Customer Reviews

Magellan Maestro 4000 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

First the good stuff. The GPS accuracy exceeds my expectations, it is usually accurate to within about 10 feet. The "directions" have been flawless so far. The voice prompts are clear and easy to understand. The screen is very large and easy to read. The menus are are breeze to use, and there is no "learning curve".
Now the bad stuff. There is no way for me to look up POIs on my computer, and download them; which is stupid since the unit has a USB interface. The POIs on the GPS are all "AAA" rated places, so you are limited to the places that "AAA" wants you to go to. I looked up restaraunts in my area, for which there are at least 20 "chain restaraunts" like chili's & applebees etc; however, it only listed one obscure restaurant in my area. The next closest place it listed was nearly 10 miles away!!! In my opinion the pre-loaded POIs are absolutely useless. And with no way to download them from my PC, I am forced to look up the address via internet and then MANUALLY enter them into the GPS (this seems like stone-age technology to me).

I researched competitor units from Garmin and Tom-Tom, and decided to buy the Magellan 4000 from Amazon.com. The unit arrived just before Father's Day, and I am extremely pleased with my choice.



The 4.3" screen is easy to read in all light conditions. It powers up and finds my location in just seconds, compared to minutes with a former Garmin unit. I have used it for about 10 days, driving to all parts of the Twin Cities. It brought me right to every address, and found a restaurant, when someone's verbal directions lead me astray.



The AAA data base is very extensive, and the mapping detail is extremely current. The battery holds a charge for over 3 hours of use, and it was easy to program addresses in the easy chair at home.



I am very glad that I now have the Magellan 4000 to get me around the city and the country.

Recently purchased the Maestro 4000 for a trip to Philadelphia from Boston. I considered other Magellellan products (3100, 4040) and other brands but liked the screen size, AAA database and price ($335 when purchased, now down to $299). Overall the product worked very well.

Navigating the menus is relatively easy, Magellan keeps your options simple, Entering an address, looking up a AAA Point of Interest, setting or canceling a route is a matter of point, listen, click. In fact my wife, not a gadget gal, found it easy to locate tourist sites in Philly without any help.

I found the system to be very accurate, particularly when directing me through confusing freeway on and off ramps. The split screen visual when taking a compound off-ramp is very helpful. The AAA database is extensive though it doesn't contain every listing you might like (for example, I could not find a single Friendly's Rest. listing...though many other chains are located).

Did not have any problems with freezes over a three week period, though you will need the in-car charger (included) since battery life seems about 2 hours. Voice is friendly and clear (particularly like the female reminder to safely make a u-turn when I miss a turn). The windshield mount worked better than I expected.

Things to improve:
1. Software to map route on your computer then upload to GPS. I have not been able to find any software that will allow me to do this on the 4000. This means you must rely on the GPS routing software. They include some software on the CD (pc only) but it is primitive and I couldn't quite figure it out.

2. Need to be aware of the differences between Routing Options (e.g., Fastest Route, Shortest Route, Most Freeways). Fastest route sometimes took me off freeway through the boonies...just need to be aware of this.

3. Related to #1, manipulating the automatic GPS routes is cumbersome. If you just go with what they program, you are good.


Overall, the 4000 is well worth the (declining) price. If you don't need BlueTooth and Voice Command you can save over the more expensive 4040 and 4050. I do think the AAA database is worth the investment. I would just like the option to map a route on my computer and then upload to GPS.

This GPS has one shortcoming that -- had I realized it at the time -- might have kept me from buying it. When you are approaching a turn, it does not name the street or road onto which you should be turning. However, the street name is displayed in fairly large letters at the bottom of the screen. Some feel this is a driver distraction, but then, so is looking at any other part of the screen.

This Maestro is slightly better in this regard than the Garmin unit we rented recently in Phoenix. At least the Magellan dings a chime at the precise point where you should turn. That particular Garmin simply announced a turn was coming, but lacked any precise indicator; more than once we found ourselves staring into two rows of oncoming headlights at what turned out to be the freeway OFF ramp. I understand other Magellan and Garmin models do have the street naming feature.

The selling point of this Maestro 4000 -- since my wife and I are AAA members -- is that it is purported to be the only one linked to the entire AAA trip information data base. It takes membership in the auto association, though, to gain access. You can go into the AAA link and download detailed lodging and restaurant information for any location. And it's not just dollar signs and diamond ratings. You'll get paragraphs of descriptions written by the owners of these establishments.

As we have become acquainted with other features about our Maestro (automatic day/night screen adjustment, routing options, address book, etc.) and learned to listen for the time-to-turn chime, the lack of street naming has become less of an issue. At the outset, though, that was a not happy surprise.

Here's a freebee suggestion. No matter which GPS you get, DO NOT set up the Home feature -- unless you want the bad guy who steals your GPS to follow you home. Instead, just add your street address to all the others in your address book. Make it harder for them figure out where you live.

I just purchased a second unit to give my husband. He gave me a hard time about buying one in the first place but after using it while on vacation this summer (in Arizona) he agrees that it completely saved our trip. We were able to rerout easily and it helped us judge time and distance between long distance sites.

Now, he is getting one for an early birthday present before our travel soccer season starts with the two of us going different directions with our kids each weekend.

I highly suggest this unit. It was easy to program, find alternate routes and keep us able to enjoy our trips!

This convenient GPS is relatively easy to program frequent trips from address book listings or to new destinations in hard to find locations as long as an address or intersecting roads are known. The "ding-ding" warning when a turn is immediate is very helpful and the right/left instructions is great for my wife who doesn't understand north/south/east/west directions. Rapid re-routing when traffic obstacles force changes in planned routes is particularly helpful. Portablility allows planning long trips at a dinner table helpful for multiple stop-overs and plug-in recharging of battery in the motel as a follow up is a benefit. Since we have many friends who live in gated communities with winding roads, this device is wonderful in helping us find our way out after dark. Finding a gas station or restaurant on an unfamiliar road is so easy with this GPS and makes long trips more relaxing.

Competitive price, large screen, and updated map are the strength of Magellan Maestro 4000 GPS. However, it comes with many hidden compromises buyers needs to be aware of.

The biggest problem I have is the random freeze-up problem. For no apparent reason, it would stop working. You will need to poke the reset hole to completely restart the system (power on/off would not work). It tends to happen in prolonged, continuous use (2+ hours).

Most system controls are accessed from touch screen. Unless you have fingers as thin as a pencil, you will have problems pushing the right places. Some frequently used functions such as 2D/3D map switching and north-up/head-up switching require multiple touches. This is awkward.

As another use pointed out, POI database is small and the search is slow.

The system uses an algorithm to predict where the gps will be in the next second and to calculate your speed. The algorithm appears not optimized. the predicted gps location is often behind the actual location causing missing turns.

But at 50% of the price of a Garmin 650, I will live with the compromises.

I purchased the Magellan Maestro 4000 to use on vacation. We traveled from south of New Orleans to Gatlinburg. The machine worked great and really kept me on track. It announces when you are 2 miles from an intersecting highway or your destination, when you are 1/2 mile from it, then pings when you reach the intersection, or when you have reached your destination it announces that. The Maestro also tells you to stay in the lane you are traveling in or which lane to get in.

I used it to go everywhere on vacation and it never was wrong. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a GPS unit.

Great price, graphics, and so easy to use!

I purchased the unit right before Holloween. Within the last month, I've found a lot of routing errors. "Fastest time" takes me to some pretty wacky places, including highways that don't even connect to where I'm trying to go.
It would tell me to follow a road (which is completely straight) and then tell me to turn around.

POI are not updated and I can't tell you how many times I tried one and it was closed for a long time.

I loaded all of the updates and so on to make sure my unit is optimal.

I decided because everyone says how great theirs is to call customer service when it tried to take me up a one way street.

I could not understand this Indian. I also know he couldn't understand me. Instead of trouble shooting my unit, he proceded to plot routes on his computer. When I asked him how this helps my problems, he ignored me. He asked for streets where a particular problem occured and streets that connected to it. Okay...If I knew all this information, including connecting streets, Why would I need the GPS to get to where I'm going??!!!! When I asked to speak to his supervisor, he told me "no" because there was only one on today and that he was busy. I said he wasn't helping me and I don't mind waiting on hold. He told me that my calling them was very expensive and he didn't want me on hold. I told him it wasn't my fault he's in India, and that I would hold. He hung up on me!!!

This unit is worthless, and if followed could get me killed quite often. I want it fixed, or I want my money back! Outsourcing is not the answer for customer service. I can't believe after spending $400, they can't provide better CS. What good is a product that you can never get service with?!!!

The Magellan Maestro 4000 is an excellant product. Extremely accurate and user friendly. Had a damaged instruction CD on arrival and Amazon replaced it within 12 hours. You can not beat that.