Magellan Maestro 4040 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
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Magellan 4040
I like this machine very much it is very easy to use and keeps the signal very well even in bad weather
Very Excellent service and product.
I ALWAYS RECEIVED A GOOD SERVICES AND GOOD PRODUCTS FROM AMAZON.COM
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
DJOULDE SOW
pretty good
huge screen and got the job done what more can i say. only con was sometimes it froze and i missed turns but that was rare. works well at night automatically changes when sun goes down .
Perfect but with a minor fault or two
First and formost I have to say this item is perfect for the price. Magellan Maestro 4040 received high reviews from CNET and other review sites. The only problem I found by reading the reviews is you couldn’t transfer your phone’s address book to the unit The only problem I have seen, personally, is its accuracy. When I am driving through an intersection to GPS shows that I am approaching it and not in it. So its accuracy is off by a few feet (approx 50-100 feet). But then all civilian GPS’s are not 100% accurate to the foot. Directions are clear and percise and the quick boot up time is awesome. From cold to up and running is just about 2 minutes. My other GPS unit took at least 4-6 minutes. And from “stand by” to full up and running is about 15-30 seconds.
The update was quick, easy, and painless however the software cd would not install on my computer but that’s either a Vista problem (go figure) or 64 bit problem. I am unsure what functions or details can be done with the computer software, and to be honest I don’t care.
I have to say, for under $100 this is the way to go.
Outsatanding
Product is used for work. I’m a postal worker and it has made life easy for me, in getting direction to delivering my express mail.
Great Buy!!
Wasn’t sure of the quality because of the price but, am not dissapointed at all. It has every thing I needed, wasn’t looking for something to fancy or complicated, very easy to use. Some directions were a little off but it was because of how I entered them. Just wish there was a book to go with it rather than having to go on line for it. Very good buy especially since my husband said they may be out of date by next yr., per an article he had read.
Works great with a few put downs
This is a pretty good product. I think that the larger 4 inch display screen definitely comes in hand (especially since I’m a visual person). It has good maps and easy directions. Just be sure to keep your maps updated and also update it right away. I didn’t update my maps right away and ended up going around in circles for about ten minutes for something that was just down the other street. Over all though a good product that would really be recommended for someone who wants a good quality GPS without the price of a Garmin.
Refurbished GPS works like new !
Was not sure about geting a refurbished unit but so far happy with it when I recived it it looked like new and so far is working just fine. Would buy another one when needed bought it to replace my Megellan 3.5 screen Magellan Maestro 4040 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Bluetooth and Text-to-Speech (Refurbished).
Magellan Maestro 4040 – Refurbished
This Magellan Maestro 4040 – Refurbished – arrived looking brand new — everything was there, and it was easy to charge it and use it. Since I was using a different brand before (Nextar X4-T), it took a few tries to get the addresses where I wanted them – such as favorites. This unit is much faster connecting to the satellites, and frankly has many more features compared to my old one. And once set up properly it is actually more accurate in mapping out routes (more choices) This unit has a headphone jack, which I find useful because of high ambient noise in my car. — I’m very pleased with this unit. For awhile I was considering the Tom Tom, but this Magellan does a better job of fitting my needs.
good
I wish they can update the map database. TI do not like the text to speech why can it say like for example right on williams road or left on stewart street.
I’ll like an option like other manufactural to download updated map for free
Thanks
Manna
Great GPS
I love the Magellan GPS’s and have bought two of the refurbished ones off Amazon. I also bought one new from Dell. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of 5 is that they should install or give with shipping costs only the newest maps. I think if you buy a refurbished unit, it should be comparable to a new unit regarding the software and maps.
Magellan Maestro 4040 GPS
I purchase this item for my wife. She loves it. It is easy to use and allows her to use her cell phone via blue tooth for wireless calling while in the vehicle. It is easy to use and works great.
Nice unit for the refurbished price
This GPS is very user friendly and loud compared to my Navigon 5100. It has text to speech and AAA(Additional Subscription Charge) You can definitely hear this gps while driving especially with an aftermarket exhaust system.
Magellan Maestro 4040
Works well overall, but the unit’s response to a change in location (due to a wrong turn/missing a turn) is terribly slower than expected. Plus minor scratches on the exterior. Well, considering that it is refurbished, I think it’s ok to let that slide.
Hoping it will come around to my way of thinking…
I recently sold my basic Garmin Nuvi 200 to a co-worker and got this refurbished Magellan at under eighty bucks, for the larger screen and text-to-speech feature. I’ve had it a couple weeks and have been testing it a bit.
I’m pretty sure all GPS’s do the same thing – navigate you around, or at least show a map of where you are and the direction you are travelling. The difference is in the details, I’m sure.
So, some of the humorous differences:
The Nuvi only tried to get me going the wrong way on a one-way street one time, and this was at the top of a hill on a narrow road that circled a restaurant. The one-way sign could easily have been added at some later point, after traffic problems appeared…
The Magellan tries to get me to make an illegal left turn across a major boulevard to get on the freeway to work. It ignores the normal cloverleaf freeway entrance on my side of the street that is well-signed.
Unlike the Nuvi 200, The Magellan has an “exclude” feature that allows you to not use a section of a route. I tried it a few times to exclude the illegal left turn mentioned above. For the first recalculation, it routes me to 2 other streets that makes a logical route. However, I was trying to see if it would now use the normal cloverleaf entrance mentioned above. So, when I bypassed the recalculated route (after the exclusion) it now recalculated for the second time, but included the section I had just excluded. If it works at all, it appears you have to exclude a section anytime it recalculates, not just once per route…
Another time recently, I let it navigate me to a particular beach, which has an entrance point where you pay for parking privileges. I was at the signal with the entrance in front of me across the intersection, but the Magellan wanted me to turn left to the final destination. I checked everything when I got home. Google maps shows there is no other entrance. Address and mapped destination per Magellan was accurate – apparently the last turn and voice command was not.
During another test, I let the Magellan plot a route to a fast-food restaurant. The route it provided would work – going first west then south and then turning left into the west side entrance of the large shopping center as the restaurant was located right inside that entrance. However, I wanted to go south then west and turn into the north side of the parking lot and drive across to the restaurant. Of course, the Magellan started recalculating when I made my first turn off the plotted route. It tried to route me through three residential streets to now approach the restaurant from the south with a right-hand turn into the parking lot. Why it did not just have me continue to the main street, turn left, then left as originally plotted I do not know. Regardless, I again ignored it and turned into the parking lot. It began recalculating, and wanted me to do a U-turn and presumably go back along the three residential streets. At this point I’m just about in the drive-thru lane. Obviously it did not recognize a big parking lot as a possible route and did the only thing it knew how to do – go back to a known point. Fair enough.
Just earlier today, I spent 10 minutes trying to enter the address of one of the stores I work for. I know the address by heart. Typed in the city name OK, and typed in the street name OK. But, as soon as I selected the street from the list, it began to calculate a route without allowing me to enter the street number. Tried several times. Gave up. Using the POI feature of spelling the name of the store, it found 2 other stores in the chain, but not the one I was looking for. Searched again in the “Specialty store” category and found the store (under a different name). Oy vay! Just now at home, I tried to enter the store address. Fiddled around a few times and found the bug. When choosing “South” off the street name list, it let me enter the number. When I chose “E. South” off the list (this is technically the correct street name) it bypassed the number entry and started calculating. Odd. I also tried an old house address and my work address and it worked fine.
Speaking of entering addresses, there seems to not be a way to enter numeric GPS coordinates. The Magellan FAQ vaguely suggests going into the system and changing a setting, but the 4040 does not have the setting choice.
OK, the out-of-date map thing on refurbs. I knew the maps were from late 2006 when I bought it. That did not matter as I don’t think there is a whole lot of new construction, and getting from town to town is about the same.
I will likely edit this post with more findings after a driving vacation in September. Sooner if something odd happens…
I did the map update in about 1/2 hour without a problem. It fixed the illegal left turn onto the freeway
But…the updated maps did not include the town of Valle, AZ in its list. This town is on the main road between Williams and the Grand Canyon. It has the Planes of Fame air museum and the Flintstones Bedrock City attraction. It also shares the same zipcode as Williams which is 30 miles away – kind of odd. So, I used the “Hotels” POI to locate a hotel where I have a reservation. No match
Tried entering address with zipcode first, then street name. It is S State Route 64, but that is not on the list – only N State Route 64 – which does not allow the appropriate number to be entered due to the quick-spell feature.
Happy trails!
Couldn’t get it to work
Read the reviews. Did my research. Thought buying the Magellan 4040 was a good idea. I opened the package and could not get it passed the first screen. The GPS kept freezing. Very disappointed. Not sure about buying a refurbished GPS. There’s a reason the first owner returned it…right?
You cannot beat this deal with upgraded maps free!!
Ok I received this unit a short while ago and was concerned about all the other reviewers stating that the maps are outdated like 2006 maps. And they had also stated that it would cost 80.00 to update to the 2008-2009 maps. Well I decided to give it a try anyways and I am so glad I did. I received the unit in perfect condition and yes the firmware and maps were way outdated. I went onto the Magellan website and they offer to both new and refurbished owners a 30 day map guarantee that if withen 30 days of purchase you receive the unit and they have later maps available that you can get the latest ones in my instance 2008-2009 maps for free. All I had to do was pay 10.00 for shipping the dvd to me.
Now after I upgraded the firmware I noticed alot of changes were made for the better.
This thing is dead on for accuaracy and the sound is nice and clear. I feel bad for all the other buyers that did not find out about the free map upgrade but it pays to do some research and in this case it saved me 70.00. I don’t think you will find a better deal out there!!
good product
product works well, when it is off for a long time i have to restart it two times to update position. but after that its great.. map updates are pritty pricy though.
bad maps… or software that manages them
Pros:
1) You get a 4.3-inch and text-to-speech capability GPS that gets you from place to place for less than $100, which is a good deal.
2) Finds satellites quickly and holds the charge well.
3) Nice user interface.
4) Our unit actually also has Canada maps, even though it doesn’t claim to on the product description page.
5) We got ours (refurbished) about a year ago, and it hasn’t broken on us yet.
Cons:
1) Maps are outdated and in some locations are not precise (sometimes notifies you about an exit too early or too late).
2) More importantly, often does not lead you the most efficient route. Let me explain. I go from one city to another. GPS offers me a route, but I choose not to follow the instructions, because I know a shorter and faster route. At some point GPS recognizes my route and adjusts the arrival time to an earlier time than it had offered originally. It’s like the GPS does not know some HWY exits (entrances), but recognized them as we get close to the “inexistent” exit. These exits have been around for decades (HWY 5 in Oregon, but that isn’t the only example).
3) It doesn’t let you into the points of interest menu until you cancel your route.
4) Extremely inconvenient to look at the map! Self-adjusts all the time and doesn’t let you scroll up and down and to the sides.
5) Small points of interest selection.
6) Does not play music! (even though it has an SD card slot… is it reserved for a more advanced model or what?).
Conclusions:
If you want one of the cheapest models out there that leads you from place to place (eventually), this is a good choice. It’s been worth the money! Not recommended if you have higher expectations from your GPS than that.
NO updates available
I really like magellan GPS units – bought a tom tom but wanted to go back to magellan but after buying this one found out there are no updates for this unit and it is outdated by a couple years and when I travel a lot i need the latest updates on roads. suggest buying a model with updated files.