Home > Consumer Reviews > Magellan Maestro 4040 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

I've been using GPS systems for several years, and I'm always asked "what's the best GPS?" Unfortunately, that's not an easy question to answer. Just like there's no "best" car for everyone, there's no such thing as the "best" GPS.



That being said, this is a very fine GPS system, and one well worth checking out. I've owned two other Magellan systems in the past (a Roadmate 500 and a 750M), and the improvements in this system are wonderful. Excellent screen, clear even in full sun, easy to use - truly a "turn it on and go" setup. I've always been especially fond of the way Magellan announces upcoming turns - they are the only GPS that offers a incredibly accurate "bing-bong" sound right before the turn. The key word there is ACCURATE. Yes, Garmin has an upcoming turn tone, but more often than not, it's too early or too late to be effective. Magellan gets it right every time. That, and their split screen turn view is what makes this a must-own for me. The AAA guidebook is icing on the cake, and I'm finding that to be a real time saver - much better than the typical POI database since the places have been vetted by AAA. If you're a fan of the AAA paper guidebooks, you will absolutely love having it accessible through a GPS.



I also currently have a Garmin 2610 and have found that the Magellan/Garmin combo is what works best for me. The Garmins have some advantages over the Magellans and vice versa. Together, they make a great combo.



But, if you want to buy just one GPS, the Magellan 4040 is a great choice. The Garmin Nuvi line is also quite nice, but their wide-screen versions are considerably more expensive than the 4040. If it came down to the Nuvi 3XX model or the Magellan 40XX models, I feel the Magellan gives you more for your money. On the other hand, Garmin offers better support, more frequent map/firmware updates, and is an easier company to deal with by far. See - I told you that there's no such thing as the "best" GPS! Everything's a trade off.



I've also been impressed with the user interface of the Tom Tom units but, in my area, the TeleAtlas maps they use are rather poor. Both Garmin and Magellan use Navtec maps, which (on the East Coast, at least) are much better.



Some people comment on the U turn issue. For me, it's never happened to any extent. My Garmin, in fact, tends to be far more insistent on U turns than the Magellan when you go off-route. I've also found that the Magellan (this plus all the others I've used) tend to give either the same or better routes than the Garmins (I'm on my third Garmin as well). Not all the time -- once in a while you'll get a more roundabout route on the Magellan than the Garmin, but those cases are rare.



In short, you will be happy with this unit. If you're on the fence, buy this and a Garmin, and do a head to head comparison to see which one works best for your needs and send back the loser. Chances are, however, you'll end up like me with two (or sometimes three) GPS systems on your dash.



UPDATE 5/6/07: Just took the Maestro for a 450 mile trip -- continue to be very impressed with the unit. In a side-by-side test, it routinely beat the Garmin 2610 in determining that I was off route and recalculated the new route before the Garmin even realized I was not where I should be! (Off-route situations were due to me making an unplanned side trip, and not due to bad directions from either GPS). There's also a firmware update available from Magellan that allows you to use the preview turn function at any time (just like with past Magellan units). Very easy to install and, although it warns that you should backup your address book prior to the upgrade, it did not delete any of my addresses. It's always a good idea to backup your data, but the firmware upgrade does not seem to affect it.



Update 5/18: Another trip, this one nearly 1,000 in length and the Maestro once again performed very well. My sister was so impressed with the unit that immediately upon our return she placed an order for one as well. Given that she's always shunned GPS units (even though her sense of direction is as bad as mine), that's quite an endorsement for the Maestro. She had tried a Garmin Nuvi 350 that she borrowed from a friend, and found the Magellan to be more to her style. The features in particular she liked were the fact that the direction of the next turn is always visible in the lower left corner regardless of how far away the turn is. I like that feature as well - sometimes you need a lot of advance notice of what lane you should be in when the traffic is heavy. Also, she appreciated that the Magellan gave more frequent voice prompts than the Nuvi -- it will voice "stay on the current road" when you come to a major intersection or juncture on the freeway. The Garmin does not offer that. Some people find it to be nagging, but I like all the help a GPS can give.

Please note that this review covers the 4050. However, this unit is the same as the 4040 with two exceptions. On the 4040 both the voice command and traffic kit are optional, additional purchases.

Do you really need a GPS device?? If you are reading this review the answer is probably yes.

We have used them for a number of years and I'm now at the point where I wonder how we ever got along without one. No more trips to the computer for confusing Mapquest directions or frantic searches to find the car atlas after a wrong turn. Both facts leading to a significant reduction in "marital moments."

I could give many examples where GPS has "saved the day". Here is a recent one:

This summer my wife and our three small children traveled from Chicago to South Dakota for a wedding (I had to work). Like many rural wedding, each part of the event was in a different place. The church was in one town, the reception in another and their hotel in a third. After the wedding she wanted to visit cousins on their farm in Southern Minnesota, followed a stop in the Twin Cities. Lastly, she was going to travel to Northern Minnesota to spend some R-n-R at a lake cabin.

The night before the big trip I added all of the addresses in our GPS unit. I then labeled them: church, reception, hotel, farm, Twin Cities, cabin. Now all she had to do is press the right address and go. No worries about missing a turn or taking the wrong road, even on a pitch black rural night. If she decided to change her plans the Magellan would take care of it. GPS units figure out the route from where you are to your location, something Mapquest can't do. The peace of mind that the Magellan gave both of us was worth its purchase price alone.

I have to tell you that even a basic GPS unit could have done the above routing task. In fact, for most people, a basic unit is all that they need. However, sometimes you want something more. Does the Magellan Maestro 4050 deliver this "more?" Read on to find out!

Unit Overview

The Magellan Maestro 4050 is really an evolution of the popular Road Mate series. However, there are many significant improvements. First is the fact the 4050 has a large 4.3" screen. Although the typical 3.5" screen would work fine, I like the larger screen as I suffer from FFS or Fat Finger Syndrome. A bigger screen gives me a bigger on-screen keyboard when typing in an address. This results in less error and less growling on my part.

The icons have also changed with this series and now they have a friendlier, more polished look. The Maestro units use the very popular (and highly sensitive) SiRF star III GPS chipset which acquires signals quickly. Like other Magellan units, the underlying OS is Windows CE. The Maestro also has a built in battery that should allow a couple of hours of use. This would make it possible to use the unit outside of the car for a short period.

Routing

In my opinion, routing is the most important function of any GPS unit. Magellan units, in general, have always had excellent routing engines and the Maestro is no different. The maps on my unit are dated from late 2006 and so they are pretty recent.

Adding an address (or intersection) is a snap. Older Magellan units (like the Roadmate 300 series) asks for a street first. When you added a common street name like "River" or "Washington" you were forced to pick from a dozen or more choices ("North River," "River Drive," River Road," etc.). Later models, including the Maestro series ask for the city first eliminating a lot of confusion. It is amazing what a simple change can do to make a product more useable. Thanks Magellan!

I had no problems entering addresses, even difficult ones that have confused other units. I think that this is in part due to the fact that the maps are newer and therefore, more accurate. Magellan units always ask for your route preference ("shortest time," "least use of expressways," etc). Many other units require that you dig into menus and sub-menus to do this which often causes undesirable results. For instance, when traveling in a city during rush hour it may be easier to take regular roads in lieu of expressways. Since the Magellan always asks routing preferences this is easy to accomplish.

Naturally, it is very easy to exclude a particular street or routing direction (perhaps you know that street is under construction). You can also route up to up to 20 different locations using the "trip planner" option. The Maestro will then "optimize" the list for you making the trip more efficient. This option would be great for a delivery driver who has to travel to multiple locations on his route. The Maestro also tells you what side of the street your destination is on. Surprisingly, many other brands do not. Knowing what side of the street your destination is on can be really important, especially if it is on a busy, multi-lane street.

The unit can present map data either as 3D ("bird's eye view") or in a traditional 2D map view. It will automatically switch to a nighttime map at night. I really like the fact that Magellan products always give you a clear indication what direction you are traveling by placing your direction directly on the screen. This is much more convenient than using a "north pointing" arrow which other units have.

The Maestro is very good at giving your multiple, clear, auditory and visual indicators of your next maneuver. I have used other units (the Mio brand) where I couldn't even figure out what the maneuver icon was telling me (it looked like a letter from the Klingon alphabet). This has never happened using Magellan units (and I have used them for years).


A really useful feature on Magellan units is the "locate" key. This function tells you were you are, the closest cross streets and even a computer generated address (when possible). When you are on an expressway it will tell you the last and next exits and their distance. The locate button is really useful if you ever need roadside assistance (or when you just want to know where the heck you are).

The Maestro also has a "detour" function. If you are traveling on highway at lower than expected speeds, the Maestro will ask you if you want to take a detour. If you agree you can choose the length of the detour in miles. The Maestro will then get you off the highway for the designated number of miles and return you back afterwards. Great if an accident is up ahead.

The Maestro features text to speech (or TTS) which will give your specific verbal directions, like street names. Professional reviewers love this feature. I think it is pretty cool, but units that don't have this function are perfectly useable too.

Like other Magellan units, the Maestro is excellent at recalculating your route where you go off course. If it can calculate a route based on the new road that you are on, it will do so. Other brands can sometimes insist that you need to take their original calculated route and they will tell you to "turn around" or "make a U turn" when you don't have to.

POI Data Base

If the heart of a GPS unit is its routing engine, its soul is its POI Data base. Virtually all GPS units have such a data base and virtually all have inaccuracies and omissions. With that said, using a POI data base can really enhance your trip. I think the Maestro has the best POI data base ever. It feels like the programmers were thinking of me when they designed it.

First, you have a standard POI data base, but it is huge at 3.5 million entries. Even more important, it is reasonably current. I didn't find stores that had closed years ago as I have in other systems (including some older Magellans). The data base is very extensive covering tons of categories beyond core POIs (gas stations, auto services, ATMs, hotels, restaurants). There are many categories perfect for people like me, who go on family car trips. Campgrounds, grocery stores, pharmacies and even veterinarians are listed (to name a few). When appropriate, a general category will offer subcategories. For instance, the grocery category includes grocery stores, specialty food stores, convenience stores and Liquor stores. Stores like Target and Wal-Mart are typically under represented on many GPS units, but well listed on the Maestro. I was able to find both when searching locally. The standard POI data base not only gives you distance but also direction from your location (some other brands do not). It may be easier to go to a store that is 20 miles ahead rather than backtracking 10 miles. Naturally, you can not only search from your current location but you can also search around another address/city, like your destination. Perfect if you have to reserve a hotel room.

Many Magellans, including the Maestro have a unique and useful feature called "exit POIs." When you are on an expressway you can search for core POI services at upcoming exits. The Maestro will tell you the distance to the exit and the core services available (like gas). Touching the gas icon will then allow you to look at the various choices for that category (like Shell or Mobile). Since it only gives you services around the exits, the "exit POI" function can be extremely useful when traveling.

The 4050 also has the AAA Tour Book built in. This is a fantastic resource that combines the power of GPS location with tour book data. Now, when you look for a restaurant, you not only get a name but a detailed description, plus a rating. The AAA Tour Book gives information on rated hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, approved auto repair shops and other information like special events that may be happening in a particular area. You also get a phone number so you can make your reservation. The Tour book will also tell you if you can get an AAA discount (for AAA members). It is a really wonderful and unique resource. No other GPS manufacturer has it.

In addition to all of this, you can add custom POI databases that you create or download from the internet (there are hundreds available). For instance, if you like drive-in movies, you can find a POI data base for this. Then when you are on vacation a simple search will tell you the closest one. Custom POI data bases are limited to 5000 entries per data base (although the number of data bases that you can have are unlimited). Custom data bases typically include a name and a computer generated address. In most cases this is enough, but it would be nice to have an additional data field for a phone number. I think Custom POI data bases are very useful. However, the fact that the Maestro has an excellent general POI data base as well as the superb AAA tour book makes it less likely that you will need to use them.

Fluff and Stuff

GPS units are basically computer running an OS (often Windows CE or Linux). Because of this it is very easy to add extras like a calculator or basic MP3 player. The Maestro does not have any of these extras. This is fine with me. If I need a calculator I'll buy one at the dollar store for a buck rather than risking dropping an expensive GPS unit.

Traffic

The 4050 comes with a traffic receiver and a 3 month trial subscription for traffic data. The traffic receiver picks up digital data from local FM broadcasters (broadcast on a "hidden" subcarrier signal). The Maestro can alert you to road problems ahead and then route around them. Pretty cool...but. Traffic information is only available in about 50 cities across the US and only on the major expressways. Don't forget you can get the same information for free by listening to the traffic report on the radio.

If you often travel to the center of major cities you may find this feature helpful. Otherwise, go for one of the Maestro units that have the traffic receiver as an option and save a few bucks.

Bluetooth

OK I admit it, Bluetooth is a pretty cool and useful feature. It allows me to connect my Treo 700 series phone to the Maestro wirelessly. With this connection I can answer and place calls directly from the Maestro, using it like a speaker phone. If I find a hotel in the POI data base I can directly phone for a reservation by pressing a single button on the Maestro without ever having to take my phone out of its holster, excellent!

Although there is a Bluetooth standard, Bluetooth is not standardized. Therefore, make sure your phone is listed on the Magellan website to make sure that it will work with the Maestro.

Voice Command

Cool, but not ready for prime time. With voice command you can actually give verbal commands to the Maestro. My unit is kind of deaf and requires multiple attempts before it asks me for "my command". Although the list of commands is limited, some are quite useful. Unfortunately, you can sometimes get ridiculous results. Once when asking the Maestro to find me "fast food" it said, "did you say Jewish food?"

Conclusion

I think the Maestro 4050 is a fantastic unit with features that are unique and that definitely set it apart from other competing brands. The programmers that designed the Maestro seem to have read my mind. Excellent, easy to use routing combined with a really superior and unique set of POI data bases. Near perfection for the traveler!

PS...If you want to save some cash you could also consider the Maestro 3140. It has a smaller screen and it is absent of some features like Voice command but it still has all of the great stuff for hundreds less.

Well, I am not the GPS buff a lot of the reviewers seem to be, so you'll get this review from a regular guy. My only previous experience with GPS is renting a Garmin 330 with a rental car twice. My wife hated the Garmin, I liked it, but I was awe struck by the tecno-factor. So we went looking on-line to see what was available. We bought this unit specifically because it met my wife's criteria. She loved that it spoke street names and not just "turn right", "turn left". She also like that it was loaded with the AAA data. We have been AAA members for more than 35 years, so this feature appealed to us. If you are not a AAA member, then any GPS that has POI's is probably satisfactory for you. She also demanded one feature - she hates highways and wanted something that would provide the shortest distance without using highways. This was the only unit that did that as part of a standard routine. For everyone else it was either not possible or required extensive navigation to get to the screens where you could program it to use that criteria.



My experiences thus far have been luke warm. When picking "shortest distance", it doesn't always pick the shortest distance, even though it was programmed with the roads that were shorter than the map it gave me. On the other hand, it went to some extremes that were not reasonable to get the shortest distance such as having me take an expressway off-ramp and on-ramp because they went in a straight line while staying on the expressway made a curve around the exit area that probably added 100 feet to the trip. It also had me taking miniature turns in small towns, also just to save a few feet. All in all, the shortest route was very hard on driving and gas and not always right. To make matters worse, the unit out of the box would crash constantly when you picked the "shortest" route. All other options worked fine. I went online and got five software updates and the crashing problem disappeared. However, the newest maps for this unit are the 3rd quarter of 2006, so there are a lot of things not on there. We missed several streets in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Southern California because they were not yet programmed into the GPS even though the streets were at least a year old.



The unit also suffers from overly menu-driven programming. Things should be remembered from time-to-time so you can just reuse frequent data. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't - at least not intuitively. For example, when you program your "home", it takes eight different menus to select it as the place you want to go. Just to add it to the database took several minutes of typing in information. I assumed I could park in my driveway, click on something that said "add current location", give it a name and be done. That doesn't happen. When you are searching by categories and such, it doesn't have a paging menu. If ten items are listed and you want to scroll, you have to do it one item at a time; for example, you type in Columbus because you want to go to Columbus Ohio. You get 12 hits, Columbus, Ohio being number 9 on page two since they won't all fit on one screen, and you have to down arrow nine times to get to it. I would have liked to hit next page and down arrow once or twice to get to it. These may sound petty, but when you are programming and driving this is a distraction (and I don't necessarily mean programming while moving, just pulling over and taking this kind of time is annoying).



Finally, I am sending the unit back because the hardware is defective. The clip (called the cradle) that attaches the GPS to the holder doesn't fit the unit. It just keeps falling off. All the experience you have read above came from having the unit sit on my lap while I tried it out.



It also gives odd changes and distances from point-to-point. This is just an opinion because it isn't wrong, but let's say you are going twenty miles on an expressway before you get off. The unit doesn't say you are going twenty miles. It says you are going six mile, then seven miles, then seven miles. Each distance is when you cross a major highway or a county line. It is not relevant information for any reason I can grasp. It knows where I am going and should just count down for me.



My last comment is a feature recommendation that should be considered. The trip computer is very limited in the information it provides. When I used the garmin, I could touch one button and a thing popped up that looked like an automotive dashboard that told me speed, ETA, miles to go, miles traveled, all sorts of good data about what happened, what is happening and what is yet to happen. It was very thorough, including top speed this trip, average speed, time stopped, etc. The trip computer on this unit says average speed, distance, elapsed time and that's about it - plus it takes four menus to get to the info - again, not useful if you want to track when and where you are going and how your progress is doing.



I gave it a three because after the software fixes, it will get you where you want to go, but it is not worth the differential we paid between it and the newer versions from Garmin. Again, that's a judgment call on my part, but I used the 320 and 330 and they now have the 350 and 360, or if you want the 650, 660 and 670 whose feature set is greatly expanded from the one I first experienced.



All in all, unless you are really tied to user simplicity, I wouldn't recommend this unit.

OK, here it is..the review you've really wanted to read! I'm a retired Postal worker but currently working full time as a computer network assistant manager for a medium sized environmental company with six satellite offices. I was originally hired to care for, clean, calibrate, repair and purchase very expensive equipment for this company I work for. So, basically, I learned how to evaluate and obtain what was needed for the people I work with in the environmental fields. We do use GPS units, but these are the older LCD screen types.
My experience in the last couple of months researching the purchase of a GPS (for personal use) has been very enlightening. First of all, let me say that [...] has the best and most reliable source of reviews for almost any product you could want. That's people like you who actually use the products. The other review sources are good for more technical and instructional information as such. There you can find full specs on any GPS you may be interested in...Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, HP, Harmon Kardon, Lowrance, etc.
Yes, the reviewers go to great lengths to earn their salaries with their erudite and flowerful descriptions laced with their 'opinions', sometimes in a humorous way. While you can investigate these reviews in several different sites, you will find almost all, to the 'T' have a bent or strong bias to the Garmin units in particular. Look at any list of the so called "top ten" they all publish and more than half to three-quarters will be exclusively Garmin. There are many reviews by non-pros on Amazon who have noted this 'bias' and have made it clear,due to their more energetic investigation of these units.
About seven weeks ago, I needed to have a GPS for a trip we were planning upstate and I found a Magellan Crossover at Wal-Mart for $400. It was all they had in stock and I was hesitant, but was reassured if I didn't like it I could return it-no problem. After using it the next day, I was totally amazed at the ease of use, intuitive interface and speed of operation it produced for me. My friends, wife and I who were in the car were all taken by the way it pointed us via voice prompts, clearly showed the maps and directions and recalculated a missed turn in SECONDS. I was hooked, but somewhat disturbed at the price and the fact that it only had about 750K POI. It could be used for marine and back country and has an eight hour battery life, but those would be things I'd never use. So I returned it to get a different unit, but none were available, so I took a refund and decided to wait.
In the meanwhile, I began to look online for GPS units as friends were recommending this and that as good or better as such. I started my own research quest and literally read hundreds of reviews, made comparisons and even wrote to other reviewers. What I found in summary was that most of the Amazon 'bad' reviews were from technically challenged and impatient users who would never take the time to thoroughly read an instruction manual or try to overcome a problem by 'education' or searching for an answer (same as computer users). They would complain about the most incidental glitches or hangups (literally-attaching the unit to a windshield or to it's cradle)or the lack of battery power (read the manual, it takes more than an hour to charge), insufficient volume, (adjust it-it's loud on this 4040), screen brightness (same thing-adjustable). The more thorough reviews were thought out, well presented and articulate and were usually from previous users of these systems.
Having read reviews on all the Garmins(used a friends unit), all the Magellans (had used theirs), some TomToms, and several of the newer types like Navigon (going out of business) HP; Mio, and some others I finally decided to go with the Magellan 4040 from Amazon. My decision was based on the 4.3" screen size; larger number of points of interest; AAA Tour book Plus additional one year warranty as an AAA member and great price. That, coupled with Amazons excellent phone reps and good reputation for handling problem items and returns.
Let me not forget to state that the GPS magazines that review these units mostly helped convince me toward the Magellan also. Here's why: they all contradict their own biased reviews by stating things like "Garmin Nuvis and Road Mates have a nail biting and painfully slow reaction in re-calculating a missed turn or exit with another coming up in the distance-in effect-missing a manuever". In a Magellan review for a similarly matched product, they say the opposite (that it's very quick and responsive), YET UNBELIEVABLY STILL RECOMMEND THE GARMIN OVER THE MAGELLAN UNIT?!? how RIDUCULOUS and obviously slanted IS THAT? If anything, (to me) the most important feature of a GPS is to speedily get you (OUT OF TROUBLE) especially on a crowded freeway or interstate or city center! What good is a unit that can't do that? Yet in spite of themselves, these reviewers claim the Garmins are still the better units, even after resignedly listing a slew of 'cons' for the unit. Garmins cost hundreds more; can only give you two methods vs four for Magellan to set up a route, have breakable antennas, and as many good and bad features as other GPS', but with the most important factors considered, they can't possibly be BETTER than Magellan with those important faults in comparison. Are these reviewers 'paid off?'(freebies, dinner parties, show tickets, t-shirts, pens, liquor, trips)? What do you think?
Yes, people say that Magellan's support is lousy and outsourced to foreign countries, but many say Garmin's support stinks in many ways too! Try to get a repair authorized or a map update. Same with TomTom and others. Do you really need manufacturer phone help support if you can read a manual, do a FAQ on Google, or call an Amazon rep and make arrangements to REPLACE the unit? AAA will stand by you with the extra year warranty. The manual that comes on the CD and off Magellan's web site is EXCELLENT, thorough and informative! If you want to get the most out of your GPS, read it once and you'll understand your unit much more clearly than while on a trip with no time to fumble with settings.
About the 4040 let me say:
It works flawlessly and is up to all my expectations. While on a trip, you can change your route, TOUCH a POI ICON and it asks if you want to recalculate to that place (restaurant, grocery)? This is a feature I read that many people said these GPS units don't have. I was pleasantly surprised to see it. I missed turns on purpose and within SECONDS was on my way again. It's LOUD, BRIGHT and has LARGE enough FONTS (even tho the GPS MAG review says they're too small?!?) Am I happy that I took the time to check these out..you bet I am and I hope this sets the record straight for those who CAN read for more than a half a minute or two?
Thanks for letting me go on!
CWhiz

I've had the Magellan Maestro 4040 for about 2 weeks and picked it up at Costco for a great price. I've been a GPS user for about 10 years and own a variety of solid Garmin products. I was skeptical on switching to Magellan but I'm glad I took the chance.

The interface is very simple and straightforward. The signal strength is stronger than all my Garmins and it has a built in antenna which is something less to break...I had this happen on one of my other units. The time to start up and locate itself is also faster than my other 3 units. The screen is large, clear, and bright. The bluetooth links with all of our phones with no problem and the speaker and microphone work well for the hands free. People I've talked to said it sounded great.

The Costco version has the latest software update so some of the issues I've read in the reviews do not apply...such as no ETA, etc.

The only downfall to the unit is that I can't search for POI's while I'm on an active route. My other units would allow me to search near current location, near route destination, near route, etc. I've got to cancel the route to look for things in the area. That is really about the only negative thing I'd have to bring up.

The one thing that I really like with the 4040 is that it has a "route exclusion" function. The only way I could get my other units to do this was either just take the alternate route and listen to the rerouting, or try to trick it with the detour function. The route exclusion is great. I'd have went with another Garmin if they would've had this ability.

I'm suprised at the amount of negative reviews for the 4040. I was expecting it to have some issues and it has turned out to be a great unit. Sometimes when people are having trouble with a unit not being able to do certain things, it may be an operator issue in which they haven't figured out how to use it effectively.

I would definitely recommend the 4040 with the latest software version.