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May 18, 2007

Magellan Maestro 3100 Review

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19. Configuring System Options

Maestro's User Options Menu
Figure 51: User Options Menu

The User Options menu allows you to customize some aspects of the Magellan Maestro, and is accessed by tapping on the Configuration icon from the Main Menu.

Maestro's System Settings Menu
Figure 51: System Settings Menu

The System Settings menu allows you to set the parameters shown in the screen above. Note that tapping on the back arrow in the lower-left corner from any of the User Options screens will cancel the changes. This screen also allows you to check the battery life by viewing the battery life indicator in the lower-center portion of the screen.

POI Selection Menu
Figure 52: POI Selection Menu

The POI Selection screen allows you to customize what POIs will be displayed on the map. In some areas the map can become cluttered with too many POIs displayed, making it difficult to see (for example in cities). Checking a POI category on this screen will cause POIs of that type to appear on the map screen. Unchecking a category will remove it from being displayed on the map.

Note that you can still search for POIs of any category, regardless of whether they are being displayed on the map.


Figure 53: Address Book Options Screen

The Address Book options screen allows you to clear the saved address, favorites, and recently found addresses.

Maestro's Map Options Screen
Figure 54: Map Options Screen

The Map Options screen allows you to specify whether you want to view the map in 2D or 3D, show the map as "north up" or "heading up", show the TrueView splitscreen when approaching a turn, and whether you want the Maestro to automatically switch to night view based on the time of day.

Maestro's Detour Preferences Menu
Figure 55: Detour Preferences Menu

The Detour options screen allows you to customize the time required before the detour icon will appear on the map. When traveling slower than expected along a given road, by default after 1 minute of slowness the Maestro will display the detour icon, allowing you to re-route using an alternate road.

In my testing I found the default detour alert was too fast. Sometimes just slowing down to pay a toll caused the detour icon to appear. You may want to set this to a longer time (i.e. 5 minutes).

Simulator Mode Menu
Figure 56: Simulator Mode Menu

The "Simulator Mode" offers the option of simulating movement on a route. This is handy if you want to get to know the features of the Maestro BEFORE you get in the car. I really like having this feature and I wish more companies would include it. It's a great, safe way to learn how to use the unit.

Maestro's Tone Options Menu
Figure 57: Tone Options Menu

Just before a pending maneuver the Magellan Maestro will beep, letting you know you need to make the turn. This sound can be changed from the default bell sound to a chime or beep. Personally I like the default bell sound best.

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