Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Product Description -- 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 III chipset that provides super-fast. satellite lock and making them thinner. In 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 POIs. The 3210 and 4210, add maps for Canada and Alaska, AAA travel information (see details below) and bump you up to 6 million POIs. 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 Interface
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 (POIs), 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.




Integrated 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.

One of the thinnest portable GPS navigators on the market

Take It 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 (POIs). POI data includes telephone numbers and addresses.

It also has an Address Book in which you can create and store POIs 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

Optional Accessories
AC Wall power supply/charger, USB data cable

About Magellan
Magellan is a leader in the consumer, survey, GIS, and OEM 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.

Product Description:
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. It includes built-in maps of the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, 6 million pre-programmed Points of Interest, integrated AAA TourBook guide information, SayWhere text-to-speech, LIVE 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. Its QuickSpell feature intelligently searches and checks spelling while entering addresses and POIs, making it easy to find what you're looking for with just few touches of the screen while the Interactive onscreen icons show nearby services. Touch an icon to see the address and phone number (when available) and get an instant route. It 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 SiRFstarIII 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!



Accessories:
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Accessories:

• Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Pink)
• Solio S323-B36T Hybrid 1000 Universal Charger for Mobiles, Ipod and Cameras
• Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Silver)
• Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Black)
• Maestro Magellan 2GB GPS Unit - Silver/ Black (4210)

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating:

Rating: - I upgraded, and regret it, read this!
I had the lower model Maestro 3250 and Loved it. I gave it to my daughter as she will be moving out soon, and I upgraded to the 4250 for the bluetooth capability as well as the voice recognition which would be great. Well, it's NOT!

The bluetooth volume is so low you cannot hear the caller. The volume is set all the way up and it is completely unusable! Worthless bluetooth!

The voice command is also very bothersome! You cannot insert an address by voice which is the most cumbersome thing you have to do with the GPS. Plus it often asks for a voice command while I am talking to a passenger. There are no voice command instructions in the manual so you have to try about a thousand words to try to access the voice command mode. Once you learn that the access word is "Magellan" it is more usable, however while carrying on a conversation with other people in the car, the dang GPS recognizes some word as "Magellan"! and asks for a voice command! Very Irritating!!!!!!!

It does have many more points of interest than the 3250 had and it also announces the street name of your next turn which is very helpful versus simply turn left.

I would recommend another model with many points of interest, but avoid the bluetooth and voice commands.

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Rating: - PLEASED WITH MY MAESTRO GPS
Based on somewhat limited use to date, I am pleased with my new Magellan Maestro 4250 GPS. I look forward to a long trip pending later this month. I did note one strange result, however: It initially showed the fastest route from Claremont, CA to Chico, Ca as 1381 miles via Barstow and Reno, etc. The correct route is exactly 500 miles. Had I not made the drive a number of time in the past, I might have followed the incorrect route. (I did report this to Tech Support.) Meanwhile, I do like the large screen and the clear and understandable voice.

I was also disappointed that the only manual is the one on the cd, requiring me to print out the 82 pages to keep in my car for reference.

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Rating: - Ok, but not great...
I have been using GPS devices for a few years. I used Mapopolis on my Dell Axim, I own two hand helds for hiking, both by Magellan. My first real automotive GPS was a small Garmin I3, and then I upgraded to a Garmin Nuvi 350.

Recently my Garmin Nuvi stopped acquiring satellites after only 13 months of use, so I decided to switch brands and tried the Maestro 4250.

After using the Maestro for only one week I have decided to return it. The Garmins are just far superior to Magellan in the way the maps look, and more importantly the routing engine in Garmin picks better routes based on my experience of driving routes I am very familiar with.

Luckily I called Garmin and they are going to replace my unit with a refurbished one, even though it is a month outside the warranty.

Two times this week using the Maestro it had locked up on me and I had to reset the unit with a paperclip in a small hole in the unit. Now I don't always carry paperclips around with me, and I would have been screwed had I been on a road trip. Also I did upgrade to the most recent firmware on the Maestro before I began using it.

The Bluetooth function on the Maestro was not very good, I was able to sync with two LG phones. The voice quality wasn't that great, but it was useable. My address book did not sync with the unit, only the phone numbers showed up.

The voice recognition works only if your windows are rolled up and the stereo is off, and there is not a lot of road noise, and even then its functionality is very limited and not ready for prime time.

Traffic updates from what I have noticed are not that accurate and not that useful. Better off turning to a local traffic radio station.

The Magellan does boot up faster than the Garmin, and it also acquires satellites and locks on faster than the Garmin and the build quality even appears to be better on the Magellan, but none of that makes any difference if it doesn't do it's main function... Navigating.

With the Magellan I went on a road trip up to Bear Mt. in NY state.. A few times a came upon roundabouts on Seven Lakes Drive, which can be very confusing on which exit to take. While I was driving around the roundabout the cursor was lagging behind the map screen so you really couldn't tell which exit to get off. Ok, so I had my stereo on and didn't hear the unit telling me where to get off, the map screen did me no good. The Garmin again performs much better in that respect.

I won't say that I'll never try Magellan units again, but for now I will stick with Garmin because I trust them and am more experienced with them.

No matter what unit you decide to buy, always bring maps, or printouts of your route with you. You never know when your unit will lock up or stop working.

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Rating: - Worth Buying it!
Worth buying it - after checking all the reviews and comments on the web. I finally give it a shot. All the reviews on Amazom.com are pretty accurate and they are $50 cheaper at Amazon.com than Costco.

I am a mid-age chick who has no sense of directions. The POI and re-routing functions really helps me a lot. Especially when I go for sales trips and could not locate the destinations. With this little devil, I don't need to go to mapqeust.com anymore and can smoothly arrive my destination without reading the paper map.

I believe this is a marriage/relationship saver - it help me to shout up my finance's endless unwanted advice and his detour tips. Oh boy... if I could have this GPS years ago - it can really diminsh all the unnecessary fights on the road!

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Rating: - A good starter GPS
After doing the research I purchased the Magellan 4250. It didn't have all the features I would have liked but has some that other more expensive units did not & despite some of the complaints I read I decided that if AAA recommended it then it couldn't be all bad.

Here's what I discovered:
1. A GPS is not for areas you already are fully familiar with. It will not usually route you the way you would normally go. But it will get you there in a reasonable manner. If I am in an area I don't know, I have full confidence that the Magellan will do a good job getting me where I want to go.
2. I was concerned about the screen freezing I had read about & my screen has frozen once. I had a problem getting it to reset until I realized I had a SD card inserted, once I took the card out and did a reset it came back just fine.
3. Haven't used the bluetooth while driving, but it will pair with my Razr V3. It would be nice if it had a way to connect an external microphone and if you could transfer your cells phonebook to it.
4. My area doesn't have FM Traffic so can't speak on that.
5. Maps are always going to be a problem since things change so much. I figure it is just something you have to deal with it regardless of which GPS one gets.
6. The voice recognition works reasonabbly well in my Corolla and the Text to Speech is understandable. I would have liked to be able to connect it to my radio with the USB or an Aux out but it doesn't have that ability.
A high end Garmin GPS would have had nearly all the features I would have liked to have but at more than twice the price I wasn't willing to "experiment" with GPS at that level.
Finally, IMO, I think that the Magellan 4250 is a great beginners GPS unit. It gives you a lot of features and flexibility at a reasonable price. I bought mine here at Amazon for $260 and am very happy with it.