Magellan Maestro 4350 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Bluetooth and Integrated Traffic
Magellan Maestro 4350 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Bluetooth and Integrated Traffic
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars One step back.
Decided to purchase this GPS after reading review at [...] and seeing Gold Box deal on Amazon. (Previous GPS is a Magellan Maestro 3100, which is almost 3 years old.)
PROS: Goes without saying, but display is much nicer and redraws faster, and thus better for complex navigation on local roads. Acquires signal and calculates (and recalculates) routes very fast. Symbol indicating where you are is NOT centered on screen, so more real estate devoted to where you are going (at least if you choose heading up).
CONS: Must update software before first use to eliminate high pitch buzz from speaker. Distance calculation seems to be off, leading to delays in instructions during freeway routing. During freeway routing, it does not tell you to exit, merely to “merge right.” Thus, instructions are often too late for driving at SoCal freeway speeds. Also, to notify you of an exit, it only states the number, not the name (at least not until after you exit, then it tells you to turn onto whatever street). Maybe this is an option that I can switch, but I did not bother to find out given its other flaws. Lastly, it does NOT tell you which side of the street your destination is on (even after several routes to different destinations to test this).
I am frankly amazed that the 4350 is NOT better in EVERY way compared to my old 3100, given that there were almost three years, and so many other Magellan GPS models released, between the two.
4 Stars Great unit. Needs routing help.
I have owned many a GPS…Garmin, TomTom, Navigon. I have recently tried the Magellan Roadmate 1470 and had high hopes. In many ways I prefer the 1470 to this unit, but the Meastro was more reliable
What I liked….
Fast start up. Easy to get to the main screen.
Traffic worked well. Got locked in quickly and detail was plentiful.
Lane Guidance was great. I liked it better than Garmin or Navigon. But the Roadmate 1470 had more signs available.
AC charger was included. Great and rare these days.
Voice instructions were great. Plenty of notice. And with the new software upgrade, and the turn chime being added, that makes a nice touch.
The AAA Tour Guide was absolutely awesome. Best feature ever.
The POIs during a search had the address listed on the search page. Very, very nice feature.
What I didn’t like….
The on screen POIs were hard to see. Their icons were very translucent.
Routing was so-so. My TomTom does it better.
The charging/traffic cables plug into the unit instead of into the mount. It’s on the side, so it isn’t all that bad. The unit powers up or shuts down with the ignition key if the DC outlet is powered on and off that way. Nice step saver.
Map was hard to read at times. Crisp text but color made it hard at times.
Traffic service after three months costs monthly. Everyone seems to be going the free route these days. But the traffic info was better than the 1470 I was using right next to it. (But my TomTom 740 beat the pants off both of them.)
All in all, a nice price for a unit that has a lot going for it.
5 Stars Fantastic!
What a fantastic GPS! Easy to use, elegant operation, terrific 3D effects, helpful with a fast refresh rate and the best I one I have owned or rented. I recommend the Maestro 4350 without hesitation!
Tim in Colorado
1 Star Won’t Charge & Won’t Work with Macs
I received from Amazon the Magellan Maestro 4350 yesterday. This GPS is now on it’s way back to Amazon just after 24 hours…
The Good: 1) Has a lot of features. 2) Easy User Interface. 3) AAA Handbook in one small device.
The Bad: 1) After being plugged in the wall for over 12 hours, the device still said that the battery is still low, and it would shut down. I also tried plugging it to the USB on my computer.
2) Can’t upgrade with a Macintosh. Even Parallel Desktop, running XP can’t even upgrade the Magellan. XP said it knows there is a device there, but it can’t load the needed drivers. Therefore, the Magellan software can’t do the upgrade. Why does it have to be so hard to upgrade the firmware and maps?
So I returned this item, and bought a Garmin 260W. Plugged it into my Macintosh, and it worked (Garmin makes software for the Mac). Garmin also allows a lot of user custom features, which the Magellan doesn’t allow. For example, you can add audio tours to the Garmin, so when you visit a site, you can listen to the Garmin to get a narrative about the area you are visiting (very nice feature).
I wish I could have used the Magellan Maestro 4350, but the Garmin 260W just works without all the extra bells and whistles.
If you are a Mac user, skip the Magellan products and look at the Garmin products. You will save yourself from getting a headache trying to get the Magellan to work on your Mac.
5 Stars Great, just one thing wrong.
This is the second Magellan I have owned and the first of the Maestro line. Although I have not taken a long trip using it yet we have used it for weekend getaways and found it to be a great product. I have set up the sound being broadcast through the car radio and that works great, just need to turn down the volume on the unit to make the voice clear. I also use the bluetooth connection to my blackberry and that works great, especially with the thru the radio sound. Routing is flexible and accurate. The only complaint is there seems to be no place to see the vehicle speed. Elevation, current location, and direction is available just not vehicle speed, strange. I have set up the traffic alerts but live in a small town so have not been able to test it yet. I have also downloaded the Content Manager and used it to upgrade the firmware in the unit as well as back up, works great. An all around great product.
eal
