Figure 14: Connecting the 12v Power Adapter to Maestro

Figure 15: Maestro Mounted in the Car, Left Side View

The windshield mount is long enough that the Maestro isn't too far away from the driver. Some other GPS devices ship with mounts that are too short, and place the GPS too close to the windshield.

To adjust the position of the Maestro, loosen the knobs on the mount and move the unit into the desired position, then tighten the knobs to secure it into position.

Figure 16: Maestro Mounted in the Car, Front View

The Magellan Maestro is a good looking GPS. However, the AC power cord is unsightly -- and would be less noticeable if it connected to the mount instead of the Maestro unit directly.

During my testing I noticed a small amount of vibration while driving. It's not enough to be particularly bothersome, but it's enough that Magellan might consider some design refinements to their mount. Magellan has made a lot of improvements to their mounting hardware over the past 5 years, but they still trail behind Garmin in this area (although it's worth mentioning that Magellan is still leaps and bounds better at making mounting hardware than TomTom, whose poor mounts are infamous).

7. Maestro's New User Interface

Figure 17: Magellan Maestro's Main Menu

This is Magellan's new, redesigned user interface. Rumor has it Magellan spent $1 million dollars designing the new interface, the results are a mixed-bag. I like the new menu screens, but I feel the new map view is a step backwards. We'll look at the new map screen in more detail in a minute, but for now let's concentrate on the updated menu system.

Magellan's RoadMate 2xxx / CrossoverGPS series had separate menu systems for each of the various applications (navigation, photo, & off-road). Thankfully, Maestro uses a single, unified menu system that's easier to use than previous versions. Maestro 3199 doesn't have a photo viewer or MP3 player, so there's generally less clutter in the menu than previous Road Mate's, which is a good thing.

Let's take a closer look at the new menu system:

The three large icons on the top row are:

• Show Map - look at the map and view your current location, much like you would with a paper map
• Enter Address - start entering a destination address
• Points of Interest - search the POI database for a business

Two smaller icons appear along the bottom of the screen:

• Home - this icon is a one-touch button to start routing to your home (the first time you tap on this icon the Maestro prompts you to enter your home address)
• Tow truck - this icon brings up detailed information about your current location, useful for directing a tow truck (or emergency vehicle) to your current location

8. Navigating with the Maestro 3100

Although the interface has been overhauled, the basic process of entering a destination address on the Maestro hasn't changed much from previous Magellan units, and that's good news, as this has always been one of Magellan's strengths.

Figure 18: Entering A Street Address

Most of the time you'll likely be using a street address as the destination address, so let's test that process by trying to route to an address in New York City.

The first step in entering a street address is tapping on "Enter Address" from the Main Menu, as shown above in figure 18.

Figure 19: Entering A Street Address, Step 2

Maestro 3100 provides a nice range of options for entering a destination street address:

• Enter City - This is probably the method you'll most often use. Tapping this option brings up a virtual keyboard that lets you spell the city name.
• Enter Zip Code - allows you to use a U.S. Postal code to set the destination city.
• Previous City - allows you to view a list of recently used cities
• my addresses - allows you to pick an address from the address book (saved addresses)
• intersection - allows you to enter two cross streets and route to that intersection (rather than a particular house / building number)

I like this screen and I found it easy to use, although I would have preferred to see the address book ("my addresses") in the larger top three icons instead of "Enter Zip Code". The ability to search by zip code is a handy feature, and I'm glad Magellan provides this option. However you'll likely use the address book far more often than the zip code search, so I feel the address book should be placed right up top with the other most commonly used buttons, and the zip code icon moved to the bottom next to "intersection".

Tapping on "Enter City" brings up the virtual keyboard, shown below.

Figure 20: Entering the City Name

I've always been a fan of Magellan's QuickSpell technology, and I'm happy to report the Maestro has maintained Magellan's excellent text entry system, known as QuickSpell. As you type out the city name (or street name), the Maestro uses information in its database to only permit letters that would spell a valid city name to be pressed.

I found this feature a huge time-saver when entering city or street names (and greatly reduces the likelihood of accidentally tapping an adjacent letter). While spelling out a city/street name, you can press the OK button at any time to view all the cities that match the letters you have entered. Or you can wait until enough letters have been entered that only a few choices remain, and the Maestro will automatically show the list of cities to choose from.

For some strange reason the space bar on the virtual keyboard no longer says "space". Instead it is completely blank. The first time I looked for the space key, my eyes glossed over the blank icon and I found myself searching for the space button. Magellan should put the "space" writing back on this key - it's easier to see that way.