russ

Ok I hate this company and am inclined to trash talk it if I can, so Im going to do my own review of a model they sent me to replace a the Roadmate 3050T. Be aware my original purchase price of the broken one is 200 dollars MORE than what they sent me, cheating me out of 200 bucks as I see it.. So I bring to the public a bias against Magellan but will review what I think of the Maestro 3210. Just hope it doesnt break down and you have to call Tech Support.

LOOKS AND FEEL:

This 3210 is very thin and light. It appears they spent their money on shrinking the size of their product over the concerns of its customers seeking Tech Support. Ok thats the last Ill bash "SUPPORT". Oh wait, THEY SUCK! Ha ha. But I do like its weight. The previous models were heavy and bounced enough to fall off your window mount. This one wont. The clip device is easy to operate and you can remove the unit quickly from the clip. Graphics are crisp and bright.


SIGNALS:

Start up is very fast and getting a signal and holding it is top notch. I keep the GPS out of site by the floor boards and it holds the signal just fine without the need for a external antenna. A big improvement.

THE BAD STUFF:

The screen is a bit small. All functions are touch screen and errors will occur when average size fingers try to touch small letters on its screen. I use a pen cap. A light touch is all that is required.

Their is a 7 second delay when asking the unit to CALCULATE a route or call up the PREVIOUS CITY window. Seems slow.

You should hear the VOICE prompt on this model. For one thing the voice is terrible and distorts at maximum. But the voice is not pleasant and if you miss a turn, there is a hint of anger as it says "Calculating Route"!!! This is very funny. Your voice babe is a crab with a annoying voice who scolds you all day. I feel right at home, ahhh thanks. How tough would it be to give customers a choice of voices? Some models do, but not his one.

Being in the courier business I have discovered that the unit is frequently off by a house or two. One time it missed a freeway ramp entrance completely and would have turned me into a curb. This entrance has been around for many years. Probably the map companys fault so Ill be easy on Magellan. Just be aware that the driver still needs to pay close attention when using these devices. Thanks, dad has spoken.

The unit has a SD card slot but I do not see ANY place on their web site to buy anything for this model! Not even a mount. How can this be? I dont see a computer cord to download updated maps and Im left with the impression that in a year this model will be out of date and no updates can be installed? To be fair I might be wrong and hope I am. It comes with a CD to install Points of Interest yet no computer cord to transfer data between your computer and the device. Im confused.

The PREVIOUS CITY function has always bugged me. Storage is only 10 cities and in Minneapolis/st paul there are many zipcodes just in the city limits. The unit finds the right zipcode and records it in storage. So I have 5 PREVIOUS CITYs as Minneapolis. Why not one to cover all zipcodes?Then there are the dozens of surrounding suburbs. I pray for the day when I can type ONCE all the surrounding suburbs, type Minneapolis once and return again and again to the screen without ever having to retype everything. God who designs these things. Smart yes, wise... I dont think so.

Some models allow you to adjust the colors and back ground so you dont get bored looking at the same graphics all the time. This model does not have this available.

Over-all, this unit is fine for grandma getting to her doctors office, as for daily use and function in the transportation world, Magellan falls short.