Magellan Maestro 3220 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Magellan
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Our Price: $999.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $199.99 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Magellan Maestro 3220 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Fantastic GPS with a few minor annoyances
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a Garmin and a Magellan and drove around the country (I'm a truck driver) with them side-by-side. One of the things I loved about the M was the uncluttered screen. (The stock picture looks a little cluttered because it is set for a option that you don't have to use). The G was too graphics-heavy for me. I love the simplicity of the M screen. Most importantly was the M's ability to quickly reroute me when I missed a turn (given that there is no truck-route option, I just pass by the roads that I'm not allowed on and rely on the GPS to continually reroute me as much as necessary). The G lagged much behind in this regard. The M chose the better route about 95% of the time. In order to keep this brief, I'll just say that after two weeks of comparison I kept the M and returned the G.
As for the minor annoyances, the one that bothers me most is that you must choose the city first, then the state. Often times a city name (or some version of it) will show up in up to all 50 states requiring you to scroll through a long list to pick the correct city name and state. Another minor annoyance is that when I pull into a rest area, suddenly the GPS has no clue what city it's in. Another reviewer complained that his did not come with a charger; mine did so I don't understand why his didn't. I also have not had the customer service issues others have complained of. I found them to be easy to reach and willing to help although, as is the standard today (except for T-Mobile), you can forget talking to something that speaks English well.
Another reason I was unable to even consider keeping the Garmin is that I was not able to set a time zone. The G automatically changed as I drove into different time zones. I work on eastern time regardless of where I am so the G changing according to location made it difficult for me to use the estimated ETA. One of the huge bonuses of the M over the G was the three options of choosing either ETA, miles to destination or drive hours to destination. The G only had one option.
Overall, I've driven about 250,000 with the help of this GPS and although you still have to use common sense and an atlas, I've been really happy with this GPS and would recommend it.
Customer Review: Avoid at All Cost
Summary: 1 Stars
After hours of troubleshooting, following online instructions, changing USB cables, etc. I still could not connect to my PC. I then contacted "customer service". The Indian rep asked me why I wanted to connect the unit. He said forget it and just try to use the unit as-is. (It was one of those "HUH" moments) I told him that as per factory instructions the first thing a user was supposed to do is update firmware and maps. Finally he told me that my unit/ serial number was not compatible with Windows XP Pro SP3 or Vista. He told me to find a friend with a different operating system that may work. (you can't make this stuff up) :>)
Since this was an unacceptable response I wanted to escalate the problem. As many of you know, finding a stateside/ corporate contact is virtually impossible. I found a media contact in France who initially denied affiliation with Magellan. She said the name of her company just sounded like the GPS company. This was a lie since her company website had the same registered Magellan logo referencing Magellan products. Simply amazing.
Finally I was given some medium level technocrat/ managers in the US. They were completely useless suggesting that I upgrade to Windows XP Pro SP4. As most of you may know, there is no service pack 4.
Magellan horror stories abound on the web. There are many manufacturers selling GPS units. Magellan is a rogue company. They are totally oblivious to providing even the minimum level of customer service. Avoid Magellan at all cost. You will be very happy you did.
Customer Review: Dead On Arrival
Summary: 1 Stars
I ordered the Magellan because 1) it was on sale, 2) I was about to take an extended road trip and thought that a GPS would come in handy. When it arrived I looked for the instruction manual. There isn't one. It comes with a CD to put in a computer and you can print your own instruction manual. You pay for a product and the company asks you to use your paper and ink to see how to use it. Well, the CD said to simply plug the unit into a 12 volt outlet and go. I took it to my car, plugged it in and got the message that the battery was at critical low level and to recharge the unit. I took it back inside, looked through the package for the charger but there wasn't one. I put the CD back on the computer and it had no mention of a charger. So I went online to Amazon and found that you have to buy a charger separately. In my experience, even cheap electronic devices usually come with a charger. So I order one and when it arrived I plugged the Magellan into the wall socket. I gave it a day and it was still at critical low level. I gave it 2 days and it was at critical low level. So I plugged it back in my car hoping it would charge up as I drove. It charged up enough to enter my destination for my trip, but upon hitting the road the unit kept shutting itself off due to a critically low level with the battery. I contacted Magellan's online support department but never recieved a response. I sought to get a replacement from Amazon and found that there were no more in stock so I got a credit to my account instead. A very disappointing experience.Customer Review: User Friendly but Routing is Faulted
Summary: 2 Stars
I updated the firmware and ordered the latest 2009 Spring map before I tested this unit. The sound volume is barely loud enough and can be better. The screen color is kind of washed and difficult to see in daytime. Here I am comparing functions of the Magellan to my 3 years old off brand GPS with Text-to-Speech.
Pros: 1. Very easy to make entries for destinations
2. Much better POI
3. Very cheap for a branded unit
Cons: 1. Routing is odd. I tested my 7 miles trip from home to work. No matter what routing options I picked, the direction was always the a long city route even though the freeway was just next to it.
2. Text-to-Speed was very busy especially at tight turns, making the feature very annoying at times. Occasionally, the speech would stop when a few turns happened within a short distance. Confusing.
3. No indication of destination to your left or right at times.
Summary: I highly recommend this unit for the exceptional cost to feature ratio (if you can get it cheap). Routing may be odd in some cases but accurate. Very Good no frill unit.
Customer Review: Best Little GPS!
Summary: 5 Stars
There are not many GPS units that offer as many maps as this little jewel. I've used it extensively for driving in Mexico and Mexico City. I have been extremely happy with this unit and own three of them. I would not recommend anyone drive in Mexico without having this GPS. The map may have been dated but I got to where I was going in Mexico City without any problems.
If you want a true workhorse GPS with a bunch of maps - especially Mexico - this is the unit for you. I've studied most models and this one is turn-on and go - literally.
For the money - under $100 in most cases - you can get a better deal anywhere. So what if you need to update the maps - new map costs $70! However, the core information and mapping is extremely reliable.
I cant say enough about this product. I'm considering the 4220.
I hope Magellan does not discontinue this product and offers other units with these maps.
Jerry