Magellan Maestro 4000, 4040, 4050 Review

CNet has a decent review of the new Magellan Maestro line, including the Maestro 4000, Maestro 4040, and the Maestro 4050 (kindof). They also include a brief cool video that walks you through the unit (links below). The line starts with a widescreen format, NAVTEQ maps and a fresh approach to the GPS world with the new ownership of the Magellan company. The Maestro 4000 starts out with a basic widescreen unit that has a thin design, has preloaded maps and a solid operating system. The upgrade to the Maestro 4040 adds text-to-speech (TTS) capability and Bluetooth pairing to for handsfree phone calls. While they didn't get to test the Maestro 4050 specifically, and its voice command features, the rest of the functionality should be the same, so I included it here in the title. The units run with a Sirf Star III chipset.

Overall, Bonnie Cha appreciated the minimalistic design features of the Maestro line and the fact that Magellan has partnered with AAA to add restaurant and hotel ratings to the POI database giving you the ability to make more informed decisions when searching for places to eat or stay. One cool feature that I would like to see more of is the ability to show the AAA number and your exact location so that you can make an easy call for help. More and more people view GPS units as safety devices, and features like this add to that perception. They were disappointed with the route recalculation times, but overall gave it a 7.7 out of 10 rating.

Recall the soon to be available (reportedly May) Magellan Maestro 4050 has voice command abilities, which is hopefully going to be a great technology addition to the GPS marketplace.

The Magellan Maestro 4000 and 4040 are available now.

More information on the Magellan Maestro Line.

ReadMore at CNet

Read More in: Automotive GPS | GPS Reviews | Magellan GPS Reviews

Share this Article with others:

Related Articles:

• Magellan Maestro 5310 Review - Jun 04, 2008
• GPS Review: Magellan RoadMate 1200 - Mar 28, 2008
• Magellan RoadMate 2000 Review - May 18, 2007

Came straight to this page? Visit GPS Lodge for all the latest news.

Posted by Scott Martin at April 11, 2007 6:21 AM