-- November 13, 2007We've been big fans of Magellan's Maestro line since it came out in early 2006. The Maestro interface is fantastically easy to use, even for those who are not wholly comfortable with electronics. At the same time, Magellan was in front of the industry with utile inventions like multi-destination routing and pre-loaded reviews for points of interest like hotels and restaurants (from AAA). With it's 3200 and 4200 series, Magellan has bettered the Maestro line giving them a SirfStar III chipset that provides super-fast. satellite lock and making them thinner. In fact, at .7 inches, these are -- at the time of this writing (November 2007), the thinnest portable GPS navigators available. Distingushing amongst models is likewise somewhat easy.
3200 and 4200 Family of Navigators
Distingushing among models is likewise somewhat easy. The 3200-series navigators feature a 3.5-inch screen, while the 4200s have a 4.3-inch widescreen display. The 3200 and 4200 offer great, basic navigation with turn-by-turn spoken directions, pre-loade maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and 1.3 million POIs. The 3210 and 4210 add maps for Canada and Alaska, AAA travel info (see details below) and bump you up to 6 million POIs. The 3220 and 4220 add maps of Mexico. The top-of-the-line 3250 and 4250 add a host of other features, including text-to-speech directions that give real street names, bluetooth for hands-free phone calls, integrated traffic (with a free 3-month subscription), and voice command.
What Makes the Maestro 4210 Exceptional?
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Easy to use navigation features SmartDetour and automati re-route. View larger. |
Access built-in AAA selective information from your GPS touch screen. View larger. |
Easy To Use Interface The intuitive user interface makes the Maestro series fabulously easy to use. Use the huge icons on the 4.3-inch widescreen touch screen to search for your destination by address, intersection, or any of 6 million points of interest (POIs), including restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations, and more. You may even touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination, see name and address, and get an instant route. Turn by turn visual and spoken directions guide you each step of the way.
Auto re-route gets you speedily back on track whenever you make a detour or miss a turn. QuickSpell feature intelligently searches and checks spelling when you enter addresses. The 4210 offer multiple view options, including 2D, 3D, and TrueView that shows your upcoming turn using a 3D split screen. Maneuver List displays the full turn-by-turn details of your route. Auto night view adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing.
AAA-enabled
With built-in AAA travel information, the Maestro 4210 gives you instant access to the most trusted source for trip planning, searchable AAA TourBook listings, Show Your Card & Save locatings for fellow member discounts, approved automati repair facilities, attractions, events, and more. The Maestro 4250 also provides AAA members roadside assistance details, with precise emplacement and a toll-free number.
Note: AAA fellow member roadside assistance requires AAA membership.
One of the thinnest portable GPS navigators on the market
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Most helpful client reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
 Pretty good unit
By gurugi
I got a 4210 2 weeks ago. Used to have a Roadmate 760 before. 4210 is very quick to run on and get satellite reception. Extremely easy user interface - my 10 year old daughter got it without any instructions. Display is wide, bright and splendid in day light as well as at night. Very compact and easy to carry in a pocket. Will work in pedestrian mode as well - genuinely neat and a nice feature over my former bulky unit. It has AAA assistance but not elaborated selective information on AAA sites. Does not announce street names like Roadmate 760 did (but I don't care for that feature - it is annoying). Lacks bluetooth connectivity. I have not found any accuracy problems. Bottomline - a gorgeous good unit.
20 of 20 persons found the following review helpful.
 GPS Fine but MAPS SUCK
By T. McGinnis
I just purchased the unit in Aug. 08. The unit is easy to use but the maps are outdated. The maps are the whole key to a GPS system. Of course, new maps come out 2 weeks after buy and they want me to recompense $80 to get them. This will not happen. Garmin offers a 1 time download to upgrade to new maps after buy of a new unit. I will take my $80 and use it to invest in a garmin. I cannot believe Magellan is permitted to trade a product with old maps and charge you to make current on a new product. I will NEVER buy another Magellan product.
32 of 35 persons found the following review helpful.
Nice GPS
By D. Lahrman
I've been using respective types of GPS units over the last nine years and the Magellan 4210 is my latest model. I firstborn purchased the 3250 but only used it for in regards to a week before switching to the 4210. The major deviations amid the two are the voice acknowledgement commands, the bluetooth connectivity, and live traffic compatibility. The voice acknowledgement on the 3250 did not work very well as it was very finicky in recognizing any commands. The car had to be as quiet as possible, no radio. The bluetooth feature worked well sufficient but callers on the other end said calls sounded strange. Traffic is not an issue in my locale so this feature wasn't going to be used. Once I saw the 4210 was on sale locally for less, I made the switch and I'm very satisfied with the 4210. All the features function very well and I don't miss anything from the 3250. The more prominent screen is a must-have.
I likewise expended numerous time with a TomTom XL One not long ago and prefer the 4210. I like the flow of the menus better and find the Magellan requiring little effort to use. I exceptionally like the capacity to find a restaurant by type of cuisine, something you can't do with all other GPS units.
Another plus for the 4210 is it is size. Very compact and easy to carry around if you don't want to leave it in the car.
I didn't use to be a fan of Magellan merchandise but this unit has swayed me. I've even purchased the same model for a gift to a family member.
See all 54 client reviews...
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