Magellan Maestro 3140 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by Magellan
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List Price: Our Price: $69.97 You Save: $430.02 (86%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Magellan Maestro 3140 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: lot fo features for the given price
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a cheap GPS unit for occasional out of town trips. Before this, I had bought Mio c220, but returned it after a week. I decided to put in some more cash and bought Maestro 3140. I am totally impressed with its performance. Here are some things which I liked about it:
Every time you enter a destination, it gives you option to choose Fastest Route, Shortest Route etc. In other GPS, you have to go into settings and change it.
Detour: If there is slow moving traffic on a highway, you can use this feature. It guides you to the next exit, gives directions on the inside roads and later puts you back on the highway. You can specify how long of a detour you would like. you can choose 5 miles, 10 miles and so on. Other GPS would try to put you back on highway at the very next entrance. What's even better is that it automatically senses that you have slowed down and would suggest you to take a detour.
Exit POIs: Need food/gas? Just tap on Exit POIs button and Maestro will find the next exit which has a gas station or a restaurant. It will even give you names for each, so you can choose if you want to eat at Denny's or Taco Bell.
Bluetooth: I used it a couple of times. The sound is clear and loud. Just tap on the green button to answer an incoming call. The only problem I noticed is that I have to 'connect' it to my bluetooth phone it evey time I turn it on. Probably I need to change some setting there.
No folding receiver: I used Garmin 350 before and was always scared of breaking the receiver that needs to be flipped open before you use it. Maestro doesn't have it.
Some things I do not like about Maestro:
Garmins turn off automatically when they are plugged in and you turn off the ignition. This one doesn't. It can turn off automatically only if it is in the same position for 10 minutes and you have not pressed any buttons.
little bigger than Garmin 350 and 200 so it's not really pocket friendly
Customer Review: worst piece of junk ever
Summary: 1 Stars
I got this for my boyfriend who just moved to my city and didn't have a clue how to get around. He has to plan every trip outside the neighborhood, to the last detail - which this GPS is GREAT for. IF you have the EXACT address, and already know where you are going in general. This IS NOT a good gps to have if you are lost, or need spontaneous directions from somewhere you are unfamiliar with. It got me lost several times, took me through some crazy winding neighborhoods and ended up spending an extra hour to get home.
Like I said, you need to have a clear plan of where you are going before you leave, and know the exact address of where you are going. You cannot be in the middle of the city and decide you want to find the nearest Home Depot or movie theatre. It has a few restaurants and gas stations programmed in and that is it. You cannot see ahead of the map, only what it shows you. Navigating through the menu is the most frustrating thing because you have to enter in every letter and number, go back, figure out how to save it, etc. Not user-friendly or for someone who isn't a gadget freak. Most of all, I totally lost confidence in it because it has gotten me lost on more than one occasion. LOST!
**UPDATE 09/12/08**
I am still hating this GPS system, in fact I refuse to let my boyfriend even use it when I am in the car because it's so irritatingly WRONG. I know Atlanta like the back of my hand and on NUMEROUS occasions this thing gave wrong directions. It doesn't recognize our exit, which is off of another exit making it a little complicated but HELLO there are signs that point to our road but this GPS can't figure it out. It also stalls right when you need to know where to turn and you end up missing the turn. It has helped my boyfriend out a few times when he needed to get somewhere without me but other than that, this thing is totally worthless. You are better off googling the directions beforehand or getting GPS on your phone. This thing should be recalled.
Customer Review: Good bargain, has extra features but runs slow sometimes
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the Magellan Maestro 3140 a few months back from Amazon and so far have been mostly pleased for what I was looking for. This is the first GPS product that I have ever purchased. I bought it for about $230, a bargain since it starts somewhere at $500. It has text-to-speech capability which allows the built-in voice to announce the street names, the highways, and the upcoming directions aloud. This alone is the best feature because a lot of the GPS systems don't have this feature unless you pay upwards of $500. This is very helpful when you are in the car alone and don't have anyone to read the next turn or direction.
I recently took a trip and used the Trip Planner feature. Since this is my first GPS I'm not sure whether they all have this feature but it is helpful. I was able to enter all the addresses I'd be using on the trip ahead of time and store them for when I would later need to access them. It is easy to delete these trip planners but if you have to edit one of the addresses you have to enter it as a new address.
It has many options stored within for points of interest however it wasn't able to locate nearby places that I entered. It couldn't even locate a Wal-Mart when I tested for that. You can preset what POI's you want the GPS to alert you of when you are near and it will show them on the map.
One complaint I do have is that if you are trying to go somewhere that is not a built-in POI you will need the physical address. It is unable to search for places by name so make sure you have all the addresses of where you are going ahead of time.
It is also very accurate on arrival time and will adjust your arrival time based on traffic or delays. I ended up purchasing some accessories with this product such as an A/C adapter for charging, a dash mount, and a case for the GPS and its accessories. I would recommend this product if you're looking for a few extra features but still don't want to spend a lot on a GPS.
Customer Review: Best value in GPS today, hands-down
Summary: 5 Stars
I researched and comparison shopped heavily before buying this unit in November 2007. At $219 at Amazon (and I've seen it for $209 elsewhere), this has to be the best value in the auto GPS market. I have had nothing significant to complain about; in fact, I love it. It's easy to use, lightning-fast to pick up signals and to reroute. It's gotten me amazingly accurately everywhere I've wanted to go, at night, on twisty two-lane country roads in places I've never been to before. The combination of Magellan's and AAA's Points of Interest makes the range of choices very rich, as long as you don't expect a hand-held phone book.
The voice can take a little getting used to, as it sometimes sounds like English was the woman's second or third language, but the volume is plenty loud, as long as I don't have the radio cranked up. It gives plenty of advanced warning for turns, and has speed-sensitive chimes that always ring a second or two before you have to make your turn.
I'm impressed with the fact that the unit senses when I'm in slow freeway traffic and flashes a discreet detour symbol I can touch if I want to take it. Unlike some reviewers, I've had no trouble with the mount -- it's sturdy, easy enough to figure out and holds the unit steadily with no vibrations. I've also found that the unit announces whether my destination is on the right or the left.
To show you how good this unit is, it even told me that I needed to cross over from the local to the express, center lanes on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia. Now that's sensitivity!
With holiday season sales, you can get a GPS with Text to Speech for less, but when I read the reviews for the units I always find shortcomings this unit doesn't have. I'm a part-time limo driver, so I've put this baby to a decent test, and confidently recommend it to anybody looking for a great GPS at a great price!
Customer Review: Some problems, but still good
Summary: 3 Stars
I need to add something to this review, quite a long time later. You cannot add maps for Europe! When I bought it, of course the salesman convinced me that you could. Yeah right. This may not be important for you, but this is a joke for people like myself that travel a lot. What a scam.
I just bought this, and used it on a drive from New Jersey to Lousiana. Here's what I don't like:
This only comes with a car charger.
The unit kept saying low battery and would turn off throughout the ride( a lot!), even though it was plugged in and recieving power. Don't know if this is my car's problem or the units problem, but it never stayed dead during the 24 hours I drove, so it was getting power.
Some of the mapping has been wrong and outdated.
This comes with no user guide! Only a CD. I guess this is normal for GPS but it's annoying. They should include a manual.
Sometimes the text to speech is too slow, and you miss your turn. This didn't happen too much, but it was frustrating.
And one of the worst things is that the maximum volume is not loud at all. I could barely hear it when driving. I really had to pay attention or else I wouldn't hear. This kind of made the text to speech useless so I just watched the map. If you want to listen to music, and hear text to speech, forget about it, because you'll barely be able to hear it over the sound of your car driving.
One of the plastic mount screw cap things doesn't stay on. There's supposed to be a little thing inside it to lock the screw through it, but mine didn't have it.
The good things are that it's fast, and pretty accurate for the most part. It's also very easy to use.