Magellan Maestro 4250 review

The Magellan Maestro 4250 updates the Magellan 4050. Thinner and lighter, it also increases the number of points of interest (POIs) available to 6 million, compared to the 4050's 4.5 million. Otherwise, the two units are identical in their key specs. Both offer pre-loaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, text-to-speech, Bluetooth and live traffic info.

The Maestro 4250 is also one of three Magellan navigators offering voice commands (the others being the Maestro 3250 and the aforementioned 4050). Reviews of this feature have found it to be weak. If you want a voice command GPS that works well, you'd do better to look at the Garmin nuvi 850 or nuvi 880.

Compare prices on the Magellan Maestro 4250

To see how the 4250 stacks up against other units, check out my Magellan auto GPS comparison chart.

More Magellan Maestro 4250 reviews

• GPS Magazine does their typically thorough job with their Magellan Maestro 4250 review, calling it "the best Magellan yet."
• Consumer-authored Magellan Maestro 4250 reviews have been posted at Amazon.
• PC Magazine reviews the Magellan Maestro 4250, giving it 4 out of 5 stars.
• CNet gives a 7 out of 10 rating in their Magellan Maestro 4250 review; consumer reviews are posted there as well.
• Consumer-authored Magellan Maestro 4250 reviews are being posted at GpsPasSion.
• About.com gives a 4 out of 5 star rating in their Magellan Maestro 4250 review.
• This Magellan Maestro 4250 review compares it to three other GPS navigators.
• And this New York Times review compares the Magellan Maestro 4250 to several other units.
• The Washington Post compares the Maestro 4250 with something called the V7 Nav740.
• Laptop magazine reviews the Maestro's traffic performance.
• Emotional Craft reviews the Magellan 4250.
• I'll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some...

Other Magellan Maestro 4250 resources

• A PDF version of the Magellan Maestro 4250 owners manual.
• Our other Magellan Maestro reviews.
• There is a Magellan Maestro message forum at GpsPasSion.
• And there is a Magellan GPS message forum at Yahoo, and an alt.satellite.gps.magellan UseNet group.

Compare prices on the Magellan Maestro 4250 at these merchants:

• Check the current Magellan Maestro 4250 price at Amazon.
• Get the Magellan Maestro 4250 Portable Bluetooth Automotive GPS System with Voice Recognition at TigerGPS, where you get free shipping on orders above $250.
• Get the Magellan Maestro 4250 for an amazing price on eBay.
• Check out our GPS deals site for current specials and rebates on a wide range of GPS receivers

From the official Magellan Maestro 4250 web page:

Voice Command & Control enables you to navigate with the sound of your voice!

The large 4.3" wide-format color touch screen and amazingly easy-to-use interface add pleasure to your driving experience. Magellan Maestro 4250 delivers the latest advanced navigation and communication features. It includes built-in maps of the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, 6 million pre-programmed Points of Interest, integrated AAA TourBook® guide information, SayWhere™ text-to-speech, LIVE traffic report capability and more. Plus, make hands-free phone calls with your Bluetooth®-enabled phone.

Related posts:

• Our GPS reviews
• Auto GPS buyers guide
• Top ten auto GPS

Comments

[ybigstorm]

Onsale currently has this Magellan Maestro 4250 for sale at $249.99 with free shipping after rebate. Order it through a cash back website (Dealdigs.com currently has 3%, fatwallet has 2%), you can get it at $242.45. Pretty nice price for this GPS.

[mike]

I pickedup 4250 for 249.99 from costco yesterday. I had garmin previously, however, with several positive reviews on 4250, I decided to give a try. From start up, it was so slow, as well as after bootup. Each move you have on menu, it speaks for you, which is really irritating. Routing & traffic seems work ok, but calculating takes a lot longer than garmin. On magellan's catalog, it says it play mp3, however, media player was not included. According to other reviews 4250 improved a lot compared to previous magellan models, but magellan has long way to go to catch up with garmin.

[Rich Owings]

Mike,

Thanks for chiming in. That's my perception too, although I am looking forward to getting one of the next-gen Maestros to test soon.

[Mike]

A different point of view. I just returned a Garmin Nuvi 650 to Costco and bought the Magellan. The Garmin had a problem tracking satellites and seemed to want to stay in charge mode when plugged in my car. I like the Magellan...it's sleek, fast, and has the traffic receiver/bluetooth built-in. To add a traffic receiver to Garmin Nuvi was big money. I disagree completely that the Magellan has a ways to catch up with Garmin. I love my new Magellan.

[Rich Owings]

Thanks Mike. I know a lot of people are happy with their Magellans.

[Raymond Gregoire]

Bought the Garmin Maestro 4250 at Costco after a week it did not work, returned it and tried another this time the screen was not legable, returned it got a 3rd unit again after a week could not turn it on as the on/off button was defective returned the unit.

I was told it was the most returned item in the warehouse. I'll try a TOM TOM this time.

[Camping Fool]

Does anyone know if RV Parks and campgrounds category of the POI database for the Magellan 4250 is improved? In earlier models the data was spotty at best.

[Wade Fitzgerald]

I just had the worst customer service I ever experienced in my lifetime. And to make it worse, he said there are no managers around to esculate the problem????? No higher people than the customer service????? WOW! I lost over 400 points of interest that I require to re-visit these locations again stored in the explorist. This morning, went to look at them and they were all gone! The customer service rep said that when changing the batteries, this can happen. ??? WHAT THE !!!! THAT SHOULD BE ON THE COVER OF THE PRODUCT! After the 11 hours that the batterys can last for MAX.... then all your data may be lost because it is time to change the batteries. Great idea to take this on a few day trip in the woods to find out it erased all the way back..... You see the seriousness with this GLITCH that has never been addressed. Hopefully after I post this to enough sites, they may actually address this issue and make for a better product.