Magellan Maestro 4050
Manufacturer: Magellan Corp. Part number: 980921-01A
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Sporting a sleeker design and interface, the affordable Magellan Maestro series offers drivers an accurate in-car GPS device with useful trip information, thanks to its partnership with AAA.
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Where to buy
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CNET editors' review
Magellan Maestro 4050 price range: $557.00
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 04/05/2007
The good: The Magellan Maestro series of in-car GPS devices features an updated and sleeker design and interface with a spacious 4.3-inch touch screen. All models offer useful information on points of interest from the American Automobile Association. In addition, the Maestro 4040 has integrated Bluetooth and text-to-speech functionality, while the Maestro 4050 adds real-time traffic alerts and voice commands.
The bad: During our road tests, the Maestro 4040 was a little slow to recalculate routes. The Bluetooth pairing process was also a bit difficult,and you can't transfer contacts from your phone to the Maestro 4040.
The bottom line: Sporting a sleeker design and interface, the affordable Magellan Maestro series offers drivers an accurate in-car GPS device with useful trip information, thanks to its partnership with AAA.
Compared to the competition, Magellan hasn't always offered the flashiest in-car GPS devices, but it's always offered a good value to the consumer. Now, with the company's new Maestro line of portable navigation systems, you can get both qualities. The three-model series, which includes the Magellan Maestro 4000, Maestro 4040, and the Maestro 4050, features an updated and sleeker design and user interface and all the navigation essentials at an affordable price. In addition, Magellan has partnered with the American Automobile Association (AAA) to provide useful travel information and access to roadside assistance.
For our review, we took a look at the Magellan Maestro 4040 ($499.99), which adds integrated Bluetooth and text-to-speech functionality to the entry-level Maestro 4000 ($399.99). Though we wish route recalculations were slightly faster and that the Maestro had better Bluetooth integration, we enjoyed mostly good performance during our test drives, and we think it's a good buy. Plus, we appreciate the fact that Magellan chose to concentrate on the features that would most help a driver, rather than adding superfluous things like a media player just for the heck of it. The Magellan Maestro 4000 and 4040 are available now, while the Magellan Maestro 4050, which adds voice command functionality and real-time traffic alerts, will be available in May for $699.99.
Design
The Magellan Maestro 4040 is probably the best-looking portable navigation system we've seen from the company to date. Unlike the somewhat bulky and uninspiring Magellan RoadMate 2200T, the Maestro 4040 sports a classic black-and-silver color scheme and a more refined and streamlined design. It's got a sleek profile and compact dimensions--at at 3.7 inches high by 5 inches wide by 0.8 inch deep, and weighing 8.5 ounces--for easy portability between vehicles.
Another attractive aspect of the Magellan Maestro 4040's is its minimalist design. The device isn't bombarded by external controls. There's just an SD/MMC expansion slot, a power button, a mini USB port, and a Reset button on the left spine, and a 3.5mm headphone jack and power connector on the right side. That said, we're fans of having volume controls on the exterior of the device for easy audio adjustment, so if we could add anything to the Maestro 4040, it would be dedicated volume up/down buttons.
Fortunately, the Maestro 4040 boasts a spacious and responsive 4.3-inch diagonal touch screen with a friendly user interface that makes adjusting the volume and general operation an easy affair. Magellan, thankfully, has updated the interface since the archaic-looking menus of the RoadMate 2200T. The Maestro 4040 now features attractive icons, and the menus are really simple to understand. We were able to use the device right out of the box without even having to read the user's guide.
The display itself is satisfactory. The resolution wasn't the sharpest we've seen, but it's nothing that prevented us from using the device. Maps were bright and colorful, and there's a night mode and backlight adjuster. In addition, the screen has an antiglare coating that did a pretty good job of keeping the display readable in various lighting conditions.
Magellan packages the Maestro 4040 with a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), a car charger, an AC adapter, a USB cable, and a protective pouch.
Features
The Magellan Maestro 4040 is equipped with a SiRF Star III GPS chip and comes preloaded with Navteq maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. If you don't need help getting to a specific destination, you can just tap the Show Map icon to get an overview map of your location, otherwise you can select Enter Address to input a specific address or intersection to get directions. If you're planning a trip with multiple stops, use the Trip Planner option, which can handle up to 20 destinations. Like many of Magellan's other GPS devices, the Maestro 4040 has the QuickSpell feature, which helps speed up the process of text entry. As you start to punch the numbers and letters of an address on the virtual keyboard, QuickSpell dims out any characters that don't match the city or streets located in the system's database. It's quite handy and worked well during our test period.
Like many of today's portable navigation systems, the Maestro 4040 can calculate routes based on fastest time, shortest distance, least or most use of freeways, and toll-free roads. There's also a Detour option if you want to avoid a certain part of the prescribed route. The Maestro 4040 doesn't give real-time traffic updates, but there is an upgrade option if you want to add this capability. (At the time of this writing, Magellan had not finalized the pricing of the TravelKit for the Maestro 4040.) Alternatively, the Magellan Maestro 4050 offers this functionality out of the box. The system provides text- and voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, plus text-to-speech functionality, which Magellan calls SayWhere, so the system will speak actual street names. Other features include 2D (north up or tracking up) or 3D map modes with night or day colors, automatic route recalculation, and a trip computer that shows your average speed, trip time, drive time, and trip distance.
The Magellan Maestro 4040's points of interest (POI) database contains a healthy 4.5 million entries, and includes everything from gas stations to casinos. You're probably thinking, "Yeah, so? A lot of other GPS devices offer the same POI features." Sure, but the differentiating factor is Magellan's partnership with AAA. This gives you access to AAA TourBook listings for AAA Diamond-rated lodging and restaurants, complete with information such as hotel amenities, restaurant description and hours of operation, admission prices for certain attractions, and so forth. Of course, you can instruct the system to route to that POI from your current location. AAA members will get even more out of the Maestro, as it provides listings for establishments that offer discounts to AAA members, AAA-approved auto repair facilities, and details for roadside assistance. More specifically, the unit will display the AAA member toll-free help number and your exact location, so you can give the operator all your information--a really nice safety feature.
Even better, the system has integrated Bluetooth, so you can pair your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone and use the Maestro 4040 (or the 4050) as a hands-free speaker system. With it, you can place and accept calls, view your call history, search the device's address book, and redial. We ran into some problems trying to pair the Maestro 4040 with the Samsung Upstage. Though the two appeared to be connected, the Upstage wasn't showing up as paired on the Maestro. We had to repeat the process several times before the nav system finally recognized the cell phone. Once they were paired, though, we had no problems making or taking calls. Unfortunately, you can't wirelessly transfer contacts from the phone to the Maestro 4040 at this time.
Finally, we want to comment on the Maestro's lack of multimedia capabilities. While some might criticize Magellan for not including a media player or image viewer, we actually applaud this move. We've always been a bit critical of the inclusion of such features on a car GPS system, because we don't think it's all that useful or relevant--not yet anyway. As such, we're glad that Magellan chose to concentrate on the essential and most helpful features to the driver.
Performance
We tested the Magellan Maestro 4040 in San Francisco, and from a cold start, the unit acquired a satellite fix almost immediately under clear skies. Subsequent starts were also instantaneous. The Maestro 4040 did a good job of pinpointing our location as we drove around the city, running everyday errands with no specific destination in mind. We also entered our standard trip from the Marina district to CNET headquarters in downtown San Francisco. The system was a tad sluggish returning with directions compared to other systems we've tested; really, it was only a matter of a few seconds, and it's not a major issue since you'll most likely be planning these trips before you hit the road. However, more concerning was the rate of route recalculation. We purposefully missed several turns along our trip to test the feature, and on several occasions, the Maestro 4040 gave us new directions just before we had to make a turn. In one instance, it got completely confused and had us going in circles, though it eventually got us back on track. The unit's battery is rated for up to 3 hours on a single charge.
User reviews
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An excellent GPS
by bholowach on July 24, 2007
Pros: Accurate, Quick route recalculation, Voice recognition works great Very user friendly
Cons: None at the present
Summary: I have used the 4050 two weeks now and yes it has ETA, a great display night and day, great speaker and recalculates quickly. Love the voice recognition works better ...
Summary: I have used the 4050 two weeks now and yes it has ETA, a great display night and day, great speaker and recalculates quickly. Love the voice recognition works better than I thought it would judging by some of the remarks some people have made, and I paired it to my LG8300 within seconds. I certainly made the right choice and highly recommend it.
7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Promising product marred by lousy technical support and windshield mount
by skibum400 on August 21, 2007
Pros: Larger screen, bright display, updated interface
Cons: Bulky traffic receiver, online store not open at this time, iffy voice recognition
Summary: The 4050 includes additional hardware: the TrafficKit which must be activated by going to Magellan's online store. Alas, the Magellan store is "down" at this time. One cannot activate ...
Summary: The 4050 includes additional hardware: the TrafficKit which must be activated by going to Magellan's online store. Alas, the Magellan store is "down" at this time. One cannot activate it by phone.
A worse fact is that the supplied windshield bracket mounts directly to the traffic kit, which then mounts behind the GPS unit. The normally low-profile unit becomes nearly double the thickness. This also means that in order to mount the 4050 w/o the Kit, you need to buy a separate bracket (the one supplied, I assume, with the non-Traffic-Kit 4040).
For an exhaustive review see: http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/07/magellan_maestro_4050_review.php
I bought my Magellan at Costco, and am seriously considering returning it for the more expensive, but less bulky Garmin NuviUpdated
Finally found an opening today when I could activate the 3-month trial subscription. Some links to their store are broken, but the subscription page can be accessed by:
http://www.magellangps.com/users/TrafficKit/6 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Better than nothing at all
by richardmashatt on April 17, 2008
Pros: wirerless
Cons: slow responce
Summary: I bought this after having the 4250 does have the volume control cnet person was wrong on that note it does... the 4050 voice mode comes in handy when your ...
Summary: I bought this after having the 4250 does have the volume control cnet person was wrong on that note it does... the 4050 voice mode comes in handy when your driving but not what expected. it has a traffic update for 70 bucks a year I like that it routes me different ways if it picks up the exit was closed up ahead or traffic back up sense I do not know where I am going so I go where it tells me to go lol its a keeper
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Disappointed
by dewegnerbellsouthnet on January 12, 2008
Pros: screen size
Cons: Slow jerky update and very poor tech service
Summary: I purchased the Magellan 4050 three months ago and do not like the unit as well as my older Garmin 2610. The 4050 does not update smoothly or accurately, the ...
Summary: I purchased the Magellan 4050 three months ago and do not like the unit as well as my older Garmin 2610. The 4050 does not update smoothly or accurately, the unit is always behind your present position no matter how fast or slow you driving. Magellan?s Tech service help is off shore, staffed with people that do not understand English well and are technically inept when it comes to knowledge of the product. Magellan came out with a firmware update (2.36) that was suppose to help with navigation update problems but has not worked for my unit.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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customer service
by silverkubota on January 8, 2008
Pros: good product until you need help!
Cons: customer service if thats what you call it
Summary: Any customer service in this company?
I have tried multiple times trying to talk about a issue
unable to get a manager or supervisor!
the only contact I can find ...Summary: Any customer service in this company?
I have tried multiple times trying to talk about a issue
unable to get a manager or supervisor!
the only contact I can find is 1-866-339-0488
all together have 7hrs tied up just to get a question answered?
been sent every direction and back
talked to 10058 could not understand, some other language
10130 Susan
10024 Lisa
Vincent
Durkin
Thomas 10172
10054 could not even catch the name?
Peter
I talked at 6:58pm 1/7/08 to Id 10062 Sasha from tech support who Peter transferred me over to
gave me a new customer service number to call 1-800-699-4477
I called and found out was a sex talk line
wow !!!!!!!
this is great customer service!
I didn't even get a chance to thank her when I called back and was on hold for 1/2 hr and gave up!
I can't understand trying to get some info is so hard with a company this size!1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I'd buy one again
by gfine on December 5, 2007
Pros: Clear; Concise; Accurate
Cons: Bulky mounting hardware; faulty voice recognititon
Summary: I have read several reviews on the 4000 series, and was looking for the 4040, but when we were shopping, the 4050 was amrked down $50 cheaper than the 4040, ...
Summary: I have read several reviews on the 4000 series, and was looking for the 4040, but when we were shopping, the 4050 was amrked down $50 cheaper than the 4040, and so we couldn't resist getting it.
We tried our level best to get the unit to foul up, or get confused. We set a destination, took off, then reversed course. We got a "Make a legal u-turn", and when we continued on for 2 blocks, it then recalculated the route. Impressive. We tested a friend Garmin a few weeks earlier and all it did was continuously relcalulate the route.
We like the features, esspecially the travelkit. My wife uses the unit for her business, and so far it has paid for itself by getting her to her locations without burning extra fuel, and around an unknown (to us) detour.
The only drawbacks were the size of the mounting hardware, and we shut off the voice recognition since it wakes up to road noise.
But YMMV.. We like it, and for $399 it was a no-brainer.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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excellent quality and sleek design!
by john0724 on December 7, 2008
Pros: Text to speech is awesome. Full of goodies like bluetooth,traffic and voice command. Looks great and works even better.
Cons: nothing so far
Summary: I bought this gps to replace an older magellan roadmate 300. It was a dinosaur. You had to load maps and could only fit so much on sd cards. The ...
Summary: I bought this gps to replace an older magellan roadmate 300. It was a dinosaur. You had to load maps and could only fit so much on sd cards. The newer magellan is much smaller with a larger screen (4.3) and has some great features. Price was great at $169.00 at foto connection. Volume is great and I don't see any problems with the mount, it's solid. Screen is bright and I like the way it changes automatically to night view when it senses darkness. Only one little niche, I noticed one poi had the wrong spelling of a restaraunt in st. pete,fl. Took me half an hour to find it. But no biggie. Overall I am very pleased with this product and would definetly recommend it!
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Look to another brand - terrible customer svc and software issues
by ave2006 on February 16, 2008
Pros: Looks nice
Cons: Firmware v2.36 riddled with problems and makes unit not worth keeping
Summary: Horrible customer service with no support and firmware upgrade that provides for incorrect directions or has you go out of the way, ETA display flip-flops several hours and then back ...
Summary: Horrible customer service with no support and firmware upgrade that provides for incorrect directions or has you go out of the way, ETA display flip-flops several hours and then back to a reasonable ETA, slow response time. These issues have been documented on several sites and with 2 personally that I know of. Go to Garmin.
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Good Unit, but customer service is terrible
by glenntr on August 24, 2007
Pros: Looks good, works good. It got me around Seattle WA (not from here) with only a few issues.
Cons: Customer service sucks. I have never dealt with a company where it is this poor.
Summary: I have been testing the Magellan line for about a month now (purchased from Costco). I found the 2200 nice but wanted the additional POI's and other features that ...
Summary: I have been testing the Magellan line for about a month now (purchased from Costco). I found the 2200 nice but wanted the additional POI's and other features that the 4000 line have. The screen was clear and bright. I found that the text to voice was hard to understand at times and it was unable to say some directions correctly. But for the most part it was very understandable. I traded up from the 2200 to the 4040. Then, because I wanted the traffic updates, went to the 4050. During the time that I was using the 4050, Magellan was doing a major update to their computer systems, which included their website. When I called to activate the traffic feature, I was told about the computer upgrades and that they would not be able to accommodate my request. I found this unacceptable so pushed the issue. I was told on more then 3 calls that I would be contacted within 24 hours. It is now 2 weeks, and still no call back. Their customer service is out of this country (I asked) so they were hard to understand as I do not have great hearing. Because of the customer service issues, I decided to take this unit back to Costco and purchased the Garmin 660. I will never do any business with Magellan and will tell anyone about the poor service. If you do not mind talking to foreign customer service personnel that have limited English skills and to not mind dealing with a company that refuses to sell a service that they advertise, go for it. I am in the business of installing computer services and have never shut one down or reduced services while the new one was being installed. This is the poorest service of any company that I have ever received.
3 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Got mine at Costco fCostco on line that isor $499.00+
by bodob on August 11, 2007
Pros: bought this on line
Cons: Smaller than I thought
Summary: Magellan 4050 voice...Is great so far
Summary: Magellan 4050 voice...Is great so far
0 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
- Part number: 980921-01A
- Description: The Maestro 4050 provides real-time traffic alerts, Bluetooth hands-free phone calling capabilities and advanced voiced routing directions via Magellan's SayWhere text-to-speech function, which audibly announces the street names for upcoming maneuvers. The Maestro 4050 includes a lifetime subscription for real-time premium traffic services with the Magellan TrafficKit, the first completely integrated, portable real-time traffic solution with a no-fuss, wire-free design. The receiver attaches at a cradle with a simple click to help drivers avoid traffic delays with incident alerts and rerouting. Preloaded with full coverage maps of Europe from NAVTEQ, the Maestro 4050 also contains the Marco Polo sight seeing information plus a database of one million additional points of interest (POI) like ATMs, petrol stations and more. The Maestro 4050's Bluetooth capabilities make it possible for drivers to be connected to a business with a hands-free phone call once a POI is selected. The Maestro 4050 is voice command ready. Drivers will enjoy the latest advances in voice recognition capabilities to control the device and route to their destination using voice commands.
General
- Width 5 in
- Depth 0.8 in
- Height 3.7 in
- Weight 8.5 oz
GPS System
- Recommended Use Automotive
- Receiver 20 channel
- Accuracy Position - 7 m
- Connectivity USB
- Traffic Services TMC (Traffic Message Channel)
- Voice Navigation instructions, Voice command recognition
- Antenna Built-in
- Features Preinstalled POIs, 2D / 3D map perspective, Hands-free calling via Bluetooth
- Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card
- Maps Included USA, Canada, Puerto Rico
- Software Included NAVTEQ ON BOARD
Navigation
- Trip computer Back-On-Track, Avoid freeways, Fast/short route, Maximize freeways, Minimize toll roads
Built-in Display
- Type LCD
- Diagonal Size 4.3 in
- Display Illumination Yes
- Color Support Color
- Features Anti-glare, Touch screen
Connections
- Connector Type USB
Battery
- Battery Enclosure Type Internal
- Battery included qty 1
- Battery technology Lithium ion
- Mfr estimated battery life 3 hour(s)
Miscellaneous
- Included GPS accessories Carrying pouch, AC power adapter, Car power adapter, Windshield holder
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & support type 1 year warranty
Product series
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Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
Specs: Automotive, Navigation instructions, 8.5 oz
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Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
Specs: 20 channel, Automotive, Navigation instructions, Voice command recognition, 8.5 oz
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Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
Specs: 20 channel, Automotive, Navigation instructions, Voice command recognition, 8.5 oz
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Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
Specs: 20 channel, Automotive, Navigation instructions, 6.3 oz
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Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
Specs:
Manufacturer info
- Magellan Corp.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Magellan Corp. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.magellangps.com/
- Address:
960 Overland Ct.
San Dimas, CA 91773 - Phone: 909/394-5502
- Email: alinsey-jackson@thalesnavigation.com
- Fax: 408-615-3960
