Magellan Maestro 4700 4.7-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Magellan Maestro 4700 4.7-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
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* Ultra-slim GPS device with 4.7-inch color touchscreen, personalized OneTouch search, spoken street name guidance, Bluetooth capability, voice command and more
* Multi-destination routing with route optimization lets you plan the most efficient trip
* Highway lane assist points you in the right direction when approaching interchanges and exits
* QuickSpell with SmartCity search narrows your address and city searches Highway exit points of interest (POI) search lists upcoming gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more near highway exits
* Includes maps of United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico
Magellan Maestro 4700 4.7-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Reviews.
With an occupation that keeps me on the road, a working navigational tool is a must have. Having gone through my fair share of slow and inconsistent GPS products ranging from Garmin, TomTom and yes even Magellan through the years, one must really do their homework. After researching several systems this model kept popping up on my radar screen.
Coming out of the box, this unit worked perfectly without the usual hiccups of other systems. Installation is simple. Powering up is a breeze. The download time for entering starting point to destination is about 45 seconds. The One Touch screen is on the money. The menu allows for editing for one’s own personal choices. I really have come to like the Predictive Traffic feature. In short, it creates alternate routes for known traffic tie ups.
The Maestro 4700 measures in at over 5″ wide x 3.5″ height and weighs about 6 ounces. The biggest draw for me personally is the large 4.7″ color touch screen, predictive traffic, and the lane guide arrow features. Unlike previous models that I have owned, the Maestro 4700′s screen is viewable in all lighting conditions. The user friendly one touch interface is definitely a winner.
Even though this system is primed for Bluetooth, not all mobile devices are compatible. The Maestro 4700 paired well with two out of three cell phones. As usual, my personal phone did not pair with this system. Granted, I am sure that it is a great working feature with the right phone. Even if it did pair up with my go to phone, I don’t see myself giving up my wireless ear piece anytime soon.
Like every GPS system before it, Voice Command is give or take at best. Without question, this feature alone receives a failing grade from me. On the other hand, Spoken Street Name Guide with text to speech is clear and precise. The 3D Landmarks add on is a nice touch. I have yet to use the Find My Car feature. The free, no membership required AAA Guide is loaded with great up to date information.
Quick Spell automatically fills in the blanks and makes locating a destination easy. One of the sweetest features is the lane guide arrows (Highway Lane Assist) program that sounds a bell when my next turn is coming up. It quickly guides me into the correct lane without the usual “Oops, how did I miss that exit?”
The Maestro 4700 comes preloaded with maps of the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. Additional maps can be stored on board via SD Card. Included accessories are a windshield mount, storage pouch, dash mounting disk, car power adapter, handbook, USB cable, and an informative CD. I recommend buying a good protective case. Magellan loses major style points for not including an AC power supply plug. Unplugged, the battery provided me a little over 2 hours of power.
As with most electronics, this system includes the standard 1 year warranty. If it is returned within the applicable warranty period, Magellan will replace the defective it. However, most likely the buyer will receive a reconditioned unit of the same model or at their discretion another model equal or of lesser value. I know this from personal experience not only from Magellan but Garman as well. Keeping that in mind, I strongly advise all buyers to think extended warranty packages.
I found that one continually overlooked offering is the warranty plan offered by most major credit cards. For me personally, my credit card warranty has been a worthwhile, cost effective investment. With pennies on the dollar, it is a warranty that backs up my products one hundred percent from the date of purchase.
Even with its minor flaws, the Maestro 4700 clearly delivers up to date, on time information. For me, that’s enough. Without reservation, I recommend this fine NAVAIDS tool.
UPDATE:10.31.09
I’ve owned this system for a few months now. I’ve driven cross country and back and also made my monthly run up the coast. The only issue that I have had is the age old problem with NAVTEQ maps. On more then one occasion the maps placed me in the opposite direction of my destination. I don’t see the folks at NAVTEQ fixing this problem any time soon because it has existed for so long on other GPS products as well. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery. Other then that, my Magellan 4700 GPS is still on the job and going strong.
I have had this unit just over 2 weeks now, got it the first day it was released. I replaced my old Magellan 1412. Over all, I have been pleased with the functionality for price ratio.
It worked right out of the box, finding the satellite signal within a minute. I immediately liked the large screen yet a reasonably thin design. I took it to the car, and found mounting it to the windshield was a snap. So far so good.
I used immediately used it on a trip to go from Washington DC to Winston-Salem NC. It worked perfectly in terms of directions heading both up and back. Here are the things I really liked:
- The lane directions were very helpful when navigating highway interchanges. The lane directions popped up well in advance to find the right lane
- The spelling fill in function is also helpful.
- I really liked the “closest gas” button on the map screen when you are driving. I used this to locate gas (and restrooms) and it worked flawlessly. I also liked using the one-touch menu to find rest stops, resturants, etc. The nice thing is that after arriving at the interim destination, the gps then asks you if you want to continue to your final destination. I also like that you can set up your own custom one touch destinations.
- AAA points of interest are seemingly limitless.
- I found the distances and directions to be very accurate. This is a big step up from the Roadmate 1412, which often put destinations on the wrong side of the road, or would deliver weird ways to get there.
-The maps are very well laid out and easy to read. Very simple to zoom in and out on a map, and switch to 3D or 2D maps.
- Volume seemed about right to me, even with road noise at 65+ miles per hour
- The Bluetooth synced with my iPhone relatively easily. It didn’t work the first time, but I rebooted the gps, and it worked right away. I was easily able to import my phone book from my iPhone, which is nice to be able to leave the phone in my pocket. If you have addresses in your phone book, you can also easily load them and map to them quickly. Volume on the phone function is ok. It could be a little louder in my opinion
- I also like that it would offer multiple detours through the Predictive Traffic function. I was able to use this on I-95 twice and it really helped to detour off a side road for a while.
Things that need Improvement:
- The Voice Command is spotty at best. I can get it to “go home”, but pretty much any other command doesn’t work, or the GPS gets confused on how to confirm the command. Not helpful.
- Some of the set up functions are hard to follow. For example, it’s not intuitive how to navigate around in all the menus. I’m sure I’ll get used to it over time, but I felt Magellan could have done a better job here.
Over all, very pleased as it’s a nice upgrade over my last unit. For all the features, I feel it’s very well priced.
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