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Electronics : Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator |
- Magellan Maestro 4250The Magellan 4250 is a solid GPS. The screen size is ideal with larger screen alternatives providing marginal benefit at best. The screen shows, in addition to the map, my estimated time or arrival, the miles until the next course adjustment, and a little diagram of the next turn. The Magellan directs me to my destination by the most direct path allowing me to choose freeways, avoid freeways, most direct, fastest, etc. Occasionally, it will direct me on a path that I am not 100% sure is the fastest (although it may be) but it ALWAYS sends me to the right spot! When it notes that I've hit a traffic jam, it offers to reroute me on a path that avoids the blockage. Further, it warns me in advance of turns regularly enough that I'm prepared without pestering me. The Magellan 4250's limitations are minor. You cannot change the voice, saving destinations in the address book is not intuitive, and the voice recognition function has limited commands and limited voice recognition. That being said, I recommend this unit highly because it excels in those areas that it should as an OUTSTANDING GPS.
Rating:
- Don't buyMagellan Customer service is the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. They offer a free 30 day map update since all of their products ship with out of date maps. This would be a good thing except it is in the fine print of their products and their customer support email address that their website list is the wrong address. I had to get through to their customer service by posting a bad review on their website. By the time they responded my unit was beyond the 30 day limit and they refused to give me the update. This is a bad business practice. Garmin has a 60 day guarantee which is posted directly on their website in plain view.
Rating:
- It will get you there!This is my first GPS. I programmed in my in-laws' address (I've made the trip countless times) and selected "No Thruways" and then followed my usual route. I did not make all the turns it announced. When I missed an instruction it reprogrammed the route in less than a minute. It was dead-on accurate. The graphics are vivid and easy to follow. I used it to visit a friend who had recently moved and was almost 300 miles away. On the Interstate it gives the first alert for a turn about ten miles out. It tells you when to ignore a turn-off at a major interchange and stay the course. It is BlueTooth capable, has hundreds of Points of Interest and traffic alerts. It comes with all the mounting hardware you'll need and all cables. I give it five stars for ease of use, accuracy and convenience. I have not found a downside yet.
Rating:
- Plan to pay $79 more for the new maps, or just buy something elseI bought a Magellan Maestro 4250 in July of 2008, and discovered that my street, built in 2005 isn't there. Customer support told me, when I called to get the software update at the time that there will be a new map release in September (the software update is required to make routing work somewhat logically). But they didn't tell me that it was going to cost me $79 with no upgrade discount for recent purchasers, almost half the price I paid for it. So the bottom line is that these are units built in 2006 which Magellan is dumping on the market with obsolete maps, knowing that they are going to screw you for another $79 to get your street on the screen in the next few months.
This is awful customer service from Magellan, and it suggests to me that there are better companies to buy a GPS from.
In addition, there are some well written review comments from others here, stating for example, that the voice activated features don't work very well and are restricted to a nearly useless set of things (nearest coffee" but nothing like "1402 Maple Street"), and that the traffic avoidance features make poor decisions about when and how to re-route you. This is not a quality product by any contemporary standard.
Rating:
- Great GPS at a great priceThe Magellan Maestro 4250 is a great GPS. It pronounces the names of the streets as you approach your next turn. It responds to voice commands. The price provided by the Amazon partner is outstanding; several hundred dollars less than the local electronics store.
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