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Posts Tagged ‘Freeway Traffic’

Magellan Maestro 4040 4 3 Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

June 24th, 2009 GPS Reviews No comments

Magellan Maestro 4040 4 3 Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator




Elegance, simplicity and advanced features designed to save you time and effort on the road. Magellan Maestro 4040 makes driving more pleasurable and less stressful. Enter virtually any address on the freshly-designed graphical touch screen, or select from 4.5 million preprogrammed points of interest to get turn-by-turn voice guidance to anywhere in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. SayWhere text-to-speech tells you the street name for each maneuver, so you can focus on driving. Smart buttons and Magellan’s unique QuickSpell function enables error free spelling to minimize steps so you get a customized route to your destination with just a few touches of the screen. It offers several AAA features especially suited for members. Bluetooth wireless technology enables hands-free phone calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. Store or sync numbers and contact information for clear communication through the integrated microphone and speakers. Easily add LIVE traffic incident reports and Voice Command control. Voice Command-enabled – Add Voice Command control for hand’s-free operation with a simple upgrade from www.MagellanGPS.com (Activation fee applies). Expected availability in Summer 2007 Birds eye 3D view – Clearly see your surroundings in 2D or 3D Rechargeable battery – Navigate when you don’t have access to power Select up to 20 destinations and choose order that best fits your needs Prompts you to route around sudden slow freeway traffic (no fee or subscription required) Auto Re-route Auto NightView Slot for SD memory Size 5. 0 (l) x 3.75 (w) x 0.88 (h); Weighs 8.5oz

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars NO updates available
I really like magellan GPS units – bought a tom tom but wanted to go back to magellan but after buying this one found out there are no updates for this unit and it is outdated by a couple years and when I travel a lot i need the latest updates on roads. suggest buying a model with updated files.

5 Stars Happy With My Purchase
I bought this product in March of 2008 and just recently called customer service for the second time since I purchased the product and had no problem with understanding the customer service rep or getting a reasonable response for my reasoning behind calling. I am very pleased with my product purchase and the Magellan company.

4 Stars gps works great!
The unit worked great right out of the box. The Magellan customer service was great as well, I was able to get the latest map up-grade free of charge. It’s very easy to use and accurate as well. Much better than any other gps I’ve had in the past. The widescreen really is a great feature also. Two thumbs way up. thanks

3 Stars Good Hardware, But Beware of Buggy Map Updates
We have had this product 2 years and it provides an impressive number of features for the price. We travel a lot between N. Calif. and Phoenix and “Ingrid” (that’s what we call the unit’s female voice) has proved invaluable.

Recently, we paid Magellan $80 to upgrade the maps to the 2009 version. On a recent trip to Phoenix, the updated maps were full of errors and Ingrid got completely befuddled in the Southeast portion of Maricopa County. Also, we have a AAA enabled version of this unit, and it was unable to find the nearest AAA office with the new map update.

We wrote Megellan and their response was that the maps were provided by a third party vendor (and were done in 2007 for the 2009 update!!);So Sorry. So be aware that the maps may not be as up to date as expected and may have some flat out errors. Oh, and the hardware performance seems to have deteriorated with the map update as well. It takes longer to find the satellites and seems to have more trouble finding the route at times, even if the map is correct.

5 Stars First time GPS Owner
This is my first GPS owned so I have no other system to compare it to. I read a lot of reviews about this product before I pulled the trigger. I always read the negative reviews first to see if they can scare me away from the product, but the two most reoccuring issues were the cradle and the customer service, in which neither one have anything to do with the actual product. I have not had to call customer service so I cannot comment on that. My GPS cradle fits like a glove though.

Routing

I’ll get into my favorite features and call it a day. It is very simple IMO to enter an address, put in the city, street name, then building number. From there you can choose your route (fastest time, more use of freeways, less use of freeways) and can also exclude roads on the route. Sometimes I will GPS a place I’m not exactly sure where it is, but Magellan will give me the city streets route, and I’ll know the highway is much more convenient, so I can just go back to choose route, and tap most use of freeways. And to get back home, you simply tap the home button and route.

Bluetooth

The bluetooth is pretty nice. Once paired, you can dial someone’s number 1 of 2 ways: select there # from the GPS if you’ve entered the # with their address, or you can simply dial it from your phone. Pairing the two is as simple as pairing anything else bluetooth.

POI

The POI database is pretty abundant. The only thing I did not have success locating via POI is the club. Everything else from schools, to sports complex, to airports, to atms, to fast food I have had no problem. And it doesn’t just simply select the closest available so you accidentally get the wrong one. You can select POI’s by city, current position, by name, etc. Depending on the criteria you select, it gives you a list of POI’s to choose from.

En Route

When driving Magellan always gives you a heads up 2 miles in advance of your next turn. It gives you another heads up I believe half a mile from your turn. It is pretty spot on for when to make turns, whether on the highway, or in the city. When on the highway, it will tell if the exit on the left or the right, and will say the exit name, and display the exit # and name. The small problem I’ve had is once you arrive. I would say about 80% of the time it says I have arrived about 100-200 feet early (which is better than late), so finding someone’s house could take an extra 60 seconds or so, but it has not caused me any problems because it’s not like I’m driving with my eyes closed.

Hope this review was helpful, and I would definitely recommend this product. Easy to use with multiple functions including things I have not mentioned here (i.e. mutliple routes).

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Magellan RoadMate 1400 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

June 22nd, 2009 GPS Reviews No comments

Magellan RoadMate 1400 4 3 Inch Portable GPS Navigator




The Magellan RoadMate 1400 is uniquely stylish, with a 4.3″ wide-format, full color interactive touch screen and an ultra-thin design. Use the intuitive menu options to pick your destination and choose how you navigate to virtually anywhere. Whether you want to stay on freeways, avoid freeways, travel the shortest distance or arrive in the quickest time; your Magellan RoadMate enables you to navigate the way you want. You can even exclude specific roads or freeways from your route and also avoid toll roads. Built-in maps of the continental U.S., Hawaii and Puerto Rico, plus 1.3 million pre-programmed Points of Interest make it easy to travel the country and easily find gas stations, ATMs, hotels and much more. The advanced QuickSpell feature intelligently searches addresses and Points of Interest, offering you a simple list of available locations. It even checks spelling so you can enter a destination with just a few touches of the screen. SmartDetour prompts you to route around suddenly slow or stopped freeway traffic and automatically re-calculates the fastest detour. The integrated rechargeable battery offers navigation for up to three hours. Search destinations, plan trips and enter addresses and personal Points of Interest from a meeting place, restaurant or anywhere power is unavailable. The large wide-format color touch screen shows your position on the map, route, destination, ETA, nearby Points of Interest, signal strength, next maneuver, street names and more at a glance. Turn-by-turn voice guidance saves time getting directions before leaving the house and enables you to keep your eyes on the road. Bold, intuitive menu options make it easy to pick destinations and choose how you navigate, without even reading the instructions. Accuracy 3 to 5 meters (10 – 16 feet) – WAAS/EGNOS Dimensions – Width 4.57 x Height 3.27 x Depth 0.73 (11.6×8.45×1.85cm) Weight – 7.1 ounces

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Magellan RoadMate 1400
The 1400 is a nice unit. I’m familiar with GPS, and this model is quite easy to use. Even a beginner should have no problems. Screen size and graphics are Tops. I’ve been using it everyday for at least a month, no hiccups. Price was good from Amazon, and quick delivery. Thanks.

5 Stars Worth the money.
I had a mid-grade Garmin that was not as smart as a 3rd grader. On numerous occasions it would send me onto deadend streets in neighborhoods in Savannah. The Magellan has proven far superior. Although they do not get the marketing exposure from the big box stores, seek out a Magellan, you’ll be glad you did.

3 Stars Purchased Today, Will review upon use…
So far, this gps seems good. I’ve used the Tomtom, and found it very helpful although smaller than the current Magellan. I work in real estate and travel extensively through out the Phoenix area. I know the city fairly well, however a guide is welcomed. I’ve only used it for a a couple of days, and have been happy with my purchase price from Target at $97.00. Will update more.

4 Stars Magellan Road Mate
This GPS for me is very helpful, user frindly and easy to use. Saves me a lot of time getting where I need to go.

5 Stars Great GPS
This GPS is a great product. It does one thing and does it well gets you from point A to point B. Who needs all the other [...] on a GPS Bluetooth, mp3, photo screen shows and who knows what.

Fast satellite reception, easy to use, has lots of points of interest, able to store destinations. For the price its well worth it.

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Magellan Maestro 3200 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator Factory Refurbished

June 17th, 2009 GPS Reviews No comments

Magellan Maestro 3200 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator Factory Refurbished




Worry-free navigation with style! Affordable and complete: 1.3 million Points of Interest and built-in maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Touch the simple menu on the brilliant 3.5″ color display to get an instant route with voice guidance to virtually anywhere. Ultra-thin, wireless and amazingly easy to use!

Affordable, ultra-thin and amazingly easy to use, the Magellan Maestro 3200 enables you to find virtually anywhere in seconds without reading the instructions! The simple touch-screen menu presents easy options in brilliant color! The large 3.5″ touch screen shows your position on the interactive map, plus distance to the next turn, distance to destination, ETA, street names and more, all at a glance. Voice guidance offers worry-free driving with turn-by-turn directions so you can keep your eyes on the road.

Easily find your way around town or from Florida to Washington with built-in maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. 1.3 million pre-programmed Points of Interest (POI) enable you to search and select nearby services, and recreation and business locations. Find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs and more. Phone numbers are included (when available) so you can call ahead for information and reservations.

The SiRFstarIII GPS receiver and built-in high-sensitivity antenna provide the fastest position acquisition in the industry for reliable navigation. QuickSpell intelligently searches and checks spelling so you can enter your destination with just few touches of the screen. SmartDetour prompts you to route around sudden slow freeway traffic.

  • The integrated rechargeable battery provides cable-free navigation for up to three hours.
  • Ultra-thin, pocket-sized, wireless and fully self-contained; take your Magellan Maestro anywhere for easy navigation!
  • Ultra-thin & stylish: The thinnest personal navigation device available combines style and functionality in a pocket-sized design.
  • Innovative

    User Ratings and Reviews

    4 Stars Magellan Maestro 3200 works well for the price
    This gps does not give street or freeway names/numbers; however it works well for the price.

    4 Stars maestro 3200
    Out of the box and ready to go. It was very easy to start the 3200 and pick a spot to find on the gps. User friendly, good voice and very readable on dash…

    4 Stars Sure does the job
    I don’t know how I got along without it. It sure simplifies the task of getting around.

    3 Stars Great Condition, Poor Accuracy
    The Refurbished Magellan Maestro 3200 was in great condition when received. However, it was rather aggrevating that a majority of the businesses we tried to find were not found by the GPS. Also, the maps were inaccurate when we were driving in the city of Pittsburgh. I am pleased with the condition, but not the performance.

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  • Magellan RoadMate 760 Portable GPS Navigator

    June 16th, 2009 GPS Reviews No comments

    Magellan RoadMate 760 Portable GPS Navigator




    Turn it on and go.GPS navigation is easier than ever with your Magellan RoadMate 760. Turn-by-turn voice guidance with SayWhere text-to-speech technology tells you when to take that next turn, including the name of the street and distance to the turn. Use the simple menus with QuickSpell to enter an address on the touch screen, or find nearby gas stations, restaurants, ATMs and more by selecting from nearly 7 million pre-programmed points of interest (POI).The SmartDetour feature will automatically route around stopped freeway traffic. Plus, if you find yourself stopped in traffic on city streets you can easily route around the traffic jam by selecting Detour on the Options menu.Enter several stops on a single trip and the Multi-destination Route Optimization feature will calculate and guide you on the quickest route between them, or in whichever order you choose.Let your Magellan RoadMate 760 guide you on every driving adventure with a set of advanced features that defies its ease and mobility.

    User Ratings and Reviews

    4 Stars Satisfied
    The RoadMate gets the job done. It isn’t the sleekest or smallest GPS but it will get you from A to B, at a very affordable price. The only issue I have faced with the RoadMate so far, is the cost of map updates (around $50.00), but I haven’t needed it yet.

    4 Stars good and bad for roadmate 760
    i am overall satisfied with this product

    compared to the other GPS available at that time in the market

    here are the positives

    1- extremely accurate directions

    2- powerful reception even in busy downtown buildings

    3- lots of very useful features that you really need and not the fancy features others like GARMIN offer

    4- loud and very clear voice guidance

    5- large and clear display

    6 – light changing easy to ready display in any light conditions

    7 – excellent re-routing and quick

    8- good customer care

    now the BAD features

    1 – no battery backup poweer, so will shutdown asap if the power cord is shaken and takes time to restart and so always need to be plugged in

    2 – huge and bulky

    3 – not good window mounting

    4 – cradle very sensible to damage and so loose contacts

    5 – some of the POI’s were not update, but overall POI were fine

    2 Stars Get a Garmin
    Why you ask would I say get a Garmin? When you are navigating, there is no speed shown on the screen (big thing I miss), when you come to a turn or a destination, the device will only tell you .1 mile, not XX feet as the Garmin does. Time to destination: the 760 says XX minutes, my last Garmin showed I would arrive at 10:38am or whatever time AND show minutes to destination, but the the WORST thought up blunder of this unit is you can download music MP3 files into the device and connect to your car stereo ala mini headphone jack, BUT YOU CAN’T play the music files AND navigate at the same time, it is one OR the other. That is just BAD design IMHO. I am unloading mine ASAP , and going to repurchase a Garmin, and hope that the scumbag that stole my Garmin from my truck get Ricketts, Herpes, Malaria and any other plague he/she runs into.

    4 Stars what a joy to have
    I love my magellan 760 roadmate. I have had it for almost three years now and it has never let me down. The screen is easy to read, and the buttons are easy to use. There are so many features on here so you get a lot for the dollar. My only problem is that I have lost my antenna, and I can’t find one anywhere, so I was forced to by an external high performance antenna. I can honestly say that when I have been to a new town that i’m not familiar with my 760 has never let me down. I have had those moments where i didn’t know anything about where i was going and had to rely solely on my 760 and it was a success each and every time. My only drawback is that I wish it had built in traffic link, and bluetooth. Other than those this is a flawless unit.

    2 Stars Works about 10% of the time
    I’ve owned this Roadmate for almost a year. It is constantly in “thinking” mode and never updates my position quickly enough (sometimes it takes up to 15 minutes) and I’ve only traveled 5 miles from my last destination! I’m about to throw it out since my husband just bought a Garmin Nuvi for his car and it is SO MUCH better. We traveled over 100 miles and it found us within 1 minute. Magellan needs a new product name – maybe Columbus instead!

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    Magellan Maestro 3200 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

    June 14th, 2009 GPS Reviews No comments

    Magellan Maestro 3200 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator




    Affordable, ultra-thin and amazingly easy to use, the Magellan Maestro 3200 enables you to find virtually anywhere in seconds without reading the instructions! The simple touch-screen menu presents easy options in brilliant color! The large 3.5″ touch screen shows your position on the interactive map, plus distance to the next turn, distance to destination, ETA, street names and more, all at a glance. Voice guidance offers worry-free driving with turn-by-turn directions so you can keep your eyes on the road. Easily find your way around town or from Florida to Washington with built-in maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. 1.3 million pre-programmed Points of Interest (POI) enable you to search and select nearby services, and recreation and business locations. Find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs and more. Phone numbers are included (when available) so you can call ahead for information and reservations. The SiRFstarIII GPS receiver and built-in high-sensitivity antenna provide the fastest position acquisition in the industry for reliable navigation. QuickSpell intelligently searches and checks spelling so you can enter your destination with just few touches of the screen. SmartDetour prompts you to route around sudden slow freeway traffic. The integrated rechargeable battery provides cable-free navigation for up to three hours. Ultra-thin, pocket-sized, wireless and fully self-contained; take your Magellan Maestro anywhere for easy navigation! Auto night view – Adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing SD-card compatibility – Back up your address book Digital music player – Listen to MP3 and WMA audio files from your own SD cards through the integrated speaker or standard headphone jack

    User Ratings and Reviews

    2 Stars I wouldn’t buy it again
    I am very unhappy with the product. The directions are poor. It often takes me out of my way and then tells me to make a u-turn. Yesterday it told me to make a right off of the highway onto a side street and then make a u-turn, well, why not just make a left? Which is what I did. On the way home it sent me far out of my way to get to I-95 when there was a closer more direct way to have gone. The screen is hard to read. I liked my ViaMichelin much more, but it was stolen.

    4 Stars Good product, but not outstanding
    This product works as advertised, it will give you spoken directions to the place you designate. It is small, literally fits easily in a shirt pocket, and the image is readable, “voice” is loud enough to be easily understood, and battery life is good. It announces each juncture with a loud tone (you can choose from several options), and each point is indicated very precisely, enough to amaze passengers who have never used a GPS before. The screen clearly tells you at top and bottom what road your on now, and what road you’ll next be turning or exiting onto. One negative is that the library of Points of Interest is quite small–Small enough to be inadequate if you depend on them, rather than on entering addresses.

    This is the third GPS I’ve had, each from a different major manufacturer, and I find that they all do the job, but each brand has different quirks–Both good and bad. The major good quirk for the Magellan 3200 is that when you are approaching an intersection or exit, the GPS presents you with a small abstract diagram of the intersection with the path you need to take clearly shown. This is not needed for a simple right turn at a “plus-shaped” intersection, but in some cases where you are exiting a freeway and after exiting will have to immediately choose one of three closely-spaced exits, it is very valuable! But you do have to be able to look at the screen, not always an easy thing in dense traffic. The negative quirk is that the Magellan 3200 doesn’t distinguish well between minor bends in a freeway versus exits or sharp turns. Sometimes after getting onto a freeway I like to know how far it is to the next exit–Can I relax for a couple of hours, or will I be exiting in two minutes? You’ll never find out from this device! It picks arbitrary points on the freeway (sometimes but not always on obvious slight curves) as waypoints, and will announce a junction upcoming. Till you get to the point, you’ll never know if it is a genuine exit, or if you will continue moving along the freeway as if nothing had happened. This is annoying, but not fatal. On the other hand, it sometimes announces “slight right turn ahead” and you will find yourself taking an exit and doing a 270 degree turn onto a new road!

    I’ve had this for almost a year after buying it in an Amazon lightning deal. I feel I got more than my money’s worth out of it, but I do expect to replace it before long with a GPS that announces the streets and has a larger library of Points of Interest.

    5 Stars Magellan Maestro—Love it!!!!!!!
    I purchased this product and immediately put it to the test on a trip to Boston. This product saved me time and frustration. It was easy to use and accurate.

    My only difficulty was with the mounting on the window shield, it has to be positioned just right in order for it to get the appropriate amount of suction. Highly, highly recommend this product.

    1 Star terrible customer service
    I purchased this item under a year ago and it already has problems. I took very good care of it and one day it just did not turn on. I mailed it back to the company and they have had it a month now. They are clueless and rude on the phone and I have no product now for 1 month and counting. I will not consider another magellan product or recommend one to anyone due to their incompetent customer service.

    4 Stars Service From Amazon
    The product is just fine. he service and customer help from Amazon leaves a great deal to be desired. As of today my account has not been credited with the return of the 2nd GPS I recived! And, when I go to MY Account to review status, it shows nothing about the GPS I purchased!

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