Magellan Maestro 4370 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have had so many portable GPS units, it's not funny. I've had one of the first Tom Tom and about eight or nine others including Pharos, Garmin, Nokia, and several lesser brands.
These boasted of being accurate, having media players, blue-tooth, fm transmitters, etc.
My recent gps was a Nokia. Who knew they made one. Big mistake buying it. The blue-tooth was terrible at best. Part of this being the speaker. The fm transmitter was absolute garbage. It did a terrible job putting it on any channel. The media player was a joke. The USB connector for the power had five metal prongs, bare prongs. Everyone else has them mounted on something so that one of the prongs won't get bent like mine did. Not worth fixing since it wasn't considered a defect.
Some of the other units I've had had had poor mounting systems that allowed the unit to bounce or was a pain to have to re-mount if I moved it from one vehicle to another. Most have stupid gooseneck mounts, which you can never seem to position correctly and which bounce slightly when you drive. Some used a proprietary charger. Most came with just one charger and no case.
Some of the units had poor graphics or too much on the screen. Most you have to manually turn on and off in the car. Some had the software on a SD card. If you wanted to put music on it, you needed a new and bigger SD card and you had to move the software over to the new card.
Anyway, the best piece of advice I can give anyone is to buy a GPS at a store where you can return it, even if you have to pay a 15% restocking fee. The Nokia I bought recently was a POS but because I bought it online, I could not return it. If I had bought it at, say Best Buy, I could have returned it, even if it meant paying $20 - $25. I wouldn't have been stuck with it.
Now on to this Magellan, the 4370, which is a newer model of the 4350. First of all, Best Buy had it on sale for $149, which was a great price. I bought it knowing that I would have no issues paying 15% of the price for re-stocking if I didn't like it.
The bad (cons) first:
1. Doesn't show your speed.
2. Weird location for the plugs; there are two. One for the headset which doubles as the antenna port and the USB port for charging/power. They are on the right side of the unit with the headset port above the USB port. The USB cable is angled to the bottom so it points to the front windshield.
3. Included case is a POS. It's not an enclosed case for one thing.
Now all the good stuff (pros). Pay attention because this is important stuff most of you have no idea of.
1. Great graphics or at least very clear because of the higher resolution screen.
2. Easy mount to use since it's basic. The suction cup is small but holds this thing really well on the dash. By the way, for you folks in California, the law is that you have to mount this puppy on the lower left area of the front windshield. Don't mount it in the middle of the front windshield or anywhere where it can interfere with the driver's view to the front. The mount is firm but again, can be positioned easily. Plus the pivot points have teeth so once you tighten the mount, it will not move at all.
3. Great price at Best Buy. (That was important to me, although even at full price it was nice.)
4. Comes with home and car chargers.
5. The software is stored internally so the SD slot is available for all the pics and music you can store on an SD card. I have an 8GB card with lots of music and lots of pictures.
6. You can play music and still navigate or play pics and listen to the turn-by-turn directions or turn the music off.
7. The FM transmitter works well, even on strong signal stations.
8. Blue-tooth is good and even does texting on the GPS screen. I have never heard of that.
9. Volume is loud and you can change the voices (different races and gender).
10. This is a big one for me. TURNS ON AND OFF by itself in the car if you use the cigarette/car adapter. No more having to turn it on or off manually.
11. The satellites are picked up very fast.
12. The names of the streets are pronounced.
13. Comes with a case. It's not very good but good enough to put in your glove compartment.
14. Easy menu to use.
15. Tells you what path to take when the road forks before you get there.
16. Bright screen during the day and changes to a screen that is easy to see at night.
17. Lots of options for use, including the ability to immediately see where you are using GPS coordinates.
18. AAA Roadside and other AAA information readily available.
19. Once you get to your destination, it tells you that you are there and it's done. Some GPS units start telling you to turn around right away.
So far, I think this is the best GPS that I've had, especially the graphics. Hope this helps.

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Effortless navigation! The new OneTouch menu, featured on the Magellan Maestro 4370, gives you instant access to your favorite places and searches. Simply customize the OneTouch icons to display the points of interest you want easy access to--restaurants, banks, businesses, and so many more. OneTouch also saves searches. Program your favorite coffee shop to a OneTouch icon and you can easily search for that shop anywhere you are at the moment.

The Magellan 4370 also makes the perfect travelling companion with maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Getting to your destination is made easier with announced street names and directions, voice guidance, lane guidance, and 3D buildings to easily spot landmarks. Live traffic reports allow you to navigate around heavy or stationary traffic, while Pedestrian mode makes it easy to continue your route once you've parked the car.

With 6 million points of interest, the question isn't "how do I get there" but "where do I go next".

OneTouch MenuEasily bookmark favorite destinations and searches with personalized bookmarks so you can find them anywhere you travel. Find your favorite caf� or restaurant in any city with a single touch.

4.3-Inch, WVGA Color TouchscreenProvides clear, crisp on-screen graphics and seamless touch panel control.

3D LandmarksNavigation gets easier with easy-to-spot visual cues--in color.

Spoken Street Names Announces street names and directions at each turn, so you get a clear understanding of when to make the next turn while you keep your eyes on the road.

Bluetooth CompatibilityConnect your compatible cell phone via Bluetooth and use your Magellan Maestro as a hands-free device: initiate and receive calls, send and receive SMS messages.

Lane Guidance Get a clear image showing you exactly which lane you should be in--ideal for complicated highway exits or intersections.

Live Traffic Capability Provides you with real-time incident reports to the screen with alerts for slow downs, accidents, road closures, severe weather, and more. Should you come up on an incident, the Maestro 4370 will automatically prompt you to reroute when a quicker way is available.

FM Transmitter Hear voice guidance through your car's FM stereo with the built-in FM transmitter function. Allows you to connect without the nuisance of an auxiliary cable.

Built-in AAA TourBook No membership required� The Magellan-exclusive built-in AAA TourBook guide provides ratings and descriptions on AAA approved places to stay, play, dine, and save.

AAA Roadside Assistance Screens gives your location details and the AAA phone number. In case of a flat tire you know who to call and what to tell them.

6 Million Points of Interest (POIs) Gas stations, restaurants, hotels, ATMs, and millions of other destinations are searchable from the huge POI database.

QuickSpell Auto-Complete feature makes it easy to enter destinations with just a few touches of the screen and even corrects spelling.

Pedestrian Mode Allows you to continue on your route once you've parked your car.

SmartDetour Automatically prompts you to route around sudden slow freeway traffic. Different detours are calculated using the same routing method that was used to create the route, and a list of alternate routes is displayed.

Rechargeable Battery Lets you navigate for up to 4 hours when power is unavailable.

Automatic Re-Route Missed a turn? Forced to detour? Automatic re-route quickly gets you back on track.

Customizable Route This method lets you select your preferred route from options displayed with driving time.

Integrated Media Center Insert an SD card into your Magellan Maestro with audio, video and picture files. Listen to your favorite music during navigation, and view pictures or watch video files while not driving.

Watch Your Speed Drive safe with the optional speed limit warning. A voice and icon will let you know when you are exceeding the speed limit.

What's in the Box
Magellan 4370, USB Cable, AC Adapter, FM Traffic Antenna, Windshield Mount, Cradle, Protective Pouch, Quick Start Guide, User's Manual

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Magellan Maestro 4350 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Bluetooth & Integrated Traffic Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As this is a lengthy review, those not wanting to wade through the entire text can find a summary under the 'Conclusions' heading.
Test Conditions:
All tests were conducted in the Northeast U.S. Although I don't own another portable GPS, I do have a factory installed navigation unit in my 2006 Audi which I've utilized for several side-by-side comparisons (the Magellan is actually for my wife's car).
Updates to the 4350's operating system and navigational firmware are available at no-cost from Magellan's website. These significantly improve the functionality and stability of the unit and if you own one you'd be making a mistake not to install them. The procedure is made relativity easy by the CD based instruction manual that comes with the unit. It took me about fifteen minutes to bring my unit up to date and in a month of testing since, it has never crashed, frozen, or seriously misbehaved. All findings posted here are based on a unit updated to the following: OS Version 00.42.01.0919 and Navigation Version 8.3.2.64084. As the 4350's were just released in September 2008 there are no map updates available or required. Startup:
If powered by an ignition controlled power source the 4350 turns on/off with the car. Otherwise pressing the power button for about two seconds turns it on.
Acquiring satellites happens very quickly - we're talking seconds, not minutes. Only once, inside my house during a very heavy snowstorm, did it take longer (about two minutes) to lock. Display Screen:
The display is plenty bright and the touch screen feature is very sensitive (sometimes too much so). An optional power-saver feature dims the screen somewhat between turns when using the built-in battery. I found this very useful as besides saving the battery it tends to catch your eye when it 'wakes up' to normal brightness. Since that happens about five seconds before the first spoken notification regarding the next turn it gives you a visual heads-up that a verbal instruction is imminent (so if you happen to be blaring Hendrix on the car stereo you have time to lower the volume a bit). Touching any part of the screen will also restore it to full brightness.
The menu system is well organized and intuitive. There are a few things I'd change but overall it's very good.Audio Quality and the MP3/Photo/Video Player:
The audio is loud and clear even with the volume all the way up, which was never necessary for me. There's a male or female voice option for each available language (English, Spanish, and French).
Like most units in this price range the 4350 announces the actual street names along with the turning instructions. The pronunciations are occasionally off but they get the point across. One odd thing was although the male voice pronounced 'county' properly the female would say 'count'. I.E... "In one quarter mile turn right onto count route 513".
The built-in MP3 player and the photo viewer are nice enough and get the job done. The video player only handles Xvid .avi files, which limits its usefulness, but I believe this is the only GPS to have a video player so you probably can't do better elsewhere.
Now to one of the two big gripes I have with this unit...
There's no headphone/line-out jack! What good is an MP3 player without one??? This restricts you to listening through the single (mono) speaker or using the FM transmitter to send the signal to your car stereo (more on that later). POI's (Points of Interest) and AAA:
Magellan claims 6 million POI's reside in the 4350's database (my Audi only has about 1.7 million). Locating one couldn't be easier. You can search by name, category, and/or area. In addition to this is a listing of all facilities reviewed by the AAA, complete with descriptions, ratings and member discounts. AAA members also get an additional year of warranty coverage and one-button access to local certified garages. Although it's not mentioned in the rather sparse instruction manual, you can import your own POI's as Google .kml or .kmz files. To do this you'll need Magellan's 'Content Manager', a free download, which if you updated your firmware you'll already have. Route Selection:
Planning a route is extremely easy, as is adding interim stops (something you still can't do with many GPS models). The keyboard can be configured as QWERTY or ABC and it gray's out irrelevant letters as you type - a nice feature.
Once you've selected your destination the 4350 calculates four possible routes: Fastest, Shortest, Most Economical, and Simplest. The fastest route is chosen by default but you can examine the relative times and distances or see the routes compared visually on the map before selecting the best one for you. Some or all of these routes may be the same as multiple criteria are often met by the same route. I found the [post-upgrade] route selections to be very good, certainly on a par with my Audi's unit.
A 'One-Touch' menu allows you to store your favorite destinations as icons on a single menu. 'Home', 'Previous', 'SOS' (emergency), and AAA 'Service' icons are there by default. You can add five of your own which can point to specific addresses or POI lists. I.E... A list of all Starbucks in the current area.
Finally, being a portable device you can select your type of 'vehicle' from: Car, Bus, Emergency, Bicycle, or Pedestrian. In another undocumented feature, when switching to pedestrian mode you'll be asked if you'd like the unit to remember your car's location. Garmin makes a big deal of this feature; you'd think Magellan would at least mention they have it too. Go figure...Guidance - On the Road:
On the road is where this unit really shines. The 4.3" screen packs in a surprising amount of map detail without looking cluttered. Maps can be displayed in 2D or 3D (I prefer the 3D view which my Audi doesn't have). Landmark buildings can also rise from the map in three dimensions but in my rural area I've yet to see this in action. Information regarding the next turn is displayed across the top of the screen and I especially like how the names of cross streets appear as I approach them, then disappear. You can select which POI categories appear on the map - I chose restaurants and gas stations. Unlike some other units this feature works in 2D or 3D mode. For major chains (BP, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, etc) the generic symbols are replaced by the company logos, allowing you to see at a glance what type of establishment is coming up.
An optional warning displays the speed limit on the left side of the map when you approach or exceed it by a percentage you preset from 70 to 130%. You can also set an audible alert for this if you wish (I have a wife who performs that function). Although I don't consider this an important feature, those who do should know that in my area it only worked on the interstates.
A new feature called 'Lane Guidance' is one of the primary reasons I choose this unit over the Garmin 760. At complicated interstate exits it displays a visual representation of the overhead highway signs to show you which lane you need to be in for an upcoming maneuver. The Garmin models with a similar feature called 'Lane Assist' are far more expensive. The only other GPS to offer lane guidance near this price range is Navigon's 7200T but its POI database is small and its search features are reportedly poor.
The verbal directions are extremely clear and precise. It always beat my Audi in giving me a heads-up regarding the next turn and was usually more specific as to what I needed to do.
Besides the detailed spoken instructions the 4350 also produces a 'doorbell like' chime at the point you should be turning. It even chimes differently for left, right, and U turns. This is a feature that several prior Magellan owners have mentioned missing after switching to another brand. For some reason Magellan initially omitted it from this model but the firmware update restores it along with another enhancement that tells you which side of the street your destination is on.
Lastly, recalculations (required if you go off the designated route) were very fast, taking about the same amount of time as my Audi's unit and often producing a better result. Bluetooth, FM Transmitter, and Traffic Info:
At first the 4350 refused to find my Blackberry Curve but after doing a hard reset (as suggested by Magellan's website) the units paired right up. Bluetooth connectivity has been fine since then but all is not well... When making/receiving a hands-free call I found the audio on my end to be satisfactory but I had to shout at a distance of two feet from the unit in order to be heard faintly at the other end. In actuality I had to speak 1 to 3 inches from the built-in microphone in order to be heard properly. Compounding this issue is the fact that there's no external microphone jack like on some other brands. This was the most disappointing aspect of this test. Even though I don't use this feature, some of the people I gave these to might want to. Therefore if you need Bluetooth capability I must recommend you look elsewhere.
In my initial review I stated that the FM transmitter (which sends all sound from the 4350 to the car's audio system) worked like a charm in my Audi but didn't perform so well in my wife's Sable Wagon. I attributed this to the Sable's rear mounted antenna and the fact that the U.S. severely limits the transmitter strength of these units. However, further tests have resulted in excellent results with both cars. One thing I did notice is that the DC power cord seems to act like an antenna so if you're having reception problems plug the power cord into the 4350 (this seems to work even if you...Read more›

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