0ur opinion:

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Say a command and enjoy hands-free control of your Maestro! The Magellan Maestro 4250 GPS Navigation System features a large 4.3' wide-format color touch screen and amazingly easy-to-use interface to add pleasure to your driving experience. lt includes built-in maps of the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, 6 million pre-programmed Points of lnterest, integrated AAA TourBook guide information, SayWhere text-to-speech, LlVE traffic report capability and more. Plus, make hands-free phone calls with your Bluetooth -enabled phone. Say a command to access the most used navigation functions with Voice Command and Control. lts QuickSpell feature intelligently searches and checks spelling while entering addresses and P0ls, making it easy to find what you're looking for with just few touches of the screen while the lnteractive onscreen icons show nearby services. Touch an icon to see the address and phone number (when available) and get an instant route. lt even lets you store locations in the Address Book for easy navigation on recurring trips. Set the Home button to your house or any location to easily find the most direct way back from wherever you are. You can even backup your personal data using your own SD cards. The integrated traffic receiver offers onscreen traffic incident reports in real-time.Your Maestro 4250 automatically recalculates your estimated time of arrival based on traffic conditions and prompts you to reroute when a quicker way is available. The SiRFstarlll GPS receiver and built-in high-sensitivity antenna provide the fastest position acquisition in the industry for reliable navigation. SmartDetour prompts you to route around sudden slow freeway traffic. The integrated rechargeable battery provides navigation for up to four hours when power is unavailable. Ultra-thin, elegant and completely mobile; take your Magellan Maestro anywhere for easy, accurate navigation!

-- November 13, 2007:
We've been big fans of Magellan's Maestro line since it came out in early 2006. The Maestro interface is incredibly easy to use, even for those who are not completely comfortable with electronics. At the same time, Magellan was ahead of the industry with useful innovations like multi-destination routing and pre-loaded reviews for points of interest like hotels and restaurants (from AAA). With it's 3200 and 4200 series, Magellan has improved the Maestro line giving them a SirfStar lll chipset that provides super-fast. satellite lock and making them thinner. ln fact, at .7 inches, these are -- at the time of this writing (November 2007), the thinnest portable GPS navigators available. Distingushing between models is also fairly easy.

3200 and 4200 Family of Navigators
Distingushing between models is also fairly easy. The 3200-series navigators feature a 3.5-inch screen, while the 4200s have a 4.3-inch widescreen display. The 3200 and 4200 offer great, basic navigation with turn-by-turn spoken directions, pre-loade maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and 1.3 million P0ls. The 3210 and 4210, add maps for Canada and Alaska, AAA travel information (see details below) and bump you up to 6 million P0ls. The 3220 and 4220 add maps of Mexico. The top-of-the-line 3250 and 4250 add a host of other features, including text-to-speech directions that give real street names, bluetooth for hands-free phone calls, integrated traffic (with a free 3-month subscription), and voice command.

What Makes the Maestro 4250 Exceptional?

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

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

Easy To Use lnterface
The intuitive user interface makes the Maestro series incredibly easy to use. Use the big icons on the 4.3-inch widescreen touch screen to search for your destination by address, intersection, or any of 6 million points of interest (P0ls), including restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations, and more. You can even touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination, see name and address, and get an instant route. Turn by turn visual and spoken directions guide you every step of the way.

Auto re-route gets you quickly back on track whenever you make a detour or miss a turn. QuickSpell feature intelligently searches and checks spelling when you enter addresses. The 4250 offer multiple view options, including 2D, 3D, and TrueView that shows your upcoming turn using a 3D split screen. Maneuver List displays the full turn-by-turn details of your route. Auto night view adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing.

Click to see a video on the Magellan Maestro 4250's Voice Command system.

Voice Command and Control
Voice Command further enables hands-free operation so you can keep your eyes on the road. Say a command to access the most used navigation functions. Find the nearest coffee, restaurant, gas and ATM or get an instant route home. Plus, you can ask for your location, the distance to your destination and quickly get details for the nearest roadside assistance and more, all with the sound of your voice.

AAA-enabled
With built-in AAA travel information, the Maestro 4250 gives you instant access to the most trusted source for trip planning, searchable AAA TourBook listings, Show Your Card & Save locations for member discounts, approved auto repair facilities, attractions, events, and more. The Maestro 4250 also provides AAA members roadside assistance details, with exact location and a toll-free number. Plus, the Maestro 4250 is Bluetooth-enabled so you can connect your Bluetooth cell phone directly to AAA for immediate help when you need it most.

Note: AAA member roadside assistance requires AAA membership.




Bluetooth for Hands-Free Calling
The Maestro 4250's Bluetooth wireless technology lets you make hands-free phone calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. You can store or sync numbers and contact information through the easy-to-use touch screen, and even place calls directly through the Maestro 4250's integrated microphone and speakers.




lntegrated Real-Time Traffic
The integrated traffic receiver offers onscreen RDS-TMC traffic incident reports in real-time. A free 3-month traffic service subscription makes it easy to avoid accidents, slow downs, road closures, severe weather and more. Your Maestro 4250 automatically recalculates your estimated time of arrival based on traffic conditions and prompts you to reroute when a quicker way is available.

0ne of the thinnest portable GPS navigators on the market

Take lt Anywhere
The 4250 is super-thin, lightweight and fits easily into any pocket. The integrated rechargeable battery enables you to operate the Maestro 4250 away from your vehicle for up to three hours. The battery recharges while driving via the included vehicle power adapter.

Tons of Data
The 4250 comes pre-loaded with Navteq maps of the United States and Canada, and 6 million points of interest (P0ls). P0l data includes telephone numbers and addresses.

lt also has an Address Book in which you can create and store P0ls and addresses that you use frequently.

Flexible Routing
The 4250 provides a particularly large number of routing features relevant to its price point. Multi-destination routing lets you select up to 20 destinations and find the best route to get to all of them. SmartDetour prompts you to route around heavy or stopped freeway traffic.Customizable route methods let you choose between several different routing methods, including 'Fastest Time', 'Shortest Distance', 'Least or Most Use of Freeways', and 'Avoid Toll Roads'. Route exclusion lets you pick streets and freeways you want to avoid.

What's in the Box
Magellan Maestro 4250 GPS receiver, Adhesive disk for dash mounting, Basic cradle, Vehicle power adapter (12-24 watts), Quick reference guide and CD, Windshield mount

0ptional Accessories
AC Wall power supply/charger, USB data cable

About Magellan
Magellan is a leader in the consumer, survey, GlS, and 0EM GPS navigation and positioning markets. Recognized as an industry innovator, the Company is the creator of the award-winning Magellan RoadMate series and the Magellan Maestro portable car navigation systems, the Magellan eXplorist and the Magellan Triton outdoor handheld navigation devices, and the Hertz NeverLost car navigation system, the best-selling single frequency GPS survey product line on the market. The Magellan Maestro series includes such unique features as built-in AAA travel information and voice command and control driving which no other portable GPS manufacturer in the U.S. or Canada offers. The company is recognized worldwide through its Magellan brand and has experienced dramatic revenue growth as GPS technology has proliferated across a range of consumer and commercial applications. The Company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with European headquarters in Carquefou, France.









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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer's feedback: - * New firmware available - Great GPS with tons of features ...
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.

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Buyer's feedback: - mappies
Pros
1. AAA info is valuable. I know in advance what to expect from each POI.
2. Text-to-speech is great. I don't have to look at the monitor while driving.
3. Small enough to put in a pants pocket.
4. The estimated arrival time is very accurate.
5. The voice command is fun to use.
6. Interface is so easy to use. (Better than Garmin and TomTom in my opinion)
7. Never lost once since using it. No more paper map, no more mapquest's printed map.

Cons:
1. Voice command is limited to some operations. It also need further improvment because most of the time it did not recognize my commands.
2. Should have come with an air vent mount. This is because not all states allow the use of a window mount.
3. Not all POI has AAA information.
4. Some POIs are no longer exist for years.

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Buyer's feedback: - * worst purchase ever ...
Don't be fooled by it's fine-sounding capabilities, this unit has hair-pulling problems:
* resets randomly or during menu selections - because it runs on windows CE 5.0 and has buggy code.
* power status is not clear, nor is how to fully power down, you will have a dead battery when you need it to work
* "fast" route often is NOT the faster route.
* voice recognition is a no-go, doesn't work unless it is 2 inches from your mouth and the car is silent
* the hardware itself is prone to breaking - specifically the USB port.
* customer support is needed, and unfortunately it's awful.
* was promised a replacement unit for my defective one in 5-7 days. Called back after 3 weeks, and it had not been processed. Asked to speak with manager. Manager put me on hold, then just hung up on me after 20 minutes.
* 5 more phone calls and they shipped a replacement unit, which also did not work because the A/C connector didn't quite fit the chargers and so it couldn't take a charge. Horrible quality control.
* even if you THINK this sounds like a cool unit, believe me, it's not. You are likely to not get a working unit.
* Their support essentially told me that their engineers have a "laundry list" of issues to work out, and there is no solution. Which also explains why they are dragging their feet - they are caught with their pants down and stalling for time."
* avoid it like the plague

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Buyer's feedback: - Best price around
Amazon had the best price for this unit. I love this GPS, especially the live traffic update. A few not-so-great features: 1) Bluetooth capability must be reinitialized every time the unit is turned back on. 2) Somtimes, the unit takes forever to power on. 3) The customer service is not the fastest in response time - but they eventually reply to your e-mail. 4) I thought I would have more voice options. Just one option of boring female voice. 5) Instructions were not exactly thorough (info on (1) was no where to be found on the instruction manual).

Other than that, I am pretty happy with my purchase. 6 million points of interest would be pretty tough to beat.

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Buyer's feedback: - * I didn't end up getting this item from Amazon ...
I am writing this short review because Amazon keeps sending me the email even though I ended up cancelling this order.

I ordered this item through Amazon but when I didn't get any shipping information after a few days, I called to get the status of my order. When I called I found out that the item was on backorder and would not be available for several weeks (if that). I was extremely irritated that neither Amazon or the company (Tiger Direct) bothered to inform me that the item was on backorder. If I hadn't called myself, I would have never known. For that reason, I cancelled my order with Amazon and got my GPS directly from another company.

In regards to the actual item, so far - so good. It often doesn't realize where I am currently located because it seems to assume that I am at my home address when I instruct it to Map from My Current Position. The POI locator doesn't always find the closest place to my current position either or even if when I put in the addres where I am at. I'm not sure but I may have to update my maps and other items (POIs). Also, I find that the volume is too low and it can be hard to hear if someone in the car is talking, if the windows are open or even if the air conditioner is running. It's okay but it definitely could be better.