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September 12, 2007

Magellan's New Maestro's Are Thinner, Include Maps of Mexico. Yawn...

Magellan Maestro 4250

Magellan announced six new Maestro GPS units. From the looks of it, the new models are almost identical to the previously released Maestro 3100, 3140, 4040, and 4050, except the new units sport an ultra-thin 0.7-inch thick case and include maps of Mexico. Read on for the specifics of each model.

Maestro 4250: Magellan's top-of-the-line unit rocks a 4.3" wide LCD display, live traffic (subscription required), voice recognition, AAA TourBook data, Roadside Assistance information, text-to-speech, 6 million points of interest (POIs), and Bluetooth. The 4250 will ship with pre-loaded maps for the lower 48 United States, Hawaii & Puerto Rico, Canada, and Alaska. Available in October for $499 list price. So basically, the 4250 is identical to the 4050, but increases the POI database from 4.5 million to 6 million, has a thinner design, and costs $100 LESS.

Magellan Maestro 4250Maestro 4220: the 4220 lacks AAA TourBook information, Text-to-Speech, Bluetooth, and Voice Recognition, but adds maps of Mexico. Available in October for $549 list price.

Maestro 4210: Just like the 4220, but includes AAA TourBook data and no Mexico maps. $449 list price.

Maestro 4200: No Canada or Alaska maps, no Mexico maps, 1.3 million POIs, no TourBook, Text-to-Speech, Bluetooth, Traffic, or Voice Recognition. $399 list price.

All in all, basically a re-hash of Magellan's previous units in a thinner case. Although I suppose you can never be too thin, and for those of you looking for a Mexico-U.S. friendly GPS, Magellan's Maestro 4220 will be welcome news.