Buy Portable GPS

User Reviews about Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)

The Magellan Maestro 4250 appears to be a cool product from the specifications and consumer report BUT it has a few quirks that are disappointing. The routing algorithm is....quirky! For example, in the Bay Area, highway 101 and 280 will get you from the south bay to San Francisco. 280 is faster and less congested than 101 but Maestro will not route to 280 using any preference. Even when I am on 280 headed north, Ms. Maestro is nagging me to reroute to 101.

The reviews said the bluetooth operations was mediocre. Compared to a headset yes it is but compared to other speaker-phone type hands-free devices, it is a good as it gets. However the supported bluetooth phones are very limited. Naturally the phone I have is not in the support list, so I have to rebuild the link every time I want to use the maestro with my phone. The Maestro has only one (1) Motorola phone in it's support list. Go figure.

Maestro has a voice command mode. I thought this would be awesome! The key word to activate voice command mode is, "Magellan". There must be thousands of words that sound similar to Magellan because when the voice command mode is activated, Ms. Maestro frequently interrupts conversations with her, "say a command" demand. She just wants to be included. Furthermore when I do want to give a voice command, the command list is disappointingly weak. The only one that is useful is "Go home" which will reroute from where you are to home.

The real problem is not so much Maestro but the company Magellan itself. I bought what I think was Magellan's first GPS in 1985, the Tracker. Back then Magellan was a small company. Their customer support processes were responsive and their personal were knowledgeable. Today it is just the opposite. I noticed that the mapping information in my newly purchased Magellan was unaware of moderately new roads. I check the Magellan website and found that there was a "summer 2009" update available...I had purchased the Maestro refurbished by Magellan in March 2010. The update was not installed. I called tech support and was told I had to give them my credit card number now and send them proof of purchase to another department. If I was eligible for the FREE upgrade my credit card would be billed just $10 for shipping and handling. It comes on a memory device versus a download. Go figure. If I was not eligible for the FREE upgrade the charge would not be made to my card. Why does Tech Support need my credit card info before verifying my eligibility? Even the Tech had no explanation for that..just procedure. I went along with it and sent in my receipt of purchase and in a couple of days was notified that I was eligible and that the update would be shipped FedEx surface. It's now been over a month since that news. I have not received the upgrade.

Furthermore, unlike the old days with the Tracker when I called with user interface suggestions that were thankfully received, I have attempted to give suggestions with the Maestro, like making the bluetooth interface work between a headset and the GPS so the passengers in the car don't have to hear Ms. Maestro nag me and me argue with her. Or use the touch screen to select desired routing. I can just see it forcing one to take I5 from San Jose to Santa Barbara when there is 101 and even the coast highway 1 available. And I've attempted to give them some ideas regarding how to improve the voice command range by a combination of key words and spelling. But I am met with uninterested voices who are not empowered to do anything more than placate the customer and move on.

Magellan is a has been company. Even though they may still build a few acceptable products, I would not buy another one from them. -- Arguing with Maestro

It has worked perfectly thus far and was delivered like it was new. I am pleased with its performance. -- refurbished Magellan 4250 gps unit

I had several other GPS units before getting this one and now I can't leave home without it. Its been very accurate for me and POIs have served me well during my travels. It doesn't have some of the cool features that other GPS unit have but its very reliable. -- EXCELLENT GPS!