Magellan Maestro 3250 Auto Navigation System

Manufacturer: Magellan Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. List Price:$449.99 Our Price:$312.49 Features: New 3.5" QVGA full-color, anti-glare, touch-screen display 6 Million Searchable Points of Interest: AAA TourBook¿ guide travel information SmartDetour¿: prompts drivers to route around heavy or stopped freeway traffi c Newly designed, intuitive user interface makes the Maestro series the easiest to use Description: We were large fans of the Maestrolinie Magellan, since it came out early 2006. The Maestroschnittstelle is unbelievably simple to use evenly for those, which completely probably do not fûhlen with electronics. Magellan before the industry with useful innovations was simultaneous as multi-place of destination choice of route and preloaded reports for points of the interest as hotels and restaurants (of AAA). With row Magellan the Maestrolinie improved its 3200 and 4200, which a SirfStar III chip set gives them, that super+nearly. Satellite bolting device and forming it the solvent supply. Actually to 7 moved, these is -- at the time of this letter (November 2007) step for step away, the thinnest mobile existing government inspection departments Nautiker. Distingushing between models is also rather simple. Family 3200 and 4200 the Nautiker Distingushing between models is also rather simple. The Nautiker 3200-series marks a screen 3.5-inch, while the 4200s a 4.3-inch widescreen announcement has. The 3200 and the 4200 offers large, fundamental navigation also to turn-revved up spoken directions, pre loade diagrams of the 48 adjacent United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico and 1,3 million POIs. The 3210 and the 4210, adds diagrams for Canada and Alaska, AAA clearance information (you see to details down) and to push you to 6 million POIs. The 3220 and the 4220 adds diagrams of Mexico. The top side of D line 3250 and 4250 add a landlord of other characteristics, inclusively text ton speech directions, which material road name free-handles, bluetooth for telephone calls, integrated traffic (with a free 3monatigen subscription) and language instruction give. What forms the Maestro 3250 unusually? Simply to use navigation functions SmartDetour and automobile reroute you. Regard larger. Make inserted AAA information from its government inspection department note screen accessible. Regard larger. Simply to use interface forms the intuitive user interface the Maestro row unbelievably simply to use. Use the large icons on that note 3.5-inch screen, around after your place of destination to search by address, average or any by 6 million points of the interest (POIs), including restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations and more. They know even affect onscreen icon for a close convenient place of destination, see names and address and keep an immediate way tricks you by revolution view and spoken directions leader you each step of the way. Automobile receive you lead fast back on rail over, whenever you form a detour or a revolution miss. QuickSpell characteristic intelligently looks for and examines orthography, if you register addresses. The 3250 repeated opinion elections of the offer, including 2D, 3D and TrueView, which their upcoming revolution with a 3D divided screen shows. Maneuver list indicates full turn-revved up details of your way. Self night opinion stops color and contrast to simple view of night. Click, around a screen on the language instruction system Magellan Maestro to see 3250's. expressing you instruction and tax language instruction make possible far freihaendigem enterprise, therefore you can hold your eyes on the road. Say an instruction to make most used navigation functions accessible. Find the next coffee, the restaurant, the gas and to AT or receive you an immediate way head. Plus, you can do all around its position, the distance ask to your place of destination and detail for the next roadside support and more, fast received with the clay/tone of your voice. AAA made possible with inserted AAA clearance information, the Maestro 4250 you gives to immediate entrance to the most reliable source for travel planning, discoverable AAA TourBook listing, shows your map

Reviews:

Problems with unit.i
Over, third time as I it used, froze the unit above. I tried to close it away and use the resetting key. Nothing worked. I was explained that the only way left to regulate it "" the energy down to be run is, and it then again-began. Those is not a solution, if you travel and need it to steer. When it functioned, it was adequate. But this is a principal defect.


Magellan Maestro GPS 3250
This product works well. I do wish that the house battery charger had been included with the product. I chose the 3250 rather than the 4250 because I wanted the smaller size for portability.


No more getting lost
I bought this individual part for my friend, because she constantly receives lost trying, to the grocer's shop memory to go: -) She loves it. She particularly loves that it does gymnastics to it road name in place of straight... here in 100 ft avowedly. Very nice kind of starter government inspection department for an appropriate price.


My New Friend, Maggie
So far, I am pleased with this Magellan Maestro 3250, especially when I saved more than $100 by buying it from Amazon instead of a store. My wife and I had tested a Garmin when we rented a car in St. Louis two months ago. She grew up in St. Louis and is quite familiar with it. On two occasions, the Garmin routed us through a bad section of town, and that concerned her. I did a lot of research on various brands and models and learned that Magellan is one of the few brands that gives a "Maximum use of freeways/Minimum use of freeways" in its trip calculator, and that has proven to be important. There are some inaccuracies in its routing. For example, she tells us to turn right to get to our home when it should be left. (We call her "Maggie," which is short for Magellan.)

I was able to make the setup connection between my cell phone and Maggie through the Bluetooth option, but I have not been able to connect for regular service since. The unit has "frozen" a couple of times, and I had to push the reset button.


Magellan Maestro 3250 a best buy
I bought this individual part to automobile navigation system Magellan of the Maestro-3250 for a journey from Iowa to specifically sank Cruz, it winters am approx. there, knew I that the weather would be a danger. I did not expect each main highway in the west to be closed. The 3250 shifted us on different roads, when because of closed roads necessary were to detour. In Vegas read, warned traffic alarm of stopped traffic on I-15 and a detour was suggested. In Phoenix an accident on I-10 stopped traffic warned and again traffic alarm us in the time to shift on I-8 and avoid the back-up. The unit was simple to program and only in tunnel and in the ravines gave it all possible dropped signals. This is to be expected. The unit does not waive the signals fast and it gave time, which was questionable the choice of route. This is one of my best purchases of the yearly. Recommended everyone.


Great unit for the money
My 1st experience with the Magellan 3250 was very positive.

It has been very accurate. I used it to plan a route to 5 locations yesterday and it took me one by one to each and dead on the spot.

It was even good enough to tell me if the location was on the right or left ( I have heard some units will not do this )

And rerouting was automatic, although you can also reroute manually. I purposely turned at the wrong spot, the unit announced it was rerouting and than proceeded to guide me via the new route. I read other units try to reroute you back to the original route instead.

2 Things that I would like better 1. more volume, 2. darker graphics on the screen, the Mallegan graphics get had to see in bright daylight, you have to mount it very high on the windshield to block the incoming light.

If you purchase this item I am sure you would be very pleased. No GPS unit will be perfect or make everyone happy.


hardshell case for the 3250
I own the Magellan 3250 and have found the perfect hardshell case for it.
The Johnson&Johnson "First Aid To Go" comes in a hardshell plastic box that is the perfect size for the 3250. costs $0.97 at Walmart. This box looks like it was made for the 3250.... plus you also get 12 bandages !!

The 3250 is a must have if you drive in Los Angeles


Nothing but problems so far!
First of all, you let me begin, by saying that this is my first government inspection department acquisition. After I had done research for some weeks, I decided, to go with the Maestro 3250. When it arrived, it switched on and I began, with it to play immediately trying to explain from all characteristics. They must do this generally, since there is not much instruction manuel with this machine. The only characteristic, which I could not do (and to still have not) the language instruction am. That could be my lack of knowledge straight, but differently than that, out to represent was very simply. I used it around city the last two days used for it straight received. I thought that it functioned exceptional(although, which I had not nothing it to also compare). Then this evening in my heads way, it was right after darkness, in which I live and thus those determine screen project night in addition time. Then that whole sudden, that screen straight lights up, very cloudy looking above. I went back to the menu screen and as, on the way regarding the screen straight, you normally became nearly white, was the blue background and words was very difficult to read becasue which was them nearly the same color as backgroung. So that soon, while I received head, I designated customer service with Magellan. I spent one approximately hour at the telephone with people, which I could hardly understand. Their first suggestion should adjust the brightness. Of course I had tried and it was not already not the expenditure, even was still coudy and bright weakest level. Their second suggestion should hold in the resetting key on the side of the government inspection department. It placed itself back, but the screen was the same. After this did not work, their customer service explained to me that straight like, to use that and the brightness hold it down adjusted they I generally had to explain to them that the machine was fallow, had I it straight bought and that I would not use 2 dailyold a defective product of their. Those was approximately 35 minutes inside. The last 25 minutes, I was set on another line with a repair technician. This chap was to be understood not more simply than the first chap. It increased it this long, in order to give me back getting authorization number and an address, in order it to send in order to let it regulate. He was explained to me that 2 to 3 week a return was you, which back-gets it and I doubt somehow. ENTIRE impressions millimeters of 3250 government inspection departments: 1) loved the size and the user friendliness (except voice instruction and thats probably my disturbance) 2) POIs, AAA and traffic subscription definitely A plus. 3) is instruction brochure, its not even a brochure, a straight small fold out terriblly. 4) is durability definitely after one malfuction straight over 24 hours questionably, after one it recieving. 5) it hopes that you must never designate customer service. ** I updates this, if I back-get him **


GPS
Very pleased with the product. It was almost $75 cheaper from this company and shipped exactly as I found it in other stores such as Best Buy.


At last, an intuitive electronic device!
I ordered the Magellan Maestro 3250 based on customers' and product reviews but wondered if it would require the usual technological learning curve. Not at all! Within minutes of firing up "Rhoda" we were using her with ease. I was surprised at how small the unit is, but its screen size is still plenty big to view easily and it can be easily stored in a glove compartment when the car is parked. My only note of caution; be sure to record the Magellan help # on your instruction book - in the event that your unit "freezes" you can't access the help number. I did have a minor problem; the unit froze (it got plugged in while it was in the process of shutting down). The tech help was efficient and the fix very simple. Five Stars to Magellan! Now if they would just create a cell phone half as intuitive and simple to use...


GOOD FOR THE MONEY
ENTIRELY a GOOD government inspection department SOME EXPENDITURES, AS MENTIONS BY OTHERS. BUT OKAY, TO EMPLOYING AND AT TO MOVING. GOOD BLUETOOTH WITH MY CHASSIS TELEPHONE... ACCEPTABLE VOLUME AND I ARE IN READING JEEP of WRANGLER... MUCH LUCK!


Magellan 3250
I bought this product as a Christmas gift for my husband who always seems to get lost. From the day he received this product he has been enjoying it. I've sent him on an errand to a place in Connecticut and he was taken right to the door. He absolutely loves his Magellan 3250 and said it was the best gift he ever received. Please note, neither one of us are technically inclined so thankfully its ease of use came in handy. We would highly recommend this product to anyone looking to purchase a GPS system.


Magellan Can't Compete Against the Garmin
Purchase Magellan 3250 as an upgrade to my Garmin Streetpilot I5. Was very excited about taking it out of the box. I loved my Garmin and expected the Magellan to be 1000 times better and when I opened the box it was. It has touch screen, announces street names, bluetooth and voice commands.

Unfortunately the second i turned it on I was dissappointed. First I had to press the On button a few times before it goes on. Then when i went into the phone options part of the screen freezes. But besides the glitches the worse thing about it is the actual function of the device.

First issue, when I am at the intersection in the GPS it appears that I am still 30 feet away. So it is difficult to tell if I am suppose to turn here or a block away. Second issue, once you enter 1 location you can not enter a via point, you can't even search for another location without canceling your original destination first. Another annoying issue is that when you reach the turning point it just beeps instead of repeating the instructions.

The glitches might have been a defect in the Magellan I purchased, but the functionality of the system was the deciding factor in not replacing it. I am returning my Magellan and replacing it with a Nuvi 360. The only thing the 360 doesn't have is the Voice Commands, but the most important thing about a GPS is to get you to your destination. And the Nuvi will do a better job.

Magellan might just take some getting used to and if you've never had a GPS you might not have an issue with it. But if you've had a Garmin (The Best) you will not like the Magellan.


Fair GPS
The operating system on this government inspection department is WINDOWS!!! Which frequent definitions and error messages means. If I knew that Magellan was worked on by windows, I not from bought in the first place. However I used it for one while now and except window bad OS, it seems, to be okaysystem. I used a min for one year before this, when I received Magellan, which I noted that coming in address for Bestimmungsoerter is much more clumsy. I a bischen disappointed by the menu created together all. The characteristic, which I is its limited speak of you e.g.. To legends ' Magellan, go home ' may and it shift you on your house. The AAA part is assumes, in order to be a large plus and the traffic, which I can commentate not on, since I did not have the necessity still use her. Final result... If you regard min first (you rise into coming in addresses of a memory and the attempt and into steering its menu) in, now, do the same with so many different models, you can. THEN, when you found, you like, do the on-line research.


Mac users stay away from the 3250
I received the 3250 as a gift and was pretty excited about it until I realized that it offers no mac compatibility. That means no transferring of personal routes or google maps from your mac. Magellan's product support for the 3250 leaves much to be desired, the product is missing from the drop down menus in the help section, and there is no information regarding mac operating systems on the company website. Most gps units offer additional maps for upload to your unit, but the 3250's product page indicates no other maps are available. With Garmin devices you can install European maps, etc., but I have found no such additions for the 3250, it remains North America only. I am hoping they introduce more mac-friendly updates in the future, until then the 3250's restricted usability leaves me with a powerful device that I can only moderately take advantage of.


Magellan Maestro 3250
This GPS is the best value for your buck in my opinion!

It has made traveling much easier for me. The voice command is my favorite feature. In addition, it is easy to use and light weight for portable use. If you are a AAA member, even better! It will tell you all the location around your area that offer discounts just by showing your card. AAA even throws in an extra year warranty with anyone with an active membership.

Magellan Maestro 3250 Auto Navigation System


Maestro 3250 Navigation System
I'm impressed with how well this system works. Navigation, rerouting, user interface are all very well designed and easy to use - very refined. Lots of useful features. I was initially thinking of getting a bigger (wider) screen but glad I didn't - it isn't necessary and probably harder to mount (heavier). Its ready to go out of the box but you have to figure out the best way to mount it - which can take some time. However, our signal strength is good even when it is placed on the passenger seat (i.e., not under the windshield as recommended).

Only one issue so far: twice the unit was difficult to turn on. Push the on button and nothing happens. A few times it also went into battery mode for a short time while still plugged into the cars power. These may be related (loose connection inside the unit?) - I'm not sure, but it has not done this for a few weeks so maybe it fixed itself (wishful thinking). Anyway, it has a year warranty (extended to 2 years if you are a aaa member) so it doesn't bother me too much.

I'm glad I purchased this, am very happy with it, and recommend it to others.


good product minor glitches
I have tested the lower end models of the Maestro (ones with out the traffic allert). Was excited to see this version come out and I rushed to order it. So far it does what Magellan says it should do. Very user friendly. Didnt even need to read any instructions to use it and figure out most of the features on my first try.

Only con is that this is the first generation for the 3250 and so there are still a few bugs which i am waiting for the manufacturer to fix with on line updates/patches.

So far, it has frozen up twice on me and has lost connection with sattelite for more than 10 minutes in the middle of a trip where i had no familiarity with the area and destination at all. Thankfully it started working before i got too lost. I do not know if this loss of connectivity had anything to do with a major storm that night.

Lower end version that have been out longer dont have same problem so i figure i'll hold on to it and wait until the Magellan comes out with updates for these "bugs". I have had more good experiences than bad and when this GPS works as intended, it's a great product. The traffic allert is a great feature and really does help to keep you out of idle traffic.




I am gelling with Magellan 3250
I bought straight this unit. I have Magellan 300, whom I had for more rueber 1,5 years and I with the unit was very lucky, excluded the diagrams old am. This unit is very nice I love, which the voice characteristic and the blue tooth actived. The only expenditure is that I live in a small city in Kentucky and am old the POIs and from dated a bischen. I hope that her flat to update soon. I wear expenditures with the energy like the other chap, who wrote an answer. For somewhat strange reason it would not like to concern, until you regard the energy key as some seconds. Very strangely however it happened only once on 5 days. Entirely I am very lucky with the unit


Good Value
At first, it seemed to have a problem turning on, but after a couple of days, I have had no problems with it. There have been a couple of times where I have questioned it's directions for example, wanting me to make a left turn when directing me to a hotel that was just to the right of where I was in my vehicle, but anything that I have had any question about was very minor and I still got to my ultimate destination.


Not quite perfect, but feature-packed and a pleasure to use
This model belonged to most existing characteristic rich government inspection departments units. Although the screen is modest in the size, it is corresponded perfectly to a small car. Try the 4250 for a larger screen. The 3250 keeps competent to you from A to B and with wenigem Getue. The Navteq of diagrams seems to be exact and current and many of the expanded characteristics work very well. Strengths: - fundamental enterprise (quick and reasonable choice of route, report within the prescribed period of revolutions, simple address entered) - interface (well-being ausgebritten, fast and intuitively, particularly the diagram screen) - data base of the signal (acquisition is much fast and reliability is high) - POI (largely and rather completely, synchronized installation-agitated you designating Bluetooth, is AAA tourbook updateable) - the TrueView characteristic (at first diverting, it helps, to zerstreuen doubts if approaching difficult averages) - take you out POI function - inserted real time traffic tuner - AAA partnership (free expanded warranty and other useful AAA Perks) weaknesses: - insufficient Computersynchrounisierung. Magellan should offer readily accessible POI, microprogram list and diagram update. The AAA tourbook update web page is temp RAM valley (although this is hardly disturbance of Magellan) - the unit is against-striving to propel on low battery performance above. , button you regard the energy as 6 seconds, or more becomes necessary. A breakdown thrust? - language characteristics such as language instruction and Bluetooth designating are obstructed, if cab noises rise even somewhat. - language instruction could be complete. - the mating with Bluetooth devices is lost, if battery performance falls near at zero, although the mating is fast and simple. This is hardly a problem. - RDS traffic info. is present only in the main metropolitan ranges (although I introduce myself that this is the same with all marks) - runs slowly, which are so frequently everyone. A problem in itself does not retard, note screen instructions to follow can enterprise entangle. A Hourglass is suggested! Something improvements could be formed, but the simple functionality of this unit acquires it 5 stars.


See my edit at bottom: DO NOT BUY
...but, unfortunately, it's buggy.

This is my 5th GPS unit. Pros are its very easy to use and generally intuitive interface, nice form factor, points of interest database, speedy response, good satellite reception, and contrasty screen. When it works the way it is supposed to do, which is most--but unfortunately not all--of the time, then it's the best GPS that I've used over the years.

In the ten days that I've owned it, however, it has frozen twice, requiring hard resets. The voice recognition is spotty. It stopped responding once, requiring a hard reset to restore its hearing, and it often will come on out of the blue (barking, "Say a command") without first calling it to attention with the magic words ("Magellan", noting that, should you fancy, it also responds to "Miguel" and "Ellen").

At least for my phone, Samsung M610, the blue tooth connection was also dodgy. Voice commands, at least for my phone, are non-existant and don't work with dialing or answering functions.

I would recommend skipping the blue tooth and voice recognition and getting its less expensive twin, 3210.

A minor point is that the mapping algorithm is different from prior Magellan units and on some trips I think it prefers to take a somewhat longer route--at least it's a different one than the older unit used to recommend.

Let me close, however, by saying that if you've never owned or even used a GPS unit, by all means, get one. The technology is as close to magic as anything I can ever think of. It will come in handy time and time again. Your family will love you for it.

-Edit--
After a few more weeks with this product, I am DOWNGRADING to DO NOT BUY. It is consistently buggy. It rarely gets through a trip without doing something it shouldn't. When voice recognition is activated it will randomly ask you to "say a command" and in so doing interrupt the navigation. It has now begun to automatically start up in the system preferences screen and there is no way out. Even a reset does not always fix that one. I will be contacting the vendor or manufacturer about returning it. VERY DISAPPOINTED.

--Second Edit--
It continues to malfunction. After two months of ownership it is currently totally unusable and frozen on a screen requesting that it be plugged into a USB port for a system update. I have had my first long run in with customer service. After two phone calls to India and one to the Philippines, each time tediously repeating the same information to representatives with accents so thick as to be barely understandable, I was told that I could ship it in my own packaging and at my own expense to a repair facility in Texas, that would spend 4-6 weeks servicing it and then return it by ground shipping.


Great features and Amazon price!
I purchased this unit last night to replace my Garmin i3. The Garmin is a great little unit, but I was ready for a few more features.

To read up about the Garmin i3 (and i2/i5) check this site: http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/garmin-streetpilot-i3/4505-3430_7-31468216.html

Short version:
Magellan 3250 is a great GPS unit and the price from Amazon was far the best one that I could find. Also, I ordered it last night and Amazon/UPS had the unit on my doorstep 24 hours later (and I didn't pay for overnight)!

Long version:
Within 30 minutes of having the unit out of the box, I was able to take it on a 90 minute road trip and compare back-to-back with the Garmin. Below are a few of my findings:

Screen size: The 3.5" Magellan screen was a nice bonus when compared to the Garmin's 1.5" screen. I was happy with the Garmin display, so I am that much more happy with the Magellan.

Screen Zoom: While the Magellan was fine, the default zoom level on the Garmin provided just a bit more information (zoomed out a little more) and I find that the added view was helpful when navigating unfamiliar areas.

Brightness: I never had a problem with the Garmin, but the Magellan was definitely brighter.

Re-calculation: The Garmin was quicker to detect that I had left the route and start the recalculation. Once the Magellan detected that I was off route (usually at about 75% re-calc on the Garmin) it would initiate and finish the re-calc very quickly (usually at the same time as the Garmin, despite the Garmin's 75% head start). The quickness with which the Garmin detects that you have the left route is NOT always a blessing. One of my few complaints about the Garmin was that it was/is U-turn crazy. That is to say that it detects that you have the left route and tries to force you (repeatedly) into a U-turn to get back on route. I had no such trouble with the Magellan.

Bluetooth: The Garmin i3 is a budget model and does not have this feature. With the Magellan, my SMT5600 Smartphone is not on the supported list. However, it still works as a bluetooth headset, which is sufficient for me. The quality (both on my end and on the end of the person that I made the test call to) was better than my Motorola bluetooth earbud.

Traffic: This is another advanced feature of the Magellan, which the Garmin does not have. I was not able to test this feature because I have not yet started the free trial.

Maps: The maps are from NAVTEQ*** (6/2007) and were very accurate. The Garmin also uses NAVTEQ maps (~2004 edition) and are also very good.

Routing: Both the Garmin and the Magellan calculated the same base route when going from A to B (and it was a route that I know well and can attest that the selected route was good).

Re-routing: Here, the Magellan is the hands-down winner. Not only did the Magellan NOT display the "possessed U-turn demon" of the Garmin, but it seemed to make smarter assumptions (i.e. not forcing me back to the highway when local was just as fast) when re-routing.

Mounting: Because the Garmin is very small (fits in the palm of your hand), the mount is a ball-and-socket which makes it very easy to adjust to any angle. I was pleasantly surprised that the beefy Magellan mount provided a similar range of flexibility.

Navigation: While both systems navigate quite well****, I have to give the nod to the Magellan. Whenever there are complicated branches, the screen splits into two (map and branch) clearly showing which branch is the correct one to take. The Garmin describes the branch (stay left/right, then stay right/left), but a picture is worth a 1000 words! In some cases the Garmin did have a few extra niceties like the top screen banner indicating what the next major action would be (e.g. "on I696 to exit 165 John C. Lodge south"). Also, the Garmin uses names for highways (e.g. "John C. Lodge") while the Magellan uses the highway numbers (e.g. "M-10"). If you are local, the names might make more sense, but I know from experience that out-of-towners would prefer the highway numbers over the names (here the Magellan wins again). The Magellan has text-to-speech and the Garmin does not; I can see that this would be useful for out-of-town adventures.
Finally, one point to the Garmin for verbosity. The Garmin was/is always talking before the Magellan and sometimes even when the Magellan sat quiet (e.g. "stay straight for next 9.9 miles" would come from the Garmin after merging onto the highway). The Magellan said nothing to assure me that I merged to the right path; maybe a minor point I don't know.

Controls: This is the #1 reason why I am replacing the Garmin. The Magellan has a touch screen (as do most GPS devices now). The Garmin i-series uses a thumb-wheel. While the thumb-wheel is very fast to use while sitting still (possibly faster than the touch screen) it can become nearly possible to use while driving on less than perfect roads (a bounce can send the selection up/down causing you miss the selection or select the wrong item). I know that you are not supposed to play with the GPS while driving, but honestly - who doesn't!?? Since I do, the touch screen is a definite winner.

Boot-up: The Garmin always boots fast and doesn't antagonize with the nag screen for too long. The Magellan seemed to boot a little slower, but what really bothered me was the nag screen that sticks around for several seconds after it has been dismissed.

POI: Do NOT underestimate the importance of the POI database. In this case, both the Magellan 3250 and Garmin i-series have 6 million built-in points of interest. A lot (most) of the budget systems have "millions", which usually translates into just a few more than 1 million. If you do not believe that 6 million is a big advantage over 1+, buy two systems and compare for yourself. You will be shocked at the difference that it makes in finding exactly what you are looking for. BTW - Both the Garmin amd Magellan POI database includes accurate phone numbers as well. This is especially great on the Magellan because you can call directly from the GPS unit via bluetooth to your cell phone!

NOTES (a.k.a. Why all the asterisks?):
My first attempts at replacing the Garmin were all a bust. The systems could not hold a candle to the Garmin for accuracy or sheer number of POI.

*** Something that I noticed on the other units is that they were all using TeleAtlas maps instead of NAVTEQ maps. In some cases the TeleAtlas maps had N-S streets swapped with E-W street names. I actually ran into a situation where the map claimed that there was a street where there was none, and obviously hadn't been one anytime in the past 20 years. Some people blame the navigation for these errors (i.e. the GPS vendor and not the map maker), but clearly inaccurate maps are not the results of a GPS navigation issue. They are simply bad maps. My advice is to avoid units that use TeleAtlas maps.

**** An issue, which probably is navigation related but could stem from the bad maps, is that one of the systems consistently took me to the back side of destinations. On a trip to Radio Shack, this is not a big deal. On a trip to the airport, this is a huge deal because it can lead you miles out of your way!


Magellan 3250 is awesome
I bought that to Magellan of Amazon around the Thanksgiving and it since used. I straight did not move on Chicago and would have been frightened, in order would be it for the insurance Magellan been around to be moved. It is always exact and has already left me in the pass. On my new attendance after pc. Louis it shifted me even around accidents on the intergovernmental, by using close convenient surface roads. A masterpiece, which I would have never tried without a government inspection department. The Cons, cold weather starting is slow and reroutes, after wrong revolutions could be faster. An attraction means is the fact that you cannot the points interest of the menu accessible make, if you let a way program inside. They must really cancel the way, in order to make the POI accessible by category. I hope Magellan work over that. The location could have been better sketched and it is difficult to attach the adapter while the unit on the location is. Credit still bluetooth used or AAA leader thus not that to commentate do not know. Alll in everything a good purchase.


Where am I? I love that function.
I am a wind farmer; I plant GE wind turbines in rural Indiana. I work on setting up wind farms. I use the where am I to set the Turbine site numbers. Some of the roads in rural cannot support the heavy trucks to deliver the turbine parts so I use te trip planning to take me as 'FOLLOW ME' driver without getting onto the no-travel roads.

After a new pad is set, I use the 'Where am I' to log the site number.

Part two of my job takes me to other parts of rural america on my leased 4x4 Dodge Cummins truck. The Magellan Maestro 3250 gets me there from here. I grew up on the west coast so mountains are my reference.

Here in Indiana, it's easy to get lost without the sun (cloudy) or points of reference so the Magellan Maestro 3250 gets me there and out of trouble (like talking on the phone while driving, since I use the bluetooth to do my talking while driving.

Update: I went to O'Hare Airport in Chicago to pick up wife who came to visit over New Years. After the airport, I ask magellan for a nearest pizza resturant. I wanted the Chicago deep dish style that I have heard about. The magellan found a pizza place just off the exit and we had a wonderful treay of Chicago pizza.

I had the 3250 route me away from construction and avoided toll roads enroute back to Indiana.

Update 2: I noted that there were a few complaints about third world support. I called the toll free number and was greeted by Melvin, as I understand that he is Mombie, India. I can understand that speaking so they can understand you may be an issue. My technical question was: may I use a charger with the min-USB2 plug to charge the Maestro 3250; his answer was that it will charge the 3250 BUT it will sense that it is connected to a computer and I cannot program the GPS while plugged into the wall outlet. I will have to wait until the 3250 is charged, then do the trip planning. A very reasonable answer.

Granted, I am Chinese and understand that others may not be as understanding in trying to listen to the answer. I interact with americans from all over the USA so trying to understand Texans or Carolinians requires me to ask or repeat back what I have heard.

Update two: this magellan GPS does not like the cold. It was -5 below zero farenheite today and the GPS stopped working. Pullerd it off the mount, put it in my pocket to warm it up and the unit started working again.


Unit Failed in First Hour
Bought the 3250 of Amazon, which was based adjusted to much better from the characteristics for the money, which was compared with that min 350 or 750 row (I liked especialy the language acknowledgment and the AAA characteristics). After I had received the unit on 20 minutes (had examined and the low battery alarm), I clogged him into the USB gate on my desk calculator some hours long, in order to load him. After this the unit would not propel above, therefore I loaded it "was called" DC connection in my car over night using. This should have completely loaded the unit, but it would not propel, no matter above how long, or many marks I operated the energy key. Worked to reset key several times and tried to load it again when driving. Nothing worked. Disappoint in consideration of the nice characteristics Magellan of the Maestros 3250. I returned it to Amazon and ordered a min 360.


Great GPS unit with minor annoying glitches
I was a little concerned about buying this unit after hearing about horrible customer service and software glitches. Fortunately, I found the unit easy enough to understand that I did not have to call their customer service. I have road tested this unit for two weeks, and decided while the unit is not perfect, it has enough great features to make it worth keeping. I found the navigation capabilities to be excellent (it one instance I was routed to a street that did not exist, but the unit quickly redirected me... The unit has frozen up on a few occasions; however I am hoping that the company will eventually issue software updates/downloads that will correct this problem. The problem went away after I restarted the unit. Also, on a few occasions I had to hold the "on" button for more than a few seconds for the unit to start. The Points of interest database is very comprehensive (as good as Garmin)....it has POI's that do not exist on the Navigon or TomTom. Unit recalculates very quickly and picks up a sattelite faster than my Garmin or other units I tried out....The traffic feature is worth mentioning....I tried this unit out on the highways of Philadelphia and tested it against a Navigon 5100 (with free traffic service) The Magellan traffic reports were fairly accurate, while the Navigon failed at alerting me of several traffic jams. The interface is fairly friendly and easy to use...Although I am still confused about how to configure my setings on the traffic features.. Instructions on the cd-rom could be more clear. Voice recognition features worked better than expected and were helpful, although expect to repeat words at least twice for it to recognize your voice...I did have bluetooth connectivity probems, although my phone is not on their list of approved devices. i was able to connect on a few instances. Overall, this unit is great. The traffic feature is the best, and blows away the Navigon GPS. I am hoping that Magellan reads these comments and will offer software updates in the near future to correct the annoying software glitches. Other than that, this unit is highly recommended!


New to GPS, love this device
I'm new to GPS so haven't fully explored all the features, but I love this product. The one problem I had with it was when I wanted to go one route and it kept trying to send me a different route. Also if you are making lots of quick turns it can get a little confusing. But I contacted the company and got a workaround that works great - much of the problem was really user (my) error. The AAA connections and the traffic updates are excellent! The screen is clear and bright, and the voice instructions with actual street names are great. Also it's easy to take out of the holder so I can take it with me instead of leaving it in the car as temptation for thieves!


Love it...with a few suggestions...
I actually had ordered the 4250, but the seller accidentally sent me the 3250 and I decided to keep it since the only difference really seemed to be size, and I found the 3250 to be bigger than I thought.

I did a lot of pre-purchase research and had settled on Magellan partly due to the AAA integration, but then chose the Maestro **50 series because of the integrated live traffic updates which I think is a GREAT feature - especially since I work in NJ which I think has some of the most infamous and even nightmare-inducing roads.

I really enjoy the voice command features although I wish more of the system responded to them. For example, it would be nice if they could build in for basic commands to always be recognized (e.g. "Cancel" or "Yes/No").

I am finding the touchscreen to be easy to use and responsive, but would have liked a volume control wheel on the side of the device so that I could control the volume without having to back out of another screen I might be on.

Entering of addresses is definitely improved over older Magellan GPS devices that I've used in rental cars - a suggestion here, however, would be to make the type screen set up like a standard keyboard (think Blackberry) instead of laying out all of the letters in alphabetical order, but this isn't a big deal.

I love the Bluetooth integration, and it works great with my phone even though it wasn't on the pre-loaded list (the only thing it doesn't pick up are SMS messages, but I'm okay with that). A suggestion here would be if it could automatically connect to my phone when I turn it on (like my Bluetooth handsfree does) rather than forcing me to manually connect them both each time which is kind of annoying.

The only other issue I'm having right now is with turning the device on... Sounds strange, I know, but it doesn't seem to always want to come to life when I hit the power button - even if I hold it in for a few seconds. It comes back on easily when I leave it plugged into the car, however with GPS thefts on the rise, I have taken to unhooking it and keeping it with me.

Overall, it's a great GPS for the money and the live traffic, AAA integration, and voice response are, in my opinion, its best features. You can't really go wrong here.


Great GPS
I have been using the 3250 for about two weeks. This is the best gps I have ever used. The ones that I'm comparing it with are TomTom One 3rd, Mio 220 and 230, Garmin Nuvi 350, and Garmin streetpilot 330. The Magellan is not quite as easy to use as the Garmin units, but lets the user have more control over navigation.
Pros:
-Best poi database I have seen with AAA tour book
-Voice commands, really cool
-TrueView map. Shows you the intersection turns on the left of the screen
-Up to date maps, 8/2007
-Text to speech
-Traffic conditions
-Interactive POI icons. On map screen icons, touch and see what it is.
-Navteq maps. Better than TelAtlas thats on TomTom and Mio
-Tells you what side of the road your destination is on. Garmins do this too.
-Quick spell. Makes entering in you address much easier.
-Multi destination routing.

Cons:
-Customer support. Website and phone not that good
-No user guide
-Rerouting after missing a turn a little slower than the others
-Some buttons are too small

Overall I really like this Gps. If you want alot for your money this is the one. Check prices, because on some sites the price changes daily. I paid $299.00.


Great Device, but do your homework
Just bought this for my wife a couple days ago, and it works perfectly fine. However, a couple things to note, or watch out for: Make absolutely sure that your specific model phone/carrier will bluetooth-pair with this unit (this is true for ANY GPS unit, not just this one). Maybe that's common knowledge, but it wasn't to me. 2 different salespeople I spoke with didn't say a word about this, when it's actually pretty crucial. And if you have Sprint (like I do), forget it. I couldn't find ANY GPS device that could pair with a Sprint phone. Sprint just recently got on the GSM network, so the pairing options may expand, but for now if you're a Sprint customer and you want bluetooth GPS, you'll have to change phone providers. So my initial anger at Magellan for not making this tidbit obvious morphed into utter disbelief that I couldn't find a device to work with my Sprint phone. Also, if you're a Mac user: when you pop in the cd, you will have Mac-specific instructions. However, none of the links worked (other than product registration), so I STILL do not even have a manual for the thing. And the product is so new that, as of today, you can't even get any information on the Magellan website.

I know you're thinking "well, why on earth are you giving 4 stars?" Bottom line is, no matter how pi**ed I was, the phone compatibility thing is ultimately my fault. Just didn't do enough research. And the widescreen models just take up too much room in the car, so the 4:3 is just fine. Also, not needing an extra antenna or bluetooth for the traffic functionality is huge.

Another quick tip: pricing on GPS units fluctuates more than almost any other type of product I've ever seen. DO NOT pay anything even close to retail, if you search for a couple days you are guaranteed to find an exceptional deal. I absolutely do NOT work for Amazaon, but some of the best prices were here.


good product, not so good customer service
I've been using the Magellan 3250 for a couple of days now and so far it's been a pretty good GPS unit. Among the positives:

Text-to-speech is accurate (although it pronounces DR as Doctor).

Driving on the open road I was consistently picking up 8 or 9 satellites. In a parking deck I was still pulling 2 to 4. The unit powers on and is ready to run in under a minute.

Missed turns and detours are calculated pretty quickly and the route exclusion works well if you are trying to modify the suggested route.

The screen is bright, although it did get a little washed out the afternoon setting sun.

Among the negatives:

It's crashed once already. We'll see if that is a reoccurring feature.

The route exclusion works great unless you try to use it twice. Then the unit goes back to the original route you didn't want to take in the first place. I kept trying to get it to follow my apparently unique path to the interstate and it never once figured out where my preferred exit was even with repeated re-route requests.

Don't call their customer service. I'm currently in the process of getting my three month subscription code to active the traffic monitoring service. The code was supposed to be in the box, but along with a complete lack of instructions or documentation there was also an empty spot where my code should have been. I've called Magellan twice in the last 3 days with no luck. I might get a callback within the next 24 to 48 hours with my code, but I don't think anyone I've talked to knows who has the authority to issue these codes.

This wouldn't be such a big issue if their traffic monitoring service wasn't what set them apart from Garmin. With the Garmin you have to spend $130 for the special OTA traffic antenna in addition to a year subscription. The 3250 has the value added perk of including this antenna.

Overall it's a good unit, but so are Garmin's. For the most part GPS devices work the same everywhere. So if you don't care about the traffic monitoring service and you think you might need to call tech support - go with the Garmin.



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--end of Magellan Maestro 3250 Auto Navigation System