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Magellan Maestro 4050 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
Magellan
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$799.99
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$299.99 |
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$500.00
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The first portable GPS in the world with voice and command control. Built-in AAA travel information, including member roadside assistance details and more. Bluetooth hands-free calling for added safety (Compatible Bluetooth phone required, sold separately). Live traffic functionality provides real-time traffic updates (3-month subscription included). 4.3-inch WQVGA full-color, anti-glare touch screen.
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Customer Reviews
for Magellan Maestro 4050 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator --- Magellan
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Review of Magellen Maestro 4450 GPS Navigator
I received the device in a timely fashion, soon after I ordered it. The box contained the proper items. I immediately began using it on several trips, not really understanding how it was to be used. To my delight, I found that with my minimal understanding of how it was supposed to work, it did perform the tasks I expected. The voice feed back was very definite and clear, and it gave very good directions on how to arrive at my intended destination. I called for assistance on one occasion and the help I received was very timely. I consider its biggest weakness is that it lacks a complete list of streets I wish to access. This is because the map it is using is not an up-to-day map and newer streets or sub-divisions are not included in the map. Otherwise, it is of great assistance in driving into unknown territory. Sincerely, Dallas E. Murdoch
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It works well, but would also consider the 4040
Living in New Jersey, my three biggest concerns when purchasing any GPS was: 1) How would it handle jughandles? 2) Would my E-Z Pass unit interfere with the GPS unit 3) Traffic. Also, I wanted the 4.3 inch screen and a unit loud enough to be heard at highway speeds in a car with a lot of road noise.
When providing directions, the unit is very loud. The screen is large, bright, and legable in direct sunlight. The mounting unit is strong, but after six months has developed a slight rattle.
The unit has a few annoyances, which I will cover last with what I like most about the unit. Nothing that would keep me from buying the unit, though.
There have been no issues with the jughandles here in New Jersey. I've yet to meet a jughandle unknown to the Magellan. This is very helpful in New Jersey when approaching an unfamiliar intersection where you need to turn left. You can keep you eyes on the road instead of looking for the "All turns from right lane" sign.
I have a EZ-Pass mounted on my windshield. I was concerned that the GPS would interfere with the EZ-Pass or vice-versa. So far, no issues after many miles of driving on the Turnpike and the Parkway.
I bought this unit because of the "real time traffic." Now, this was a little disappointing for two reasons: 1) the quality of the data from the traffic partner and 2) how the unit receives/processes/displays the data.
The traffic information comes from a third-party service. I believe that the ultimate source of the traffic data is Dept. of Transportation sensors on or along the road with little or no human intervention. The quality of the data isn't too good, from what I have seen. It seems that the Magellan receives traffic reports for locations long after they have been resolved. I would expect this to improve over time, however. As it stands today, the superior sources for traffic are on the AM/FM dial. If you still are interested in the traffic, read on...
The Magellan could be better designed to receive, process and display traffic data. First, reception can be a bit spotty with the stubby little antenna behind the unit. Around here, the datastream is "piggy-backed" on WCBS-FM 101.1. Even in Essex County, there are areas where you cannot receive traffic data despite receiving 101.1 on your stereo. The unit can take an external antenna to improve reception, but magellan doesn't make one. I suppose you can build one with $2.50 worth of parts from Radio Shack. Its also possible that an external antenna from a competitor would work to, but I haven't investigated that.
The unit does a poor job of displaying traffic data, both when the unit is routing you to a location and when its not. When the unit is routing you to a location, only traffic events that would affect you are displayed, which is OK. But, in either mode, I would have been liked to "zoom out" on the map and see all the traffic icons displyed within a 10-mile radius. But, traffic icons disappear once you zoom-out past a mile or so.
The way I see it, "real time traffic" on this unit is compromised by poor data from the third party vendor (not Magellan's fault, per se) and poor design/display of the data.
annoyances:
1) The unit freezes once in a while, where you'll have to reset the unit. (Data isn't lost, though)
2) The scrolling and animation when you're moving. I've seen done better on other units, such as the Mio.
3) Voice activation can be set-off too easily. You "wake-up" the unit by saying "Magellan." Apparently, you can also say my baby daughter's name and the unit wakes up.
4) Scrolling around on the map with your fingertip is practically useless.
5) The silver top of the unit is reflected in the windshield during the day, which can be distracting. If it were black like the rest of the mount, you wouldn't see it.
To end on a positive note, what I love most about the unit:
1) The exit POIs are awesome. If you're on a highway, you can see what restaurants/hotels/gasoline are up the road at each exit.
2) The AAA travel features are great.
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4050 is a Big Upgrade for Magellan
After having an earlier model stolen from my car, I researched all the popular after market GPS systems and chose another Magellan based on reviews and the AAA alliance they have created. The Maestro 4050 has met all expectations. It is much more intuitive to use and the spoken directions now include street names (sometimes the pronunciations from the box are a little wierd, but you get used to it quickly). A great GPS system, particularly with the traffic kit.
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PIECE OF GARBAGE
THIS IS A PIECE OF GARBAGE. FIST TIME OUT IT TURNS OFF AND WILL NOT RESTART, HAD TO CALL TECH SUPPORT AND TALKED TO HODJI IN INDIA TO FIND OUT IT IS A ALL TOO COMMON PROBLEM WITH THEIR GARBAGE UNIT. OH VERRY GOOD ..IF IT HAPPENDS AGAIN JUST PUSH THE RESET BUTTON. IT HAAPPENS ALL THE TIME WITH OUR UNITS.. GO BUY A GARMIN!!
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Magellan Maestro
M M is great most of the time there is no need to touch the screen , you just talk to it. no swirving off the road trying to find some place just tell it what you are looking for.
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Accuracy is spotty
Wanted the bigger screen, text-to-speech, and voice recognition. Unit provides limited voice commands but I hope future firmware revisions (downloadable) might expand this. Questions about accuracy began on my first trial run to a house ten blocks away. The unit's last instruction was to "turn left" (wrong). It usually gets "your destination is on the right (or left)" wrong. BUT the huge problem was while routing to a rural address I had not been to when it directed me perfectly to the wrong house fully 6 MILES south of the actual destination (in blowing snow). We re-entered the address, got the same wrong result, and so phoned for directions). Once there we verified that we had and had entered the correct address. Google Earth the next morning indicated the correct location using that address, meaning that the 4050 just plain had it wrong. I emailed Magellan customer service and asked for some/any explanation that would give me some confidence in this $450 product. To date I have received no response. Industry reviews and my experience with this high-end Magellan confirm: if you want accuracy (and that's what these are for) go with Garmin.
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Review
I had bought a Mio C310 a year ago and thought of buying a more renowed with text-to-spech unit. So I got the Magellan Maestro 4050. On my first trip with it to Tennessee, it left me going in circles in Johnson City. Good thing I had my old Mio C310 unit in my suitcase for an emergency, which guided me right through. Conclusion, now I have 2 Mio's, the C310 and the newly bought C520 model. Although it costed me much less than the Magellan, so far it's working like I expected it to work. My only proplem with it is that it only has "Samanthas" voice in the TTS feature.
I'll appreciate if anybody out there would let me know if I can, and how can I change the Samantha's voice.
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LOST NOT
Everything I expected. took it from Ohio to Florido the Christmas Holiday and it took me to the front door going and returning
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Not bad but could be so much more
With todays tech toys I have to say it is a fine addition to my car. The product does work well and only had one glitch which was easily resolved by recalculating trip. I activated the free trail of their traffic service but was not impressed and would think twice before paying for.
It has a SD slot to update your device and add POI's but that is its limit! A built in memory card and a USB port would of made more scene. I would hate to think how long it takes to manually add 2 gigs of POI's to my SD. You also need a second SD "empty" to update your unit. Other GPS offer media formats: Media player, MP3, and Picture display. Media would of added features I would of valued.
My over all feeling is: it good but could easily have been so much more. If it is a NAME BRAND GPS you crave with no thrills this could be for you otherwise there are other GPS units that offer more versatility for less money.
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A bad unit with worst customer service
It's been referenced before but it bears repeating: magellan's customer service is in India. Which is bad. But it is apparently the part of India where it's not necessary to know about the products you offer service for. And the accents have ranged from "extremely thick" to "I don't think indian people can understand this guy either"
Look, all GPS units, no matter their manufacturer, have problems. I had a tomtom and it had some problems. I had a garmin and had a problem. But in both cases I called customer service and they tried to fix the issue to the best of their ability. Magellan makes absolutely no such claim. They are doing the bare minimum. They need to have customer service so they have someone, thickly accented and barely knowledgeable, on the other end, thumbing through a manual that only covers the most basic issues.
And if you need actual service then you'd do just as well to wrap your unit in bubble wrap, shove it in a bottle and throw in in the ocean. Because there is a good change the ghost of Ferdinand Magellan will get back to you with repairs or replacements long before the company will.
I know. You don't believe me. Well here's the number for customer service 800 707 9971. Pretend you have an issue with the maestro 4050 unit defaulting to turn by turn directions on its own. (I know I did). See how long it takes for you to get any help. And how well you can understand the help being offered. After the first 30 minutes you'll come to the same conclusion I did:
Do not buy this product. Do not buy ANY magellan products. Life is too short and the disinterested service in India is too far away.
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Worthy of 4 Stars!!
I received this unit as a gift from my employer back in November and for two months I have put it to the test, traveling over 5000 miles with this on the dashboard. I have several other GPS units including TomTom, Garmin, & Navigon. This unit, like the others, offers something different for Navigation purposes. This particular unit has a clear & bright screen, even in direct sunlight I can still make out the map. The speaker is VERY loud, I can hear it easily over the road noise. I particularly enjoy the split screen feature which displays the direction of the turn on the left and the current map on the right so you can still keep up with your position. Another feature I enjoy is the AAA information. Look up a restaurant or hotel and a brief description is given, handy if you are a member of AAA. Which, by the way, you can get your warranty extended an extra year when you register your product, if you are a AAA member. The bluetooth feature is nice, which allows you to use the GPS unit as a speaker phone, once your pair it with you cell phone.
The Text to Speech capabilities are good, not great. The Voice Recognition works well, however the commands are limited. I have had to reset the unit one time to get the Voice Recognition to work again, however this was after I upgraded the firmware from Magellan. Every since that point it has worked fine. There are a few minor improvements I would like to see Magellan correct nothing major though.
If you are looking for a wide screen GPS with a clear bright screen, Text to Speech functionality, fast route recalculation, loud speaker, and AAA guide book for the POI database then I would recommend this unit.
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One Bug That is Irritating!
We are getting used to our Magellan 4050 and find it satisfactory so far. Being from Virginia, we are most irritated to hear our state pronounced Virginyer! We can understand road names being mispronounced, but States? Please offer a fix!
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Great GPS, but..........
The Gps is great, but the voice recognition has a lot to be desired. (car has to be quiet) I have had 2 magellans, and they worked perfectly. This one has all the features, without the crazy price. The bluetooth is great, the POI are right on the money, the voice recognition only does about 10 things. (wish you could enter addresses by voice) The screen size is perfect. 100 times better than Garmin or tom tom. I would buy again.........
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Amazing accuracy and ease of use
The Magellan 4050 Maestro is most user friendly and accurate GPS I have ever used. The blue tooth capability and also the voice commands are very convenient. For example, all you have to do is say "Magellan" to access the voice command screen. One of the options is to say "Distance To Destination" and it will immediately tell you in miles and tenths how far you have left to go. The graphics are very easy to see and the graphics on the screen even change darker to a night mode at sunset automatically. Makes it a lot easier to see. Turn by turn voice directions are very helpful and it even chimes to let you know you are at a turn previously indicated.
Great! I would recommend the Magellan 4050 to everyone.
Jesse M. Powell
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GPS MAGELLAN
I purchased the Magellan GPS for my husband for Christmas He is a Mechanic and drives a tow truck, he has used it several times now to find out where the places he is sent to. He likes it very much, they are some kinks, but overall it gets him where he is going.
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Maestro 4050
I recently purchased a Maestro 4050 and so far I've been pretty impressed with the voice command and text to speech functions. I also like the fact it offers different types of routes for trips. It has everything in a GPS that you want including the traffic update which I'm not thrilled with as of yet. You have to press the traffic icon and then a list shows up with locations of construction and traffic. To be honest I feel like it shows the same list every time I prompt it up. I thought it would automatically prompt up on the screen as you were traveling a road that may have traffic or construction. So if you are trying to save a few bucks you might want to purchase the Maestro 4040 which doesn't have traffic update. Overall I'm satisfied with my purchase and would recommend this product to everybody.
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Good GPS
All in all, a very good GPS, with outstanding reception and very accurate. Response to voice is good. Good screen and voice directions.
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Maestro 4050
We have had our 4050 just over a month and have only used it twice. It has been very easy to program. Entering personal information has been straight forward. It re-calculates fairly quick if you deviate from the set route.
I have had to reset the unit once because it failed to activate in 'voice recognition'. Hope it not a habit. Programming 'Personal POI.s, for loading on the optional memory card, is a bit trying. They can only be entered with co-ordinates. The other option is to enter them all in the address listing.
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Outstanding Product
I would recommend this product to everyone. Outstanding Voice Commands and Directions. Slow on re-routing however, this product has more than earned its keep. Great Product. I have not been lost since purchasing this GPS
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Maps are OLD
Okay. I got this for my mother for Christmas. She is not the most technical person in the world but I am an Engineer who deals with computers every day. I wanted to check out the unit before I give it to her for Christmas.
Physically it's a nice unit. Navigation using the touch screen menues is okay but you end up doing a LOT of cancelling. Sometimes the on screen keys are hard to get to respond or the wrong one responds but...this might be fat fingers on my part so I'll overlook this.
Biggest problem...Out of date maps. My mother lives in a retirement community that has been there for at least 10 years. But when I put her address in it did not show up....Fine...I went to the Magellan site and contacted them and they indicated I should got to their map provider Navteq...which I did. Navteq indicated the address WAS in their database. Navteq also indicated they update their maps SEVERAL times a year. I then went back and told Magellan this and showed them where their OWN site said that the maps were at least a year old. Here is what they sent me:
Thank you for contacting Magellan. This email is in response to your query
about the Maestro 4050.
We apologies for any inconvenience caused by this issue.
I understand that you would like to know when there would be a Map update
release for Maestro 4050.
For your information, currently we do not have any update for Maestro 4050.
We are unable to promise the date for new Update. Therefore, I request that
you wait for the Map update.
If you have registered your unit with our website, you will receive a
notification about the Map update release in future. In addition, you can
check our website periodically to check for the Map update.
However, we will consider your message as a feedback and pass it to the
Department Concerned.
I am confident that the above information would help you in resolving the
issue. If you have further queries, please get back to us.
Well in spite of the poor English...It seems they have NO plans to update these maps??? Hummmm. I would think navigation accuracy would be VERY high on their priority list...Apparently NOT. So, I also bought my wife a unit....a TomTom 920...I'll write about it in the future...
Bottom Line: Nice unit...poor maps. Buy someone elses unit that cares about their map accuracy and updates.
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