Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator: Digital-Camera-Near.com

Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Magellan

List Price: ~~$449.99~~
Our Price: $29.99
You Save: $420.00 (93%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: GPS or Navigation System
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Customers in the UK, Buy this product at amazon.co.uk for British Pounds

Digital Photo Product Details

Manufacturer: Magellan
Brand: Magellan
Edition: Electronics
Model: Maestro 4000
Color: black/silver
Publisher: Magellan
Studio: Magellan
Music Label: Magellan
Product features:

Hear turn-by-turn directions as you enjoy your driving experience virtually to any destination in the continental U.S.
Built-in AAA travel information, including member roadside assistance details and more
1.5 million Points of Interest (POIs), 2D and 3D views; customizable address book
4.3-inch WQVGA full-color, anti-glare touch screen
Measures 5.0 x 3.75 x 0.88 inches (WxHxD) and weighs 8.5 ounces

Accessories:

Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Customer Review: The Better GPS (compared to Nuvi)
Summary: 5 Stars

We bought this GPS for driving in New England. Anyone who has been there knows that road names and signs are often non-existent and/or can change without so much as a by-your-leave, so for our sanity we got the Magellan Maestro GPS.

The Good:

The features are very good, the on-screen buttons are a great size so that you don't "miss" trying to push them when driving (As a passenger, I should say. Don't get in a wreck pushing buttons while driving!). Entering addresses is easy as well as storing them. You can touch the screen when you're at a location and ask the unit to store the spot you're at. This is great if you don't know the actual address of where you are! The various map modes are nice (3D, top view) and the roads are up-to-date; the "night" mode blacks out the map color to reduce glare from the unit when driving after dark. The voice commands are great from the built in speaker, nice and clear! The menus work very well too, simple to navigate through to get where you want in the device. The AAA extras in there are nice if you have AAA membership, but you don't need to deal with it if you don't want to.

Another great feature is that if your unit loses GPS signal (say you go into a tunnel) it automatically throws up a screen showing graphical representations and distances of all turns coming up so you don't get lost or miss a ramp in the tunnel. This is a great feature.

The Bad:

POIs. I think this is a common complaint about all GPS units though. The ability to create your own is a real pain. When are the GPS manufacturers going to get a clue and include software that will let you create an "address book" on your computer with your own entries or pulled from something like Google Maps and then make it upload to the device? This is one of the worst features of the device and is essentially useless. You're better off entering the addresses you want stored in your device by hand at home and then saving them. You can select them on the road.

The Magellan also doesn't have Bluetooth, a MP3 player, or the traffic watch features of the Nuvi, but after using the Nuvi I found that these features aren't worth the price (plus you have to pay extra to unlock some of them!)

Why this device is our favorite compared to the Garmin Nuvi 6XX series:

Simple menus. The Nuvi has too many small buttons that are not easy to use when driving (as a passenger pushing the buttons), and there are too many menus to go through to get what you want. The Magellan only needs a few buttons to get anywhere in the device.

Clear Voice Instructions. The built in speaker is loud and the simulated voice is nice and clear. There have been several occasions where we've wondered what our Nuvi was trying to tell us (listen to how the Nuvi says "square" if you have the opportunity, it sounds like "sqayyelurrr"). The simulated voice isn't as good as the Magellan, and the built in speaker is nowhere near as good.

No unnecessary extras to clutter up the menu. There are all sorts of features to navigate through such as shopping and restaurants in the Nuvi. The Nuvi has better POIs than the Garmin, but how often on a road trip do you really need to look for shopping? All you need is gas stations and restaurants. If you're at home, enter the addresses of where you want to go before you get in the car. All done!

The Nuvi has bluteooth, an MP3 Player and traffic watch to name a few extras. Bluetooth is nice if you actually use it, but most phones that have bluetooth already have voice activated dialing already. The advantage of the Nuvi is that it can transmit the voice via FM to your car radio, but I can tell you from experience that the Nuvi's FM transmitter is so underpowered as to render it almost useless. Too faint and it allows outside interference in too easily. You could use a tape deck or headphone plug in adapter to your car stereo, but only if you have those features available in your car.

The MP3 Player only holds up to 1000 songs (something they don't tell you). The other problem is that unless you make playlists at home before you go, you're constantly playing DJ picking what you want to hear. Also, the MP3 screen has to be up when doing this so you can't see the map! It also takes 1-2 minutes to load the songs, and the GPS is frozen during this time. Not good if you want to know which way to turn out of a parking lot right away after powering the device up.

Traffic watch. Costs extra, and if you live where you're using this you already know when and where the traffic will be bad!

Worst feature compared to the Magellan: Loss of signal causes the device to "coast". It expects you to be at whatever turn is coming up next based on your speed at the time of signal loss. It doesn't tell you the next sequence of turns or distances like the Maestro, so if you get stuck in a traffic jam in a tunnel, too bad! We found this out the hard way.

I'd recommend the Magellan. Better, simpler features, great voice directions and costs less. A GPS for drivers.

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Description of Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3" Wide Screen - Feature Packed - New easy-to-use UI. Features SiRF Star III for quickest position acquisition. It includes an intuitive touch screen for access to all menus and features.

With built-in AAA TourBook® travel information and member roadside assistance details, the Magellan Maestro 4000 Portable Auto GPS System is the ultimate travel companion. Re-engineered for easy use, its fresh graphics and intelligent touch-screen buttons offer a superior, precise navigational experience. And with its error free QuickSpell? software you only need to enter a few letters to find your destination. The Magellan Maestro 4000 makes driving more pleasurable and less stressful.

With fresh graphics and an intelligent touch screen, the Magellan Maestro 4000 is the ultimate travel companion.
View larger - Side view

Easy to use navigation features SmartDetour and auto re-route. View larger.

Access built-in AAA information from your GPS touch screen. View larger.

AAA-enabled
The Maestro 4000 includes built-in AAA TourBook® guide travel information, giving you instant access to service details and Diamond ratings from the world's leading travel expert. Quickly find AAA approved lodgings and restaurants, AAA member roadside assistance details, and discounts available through the AAA Show Your Card & Save® program. Touch the tow truck icon and quickly access details for directing AAA member roadside assistance to your location.

Note: AAA member roadside assistance requires AAA membership.

Easy-to-Use Navigation
If you don't like reading directions, you'll love the Magellan Maestro 4000. It's simple to use and ready to guide you to virtually any destination in the 48 continental United States right out of the box -- just turn it on and go. Its thin, sophisticated design and attractive, intuitive touch-screen graphics make driving a pleasure. Enter an address or select from 1.5 million preprogrammed points of interest (POIs), such as ATMs, gas stations, and restaurants with just a few screen touches. SiRFstarIII? gives you the fastest GPS position accuracy in the industry, which you can use to route on the 2D or 3D map. Finally, let Maestro's friendly voice guide you turn-by-turn while you enjoy the drive.

Additional Product Features

Turn-by-turn voice and visual guidance: Enter virtually any address or POI and get there quickly and safely
Graphical interactive maps: Built-in maps and destinations for the continental U.S. mean you'll always know where you are and where you're going
Bird's-eye 3D view: Clearly see your surroundings in 2D or 3D; also choose between Map View, TrueView? 3D split screen, and Maneuver List
Rechargeable battery: Navigate even when you don't have access to power
Multi-destination routing: Select up to 20 destinations and choose the order that best fits your needs
SmartDetour?: Automatically prompts you to route around slow freeway traffic
Auto re-route: Never miss a turn and quickly get back on track whenever you make a detour
Auto night view: Adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing
Complete mobility: Transfer your Maestro 4000 to any vehicle, with no installation
1.5 million points of interest (POI): Optimized database to easily find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, and more. And with smart location you can search by name, category, and region. There's even a Coffee category so you can quickly find caffeine whenever you need it.
Interactive POI icons: Touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination, see name and address, and get an instant route
Customizable route methods: Fastest time, shortest distance, least or most use of freeways, avoid toll roads
Route exclusion: Select streets and freeways to avoid so you can get there your way
Address Book: Create and store POIs for easy reoccurring trips
Instant locate: One touch shows your location; quickly advise roadside assistance or emergency services

What's in the Box
Magellan Maestro 4000 Portable Auto GPS System, windshield mount and cradle, adhesive dash mount disk, cigarette lighter power adapter (12-24 watts), AC wall power supply/charger, quick reference guide, reference manual CD, and USB cable.

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