reviewed all of the major brands and found that they all had their faults and problems. Overall, this machine performs very well and has almost every feature you could ask for in a gps. Probably the main concern with it or any of this style unit is the fact that you can't see an overview of the route before driving it. There is a list of the maneuvers, but if you are not familiar with the area, the list is rather meaningless. Nevertheless, it does deliver impressive performance with mapping. Haven't tried the bluetooth yet but I understand there is a coming improvement in the firmware directed at the volume of this feature.
When I received the Magellan Maestro 4040, the cradle was faulty and wouldn't hold the gps. I finally reached Magellan and they sent me a new one. I installed the cradle in my car, and plugged in the automobile adaptor. It immediately fell out. The contact did not fit securely in the gps. I tried to reach Magellan for three days constantly getting the message that my call could not go through. I complained to AAA, who endorses this product, and they were also unable to reach Magellan. Finally, in total frustration, I called the company from whom I had bought the extended waranty. They told me to call Amazon. Amazon was very responsive and connected me directly to Magellan who sent me a new car adaptor. I am appalled at the shoddy quality control in shipping this product and its constituent parts. Moreover, the fact that there was no way for me to contact Magellan directly demonstrates a lack of concern for the consumer by Magellan.
This product works as advertised. I have just moved to a new part of the country and it keeps me from getting lost. The interface is intuitive, the speed of operation is more than adequate. There is nothing that one does not need in a GPS device (MP3 players,photo storage, etc.) There is an excellent database of P.O.I.s.
On the negative side; it tends to wash out in direct sunlight, you can't preview your route unless you are moving, AND THE BIGGEST FAULT -- IT DOES NOT INTERFACE WITH A MACINTOSH COMPUTER. Of course, now that the new Macs will run Microsoft's o.s. this will become a moot point.
Overall, I recommend it highly.
The product, the actual GPS, is wonderful. We just came back from a vacation to Shenandoah National Park and never once had to rely on AAA
Trip Tik, which lately has been wrong. However, we had to duct tape
the GPS to the mounting bracket and the bracket was also duct taped to
the dashboard. Why, because the 4040 model number is very new and the
mounting hardware was for another model. Too bad the quality control
didn't catch that.
Largest screen available in a portable
Samantha is difficult to understand at times (runs words together)
Very short "boot" time
Cannot be forced to recognize an intentional deviation from a planned route
Rapid route computation time
Good value with the sale price.
THIS UNIT IS VERY EASY TO USE, LOADED WITH AAA POI'S AND VERY GOOD MAPS.
THE BATTERY LIFE IS ABOUT 3 HOURS SO KEEP IT PLUGGED IN WHILE DRIVING. SO FAR NO PROBLEMS WITH IT, I HAVE YET TO TRY THE BLUETOOTH PHONE OPTION. IT DID COME WITH THE WRONG CRADLE IN THE PACKAGE, NOT AMAZONS FAULT, I CALLED MAGELLAN DIRECT AND WITHIN 3 DAYS I HAD THE CORRECT CRADLE DELIVERED TO MY DOOR. NO CHARGE OF COURSE AS YOU WOULD EXPECT SO I THINK THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS MIS-PACKAGING ERROR. Magellan Maestro 4040 Portable Auto GPS System for U.S./Canada/Puerto RicoOVERALL I WOULD GIVE IT A 4.5 OUT OF 5.
My wife and I like to "road trip" on our vacations. For us this means picking a general outbound route, a turnaround destination, and a return route. We particularly enjoy using "blue highway" routes and avoiding Interstates as much as possible. We also like to take side trips off our our main route when something looks interesting.
We bought the 4040 thinking it would be an ideal replacement for mapping our trips by hand and navigating by a paper map. Our first (and last) experience with the 4040 was a disaster. This puppy's on the way home to Amazon!
Deal-breaker complaints:
1. A "destination" to this unit is a numbered street address and city. Not possible if you are "exploring" and don't know that speicific information at the destination (we usually only know the turnaround city).
2. The "multiple destination" feature is a joke. It's really multiple final destinations in sequence. There is no way to design a complete route "via" specific intermediate points. The unit forces you to go to the first destination then calculate the route to the second, etc. Royal PITA.
3. There is no "look ahead" feature for a route, other than zoom-out. All you can see on the unit is where you are, but you cannot see where you are going. While this may be OK on a freeway (with signs and markers) it is not helpful while navigating rural secondary roads.
Bottom line: IF you always know precisely what your destination is, and that's the only place you're going, the 4040 is probably as good as any other GPS system.
However, if you're in to exploring and spontaneous side trips, this thing is useless! Look for a unit with better features for "multiple destinations" and "multiple via's."
I recently received a Magellean Maustro 4040. I have been putting it to the test. I am impressed. I was out of town and wanted to find a particular restaurant and a store. I was able to type them in by name and or general area and the 4040 directed us right to the front door.
The only negative things I can say about the device is: If you choose a different route than the one mapped out the device spends too much time trying to direct you back to the original route. I also received the wrong cradle in the box used to mount the 4040 to the arm. I called Magellean and they advised they were shipping the correct cradle out asap.
These two items aside the 4040 has worked well so far. It lives up to the promises made by Magellan. I would reccomend, and I have, the 4040 to anyone looking for a transportable GPS device.
The touch screen didn't work out of the box, it has a hot spot that causes it to pick anything that comes across it. I've been trying to get someone at Magellan to help me for the week that I've owned it and all I get is computer responses. When I try their tech support phone and work through the maze to the 4040 support line, it says "not available try again later".(I've 'tried again' several times with the same result.) I think I may like the unit if it ever works but after trying to deal with their tech support, or lack thereof, I will never buy anything from Magellan again!
Although the 4040 itself is a very nice GPS, Megellan packaged the wrong mounting bracket with the unit, this means you can't use it in the car. Amazon was nice enough to replace the first one via overnight shipping but the replacement unit had the same bad bracket. Called Megellan, first they promised to send the correct part overnight - did not come. Then they said it was on backorder and had no idea when it would be availible. I can't recommed anyone buy this unit until Megellan recalls the bad units and starts shipping good ones.
I love the Magellan Maestro 4040 and it does the job I expected. With the next firmware update the few minor bugs will be fixed.
Indispensable for everyone out there who loves to travel. Very user friendly. Just get it out of the box and go.
I read some reviews of the Magellan Maestro 4040 and heard some bad things about it being slow, calculating routes the wrong way and re-calculating routes very slow. I had the unit so far a week and do not find it slow at all and in fact I kept trying to confuse the unit and each time it re-calculated the within a couple of seconds. I like the unit very much and the POI database is very large. The Bluetooth feature is not as advanced as others but it pairs well with my Motorola RAZR 3c even though the website does not list my phone as one of the supported Bluetooth phones for the 4040. You can dial the POI numbers directly via Bluetooth. The speaker in the unit is very clear and I can understand it when says the name of the streets. This was a negative in some reviews but again I have not had any problems understanding it. It has an integrated antenna within the body of the unit and there is no need to pull out an antenna like on some other more expensive brands.
It does not have an MP3 player or pic viewer, but I have an iPod for that purpose.
My only complaint is that my unit came with the wrong cradle. This is very annoying because I have to use my cup holder and can not read the screen well when it is sideways. I call customer support and the option for the maestro series guides to a recording that says "your call can not be completed at this time, please try your call later" :-) I pressed the 3rd option on help with navigation and was connected to a live person. I tried explaining this to the person but they I guess did not care because a week later it is still that way :-) I explained the problem about the cradle and they said right away that they will send me a new one and I will get it in 7-10 business days. That was last week on 5/16. They said that I would get an email confirmation, but nothing. I call again today (used option 3 :-)), and they said that they will ship me a new one today and I should see in three days. Hhmmm We should see. This is the reason for a 4 star rating instead of 5.
Other than customer support, the 4040 performs very well and is very accurate in my opinion. For $400, you can not go wrong. I don't see the MP3 player and extra Bluetooth features (like synchronizing your phone contacts - which is neat) worth an extra $200 to $300 dollars.
Remember, if you need customer support, don't use the maestro option or you will just get a recording :-) unbelievable :-) Use option 3.
For now I will keep using my unit in my cup holder :-) until I hopefully get my replacement cradle.
UPDATE: 5-25-07, I just called Magellan Support today because 3 days have gone by and I have not seen any cradle and/or updates. They told me that the cradle is backordered and they will not receive any until the first week of June on the 7th and I should see it in about 2 weeks but there is no guarantee. Their excuse is that technical support mis-informed me about the status of the cradle. This will put me into the second week of June without using my GPS properly on the windshield mount.
Unbelievable! I would send it back to Amazon but the unit itself works flawlessly and with my luck, a whole replacement would probably net me a broken unit. So I continue to wait.
Specifically bought this GPS, as this has a wide screen compared to 3.5". Also, this GPS doesn't have JPEG Viewer or MP3 player, which is appreciable. I would not need a JPEG viewer, as all digital cameras have this in-built function. Also, when you have a 6 Disc In-dash changer or a single disc MP3 player (or iPod connectivity), you wouldn't prefer to store the songs in an SD card and play it on the GPS..!!
Well, Used this GPS for the last one week and the experience was good. Intentionally skipped 7 exits on highway and GPS was quick to re-calculate the route and suggesting new/alternate route before every exit. As couple of other reviewers said, this GPS is not slow in re-calculating, for sure.
I gave it 4 stars, as I observed, it was little late in sensing I missed the route. one point in time, I skipped an exit an continued on the high way. GPS thought, I have taken the exit and suggested me to make right on the end of ramp. However, with in few seconds, route re-calculation was performed quickly and new route was suggested. GPS manufacturers say the accuracy is 10 meters or so, but it is not..(In some cases, could be a small issue).
Also, this GPS is little bulky, given the fact that the maps are stored on SD Cards. (Magellan Roadmate series have a 4 GB Micro Drive and the bulkiness is justified) Compare with Garmin Nuvi, tiny and easy to carry in a shirt pocket, but maestro series need a Laptop bag or an office bag to carry.
For this GPS, buy the Dash Mount (Magellan 702223 RoadMate 700 Dash Mount) which is good and pleasant compared to the Wind shield mount that comes in the box.
Finally, Magellan Maestro series is not pricey compared to Garmin (Nuvi series). And these provide the advantage of bigger screen. I would think, 3.5" is too small for MAP display. Also, Except for Road warriors, all others use GPS during week-ends or during vacation / long drives. Given the bigger screen size and a the price (same as Nuvi 350) with advanced feature of Blue-tooth connectivity, I would suggest you can try this GPS..!
I have experimented with GPS systems going back 10 years. Last one I used was Delorme USB device with laptop. After much research I narrowed it down to Nuvi 660, TomTom 910 and stumbled on Magellan 4040. My daughter steered me to 4040 based on it's sturdy looks and screen. I did read the reviews on line and even though there are negative reviews the key navigation feature on this system are really good (multi-point trip plan, detour, exclude-route, exit-poi, split-screen before turn etc.).
It does not have MP3 (which is a good thing because menus are less complicated).
Using it for last week I find the satellite reception excellent and quick to acquire signal.
Screen is very nice 4.3" and bright (even usable in sunlight).
It's portable and compact to carry easily.
TTS instruction do sound computer generated but understandable. The chime feature before the turn is excellent and accurate.
Route re-calculation is quick 1-3 seconds if you miss a turn.
Route calculation is 1-5 seconds (5 seconds for 1500 mile trip NE to Miami).
The best feature is AAA tour guide. It has all USA,Canada,PR attraction, lodging etc. guide. Find anything near given city and click Route.
You have to experience this feature to appreciate how useful it is.
Bluetooth integration is very good too (I heard it does not download phone contacts).
Some limitations:
I do see slowness on manuver list on a long trip listing.
I do see slowness when zoom-in/out though nothing that will get in the way of nevigation (it's not as snappy as Nuvi 660).
I don't like the fact it removes map when doing route re-calculation.
I think this is a very good navigation system, I gave 4* because of slowness.
Robert
PS: I did download latest firmware 1.22 (which went smooth on first try).
Just got the maestro for my new car. After a week I am sending the maestro back to Amazon. First off, this thing is soooooo slow. Simply unbearable how ofter the hourglass comes up. So much of the software just feels unfinished ... why isn't there a night mode for the menus? The TTS is horrible and overall the unit is crude and unrefined. I can go on and on but I think the problems are well documented by others. I'm buying another harman/kardon gps-500 instead.
This is by far the best GPS I have ever used. I took it for a test run right out of the box and tried my best to get it confused. Every time I would on purpose make a wrong turn it would recalculate the route in a very short time and keep me on my way.
I have seen nothing slow or sluggish about this unit. The features are great and the POI were to me amazing. I live in a town of only about 8000 and it had a very large listing of anything I was looking for even some small places I never thought would be listed.
You will not go wrong with a purchase of this unit.
This is my favorite GPS ever. I'm confused by some of the reviews here. The screen and colors go way beyond expectation. I'm familiar with older magellan product and have always had excellent performance in the past. This is no exception.
The main reason I wanted this one is the wide screen. It gives clear detail of the roads off the highway while giving clear directions ahead.
The touch screen goes way beyond prior units. Its very easy to operate and insert address. The points of interest are nice on my prior units but this does it by exit. No points of interest behind like others.
Do yourself a favor and see what sub $400 can get you here. Its an incredible deal.
It is easy to use. But like one of the reviewers (RA Fellows, April 27) said, the maps rendering/redrawing is very slow compared to other units, such as Tomtom and Mio. It is quite annoying when you have to wait at least a few seconds for the hour glass to go away before you can do anything. Other GPS instantly redraw the map as you zoom in/out. Also, this GPS does not let you zoom in continuously or multiple levels at a time. Basically, you have to zoom in or out 1 level at a time, then wait for the hourglass to go away, then zoom to next level, then wait again, and so on. Takes forever to zoom all the way in or out.
Got this unit 2 weeks ago, gave it 72 hours, then took it back to the store, paying a 15% restock fee. To me, the voice prompts were not impressive, they did not sound natural or pleasant. Some of the words she says are cut off at the end, and even though they are "custom" prompts, they all sound like unnatural text to speech and are "harsh". Overall, I was not pleased with the interface, that being the visual details and mapping on the screen, the menus to find a specific place, and the voice prompts. There is NO written manual, just a CD ROM. Even though the CD ROM says "Magellan Maestro" on the label, there was NO support for the Maestro series on it.... they had every other GPS they make, but not any of the Maestro series. I called Magellan, and after going through all their unorganized and silly phone menus, got a representative that said someone would give me a call back Tuesday or Wednesday (it was Friday) because they don't have many techs that can help with that model.
On the first night, when the screen went to "night" mode, it never switched back. Even during the day everything on the background of the screen was black.
I don't appreciate being sold a product with no support documentation, and lengthy support times via phone.
I just spent double the money on the Garmin 680 and will never look to Magellan again.
There are so many things wrong with this GPS that I'm sure I'll forget some of the cons I want to write about it. Put it this way, if you never owned a GPS or know how other gps's operate, this MIGHT be an OK choice, at least better than getting lost without any assistance.
First I want to comment on what another reviewer said about the Magellan being the only gps to give an alert tone at the turn. This isn't true. All Garmin's have an option to turn the "Attention Tone" on. This does the same thing as Magellans. I own and have owned Garmins, Tom Toms and the Maestro (which I returned).
First the good:
1) Clear, loud speakers.
2) Decent screen, readable in sunlight.
3) Current maps.
The Bad (make a pot of coffee and take a seat, this will take a while).
1) Terrible TTS. Speaks way too fast and is very verbose and confusing. It reads EVERYTHING on the exit sign, whether it is pertinent to your exit or not. An example would be (said very fast and robotically) "In 1/4 mile right turn to two nine one to fifteen to 95 to two three nai (how it pronounces N.Y) followed by a turn diagonal stay to right nai." What a better GPS's would say is, "In 1/4 make a right to I291, then stay to your right and enter I95 south to New York."
2) Now that you have no clue what the TTS is, you have to look at the screen. The Maestro provides a split screen .5 miles to the turn BUT this disappears quickly. So now when you look to see where the heck you have to turn, your view is zoomed out, further confusing you.
3) Now to make matters worse, you try looking at the LARGE screen to read the next turn on the bottom, but the fonts are TINY. I have 20/20 vision and it's still difficult to read. So, in other words, after doing the above 1, 2 and 3, you are basically confused as to the turn. Good luck as you finally see where you have to turn and swerve to it.
4) The processor cannot be taxed, even with simple chores. You'll get the hourglass, freezing up the system and unable to cancel out. You have to wait forever for the hourglass to disappear. This happens when you search for a POI by name (even if it's close by), when you switch to the maneuver list (if your trip is more than just a few miles) and when it doesn't pair with your phone correctly. Even going from the map view to the menu, or vice versa, will bring up the hourglass. A very slow, poor processor, indeed.
5) "Route Exclusion" feature. This is a nice feature, available on some other gps, but on the Maestro it doesn't work correctly. Say you don't like the route given. You can exclude a road and the unit will recalculate and will offer a new route without that road. BUT on the Maestro, that road keeps appearing. You actually have to exclude the exit or raods after the one you want to exclude instead. This makes NO sense, because you may want to take that exit or other roads. Magellan got this SO wrong and shows just how poorly the Meastro was engineered.
6) No ETA. What other GPS does NOT give you the ETA other than Magellan and Maestro? Don't they think it's important to quickly view the estimated time arrival, so you can make adjustments to your drive? Instead the Maestro tells you how many hours or minutes left, leaving it to YOU to figure it out in your head. Might not be a big deal to some, but to others it is. To me it shows that Magellan doesn't take the consumers needs seriously, for ETA is pretty much universal in the gps world. Obviously somebody wants it.
7) Night mode. If not in the map screen, the Maestro will BLIND you at night with its brightness and colors, even if set to low.
8) Bad routing engine. Garmin and TomTom (even with their TeleAtlas maps) consistently give better routes than the Maestro.
9) U-Turns. Or should I say "Never endi ng U-turns." The Maestro, no matter what road, will keep insisting (every few seconds) for you to U-turn (in it's annoying text to speech). This can literally go on for miles. What's worse is that there is no option to disable U-turns, as most gps's have. At least with other units, even when U-turns are enabled, they know fairly quickly that you aren't making the U-turn and it will recalculate another route. Not the Maestro.
There are so many other things wrong. The bottom line, is that the Maestro can and will further confuse you while you are driving. Isn't that what a gps is supposed to eliminate?
Magellan claims there will be updates to fix some problems (didn't mention which) but I'm afraid that there are too many to address. By the time they figure out how to fix these, new models will be available and this will go ignored, much like their units made before the Maestro.
There are much better units out there right now.
I've been using GPS systems for several years, and I'm always asked "what's the best GPS?" Unfortunately, that's not an easy question to answer. Just like there's no "best" car for everyone, there's no such thing as the "best" GPS.
That being said, this is a very fine GPS system, and one well worth checking out. I've owned two other Magellan systems in the past (a Roadmate 500 and a 750M), and the improvements in this system are wonderful. Excellent screen, clear even in full sun, easy to use - truly a "turn it on and go" setup. I've always been especially fond of the way Magellan announces upcoming turns - they are the only GPS that offers a incredibly accurate "bing-bong" sound right before the turn. The key word there is ACCURATE. Yes, Garmin has an upcoming turn tone, but more often than not, it's too early or too late to be effective. Magellan gets it right every time. That, and their split screen turn view is what makes this a must-own for me. The AAA guidebook is icing on the cake, and I'm finding that to be a real time saver - much better than the typical POI database since the places have been vetted by AAA. If you're a fan of the AAA paper guidebooks, you will absolutely love having it accessible through a GPS.
I also currently have a Garmin 2610 and have found that the Magellan/Garmin combo is what works best for me. The Garmins have some advantages over the Magellans and vice versa. Together, they make a great combo.
But, if you want to buy just one GPS, the Magellan 4040 is a great choice. The Garmin Nuvi line is also quite nice, but their wide-screen versions are considerably more expensive than the 4040. If it came down to the Nuvi 3XX model or the Magellan 40XX models, I feel the Magellan gives you more for your money. On the other hand, Garmin offers better support, more frequent map/firmware updates, and is an easier company to deal with by far. See - I told you that there's no such thing as the "best" GPS! Everything's a trade off.
I've also been impressed with the user interface of the Tom Tom units but, in my area, the TeleAtlas maps they use are rather poor. Both Garmin and Magellan use Navtec maps, which (on the East Coast, at least) are much better.
Some people comment on the U turn issue. For me, it's never happened to any extent. My Garmin, in fact, tends to be far more insistent on U turns than the Magellan when you go off-route. I've also found that the Magellan (this plus all the others I've used) tend to give either the same or better routes than the Garmins (I'm on my third Garmin as well). Not all the time -- once in a while you'll get a more roundabout route on the Magellan than the Garmin, but those cases are rare.
In short, you will be happy with this unit. If you're on the fence, buy this and a Garmin, and do a head to head comparison to see which one works best for your needs and send back the loser. Chances are, however, you'll end up like me with two (or sometimes three) GPS systems on your dash.
UPDATE 5/6/07: Just took the Maestro for a 450 mile trip -- continue to be very impressed with the unit. In a side-by-side test, it routinely beat the Garmin 2610 in determining that I was off route and recalculated the new route before the Garmin even realized I was not where I should be! (Off-route situations were due to me making an unplanned side trip, and not due to bad directions from either GPS). There's also a firmware update available from Magellan that allows you to use the preview turn function at any time (just like with past Magellan units). Very easy to install and, although it warns that you should backup your address book prior to the upgrade, it did not delete any of my addresses. It's always a good idea to backup your data, but the firmware upgrade does not seem to affect it.
Update 5/18: Another trip, this one nearly 1,000 in length and the Maestro once again performed very well. My sister was so impressed with the unit that immediately upon our return she placed an order for one as well. Given that she's always shunned GPS units (even though her sense of direction is as bad as mine), that's quite an endorsement for the Maestro. She had tried a Garmin Nuvi 350 that she borrowed from a friend, and found the Magellan to be more to her style. The features in particular she liked were the fact that the direction of the next turn is always visible in the lower left corner regardless of how far away the turn is. I like that feature as well - sometimes you need a lot of advance notice of what lane you should be in when the traffic is heavy. Also, she appreciated that the Magellan gave more frequent voice prompts than the Nuvi -- it will voice "stay on the current road" when you come to a major intersection or juncture on the freeway. The Garmin does not offer that. Some people find it to be nagging, but I like all the help a GPS can give.
Looked long and hard and this is the one. My girlfriend was doubtful if we needed it, now I have to pry it away from her.