Customer Rating:  
Summary: Great gift for a turned-around mom.
Comment: I bought this for my mother for Christmas and she absolutely loves it. She has a terrible sense of direction and this was perfect for her.
She picked it up and was using it fairly quickly and my mom is about as technically un-savvy as it gets. She also has a habit of missing turns even when she knows where to turn, so the "ding" when you've reached your corner is fantastic.
I can't review it much more than that but if it pleases my mom, it can't be bad.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great options but not always a fast enough link
Comment: This is the first GPS unit I have ever owned, and for the most part, I love it. It's easy to enter in new addresses, save addresses for future reference, recall saved addresses, etc. One of the first things I did was go into preferences and change a few things, like the POI filter (I change this often depending on if I'm just trying to find a shorter way to get to point A or if I'm going out of town, etc.). There are A LOT of POIs to choose from. Another thing you may want to change is the volume of the speaker. I tend to listen to loud music so I have mine on the loudest, which people on my cell complain about, but it's not like there's a volume control on the outside of the unit that I can just turn down if I get a call.
I have a Bluetooth but hardly ever use it so that is one feature I can not speak on.
I like that the colors adjust automatically for night driving since I don't want any cops thinking I have a small TV in the front seat, which is illegal in CT.
Originally I bought the thing that allows you to set up the GPS on the top of your dashboard, but I found it left a mark after a couple days, so I ended up just attaching it to my windshield. It can be tricky to find a spot that is in sight, easily accessible, but doesn't block your view at all. I own a Honda Accord and I ended up putting it as high as I can and as far to the left as I can. Although this may sound gross, I find the unit tends to stick better to the glass if you lick the suction cup before attaching it (you want just a fine film, you don't want a whole lot of spit all over it or it will just slide down the glass or fall off). The unit is a little heavy so just try not to get in an accident if it falls down mid-trip. This has happened to me several times, which may be affected by the recent drop in temperature, but it can be rather startling, as well as painful if it falls on your hand. If you're able to put it on your dashboard without it leaving a spot after a few days I highly recommend it, because of the risk of it falling while you're driving.
One of the main reasons I did not give it a 5-star rating is because I sometimes get lost or miss turns and have to backtrack. I live in a city where several major routes intersect so I can see why trying to direct someone through it can be confusing, but sometimes it doesn't tell you about an upcoming exit till it's too late for you to get over 3-4 lanes, which I think may partially be due to the unit not registering right away when you've taken an exit (from the intersection of 91 and 84 to my exit off 84 is only about half a mile, and half of that is driving through a tunnel, obviously blocking the satellite). Under normal circumstances it tells you 2 miles ahead and reminds you again a couple times, and then beeps when you get to the actual turn or exit, but again, in the middle of a city on a toll-free highway (Route 84), the exits come up fast and in CT the ramps are very short, for getting on and off the highways.
So if you know you are going to be going into/through a city I HIGHLY recommend writing down exit numbers ahead of time and also if the exits are on the left or right of the highway. You can get this information easily by clicking on the bottom left of the screen where there's usually an arrow showing your next move. When you click on it you can scroll through your entire trip ahead of you (you can't go back as far as I know, it's just from the point where you are when you check going forward).
Another warning is that it sometimes takes upwards of 3 minutes for my unit to get its bearings. This could be because I live in a city and the tall buildings may block the line to the satellite, but who knows? I usually try to enter the address and click on how I want to get there (there are several options, which is a definite plus. Some of the options are "fastest time," "avoid highways" and "shortest distance.") before I have to start driving but I am one of those people who often runs late, so sometimes I have to input the information while I am driving (which I do NOT recommend) and, like I said, sometimes it takes a couple minutes to find where I am.
Another plus with this unit is it charges with a mini USB plug and a converter is included so if I need to charge it fast (and I do this at work all the time since I have the ports right on the front of the PC tower), I just plug the unit directly into my PC tower or the side of my laptop at home. A screen will come on saying something about the USB port being active, but I usually then hold down the power button until the unit goes off again. Turning it off after it automatically turns itself onto the charging screen seems to double the charge rate. I should also note that when you use the wall charger or the adapter I just mentioned, you can NOT access maps, directions, addresses... anything. But if you're in the car and have it charging through the car charger, THEN you can access everything and navigate while it charges.
I know this has been one of the least technical reviews you've probably read, but I am not the most technical person, at least when it comes to things like this. If you have questions for me please reply to my post and hopefully I can get back to you within a reasonable amount of time. Thank you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Customer Service
Comment: Magellan Maestro 3250 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent product, but beware of the indirect pricing
Comment: First of all, I didnt purchase this from amazon.
Product is excellent, it does all it says. I have only good comments about the product. But I guess many people would have already commented about that and I dont have time now to get into the same. Will update when I have time.
Here is my problem.
The maps will be atleast 2 versions outdated. The map version on mine was 29 and the latest was version 31. As per magellan cust service, the maps gets released once in 12 to 18 months. Which means the map I recieved in my unit was atleast 2 to 3 years old. Similar was the case with the Firmware. The version on the unit I recieved was 2.* , but the latest version on Garmin website is 4.6. Luckily you can download the firmware and update it free of cost. But thats not the case with MAPS ! Shipping me a product outdated by 2 years and asking me to pay for the shipping. Not a company that I would deal again!!! And the price for shipping ! If you purchased a new unit, they will ask you to pay $10 to ship a CD in 7-10 business days ! $10 for a 7-10 business days shipping ?
If you read reviews for the refurb unit, they will ask for the whole $80 for the map update in a refurb unit. What is the meaning of "factory certified" , "restored to manfacturers standard", "refurbished", if it doesnt even have an updated map !!!
The company has the worst customer Support policies. I blasted the cust support guy when he asked me to pay for shipping. He did not have justification for my argments. He just took it without arguing with me. So I would say the Cust Support is good, but not the policies.
If you buy a Garmin, you'll see the updated map on that unit. No need for cust support calls and the hassles. But Magellan, you'll get the outdated map for sure and they will ask you to pay for it, or atleast to pay for the shipping.
In short, I still have the unit and I like it. But asking me to pay to fix an issue which is due to a defective manufacturing process... Not Good.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great device for the price$
Comment: The device is amazing ....everything I need is there ...co complain...
3 minor features that I would like to see in the device:
1-current street address as you move 3324 ..3326 ..3329 like that...
because it is not very accurate...sometimes says you arrived 2-3 houses before yours...
2-bigger screen would be great because I use it a lot...but this one is still good enough if you will use your GPS maybe once a week or so...
3- more accents ...
In general the device is almost perfect...I love it....
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