Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by Magellan
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
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: Very poor quality, poor OS - Died within an hour of arrival
Summary: 1 Stars
Well it's my first time with any Magellan and going by my experience, I am not terribly convinced to purchase another Magellan. First some of my background so readers can assess accordingly. My first GPS was the NavMan it was okay. Next came Garmin Nuvi 650 - VERY expensive but good overall. I had a TomTom 510 - as some of you may know they use the "supposedly" less accurate TeleAtlas maps. I did see sign of that Vs the Garmin (although I can't say the Garmin was impressively accurate). But what I loved about the TomTom was the excellent support for the Mac. The customization options etc. The map data was so, so. But I am hoping this would have improved to an acceptable level by now.
I ordered the Magellan by second day air. I was planning on a long trip. I got the unit, went to get the subscription code (traffic) at the Mag website, got the code, tried to enter it on the GPS. No matter how many times I tried, it kept saying it's incorrect code. I knew (from reading the reviews/support pages etc.) that there was a firmware update available. I like to keep things up to date so went to get the update. Too bad I can't do it on my Mac (even Garmin has data transfer support for the Mac). So I had to find a PC. While installing the update, it says there was a data read/write error. Then the Mag froze at the System Settings. I can select the menus on the System Settings, go forward/next but can't go back to the main screen/home screen. After talking to the customer support (and they ran the system through the same steps I had run it through - force shut down, reset etc.). They tell me "well, we have done everything we can. You can send the unit back to us or you can return it to the place where you bought it from" - all this happened within a matter of two hours! - Now how is that for good customer experience?! The fact that I come from a Macintosh background where things are just expected to work (nothing is perfect but still...) does not make this experience any more bearable... Then I realized it's WindowsCE OS. Had I known this beforehand I would have been more hesitant to purchase this unit.
It's one of the worst experiences I have had and that too failure after failure, not just minor ones mind you!
I have decided to return the unit and get a TomTom (unless I can afford the higher end Garmins). I'll begin to like the map correction feature of the TomTom... but enough of Magellan for me!
Update on 7/23/2008 (approx. 10 days after purchase):
Before returning the unit, I decided to give it one more try and it worked, so with great reluctance I tried to like it (and said to myself, I'll return it if I don't like it soon. I had not bought it directly from Amazon, instead from an Amazon seller who charges restocking fee etc.). So even with my intentions to like it, I find it difficult. Here's the reasons:
1. I realized that one of the features for which I had bought it for does not work the way I thought it did. I had taken for granted that a bluetooth phone connection lets users DIAL from the phone book on the phone. My year old TomTom did this. So yes, you could use this as a hands-free calling device but if you think that it will let you browse/access/dial from the addressbook on your phone, forget it. If you are driving, you'll be forced to take out your phone, dial the number it will then go on the Magellan. (Hello! I might as well use the speaker phone on my phone?!)
2. Support just told me that I have to pair the devices manually EVERY time I get into my car! This is absurd (again I might be spoiled by my prev. experiences with Garmin & TomTom, but the Magellan isn't keeping pace here...)
3. Choosing the "Fastest Time" does not guide you through the highways! instead it makes you get off the exits and takes you through the back roads! Yes, I have ruled out the fact that it is NOT due to traffic congestions on the highways.
4. May be I am used to the routing algorithms of the TomTom and the Garmin but I am not terribly impressed with that of the Magellan. Numerous times it takes me on routes that are not the most efficient. I am checking this in my neighborhood which I am most familiar with. (I would never know this if it did this unfamiliar areas - consequently I don't feel confident that it WOULD route efficiently in unfamiliar areas)
5. Once you calculate a route, there's not much you can do if you want to explore another destination. The TomTom allows you to freely lookup other destinations and then add it to the existing route if you like. Here the only option is to cancel the current route.
6. The TomTom gives exciting free updates and ENHANCEMENTS on their devices, this is infrequent on the Magellan (after exploring the updates/enhancement frequency on their site)
Customer Review: Buggy and unreliable
Summary: 1 Stars
I wanted so much to like this GPS. I spent a lot of time researching difference ones and narrowed my selection to the TomTom 920, the Nuvi 760 and the Maestro 4250. Both the TomTom and the Maestro had some cool features that really appealed to me (Voice inputs, AAA guide and so forth). In reading reviews, I decided against the TomTom since many indicated that it would not get you to your destination on the most efficient route and their customer service was attrocious. Reviews of the Maestro were mixed and the most common complaints where the unit crashing. The Nuvi had great reviews but was so much more expensive than the other two units. Amazon had the Maestro on sale for $356 and that opportunity was to great to pass up. On the first day of plugging the unit into the cigarette lighter I got a message "USB connection detected, please refer to PC instructions for downloading maps". It would not let me do anything and the screen just sat there frozen. Thinking I had not read the instructions thouroughly I unplugged the unit and operated via the battery. The unit worked very nicely, clear screen, nice picture resolution, voice commands worked great, all in all I really liked the whole package. The next day I went to turn the unit on and nothing happened. I kept trying and finally had to call customer support. They were very courteous and I had no wait time (unlike some reviews that quetioned the customer service). The rep told me to hold the power button for 10 seconds and push the reset button at the same time. After trying a few times, the unit finally powered on. I then told him that I had this problem when connecting the unit to the cigarette lighter. He told me to push the reset button while the unit was on and to try again. Same results "USB connection detected....". He then said that this was a known problem and that my unit was defective. These words echoed in my brain as this was the same answer I had heard so many other people utter in their review "this was a known problem". If it is a known problem then why not FIX IT!
Here I had read all the stories about other people having their unit crash and now I find myself two days later in the same predicament. I was both disappointed and frustrated. It is a really nice looking unit and works great when it works. But having two crash issues in as many days just made the product not reliable enough for me. I am amazed that a company like Magellan that has so much experience in the GPS market is able to put out their top of the line unit with so many bugs to make the unit unusable.
I ended up bitting the bullet and ordered a Nuvi 760. Based on what I have read, my wallet may be a little smaller but at least I will have a reliable GPS. I have not received it yet so I cannot compare the two but I am hopping for better results.
Update:
January 15th, 2008. I have now received the Nuvi 760 and took it for a test drive today. Right off the bat I did not like the interface of the Nuvi as much as I did on the Maestro. The way the Nuvi gave directions was very sparse. On the Maestro, it was very good at warning you in advance of turns that you may encounter, it even showed you a graphics of the turn you were about to make. Just before the turn, it would warn you and then right at the turn a little bell would chime telling you to turn at that spot. This was a very nice feature that I thought was standard on all units. The Nuvi does not do this and only tells you just before the turn. The volume level on the Nuvi is extremely very low, I can barely hear the unit on high level, the Maestro was much louder. The AAA detailed location features of the Maestro are a wonderfull feature that the Nuvi lacks.
Now, it has only been one day that I have owned the Nuvi so I will surely update this review again or post a full review on the Nuvi page, but so far I vastly prefer the interface and map routing of the Maestro but the Nuvi appears rock solid in performance. I did not encounter one problem or crash whereas with the Maestro I had two crashes and two problems that were fatal.
In summary, if we could put all the features of the Maestro into a Nuvi, we would have a perfect unit. I really wanted to like the Maestro and I really liked the Maestro features and function, if only it was not as fatally buggy I could recommend it.
Customer Review: Capable GPS, Horrendous Product Support
Summary: 3 Stars
This has been my experience with Magellan Technical Support and Customer service.
Since I had registered with Magellan after purchasing my Maestro 4250 North America and log in from time to time and since I had since I had installed one of the updates before -Version 4.60 -sure I wanted to try out the new update Version 4.85.
I tried to do this in March before our spring break trip to LA and San Diego. The installer said something about a file being corrupt- the installation continued without my being able to stop it. The result- constantly rebooting gps, cancelling routes resulted in hanging the machine, the 4250 was always lost or was always having difficulty re-finding it's location. In short a trashed GPS to be used in a thousand mile roadtrip (and I bought this from ToysR'Us Dec 22, 2008.)
I tried what I could to fix it before and after our trip (I am fairly comfortable around technology and how to fiddle with them.) I called technical support many times. Hit the reset switch more times than I could recall. Downloaded the software update again and again from the Magellan site. Tried to install the software in Safe Mode. There is no undo to go back to the previous version of an update (I later learned from Customer Support.)
I sent this back to Magellan. I dilly-dallied before doing this. I had read all the negative reviews about Magellan Customer Service by then. But I couldn't return it to ToysR'Us since it had phased out the sale of all gps units. Finally I bit the bullet, crossed my fingers hoping the same things wouldn't happen to me, and sent it to them It took all of three weeks to get the 4250 back to me. They replaced it with a refurbished 4250. Sure it had the 4.85 update and seemed to work well. But it now had the Navteq 2.9 maps. My Magellan had the 3.1 maps, which I take it to be the 2008-2009 maps. That already had many outdated and false POIs and I was supposed to take this? Also the screen of the thing was really rough- they didn't bother to wrap the screen with a proper screen protector just an ordinary plastic wrap. Try as I might I couldn't take the roughness of totally with the use of lcd wipes. Also the bezel was creaking on one side. The worst thing of all was when I looked at the serial no it was manufactured about 173,000 plus units before mine was that would place its manufacture at around 2007. None only was it old looking, it was really old. I say this because my new 4250 was very sleek and nary had a scratch on it.
Of course I had to send it back! I explained my concerns to a customer rep then asked for a supervisor. The MANAGER I talked to, ASHLEY, on Magellan Customer Support told me that I couldn't get my original unit back, I could get another replacement though. I also couldn't get a new 4250 since it had been phased out according to her. I then insisted on a service gps while they went about sending me a replacement. She told me she needed my credit card information in case I didn't return the service gps when the replacement gps arrived. What person in his right mind would do this- sending good money after bad? So we settled on I sending the unit back and receiving it from Magellan within 6 days. My thinking was I had shamed them into expediting the replacement.
They sent me an RMA through email. I used this to Fedex the gps to Lavergne, Tennessee where their repair/return facility is located on May 5. It's now day 8, on the Magellan web site, my repair status says they now say they received the gps on May 13. I guess Magellan or their Customer Support took me for a ride!
So my advice to you is don't install any more updates from Magellan! Don't rely on their support! In the future DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM MAGELLAN!!!
I hope this helps someone.
FB Castro in N. California
PS.
While I was writing I was on hold at Magellan Customer Support for more than 30 minutes already. To be fair before it took a lesser amount of time to reach a customer rep. Now maybe they know my number already and just want to wait me out. I decided to hang up and just continue writing this. Maybe I'll send this to the BBB and to other exasperated-with-Magellan blogs later.
Customer Review: OK but I'd look elsewhere
Summary: 2 Stars
I had this unit for about 2 weeks before returning it. For me, reliability was no more than fair. Although it has some nice features, I think there are much better choices out there. With any GPS, my requirements are for reliable GPS-oriented features and not lots of bells and whistles that I'll probably never use. The 4250 did not always boot up quickly and it would occasionally freeze. This model announces both the direction of the turn and the street name, which is something that I definitely want to have on any unit I would buy. The reason- I also have a Garmin 250W that announces turn direction but doesn't announce street names. I find it confusing when getting off some expressway ramps where there are several streets close together so I'm not always sure on which street I am supposed to turn since I have to primarily rely on the voice prompt since I'm driving and can not safely look at the map for details other than a quick glance. Hearing the street name is very helpful.
Routing
I find the routing on this unit to be mostly acceptable and more consistent with the routes I would normally take than with any Garmin model. With my 250W and demo units of other Garmin models I've tested in several stores, Garmin ALWAYS routes me several miles out of my way whenever I'm within several miles of my home where all Garmins route me past several streets I could turn on for the shortest, quickest and most direct route. Garmin's routing apparently does not recognize one or more of those streets. I reported this to Navteq (sp) and keep checking the store demo units to see if the routing has been updated but it has not. The 4250 seemed to have mostly logical routes and recognized all the streets the Garmin missed when within 3 miles of my home.
Features
Although I thought the extra features on this unit could be useful, I found the phone book and blue tooth features lacking. I thought the zoom feature when approaching an upcoming turn and the `turn alarm' when at the turn are each brilliant. Another useful feature is that the unit automatically narrows the possible address choices with each character entered so fewer characters have to be entered than with Garmin. The POI content and features are quite good, especially the AAA content. However, the map appearance was a huge let down compared to the Garmin and this became the deal breaker so the 4250 was returned after using it for 2 weeks.
MAP COMPARISON - Garmin vs Magellan
I prefer the look and utility of Garmin's maps to Magellan's. In addition to color and sharpness, the main reason is that Garmin shows the street names above the road while the Magellan overlays the name on top of the road, which makes street names extremely difficult to read at a glance, even at night. There are times I don't use the nav/routing feature but only the map, usually when I have a general idea of where to go and may not want to rely on the unit's routing. While in map only mode, the Garmin's announce/show names of upcoming main streets so it's always easy to quickly and safely know where you are in relation to the surrounding streets since all surrounding streets are very easy to see/read without having to stare at the screen. Not so with the Magellan, which requires much more of your attention trying to figure out street names and where you are in relation to the upcoming streets. Another feature I felt the Garmin has it over the Magellan is the screen location of the name of the street you are traveling on appears (at the top). For me, these Garmin features are logical and intuitive while Magellan's seemed counter intuitive.
Bottom Line
Although the 4250 is available for a relatively low price, I would recommend seriously considering a similarly priced but newer Magellan or Garmin unit over the 4250. I did recently order a Magellan RoadMate 1470 and am looking forward to comparing that to my previous GPS experiences.