Magellan Maestro 3100 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

By truck gps guide | October 6, 2008

Magellan Maestro 3100 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

The Magellan Maestro 3100 Portable Auto GPS System delivers the best navigation experience at an entry-level price point. Pocket-sized, powerful, and re-engineered for easy use, its fresh graphics, intuitive interface, and friendly voice will guide you turn-by-turn as you enjoy the drive. If you don’t like reading directions, you’ll love the Magellan Maestro 3100. It’s simple to use and ready to guide you to virtually any destination in the 48 continental United States. Just turn it on and go. Its thin, sophisticated design and attractive, intuitive touch-screen graphics make driving a pleasure. Enter an address or select from 750,000 preprogrammed points of interest (POIs) with just a few screen touches. SiRFstarIII™ gives you the fastest GPS position accuracy in the industry.

Additional Product Features

Turn-by-turn voice and visual guidance: Enter an address or POI and get there quickly and safely
Graphical interactive maps: Built-in maps and destinations for the continental U.S. mean you’ll always know where you are and where you’re going
Rechargeable battery: Navigate when you don’t have access to power
SmartDetour™: Automatically prompts you to route around suddenly slow freeway traffic
Auto night view: Adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing
750,000 points of interest (POIs): Optimized database to easily find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, and more, with smart location search by name, category, and region
TrueView®: Pop-up visual of upcoming turn
Map View: 3D bird’s-eye and standard map views
Reception: Integrated antenna for clear GPS signal

What’s in the Box
Magellan Maestro 3100 Portable Auto GPS System, flexible windshield mount, dash mounting adhesive disk, cigarette lighter power adapter (12-24 watts), quick reference guide, reference manual CD, and USB cable.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars Thank Goodness It Was Stolen!
We prefer the TomTom because it has an easier to use (and more thorough) ‘points of interest’ and ‘maps’ program. This Magellan Maestro became a headache when we had to utilize without any addresses …especially when many streets were not listed on the map function. As a sidenote, never leave your GPS in the car…don’t even leave it in the glove compartment!

2 Stars You get what you paid for.
I have had this GPS for a month and just took it on a long trip. Save your money because you get what you paid for. This is an inexpensive unit and leaves a lot to be desired.

I named it Barbara after my mother in law (she is always giving directions) First, the maps are not up to date and do not have many current roads, at least where I live. On this long highway trip Barbara was mostly quiet except when you come to a major crossroad, then she tells you to stay on the current road at least three times, and sometimes more.

In my case I had driven most of this route many times and know the best way around some major cities. Barbara always wanted to direct me through the town and not give me the best route. In one case she had me going north when I needed to go west. Looking at my atlas I could plainly see that there was no way to get where I needed to be if I followed her directions. This happened many times on roads that have been around for decades. I felt that I could not trust the unit!

If you are in a strange area in the dark and there are not any alternate routes, Barbara would get me there every time. And I can say that that was a big help. But this was at the end of the route is a very rural area.

Next the display, if you can afford a larger display, buy it. This one is small and even with my small fingers I had trouble with some on the buttons. This is a heads up display with two nav bars at the top and bottom on the screen. They display the current road you are on and the one where your next turn is. My logic says the top bar should be the turn you are going to (heads up). But no, that is the road you are on and where you are going is on the bottom. Yea it’s a minor thing but annoying.

OK, now try to find a point of interest while you are on a route. Food, Rest Area, etc. Your only option is to exit a point of interest. Now why would I want to exit if I was looking for one? I pushed the button and got a screen that would give me small icons with a distance from my current location. This was not any help at all, especially if I wanted to know where the next rest area was. To find that you must canx. your route and then pick the point of interest button. Barbara will then give you a list of categories to choose from. Alphabetical order, NO WAY!! Try pushing the little down button to find what you want, while driving. This makes you an accident waiting to happen. This unit should be classified in the same hazard category as cell phones!

I could go on and on but I think you get my drift. When you buy a cheap product, you get what you paid for!

Jim

4 Stars Great for the price
I have used my Magellan with great success.

Not being the one for great written directions

it has helped me a great deal.

My only complaint are the instructions with the package

need to be more informative re the need to download

or to upgrade.

5 Stars Magellan Maestro 1300
Magellan is a very accurate and helpful item. I use it very often, out of state, and never get lost when looking for difficult destinations. It gives pleanty of time when notifying of upcoming maneuvers. It was a wise purchase.

5 Stars Magellon for Father’s Day
This product is phenomenal. I bought the Magellan Maestro for my 74 year old father for Father’s Day. He is, to say the least, non-computer savvy. However, he was able to use the GPS with ease. The instructions are easy to read, and the on-line help was fast and reliable. He is currently off roading in Nevada using his new navigation system and having a great time.

Buy/More Info

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