Magellan Maestro 3100 Review (GPSmagazine.com)

Verdict: Cheap. Basic. Better than Nothing.

Magellan Maestro 3100

REVIEW UPDATE: This GPS model has been discontinued

Last month Magellan released the highly anticipated Maestro 4040 to mixed reviews. This month, Magellan has released the smaller, less expensive Maestro 3100. This 3.5" display, no-frills unit is aimed squarely at the budget-conscious consumer, and is hitting the street with pricing as low as $250.

Could this be the budget unit you've been waiting for? I put Magellan's Maestro 3100 through GPSmagazine's rigorous testing criteria and found out how Magellan's newest GPS stacks up against the competition.

1. Technical Specifications

Display: 3.5" QVGA color, anti-glare, touch-screen display
Map Coverage: 48 contiguous United States (NAVTEQ)
POIs: 750,000 Points of Interest (POI) Database
Receiver: 20 channels, WAAS/EGNOS enabled - SiRFstarIII
Battery Life: Up to 3 hours (assuming lowest screen brightness - actual battery life was more like 1.5-2 hours in my testing)
Antenna: Integrated multidirectional patch
Size: 4.29 (l) x 1.14 (w) x 3.48 (h)
Weight: 6.5 oz

2. Meet Maestro - Magellan's New Product Line

	Screen Size	GPS Chipset	Map Coverage	POIs	Text-to-Speech	Bluetooth	Traffic	Voice Command	Price
Maestro 3100	3.5" diag.	SiRF Star III	Continental US (48 states)	750k	No	No	No	No	$349
Maestro 3140	3.5" diag	SiRF Star III	50 States, Canada & Puerto Rico	4.5 million	Yes	Yes	Optional	No	$449
Maestro 4000	4.3" diag.	SiRF Star III	Continental US (48 states)	1.6 million	No	No	No	No	$449
Maestro 4040	4.3" diag.	SiRF Star III	50 States, Canada & Puerto Rico	4.5 million	Yes	Yes	Optional	No	$599
Maestro 4050	4.3" diag.	SiRF Star III	50 States, Canada & Puerto Rico	4.5 million	Yes	Yes	Included	Yes	$799

3000-series Maestros have the smaller 3.5" screen while the 4000-series Maestros have the larger 4.3" display. Maestro 3100 is the most affordable Maestro, and as the entry-level unit, doesn't have many of the bells and whistles found on the more expensive Maestros. The 3100 includes map coverage for the continental US (lower 40 States), has a reduced POI database (750,000), no Text-to-Speech (so the unit doesn't announce actual street names), no Bluetooth, traffic, or voice recognition.

The more expensive Maestro 3140 adds map coverage of Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, & Puerto Rico, boasts a much larger POI database of 4.5 million, has Text-to-Speech, Bluetooth, AAA TravelGuide data, and can be upgraded to use Magellan's optional TrafficKit for real-time traffic data.

If it's the wide screen display you crave, then you'll want to look at the 4000-series Maestros: the 4100 is almost identical to the 3100, but has a larger (4.3"), brighter display, and slightly larger POI database. The 4040 adds map coverage for Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, & Puerto Rico, a larger POI database of 4.5 million, Text-to-Speech, Bluetooth, AAA TravelGuide data, and supports the TrafficKit. The 4050 represents the top-of-the-line for Magellan, and includes the TrafficKit and adds voice recognition for operating the GPS via voice commands.

Notice that the 3140 and 4000 share the same suggested retail price. If you're willing to sacrifice the extra features of the 3140 in favor of a larger display, you can get the Maestro 4000 for the same price as the 3140.

All five Maestros are powered by NAVTEQ maps from 2007, share the same routing engine, and the same overall user interface.