Reviews for Magellan Maestro 3100 Automobile Navigator

Good product for a great price

Strengths: Can't beat the price, does just what it says it can do, nothing extra.

Weakness: Small screen, takes a while to load directions.

I bought this in November 2007 for $130 - what a great price!! You can't beat it for the price, but if you're looking for snazzy features or bells and whistles, go with the 4120 model or a Garmin. The voice quality is just fine and the contrast on the screen (while small) is all I need.

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It's a keeper

Strengths: Works right out of the box, clear, bright display, main functions are really easy to use, detours and re-planning functions are solid, includes all needed accessories.

Weakness: Upcoming turn alert is not as obvious as it should be, only a quick-start card provided - manual is on a CD. Also, this is just a GPS - no other functions, and no traffic alert option.

Worked right out of the box without needing to consult a user manual, and had mounting hardware, car power cord, and a USB cable (for getting updates). Smart address entry software makes destination entry a snap. Address book for frequently used addressees, and a "home" address for even faster destination entry. Plenty of volume for the navigation directions. Typically takes 30-45 seconds to get the current location after power-up. The map of my area is very detailed, even showing freeway entry ramps in detail. Overall, this is a very good basic unit with points of interest and most basic features. Bluetooth and mp-3 playback are not included.

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Magellan Maestro 3100 Great Buy

Strengths: This Is my first GPS. I have seen and used more expensive models. For me this unit is perfect. Easy to use right of the box.

Weakness: None in my opinion

I read alot of reviews on the Magellan Maestro 3100 and that's what convinced me to buy this unit. Does not have all the fancy gadgets like the higher priced units, but I don't need mp3 player or a back up camera on my GPS, so for me this is a great buy at 200.00.

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Nice GPS unit

Strengths: Easy to install, cost effective.

Weakness: Sometimes slow.

I got this for my wife and it was installed within 10 mins. The screen display is big and voice is pretty loud to hear. Correct brightness for sunlight and evenings. The cost was very reasonable for the unit. The only flaw I thought was sometimes its slow in responding..Maybe cos it has Windows CE in it and needs an update. Otherwise I am happy.

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Magellan3100-Not for trucks only cars

Strengths: Great 1st GPS system, affordable, but only for people who are going to use it in a car. Truckers stay away,unless off-course you have a 2nd system to fall back on like Nextel's Telenav 3.8

Weakness: Calls out lots of "Turn Left" when diagram shows turn right.Then fixes itself at the last moment (.50 miles to turn).

Just got this Magellan 3100. I am an O.T.R truck driver. This is not for truckers. Only cars. Can't even update the maps on it. Tried all tonight before writting this. In Beavercreek OH unit says there is no S.Orchard Lane. S.Orchard exists(been there). If you are a trucker (18wheels/semis/13'6clearances, this is not the unit to bank your life on. Although it boggles my mind why all the truckstops sell it. It works ok as long as you specify "Most Use Freeways" excepting it keeps trying to route you on US27/Ex151 in Indianna on I70, thats been closed for the past year,use it in a truck at your own risk/general guidance only and as long as you have a 2nd unit to fall back on like Nextel's Tele-nav 3.8 that is very accurate,excepting being a Nextel, looses signal in rural areas and is then useless,hence I bought the magellan.
NOTE: Below I have rated it a (2) That's for trucks. For cars it is very good for the price, a few glitches,but still excellent. Truckers stay away/go with PC Miler or Copilot for trucks.

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A cheap yet decent entry level GPS

Strengths: Nice interface; Affordable; Good map;

Weakness: NO AC adapter; NO TTS/bluetooth; Too few POIs;

Good:
Nice interface, very easy to use,works right out of the box, minimal setup. very friendly & intuitive user interface; Price, as low as $200 if you look around, a great bargain; Decent maps/updated NAVTEQ mapping data (I think as of April 2007); fast re-routing/detour calculations; Fast satellite acquisition even indoors; Nice features like Current location finder; Decent size for portability; So far no crashes or freezes; SD expansion card slot.

Bad:
No AC adapter included in the box, need to charge in car; No provision for Map updates in future; No text to speech/Bluetooth (No other GPS at this price range has these features anyway); Uses Windows CE, no wonder it is sluggish (but once route is prepared it is quick to reroute or detour calculations); Terrible battery life; Only 750K POIs.

If you can afford to spend a little bit more bucks, I suggest to get 3140.

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Great Starter GPS Unit at Great Price!

Strengths: SiRF starIII chipset NAVTEQ maps Very fast route calculation Rechargeable battery Made by Magellan

Weakness: Only 750 thousand points of interest

This device offers solid basic features for someone who's looking for basic automobile GPS. For the money I'm very satisfied. Locks on to satellites easily and recaculated routes are decent and put me back on track .

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Inexpensive GPS

Strengths: Multiple routing methods (fastest or shortest distance); Auto detour; Reasonable price; Map datas are accurate

Weakness: Cannot reroute while vechicle is moving; Sometimes it freezes for no reason

This model of GPS is the entry level of Magellan product lines. All of their products in Maestro brand are using the latest map data. The one I have is using April 2007 map. Comparing to other products at similar price level, their map is very accurate. Other than the map, all other functions are pretty much the same and standard. If you are looking for a cheap GPS, this one is not a bad choice.

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Good Starter Unit

Strengths: Entry level price is good for the feature sets.

Weakness: Software is slower then Garmin products.

Great starter unit for someone with limited GPS usage. For heavy users, I would definitely recommend Garmin products, IMHO they are more refined. The voice is audible and visuals are very good for the price of the unit.

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How'd I live all these years without this thing!

Strengths: Ready to use out of the box; intuitive controls; easy to read color display even in bright sun; dead on accurate positioning; great price.

Weakness: Short battery life (3 hours); doesn't come with an AC charger; factory windshield mount is OK but not flexible enough for my car (Jeep Grand Cherokee).

Bought this unit for an upcoming cross country adventure, with many side trips off the main highways. This is a basic routing unit for road trips, with a trip planner but no extra features - exactly what I was looking for. Decided to try it out on the local roads around home. What a kick! I'm learning new, more efficient routes to familiar destinations and easily routing around backups on the highways. This is one of those techie gadgets that you don't really need, but it's nice to have. My original plan was to sell it after my trip, but think I'll keep it.

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So far I am happy with this product

Strengths: Very accurate on pinpoint your position. Maps are well updated. Routing and rerourting work like a charm.

Weakness: Screen is a bit of small. Rerouting sometimes takes a long time.

I have had this product for about a month and decided to write some review on it. The mounting is stable on the windshield. The screening is large enough for me to view while driving, however, a little bit larger will be better(guess need to spend more money.) Overall it is a decent product. I am happy with my purchase.

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Great no frills GPS system

Strengths: -Very accurate(most of the time)-Recalculates route-Clear speech-4 options on calculating a route-Smooth on 2D display-Very affordable-Update adds Hawaii and Puerto Rico maps and POIs

Weakness: -Cannot expand on regions (ex: Canada, Mexico, etc.)-Needs to be slightly more accurate (it called out that my house was on the right when it was on the left)-Jerky on 3D display

Overall I love this little device. It functions exactly as I want it to. There are no gimmicks or unnecessary things; just the basics. If you want a GPS device to say the street name, that will be an extra $100-$200. To have MP3 or video playing capability, you will have to pay an extra $400-$800 more (no complaints here). The only real bad thing is that there is no ability to expand the maps beyond the borders of the US. I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $50 or $100 for that.

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My first Magellan GPS and not that good

Strengths: Price

Weakness: Slow Limited # of POIs No home/AC charger

I've used a TomTom GPS in the past and wanted to buy a GPS device as a Christmas present for my parents. I bought this Magellan Maestro 3100 based on the good reviews I've seen. Feature-wise, it's a good GPS unit. The one big negative point about this GPS unit is its performance, very slow to calculate routing. It's probably due to its use of Windows CE. I'm surprised that other reviewers ranked this high. I ended up buying another TomTom for my parents and told them to use the Maestro 3100 as a backup unit.

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Magellan Maestro 3100 GPS is magnificent!

Strengths: Quickly reroutes to avoid detours or missed turns. Clear voice is easy to understand. Simple use and very nice address book feature to store all addresses commonly used.

Weakness: Small screen with no stylus to make typing easier. For me personally, the charger doesn't seem to work the greatest.

I got this as a Black Friday special, and after purchase, would definately choose this again if needed. It is sleek, small and comes with a convenient holder to attach it inside the car. Maps are clear and easy to read. It is amazing how far technology has gone; this model has a quick start-up and load, even in the worst of conditions. My rating: A-

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great GPS for only $129!!!!!!!!!!!

Strengths: very simple, small, portable

Weakness: no ac adapter to charge in home

I've used 4 of these units, including a $2000+ option in a 2006 Lexus which this one beats by being so simple to use. Paid only $129 shipped on Amazon. I don't want or need bluetooth or MP3 junk on here - just good accurate GPS instructions and this unit delivers easily.

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Best Rated Magellan GPS Device

Navigation is Excellent according to 15 GPS Device experts. -- "impressive performance improvements"-gpstekreviews.com -- "The Maestro 3140 comes with a text-to-speech engine that reads street names off which can be helpful when navigating."-gpslodge.com -- "very good navigation capabilities"-gpsmagazine.com Read more to find expert opinions on more features like Display, Maps, Usability, etc.

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magellan maestro 3100

Magellan Maestro 3100 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 1.38 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #87 navigation GPS of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a product's...

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Magellan Maestro 3100

Testseek.com has collected 11 expert reviews for Magellan Maestro 3100 and the average expert rating is 59 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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