Owner Ratings and Reviews of
The Maestro 3250 Portable Navigation GPS

The Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS is loaded with a lot of very desirable portable GPS auto navigation features. It comes with preloaded maps of North America plus Puerto Rico which may be viewed in 2D or 3D. With the included "TrueView" feature you are able to view a split screen to give you a detailed picture of the approaching turn.

A big addition with this GPS Magellan system is "Voice Command". This allows you to communicate with the Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS via voice and access some of its on board features. To activate the voice command feature you simply say "Magellan" and voice command will "wake up" and you're ready to start. Your requests are limited to the following:
* "Go Home"
* "Nearest Coffee"
* "Nearest Restaurant"
* "Nearest Gas"
* "Nearest ATM"
* "Roadside Assistance"
* "Where am I?"

Unfortunately you cannot enter an address verbally. With "SayWhere", commonly known as text to speech on most GPS portable devices, the Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS will tell you when to turn, what direction to turn and the name of the street you are turning on.

The Magellan 3250 portable navigation GPS sports a 3.5" bright screen and is on only .7" thick, making it easy to stick in your pocket or purse to take it with you. Entering routes has been made easier with the addition of "QuickSpell", a feature that will anticipate your entry and even correct your spelling. You can also access any of the 6 million Points of Interest and touch the on-screen icon to automatically create a route to that location.

Other routing features include: "SmartDetour": a customizable feature that will automatically kick in when it senses you are stalled in traffic and reroute you around the hold up.
"Auto Reroute": which will get you back on course should you miss a turn or take a wrong turn.
"Custom Routing": allows you to customize your route by specifying to use or not use freeways, avoid tolls, most economical route, fastest route, shortest route and more.

A 3 month trial subscription to traffic is included with the unit. This service will alert you to any incidents, construction or other hold ups along your route. When the trial period is over, you will be required to subscribe to the service if you wish it to continue. As coverage varies, you may want to check the areas served prior to subscribing. The following link is for The Traffic Network: Total Traffic Network coverage

Hands free calling is possible with the use of the built-in Bluetooth feature. This will only work with compatible phones. Check the following link to make sure your phone is included: Bluetooth compatible phones.

Besides the 6 million Points of Interest, Magellan has included "AAA TourBook" which will give you enhanced information on restaurants, hotels, attractions and more. It should be noted however, that you must be a AAA member to take advantage of the AAA discounts and roadside service.

An "Address Book" is included allowing you to add your own points of interest. A SD slot is included with your Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS, but you must purchase the SD card separately. With the SD card you could back up your address book data.

Magellan GPS Review: No matter what a professional reviewer has to say, there is nothing like hearing the facts from an actual owner, who purchased the Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS with their own money and have used it in their everyday life. Below are some of those reviews.

User Reviews for the Magellan Maestro 3250

Amazon:

Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS

By A. Potts "not quite gellan", February 17, 2009

I purchased the Magellan Maestro 3250 after having tried a couple of other Magellan models. I was sadly disappointed with the 3250 after finding out that the maps were extremely outdated. To make the situation worse, no updates have been made available for this product. I would gladly pay the $80 to update my GPS if it were available. Additionally, the routing information of the 3250 leaves a little to be desired. On more than one occasion I have been routed off the interstate only to be routed back onto the interstate. The system is extremely slow in re-routing one back on course as well. Often time the shortest and fastest route known is not used. The 3250 loves to take very big circle to get one back on track when often times there is a straight line route that could be used. The points of interest feature is way outdated. Once again that could be corrected with an update.

Some positives to the system are the fact that the voice guidance system is very audible. The screen is bright and easy to read. The system is easy to use and install.

By Mathew Sturgill, January 8, 2009

Magellan Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS Great Product at Great Price!

I will begin with stating that I purchased this brand new from one of Amazons vendors and it was a great deal at $149.99 brand new. I received the GPS in 4 days with no shipping charges. Additionally I am receiving a free map upgrade to 2008/09 because the item is new. You should be able to take advantage of all of this by purchasing this items (don't go refurbished, no free updates).

Overall I would highly recommend this unit for anyone who wants a good unit with a ton of features for a low price. Garmin is great, but so is Magellan and they pack more of a punch with features for a lower cost.

By Ron in San Diego, December 17, 2008

A very good unit and I am very pleased with the 3250. Yes, you have to hold the button for a count of two seconds, let go, and it turns on a second later,,, but deal. And yes, to turn it off, you have to hold the button for about three to four seconds before it does turn off,, again,, big deal. It gets me to where I am going, alerts me to traffic problems, and does all it is said to do. As for their Customer Support, it is absolutely Awesome. I have used them a number of times for little things and questions and they are polite, patient, and have always,, note I said "Always",, resolved whatever reason I called them to my satisfaction. I can't ask for more. (I think the change from India to the Philippines is most likely what has turned their customer service around. Also, probably Magellan's responding to all of the past complaints. Magellan is a good company, and I recommend it to all who wish my opinion.

Best Buy:

Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS

By Ken28, 12/26/2008

What's great about it: Easy to use.
What's not so great: The voice command.

I have had this GPS since father day and it is awesome. I have never had one before and this is my first, but I love it. I don't see how I ever lived with one before hand. I don't use the voice command much because it don't understand you or can hear you. I am sure that is because each person speaks different then the computer knows. Other then that the machine has made funny noise just twice and I had to turn it off and back on. After that it seem fine, I don't know if it pick up FM radio or a airplane, but its always seem fine and gets me where I need to go. I also work in a lot of new areas that are not on the map so it looks like I am drive in the field, but you can save it for that spot in your address book and it will take you back there each time. It is a great machine that I bought one for my father and father in law.

By LoriW123, 11/13/2008

What's great about it: Easy to read screen
What's not so great: Gave Wrong Directions, Frozen Screen

Do not purchase this product. It was bought for me as a Christmas gift in 2007. It started to give me problems right away. I took it on a road trip in January 2008 and it gave me wrong directions not once but twice.

In August the screen started to freeze so I put it in my closet and decided to take it on a trip with me to Virginia as I thought it was just a fluke it did not work in August. In Virginia the screen was completely frozen and would not work at all. I called tech support and I was on the phone with them for 45 minutes and they were unable to fix the problem.

By MarkMark, 07/25/2008

What's great about it: voice activation, quick location updating
What's not so great: map a little outdated, voice recognition slow sometimes

This GPS has everything I wanted, while not compromising on product quality or overall satisfaction. After careful research on other products out there, I found the Magellan 3250 to have the most features for the least price. While some may think the 3.5" screen is too small, it is great to look at while not taking up huge amounts of space on your dashboard/window. This system utilizes speech recognition as well as manual input to decide where you want to go, and then it gets you there quickly! It even gives you a pretty good ETA to your destination. I did not like that sometimes the system won't respond unless the car was quiet, but that is a minor flaw. This is a great GPS!

Magellan Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS

Owner Ratings:

Amazon:

119 Reviews
5 star = (49)
4 star = (36)
3 star = (14)
2 star = (9)
1 star = (11)

Best Buy: 22 reviews: 4.2 out of a possible 5

WalMart:

Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS

5 Reviews
5 star = (2)
4 star = (2)
3 star = (0)
2 star = (1)
1 star = (0)

Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS

Specifications

Introduced: October 2007
Unit dimensions: 3.65" W x 3.25" H x 0.7" D
Display size: 3.5" diag
Display resolution: 320 x 240
Display type: QVGA full-color, anti-glare, touch-screen
Weight: 4.94 ounces
Memory available for map storage: 2GB (internal) - Unlimited (SD card)
Antenna type: Integrated multidirectional patch
Battery: Li-ion rechargeable 1100ma
Battery life: Up to 3 hours

What's in the Box:

Magellan Maestro 3250 portable navigation GPS receiver
Pre-Loaded Maps for 50 United States, Puerto Rico and Canada
Windshield mount
Adhesive disc for dash mounting
Basic cradle
Cigarette lighter power adapter (12-24 volts)
USB data cable
Quick reference guide and CD

Note: The state of Minnesota prohibits the installation of portable GPS units on the windshield of your vehicle.

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