Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by Magellan
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List Price: Our Price: $49.99 You Save: $550.00 (92%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Masterful, outstanding GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
First and foremost, this is a truly great GPS. Second, you MUST upgrade the firmware to the current level -- makes it perform at peak level. (Also, if you're a AAA member, upgrade the AAA Tourbook data and get your free, members only warranty extension -- see [...]). Third, make your own assessment, don't put too much faith in the negative reviews -- I frankly question the honesty in some of them.
I've only had my 4250 for a few days, but both my wife and I agree that it's an incredible device. Read the previous review by BrandonNM, "Jeff" and see that I agree completely with his comments. But also notice that many of the cons are being addressed by Magellan with the new 4350 and 4370 to be released in July 08. I read many, many reviews and user comments in trying to decide whether to buy the Maestro 4250, wait for the new one or go with the Garmin 760. I'm glad I chose the 4250 and can happily wait a couple of years to get a newer Magellan replacement.
If you have or buy the 4250, be sure to tap on every icon and every info box to see what it will display. The manual is definitely too brief (that's a minor negative) and doesn't show all the options (and that's a major plus -- there's more here than meets the eye). An example, tap on the "Arrival time" box when you're in a route, it changes to remaining time and remaining miles before going back to arrival time. It seems everything has buried options underneath.
I read many reviews and user comments. Some are clearly biased, others I wonder how they got a unit that was bad. Mostly I just don't accept the negatives I read. Except for not having enough time to see if it will break down, I've exhaustively checked every option more than once. Most complaints about the 4250 not doing this or that are because the reviewer or user didn't take the time to find the proper path or method. Another example -- a major review that said you can't change a planned route once it is entered. I planned a route for my current 1000-mile round trip. I then Optimized and Saved it. I went back and added a new stop (Append) and re-optimized. I went back and deleted one of the stops and re-optimized. All went perfectly. It even found for me a shoe store in a huge shopping center -- the shopping center wasn't mapped, but the shoe store was pinpointed on my GPS and it told me I was there when I got to within 50 feet.
The new firmware definitely improves responsiveness and re-routing if you make a wrong turn. For example, a new stretch of highway was put in where the older instructions said to turn. Before I was 100 feet on the new road, I heard the "calculating route" message and a corrected route taking me in from the opposite side was displayed. Fantastic! And that happened more than once! (Lots of new roads on this trip.) The map is the same NavTec map in use by all current GPSs -- an update is expected this Fall and hopefully that will resolve some of these. I had no problems finding any of the POIs we chose -- that will certainly be hit and miss as on any GPS as places change over time. But the AAA data was accurate and up-to-date to the last quarter. We have been AAA members for many years and have always relied on the AAA tourbooks, getting new ones for every trip. Now we don't have to get the newest annual book unless we want it -- the most recent updates can be downloaded every quarter to the 4250.
We haven't yet tested the Bluetooth, but our phone is supposed to be compatible. At this point using Bluetooth is problematic between any two devices, so it's just not a big issue for us.
One thing I want to point out, is that Magellan appears to be addressing many concerns with the 4250 (the 2007 high end model) both with firmware updates and corrections in the manufacturing stream (later purchases don't have the same issues are the earliest ones). They are also making changes is the 2008 line (4350, 4370, etc.) to address concerns like not being able to enter addresses with voice commands (the 4350 will have that as well as a "pedestrian" mode.
Some more good things: The touch screen is quite sensitive and almost always responds to a tap. Occasionally, it will miss (just re-tap) or will pick up a double-tap (oops, go back) minor stuff. The screen brightness is great, but definitely bright at night. Volume and brightness can be adjusted with the Options menu and there you also can see your battery level. The volume is orginally set to High -- too loud for our relatively quiet Camry, but that's fine with loud music. We found no problems at all with the Magellan responding to our voice commands. Normal tone of voice, picks up my low voice and my wife's higher voice with no problem at all. I actually like the window mount. Set it up properly, and it easly turns from side to side (driver to passenger) while staying in place for finger taps and remaining level to both views.
I also had to contact Magellan Tech Support because of a difficulty signing up for the 2nd year warranty (it never told me it worked). I got a response within 24 hours confirming my extended warranty.
If we have any problems over time, I'll post here. We are extremely happy with our purchase. If you don't like some of the current concerns (no voice address input, 2007 map, etc.) wait for the new releases and pay a few hundred dollars more. Or do like we decided -- get a great GPS and plan to upgrade in a couple of years when it's a lot better. (You can see the new features for the 4350 series on the tigergps site -- Amazon will probably add that info soon.)
Customer Review: Magellan Maestro 4250
Summary: 5 Stars
I've never owned a GPS but when I saw the sale price on the Magellan Maestro 4250 and read about its many features I thought it was time to try a GPS. I read the somewhat mixed reviews with interest. While it's overall review score was favorable the serious problems people had who'd written negative reviews certainly concerned me. Still, I decided to order a 4250 knowing I could return it to Amazon within 30 days if I had any serious problems during that time.
All in all I've found the Magellan 4250 to be an exceptional product. My wife and I have been house hunting for some time in a moderately-sized metropolitan area and the new GPS is saving us a lot of time. We used to pour over maps to plan efficient routes between suburban and city addresses when doing "drive bys" of homes for sale. With the 4250 we can enter a series of street addresses and press "Optimize route" (or words to that effect) and it will quickly find a good, sensible route from one address to another to another. In addition, you can also specify least or most use of freeways or select the fastest route to a destination.
Nearly all routes I've seen in use with our 4250 have made sense, though they're not always the routes I'd have chosen. And I haven't seen any that were out and out wrong or even "round about" or out of the way except for two erroneous routes, which were easily corrected, and which I discuss below. In addition, see below for the 4250's ability to automatically adjust to "wrong turns" taken by the driver without any user intervention needed.
I found the 4250 quite easy to use. Initially I was able to find and use the basic functions without even reading the instructions (though I had read a good deal of info and reviews online before purchase). The touch screen is quite responsive and easy to use. After skimming through the user manual I found I was able to use nearly all the features without needing to refer back more than once or twice over the month or so I've been using the device.
The voice commands work surprisingly well even with the car windows down and in moderately heavy traffic. Another feature I like very much is that if I deviate from the 4250's suggested route, the GPS quickly adjusts and gives me a new route continuing on from the "wrong" turn I've made rather than trying to get me to turn around and go back as, according to what I've read, some GPS units do. And it does this over and over if I continue to choose a different street or road at any point along the way and without any intervention needed on my part. I just decide not to turn where it tells me (or take a turn off the suggested route) and it recalculates and displays the new route from my current location within a few seconds.
I was concerned about reviews of the 4250 I'd read saying the display was too bright at night. It does not seem so to me. There are five brightness levels and there is an option the user can turn on so that the 4250 automatically changes to a "night" display in the evening. This changes the background from white to black and, combined with an adjustment to the display brightness, seems to be quite satisfactory to me even with the GPS suction-mounted at the top of the windshield.
I registered my Magellan Maestro through AAA and obtained a second year of warranty coverage at no additional charge. And as my wife and I often use AAA guidebooks when we're traveling to find restaurants, lodging and points of interest, we like the fact that the AAA guidebook entries are incorporated into the devices database. We don't currently have a compatible bluetooth-enabled cell phone so I can't comment on the cell phone/bluetooth/GPS interface functions and performance (for GPS/cell phone integrated voice dialing of phone numbers of motels, restaurants and points of interest displayed by the 4250).
Overall I must say I've found the Magellan Maestro 4250 has more than lived up to my expectations. It's quite easy to use, very flexible and adaptable (adjusting to changes in the route choices made by the driver without any needed intervention) and my wife and I have found it quite useful. I'd rate it a very good buy, especially at the sale price we paid for it. It came with an easy to use quick attach/detach windshield suction mount, an attractive padded fabric storage sleeve, and was easy to update the firmware (no map update was needed).
I've had only a few minor problems with the Magellan Maestro 4250 in approximately a month of moderate use. On two occasions the 4250 has apparently been confused about its location and offered an incorrect route (because it had an incorrect starting location). I simply turned the unit off and then immediately pressed the power button again to start it up. It then oriented itself properly and provided the correct route as requested.
I do have a couple of criticisms/suggestions. 1) It would be nice if Magellan would include one free map update (for the next update to come out following purchase, however long that might be) or, alternatively, offer the first update after purchase at half-price; or at least extend the free map update period to, say, 90 days rather than just 30. 2) In addition, I don't like the fact that the battery isn't user replaceable. What happens if it fails on a long trip? You send it in to get the battery replaced and have no GPS unless you purchase another one in the meantime.
Still, I'm quite pleased with this purchase based on my experience so far (about one month of moderately heavy use) am glad I bought it.
Customer Review: New firmware available - Great GPS with tons of features
Summary: 5 Stars
I really like the 4250 so far and I can't figure out a few of the poor reviews. Some of them sound like they never even bought the unit but just want to rip on Magellan. I have not found this GPS "buggy" and mine has never reset on me. I think the unit is solid, well built, and attractive. I also don't have problems turning it on as long as I hold the power on button for a few seconds (manual says 2 seconds but I usually hold it a little longer).
After having it a couple of days I checked the Magellan site and found that there was new firmware available that took mine from version 2.24 to 3.34. Speed and response time was good but I think it got better with the firmware upgrade. The firmware update also supposedly improves routing and fixes some reset issues. I hope it also corrects the the issue several have mentioned where it pronouces "DR" as "doctor", not "drive", haven't tested that yet. Route calculation is fast on this unit, easily as fast as my TomTom.
Besides what I mentioned above here are some of my Pros/cons.
Pros:
- I like the map screen way better than the Garmin's or TomTom's. It is more attractive and easy to see in direct sunlight. My TomTom's screen was almost impossible to see in sunlight. It also has more info than the Garmin's. I like that the 4250 shows the compass direction you are traveling and satellite reception on the map page, the Garmin does not.
- The Current Location screen shows altitude as well as all the typical stuff. None of the other models I considered display altitude.
- Voice Command is really cool. My kids love speaking to it and I have found that it works very well after you learn how to properly address it. The number of commands are limited but it is very handy.
- POI's on map screen are easy to see and the icons let you know what is there. My TomTom had a generic indicator for POI's no matter what kind they were.
- The AAA info is very nice and handy. Descriptions are quite extensive.
- The spoken street names and exits are nice. My previous GPS did not speak street names. Many people think this is a must have feature. Personally I don't think so but I do appreciate it.
- The female voice is fine, easy to understand, and plenty loud. I can't imagine it not being loud enough, as some people mention, unless you were in a convertable.
- The trip planner with multiple destinations is great. The other model I considered (Garmin 260w) only supports a single destination and one way point. It is nice to be able to plan the whole trip in advance and be able to save destinations in the address book.
- Rerouting is very fast and it doesn't just tell you to make a U-turn!
- Interface is easy to use.
- Arrival time is much more accurate than my TomTom.
- Includes AC and Car adapters, case, USB cable, etc...
- I haven't used traffic since it is not available in my area but I do like that it is an option if I travel somewhere were it is available.
- No mp3 or picture support. I bought a GPS, not a PDA so why would I want that stuff?
- Very fast satellite acquisition.
- Included software allows adding customer POI's.
Cons:
- Map data isn't old but it isn't as current as the Garmins. My map data is from Q2 2007. An update is supposed to come in Q3 2008. Several recent POI's are not listed.
- ?? Not a con yet for me since I haven't used it, but I have read from the reviews that support is not very good. The web site is quite helpful though.
- I agree that the night screen is a bit too bright.
- Basic cradle that comes with unit is kind of lame in it's adjustments. I liked the TomTom one better.
My decision came down to a choice between the Garmin 260w and Magellan 4250 because I didn't want to spend more than $300. The Garmin 260w is also a nice unit but for the price the Magellan includes so much more. To get a Garmin with similar features costs over $100 more. Overall I am very happy with the Magellan 4250 and would recommend it.
Update 7/11:
Took first long trip with my 4250 and was very satisfied. My unit did say "Drive", not "Doctor" when announcing directions. Maybe this was fixed in the last firmware. I have not updated to the new 4.60 FW yet. I also found that I kind of like the windshield mount now. It is much more stable (doesn't vibrate as much) as the ball mounts I have used with other GPS units. I cradle the GPS then mount it just like I want it and it works great. I love the trip planning option, I put all the places we wanted to go into the unit before we left. It is also great to save a location in the "where am I" screen so you can return to it later if you wish.
Update 7/25/08:
Installed the latest 4.60 firmware and very happy. The first thing I noticed is that they improved the "night mode" of the 4250. The colors have been changed so that it isn't nearly as bright in night mode and is much easier on the eyes. Unit seems even faster and more responsive. Have had no negative issues.
Customer Review: Great Product, Great Price
Summary: 5 Stars
I took a while in seeing which of the several products out on the market i would be most interested in. The top of the line Maestro 4250 for Magellan has several features that are something i desired, and when put to use, came out with great results. Il list off some of the more desirable and less desirable qualities of it.
Pros:
- 4.3" Screen.. vibrant, decent size and well layed out.Black exterior is beautiful. Pastel colors displayed on the screen are nice IMO. The Garmins are the only others i was interested.
- Navigation. Split screen is great when coming up to near direction. Very easy to follow.
- Text To Speech. It works well, but you are limited to one women. She speaks it well. Example: Turn left on to Main street in 1.2 miles.
- POI's. Grouped well, and easy to understand, as well as many of them.
- 2D/3D possibility.
- Multi-trip planner
- Setup.. very easy and sticks well to the windshield.
- Car/Home charger comes in handy
Cons:
- When cruising w/out specific route destination, i find that very little detail is shown on the map. As soon as i put in a specific place, it names every street around my location.. kinda weird. ( Still looking at this)
- Dark Mode. It can be a bit bright, but if you adjust settings you'll be okay. ( Settings help, but often split in dimness when in dual or split screen mode which is not often anyways)
- Speech Volume. Loud and clear, but any sort of music can tone it down so make sure it is on the highest level so you dont miss a direction.
Undecided:
-Voice Command. This is a biggie, and lot of people looking at this model know that very few or no others feature this right now. It simply works by saying "Magellan" in which it will reply with "Say a Command" then you can say or touchscreen the command. It does work, BUT you must speak with a LOUD and clear voice. Radio needs to be off to be honest or it will be dumbfounded. Its a pretty cool feature, but i wouldn't base your whole review/purchase off of it. If it was a bit more sensitive to speech, it would be an excellent feature.
EDIT December 6, 2007 -
Things to take note of.. don't worry, it still is highly suggested
The Good ..
1.) I set my HOME position as the current position when i was in my driveway to see accurate it was. it was SPOT ON and directed me onto my street and into my exact house and drieveway perfectly after a 30 minute commute earlier on.
2.) Satellites are always full signal around here which is fantastic.
3.) Route Recalculation ( this is a biggie in my opinion !! ). I purposefully missed my home street and drove on by following the main street. It took less than 5 seconds to recalculate a route to get back another way. ( i secretly knew there was one other way to get back easily). Sure enough it took me down the exact street i was hoping for and was in my driveway the next minute.
The Bad ..
1.) Power switch can be very stubborn, but hold it down hard for 5-10 seconds and it will always boot.
2.) POI's.. while there are several of them.. they are not generally arranged very well when it comes to distance. I find that i drive too far away to the closest grocery store when i know for a fact its only 5 miles down the road. It sometimes hides on the bottom of the list with a much higher distance equivalent for some reason ( which is why its at the bottom because its sorted by closest distance if you choose that anyways, but its there. )
Conclusion: For the price, this product is hard to beat in comparison to Garmin and TomTom products.
Buy the 4250, you won't be disappointed.
Customer Review: Works Great! Best Value for the Price. "Make a Legal U-Turn..."
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this unit for Father's Day 2008. It was up and working within a few minutes of getting it out of the box. The unit powers up quickly and finds the GPS satellites right away.
I can pair it to my Bluetooth phone without issue as well (Samsung i760). Although the sound quality is pretty good, it does pick up all the background noise, so not a replacement for a bluetooth headset or other handsfree. It also doesn't pull from your contact list on your phone, so you have to know the number you are dialing. Not a feature I would give 5 stars, but bluetooth and phones are quirky anyway regardless.
The mounting system that comes with the unit works well on my Prius and is a little finicky on our Accord. The Accord dash is very long, which makes the windshield slope at a sharp angle, so you have to undo all the knobs to loosen the holder, squeeze it in and then re-tighten everything. You only have to do it once (I bought a second one to avoid moving it between cars) and it stays. I have had the mount in my Prius for a year and it hasn't moved or even gotten loose. The line of sight is good and has some pretty fine adjustments to tweek it to just the right viewing angle.
The maps seem to be right on target, however, if you are taking a long trip and it tells you to go one way, the return trip isn't necessarily going to take you back the exact same route. I'm not sure if that is the traffic service trying to reroute or just a glitch in the map program (which isn't Magellan's issue but the database software, of which there are only 2 databases used by all GPS systems). It would be a nice feature to have a "return" feature that would remember your route for the return trip.
I also have a AAA membership, but haven't really found the AAA information helpful or up to date (2007 is the last update I believe). I don't use the Points of Interest much, but they can be helpful finding gas (it would be nice if the traffic service also had gas prices available, which would be easy since many sites provide this service and they are usually pretty up to date).
All in all, I have been pleased with the unit. It gets me where I am going. Yes, sometimes, it can be confusing when there are odd intersections or you have to make several quick turns together (yes, yes, I know, make a legal u-turn at the next convenient intersection!). I read a lot of reviews before purchasing (I always overthink these things and spend hours reviewing something to the point of overkill). There were knocks on customer service (which I haven't had any and I have updated the firmware 3 times and updated the map twice with little or no issue), but when I do need service, I have always been able to get them on the phone fairly quickly and email responses are quick.
I think at some point, all GPS units that are in a similar price range provide about the same functionality. I liked the database Magellan uses and thought having AAA available as well were the pluses. Customer service pretty much sucks everywhere these days (except Amazon, which has been great with service and returns for me for almost 10 years now), so even when it was knocked, it didn't really concern me much. If I don't have to call them, then that means the product works and that is a better sign than if customers have to make lots of calls to get service in the first place. It really comes down to pesonal preference and this was my preference. I am a computer geek (I have owned my owned IT company for 10 years) and this unit works for me. Hope this review helps!