Simplify your laptop buyingMagellan Maestro 4370
Manufacturer: Magellan Corp. Part number: 980-0167-001
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Despite a couple of minor performance issues, the Magellan Maestro 4370 offers convenience through its new OneTouch interface and also delivers with features and accurate directions.
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Where to buy
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|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | See Site Try Free Amazon Prime for one Month | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/03/2009 |
| Amazon.com Marketplace | | In stock | as of 12/03/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Magellan Maestro 4370 price range: $119.99 - $299.99
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 12/03/2008
The good: The Magellan Maestro 4370 provides easy access to favorite destinations via the new OneTouch interface. The GPS also offers a sharp display; text-to-speech directions; advanced lane guidance; integrated Bluetooth; and accurate directions.
The bad: Menu navigation can be a bit sluggish. Voice-guided directions are occasionally choppy, and your phone book's information isn't automatically transferred to the Maestro 4370 when connected via Bluetooth.
The bottom line: Despite a couple of minor performance issues, the Magellan Maestro 4370 offers convenience through its new OneTouch interface and also delivers with features and accurate directions.
It's been a little while since we've seen anything from Magellan, but in late October, the company revealed its latest in-car GPS, the Magellan Maestro 4370. A step-up model from the Magellan Maestro 4250, the portable navigation device (PND) offers a new user interface with a feature called OneTouch that gives you quick one-click access to your preferred destinations. It's real time-saver for navigating to frequently visited locations or finding favorite businesses in new territory since you don't have to go through various menus. The Maestro 4370 also delivers with accurate directions and advanced navigation features, such as text-to-speech functionality, integrated Bluetooth, and lane guidance. While there are a couple of performance issues, the Maestro 4370 provided accurate directions and is a good PND for those looking for a higher-end system. The Magellan Maestro 4370 is available now for $399.99.
Design
With a sleek lacquered black chassis and vibrant display, the Magellan Maestro 4370 is certainly an eye-catching device. The clean, streamlined design will make a nice addition to any car interior. It's also fairly compact at 4.6 inches wide by 3.2 inches high by 0.7 inch deep and weighs 7.3 ounces, and unlike many GPS devices, it comes with a protective case so you can pack for a trip without fear of scratching the screen or outer shell and then use it in a rental car.
The real attraction of the Maestro 4370 is the 4.3-inch touch screen. With a 480-by-800-pixel resolution, maps, text, and images look amazingly sharp and smooth. You can adjust the backlighting, but you don't get the option to choose from various map colors, aside from the standard, day, night, or automatic modes. The onscreen keyboard is fairly spacious and in QWERTY format, so we found entering addresses pretty easy. However, we found that the system is a bit sluggish so sometimes we had to retap icons and back out of menus, or the map screen often brought up a rotating clock or "Please wait" message.
The user interface has been slightly revamped since the Maestro 4200 series. Of course, the main difference is the new OneTouch menu. Basically, the feature lets you preselect your favorite businesses (restaurants, banks, gas stations, and so forth) and addresses and presents them on a single page where you can just tap on the appropriate icon to navigate to the destination from your current location. There's no need to go through several menus or manually enter addresses since they're all in one place. Unfortunately, unlike we originally thought, you can't assign OneTouch functions to multimedia or Bluetooth, though Magellan plans to add this capability to future OneTouch devices.
The OneTouch screen can be accessed by touching the tab in the upper right-hand corner of the screen; you can also hide it by tapping the tab again. The process of assigning OneTouch keys is easy if you're simply entering an address, but if you want to add a certain point of interest (POI) or save searches, it gets a bit more involved. For example, you have to go to the POI database, select a category or subcategory/specific business, save, and then select a OneTouch button. It's not particularly complicated but we recommend checking out the user's guide to get the hang of the process. Overall, we found the feature to be useful. Having all our favorite locations in an easily accessible pull-down menu was convenient and a quite a time-saver.
On the right side, you will find an FM antenna input, a mini USB port, and a SD/MMC card expansion slot for side loading multimedia. There's a power button on top, while the speaker is located on the back.
The Magellan Maestro 4370 comes packaged with a car charger, an AC adapter, a USB cable, a protective pouch, a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), and reference material. The car mount requires a bit of assembly, but it's really easy. More importantly, it did a good job of securely holding the unit in place during our test drives.
Features
In addition to the new OneTouch interface, the Magellan Maestro 4370 offers plenty of other navigation features. The GPS comes preloaded with maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico and 6 million points of interest. The trip planning process is like most other PNDs; you can enter a specific address, choose a previously entered destination, select a location from your address book or a POI, and more. Of course, you can also choose any favorite that you've saved on the OneTouch menu.
You can customize the way the system creates routes. From the Settings menu, you have the option to choose which road types you want to use on your journey (highways, toll roads, carpool, etc.) and whether you want calculations by fastest time, shortest distance, simplest route, or the most economical. Traffic can also be factored into route creation, since the included car charger has an integrated RDS/TMC receiver. The real-time traffic updates are supplied by Navteq Traffic and displays the color-coded road conditions on the map and lists any traffic incidents along your route. If you're already on the road and encounter traffic, the Maestro 4370 can provide an alternate route if you so choose via the SmartDetour Feature. With the purchase of the GPS, you get a three-month complimentary subscription to the traffic service; afterwards, you'll have to pay $39.99 per year. The Maestro 4370 offers routing options for the car, taxi, bus, emergency vehicle, bicycle, and for the first time, pedestrian mode.
Other navigation functions include automatic route recalculation, a detour function, and multidestination trips. The POI database contains all the major categories (accommodation, airport, gas stations, and restaurants) and more specialized interests, such as wineries and race tracks. You can search for restaurants by cuisine type, but in addition, Magellan includes separate listings for popular chain establishments like Dunkin' Donuts, Outback Steakhouse, and Jamba Juice.
While the Navigon 7200T offers Zagat ratings and reviews, the Maestro 4370 has AAA. In addition to the branded POI, the Maestro 4370 carries on the tradition of the Maestro 4250 and continues to offer 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. AAA members get a bit more benefit out of this feature since you can view listings for establishments that offer discounts to AAA members, and AAA-approved auto repair facilities. In addition, in case of an emergency, the unit will display the AAA member toll-free help number and your exact location, so you can give the operator all your information.
You can view maps in 2D or 3D mode, and you now get 3D building renderings, much like those on the HP iPaq 310 Travel Companion. You won't get 3D models for all buildings, but the feature is still helpful in getting your bearings in unfamiliar areas since it gives you a visual reference point. You can also turn this capability off if you don't want it. While you're driving, the map screen will show the current street, distance to, and street name of your next turn, estimated time of arrival, and more. In addition, the Maestro 4370 offers land guidance for highway driving, so the system will zoom in and overlay directional arrows on the street to show you which lane you should be in for your upcoming exit.
The system provides guidance by way of 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. There is a simulator mode, so you can get a running demo of your route before actually heading out the road. The Maestro 4370 offers automatic route recalculation, so it can get you back on track if you happen to get off course.
The Maestro 4370 has integrated Bluetooth, so you can pair your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or smartphone and use the GPS as a hands-free speaker system. For a list of compatible handsets, you can check Magellan's Web site. With it, you can place and accept calls, view your call history, search the device's address book, redial, and even receive and send text messages. You can also directly dial any number associated with a POI. Unfortunately, your phone's address book and call history list do not automatically synchronize with the PND.
Last but not least, the Magellan Maestro 4370 features a multimedia player and image viewer. The media player supports AAC, MP3, WMA, MPEG2, and MPEG4 music and video formats, and supports playlist creation, shuffle, and repeat mode. The system also has a built-in FM modulator so you can pipe the PND's voice guided instructions and other sounds through your car radio.
Performance
As we noted in the Design section, general performance on the Magellan Maestro 4370 could be a little sluggish. The delays occurred mostly when we were navigating through the menus or entering trip information, and fortunately didn't affect performance while providing real-time route guidance.
For our road tests, we took the GPS out on the streets of San Francisco, and from a cold start, it took about 5 minutes for the unit get a fix on our position, while subsequent starts were nearly instantaneous. The system did a good job of accurately tracking our movement as we drove throughout the city, and maintained its lock on satellites as we drove through the Financial District where tall buildings often prevent a clear view of the sky.
We planned two trips with the Maestro 4370. The first was from the Marina District to San Francisco International Airport and the second was from the Marina District to CNET's downtown headquarters. The PND was quick to create routes in both instances, and checking out the turn-by-turn maneuver list, we found that it provided accurate routes. If you have the Smart Zoom feature turned on in the Map Screen Settings, the GPS will automatically zoom in and out of maps depending on where you are at on your trip. For example, if the course requires that you travel on one road or interstate for a long period of time, it will provide more of an overview map but as you get closer to a turn or maneuver, the Maestro 4370 will zoom in on the specified section of the map.
The pronunciation of text-to-speech instructions was pretty good, though it had problems with longer street names. Also, we noticed that the voice prompts occasionally hiccupped mid-sentence. We also missed several turns along the way to test the route recalculation rate. While the audible notifications came a bit late, the Maestro 4370 was still able to get us back on track in a timely manner and with efficient routing.
We also paired the Maestro 4370 with the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310, and had no problems making or receiving calls. We also tried sending a text message from the GPS, but after we hit send, it got stuck on a "Sending SMS" message and after waiting for about 15 minutes, we gave up. And though we don't necessarily find multimedia capabilities on a GPS useful, music playback on the Maestro 4370 was quite good with full sound and a nice balance between treble and bass. Viewing pictures was also pleasant, thanks to the sharp screen. The unit has a rated battery life of 3 hours.
User reviews
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Sometimes DUMB Sometimes SMART Unit
by Faisal_Salam on January 26, 2009
Pros: Easy to navigate, Good response time, Fast Sattalite connection
Cons: Sound Quality, Blue Tooth hang-up,
Summary: I tested it with latest Firmware upgrade version v8.3.2.64084
The first and major thing that I want everyone to know is the way this Unit tries to ...Summary: I tested it with latest Firmware upgrade version v8.3.2.64084
The first and major thing that I want everyone to know is the way this Unit tries to be over smart.
Here is the example
On any highway, if there is an exit lane that will merge again with the highway, this unit always asks me to take that exit and then after like 1000 ft on exit lane, asks me to merge again on the same highway.
Example: I am going on Highway I-66 East and I have three exits to pass before I get to my exit.
So let?s say these three exits are 12, 13 and 14 (all exits are on the right side). So my exit should be 15. Exit 14 has two exit lanes and left lane of the exit further merges again with I-66 East
This unit always asks me to take exit 14 then tells me to stay in the left lane of the exit lanes, since left lane of the exit lanes merges back on I-66, so it asks me again to merge back on I-66.
It does that on any exit that falls in my Route and has exit lane that merges with the highway again.
I tried it on I-66, I- 495, I-95 and I-695 in Baltimore & Washington DC Area, behavior is 100% identical.
There are 4 exits on my entire route that have exit lanes merging back to the highways and it asks me on all four exits to take exit and then once I take exit, asks me again to merge back on the highway.
I talked to Magellan about it and they say,? that?s how our engineers designed the routing process?.
Unit considers that there is always Traffic Jam on the highway and you should get in the exit lane to bypass all those cars and then merge back on it again. Extremely STUPID thought process whoever put it together.
Pretty smart haan ?..? That?s what I refer as ?Sometimes DUMB Sometimes SMART Unit?
It?s extremely annoying and a major issue for me.
Another thing I noticed is that if you have your phone paired with it and place a call from the unit, while the call is in progress (bell ringing on the other side), you hang up the phone from your Cell phone instead of the unit, It will hang the entire unit and you have to then reset it (at least that?s what my experience is).
3rd issue that I noticed was, I copied few songs on SD card just to test how the MP3 player works, so I inserted the card, it would read the card but would not display the songs I has on it. I am an IT person and I knew dam well what I was doing, it just wouldn?t show the songs list. And after two days, wallah, there they were. It just started showing all of them. Since then it just works fine on the player side.
4th issue I noticed was sound quality ? this is funny.
Before the Firmware upgrade, if I keep the unit?s sounds level to HIGH, its sound quality was terrible from the unit, but was fine if I stream the sound through FM transmitter to my Car Radio.
After the Firmware upgrade, if I keep the unit?s sounds level to HIGH, its sound quality is terrible if I stream the sound through FM transmitter to my Radio, but sounds OK on the unit itself (exactly the opposite situation before firmware upgrade).
I still need to test the Traffic feed since I have a month free subscription and will post the update.
I am pretty satisfied with the rest of the options this unit has to offer. I would ve given it all 5 stars if it did nt have this stupid navigation flaw of exiting and merging drama of freeways
Faisal5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great GPS - More features then competition
by Ozzie on January 23, 2009
Pros: This unit has features typically found in much more expensive units such as bluetooth, says street names (TTS), FM Modulator built in, Traffic module built in, SD slot and audio/video player.
Cons: None so far and regarding the review which claims the database does not include DeLand they are wrong. You have to spell it De Land, leaving a space in the middle (the City name is spelled DeLand, which would indicate a space).
Summary: I am moved from a $3,000 in-dash audio/video GPS with a 7" screen to this model and am not at all disappointed. My new auto did not have ...
Summary: I am moved from a $3,000 in-dash audio/video GPS with a 7" screen to this model and am not at all disappointed. My new auto did not have a GPS I liked (very small - a foreign convertible) so I researched GPS units, which I did last year when I purchased a Garmin 265W for my wife, and for the price this Magellan has features found only on much more expensive devices. Some others might have one or two of the features but not all of the features that this Magellen has for the price. Also Magellan has long been known to have one of the greatest map databases going which is why one of the big rental companies chose a pricy Magellan to put in it's fleet.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Fantastic gadget
by rupertoooo on December 24, 2008
Pros: HOLY COW this thing rocks. This is my first GPS and I can not believe there are negative comments about this device. Aesthetically this device is the best on the market, fantastic mapping system additional info under bottom line.
Cons: I have not found any yet although I have not mastered every detail so I cannot give it a perfect score.
Summary: I went into Best Buy just to browse and purchased this on any impulse buy, why because it looked cool and I love gadgets. Boy am I impressed with this ...
Summary: I went into Best Buy just to browse and purchased this on any impulse buy, why because it looked cool and I love gadgets. Boy am I impressed with this device it does more than I could have imagined. My favorite part is typing a destination, for example Starbucks, it will give all locations available, click on a particular one and bam a route is given. Another cool function is the traffic routing. Live traffic is taken into account during all trips set. Lets say a bad accident has just happened this unit will take that into consideration during your travel and will reroute your trip on the fly to avoid any major delays, no that is cool. I highly recommend this device for anyone looking to purchase a GPS.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Had a 4250 the 4370 has a much better touuh screen.
by robert_1946 on November 28, 2008
Pros: able to put camara SD card in and see our photos, can zoom in and out the map feature so you can have a arial vew or ground level. The 4370 seems to be more accurate than the 4250 it also seems to show more features like airports, parks, ect.
Cons: I miss the Ding-Dong at where to turn, also the 4370 dose not tell you what side of the road your destination is on like the 4250 did. I know these may seem petty but I got use to them and miss them.
Summary: The 4370 touch screen works much better than the 4250 did I also don't miss the voice command feature of the 4250 as it seldon worked well. I due ...
Summary: The 4370 touch screen works much better than the 4250 did I also don't miss the voice command feature of the 4250 as it seldon worked well. I due miss the splitt screen in the night mode of the 4250 where the left half showed which way to turn with a very large arrow, very easy to see at night. The zoom feature of the 4370 is nice in the arial mode as it shows your route miles ahead.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I still wouldn't trust Magellan for several reasons
by bmallek on December 9, 2008
Pros: When it works, it works OK
Cons: When it doesn't as I will explain briefly below it leaves you hanging.
Summary: I bought the 4250 about 4 months ago (see my review of the 4250 on CNET). Even with the latest firmware updates and upgraded 2009 map (the same one that'...
Summary: I bought the 4250 about 4 months ago (see my review of the 4250 on CNET). Even with the latest firmware updates and upgraded 2009 map (the same one that's in the 4370) I have been taken up and down interstates directed to exit just to enter back in the same direction. Also, the "saved" settings, brightness, etc. don't save after turning the unit off. More times than not it will direct you in a particular direction just to tell you as your approching an intersection that it's "recalculating." Then, it doesn't make up it's mind quickly at all leaving you with an empty feeling that you may not be going the right way. Customer service from Magellan is virtually non existent (read other Magellan reviews by other people). I wouldn't and personally don't trust Magellan products.
Magellan has been sold to another Company (see article in Cnet) I guess I can look forward to even less customer service and no updates at all. DON'T BUY MAGELLAN!!
Updated on Dec 17, 2008
Updated on Mar 16, 2009I have a Magellan and since Magellan has been sold there have been no firmware or other types of updates. BUYER BEWARE!!5 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great features, needs more tweaking
by sincityagent on July 1, 2009
Pros: Great price $149 when I purchased on sale at bestbuy. Loaded with features I'm looking for. MP3, FM transmitter, lane assist, speed limit warning, text to speech and bluetooth.
Cons: FM transmitter is weak. No audio out jack. Don't tell you which side is your destination. Short battery life. MP3 playback pauses. Unit seems to get hot. The mount works but have to plug in 2 wires to connect.
Summary: Great price and loaded with features. However, the FM transmitter is weak and when you have a good signal the audio quality is bad. No audio jack so I can'...
Summary: Great price and loaded with features. However, the FM transmitter is weak and when you have a good signal the audio quality is bad. No audio jack so I can't get good sound during MP3 playback on long trips. MP3 playback also pauses. Annoying when singing along. Battery life is bad, so you have to constantly have the unit plugged in. It's a problem when you want to use it when walking, biking or just listening to audio. I love the lane assist especially on CA freeways. Although lane assist doesn't work on some areas. Building pictures on the screen was nice, but I was hoping that you can get more info. Bluetooth when use by the car audio is horrible.
I forgot to mention that it includes Filipino restaurant search. This was great! I found some listings in San Diego area. We found Chings hopia, that was great! AAA searches was useful also.
I think if they address these issues, this would be an awesome GPS. I been using Garmin 350 and this is a big upgrade from that. I will be using the Magellan from now on. Garmin with similar features was too expensive so this is a great buy. I just hope they sell better accessories like the Garmin's dash mount. I hate the hassle of the windshield mount. First it's not legal in CA, plus it attracts thieves.
As a real estate agent and traveler, this has the features I needed. Just PLEASE update the firmware to address these annoyances.
Updated on Jul 1, 20092 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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good, but definitely lacking in some key areas
by MCaitlin7 on December 28, 2008
Pros: display is crisp and clear, AAA points of interest, portability, very easy to understand how to program and use
Cons: no chime indicating need to turn, does not tell you if your destination is on the left or right, very sluggish in finding signal and recalculating and screen is super slow to accept commands (you have to push several times in many cases)
Summary: I love my old Magellan Maestro but it was getting old so I decided to upgrade. I travel for work and use my unit a LOT. I love how easy ...
Summary: I love my old Magellan Maestro but it was getting old so I decided to upgrade. I travel for work and use my unit a LOT. I love how easy these GPS's are to use and have found them much more favorable to comparable Garmin's. I will, however, be taking the 4370 back to Best Buy because of the cons I listed. The little chime that indicates it is time to turn has been a very helpful feature with my old unit because you can't always judge 400 feet or a 1/4 of a mile and definitely can't always see street signs so hearing the "ding" telling you to turn makes all the difference in the world, especially in the city and looking at the screen is sometimes just not an option. My old unit also always tells me that my destination is on the right or left so I know where to look when I am approaching and the 4370 does not do this and that is very frustrating. Knowing this little bit of information is handy for choosing lanes what turn signal to put on etc. You're kind of in the dark without this. I have also noticed how sluggish the reaction time is on the screen. I need to be able to change things on the spot and quickly so having to push the buttons repetitively is annoying. I may just be spoiled with my old Magellan (not a fancy model either), but I was really excited about this shiny new model and have been very disppointed to be missing such crucial features, however small they may be. They are my deciding factors so back it goes.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nice looking device with problems
by gog061 on January 19, 2009
Pros: Screen and graphics
Cons: Sluggish from time to time. Bluetooth not compatible with Palm Treo 750. FM transmitter too weak. Not good navigation. Choppy comands and names of the street.
Summary: I have this Magellan 4370 for a month, and I am not happy. Sometimes navigation is weird (erratic), and not accurate. It can be sluggish from time to time. Choppy ...
Summary: I have this Magellan 4370 for a month, and I am not happy. Sometimes navigation is weird (erratic), and not accurate. It can be sluggish from time to time. Choppy commands, and names of the street. Bluetooth is not compatible with Palm Treo 750. FM transmitter is too weak.
Graphics is excellent, and very readable. No problem to read names of the streets. Screen 800 x 480 is excellent idea, and with good choice of colors and fonts we can have very readable and pleasent user interface. I love user interface and I will not return Magellan 4370. Otherwise...2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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satisfied with all the features and just what i needed
by ilprofi on November 29, 2008
Pros: very slick and modern it has all the features that i needed a great device to operate easy to manage it covers basically everything lost of points of interest and great touch screen very clear, lots of features pictures, music and videos and bluetoot
Cons: what i didnt like is that sometimes when i come to a stop or park the navigation icon that tells u where u going its backwards or is not acccurate meaning that if am park south it tells me am north i dont know why but thats all for a con
Summary: slick, cool, enought for the ride and does the work what is basically the most inportant thing it will take u to where u need to.
Summary: slick, cool, enought for the ride and does the work what is basically the most inportant thing it will take u to where u need to.
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Do not buy this
by gmnaik on July 22, 2009
Pros: Used it for 1 week, not sure because I am 1st time GPS user
Cons: it failed within a week.
Summary: not charging battery, it shuts off even it's plugged into your vehicle, slow screen navigation.. etc etc
Called magellan tech support for service, they said this unit has to ...Summary: not charging battery, it shuts off even it's plugged into your vehicle, slow screen navigation.. etc etc
Called magellan tech support for service, they said this unit has to be replaced, but this 4370 model has been discontinued(no reason given) and they can only replace my unit with 4350(downgrade) and they didn;t give me any other choice. Luckily bestbuy where I purchased this unit, took my unit back, gave me full credit back.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Magellan Corp.
- Part number: 980-0167-001
- Bottom Line: Despite a couple of minor performance issues, the Magellan Maestro 4370 offers convenience through its new OneTouch interface and also delivers with features and accurate directions.
General
- Width 4.7 in
- Depth 0.7 in
- Height 3.3 in
- Weight 0.5 lbs
GPS System
- Recommended Use Automotive
- SBAS WAAS, EGNOS
- Connectivity USB, Bluetooth-enabled
- GPS Functions / Services One touch menu, Lane guidance, AAA Roadside assistance, QuickSpell, Pedestrian mode, SmartDetour, Live traffic
- Voice Audible signal(s)
- Antenna Built-in
Miscellaneous
- GPS design features MP3 player, Touch screen
- Included GPS accessories AC adapter, Vehicle power adapter with FM traffic antenna, USB data cable, Adhesive disc, Windshield mount, Basic cradle, Protective pouch
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
