I'm not sure what's going on over at Magellan, but they've been releasing new GPS units about once every 2 months for the past 12 months straight! After releasing the RoadMate 3000 and 6000T last year, and the RoadMate 2000, RoadMate 2200T and CrossoverGPS within the past 6 months, it looks like Magellan is set to update it's product lineup again. Not yet officially released, Magellan's Maestro series GPS units started appearing on TigerGPS' website today and were promptly removed a few hours later. Nevertheless, the specs look promising: all three Maestro units (the 4000, 4040, and 4050) will have a 4.3" WQVGA color touchscreen display, feature a new updated interface, SiRF Star III chipset, and NAVTEQ mapping data. Here are the details on each of the units:
Continue reading "Magellan About to Release Maestro 4000, 4040, and 4050 GPS Devices" »
Under the new leadership of Shah Capital and their new CEO Nelso Chan, I see good things happening sooner and better.
I would say the new Magellan Maestro might meet the consumer requirement of a high end desirable no nonsense's PND unit that just about everyone can afford. Good for Magellan to be able to make this happen so soon. More to come, stay tune!
I find it very interesting that you look at a "new interface" as a positive, and in reviewing other GPS's you occasionally mention the Magellan's "older, dated" interface as though there's a reason to ditch it. Frankly, having used the "old" Magellan interface for years on two different models, I have yet to find a better "new" interface on any of the major competitors.
When it comes to GPS operation, the "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid) theory actually works quite well, and Magellan got it mostly right from the very start ... so why change it? Why fix what "ain't" broken?
To be sure, there are new features and capabilities that exist now that weren't available on those earlier models, but there is certainly no reason why their awesome, proven interface couldn't simply be tweaked to allow for access to those new features.
My advice to you, as somebody that a lot of people are looking to for advice, is to never lose sight of the fact that "older" doesn't automatically mean "worse." Part of the reason classic designs like the Porshe 911 date back to the late fifties and early sixties is that they "got it right" from the beginning, and rather than abandon success Porshe chose to build on it. Other companies have done the same. I certainly hope the new interface from Magellan doesn't lose all the qualities that made the original Roadmates such a success in the first place.
In your position as a person with influence, you should encourage them NOT to mess with success either.
Regards,
STEVE,
IT REALLY BOTHERS ME HOW ANYTIME ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT MAGELLAN YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO COME TO THEIR AID AND MAKE AN ARUGHMENT YOU DON'T HAVE!
OLDER GENERALLY DOES MEAN WORSE WHEN IT COMES TO GRAPHICS AND ELECTRONICS. WHY DO YOU THINK A NEW VIDEO GAME SYSTEM COMES OUT EVERY FEW YEARS?
UNLESS YOU LIKE USING MAPS AND SYMBOLS THAT LOOK LIKE CAME FROM A COLORING BOOK?
I ADMITT I AM A BIG FAN OF THE GARMIN PRODUCT BUT I CAN ALSO ADMITT ITS FLAWS!
-PRICE
-NO ROUTE EXCLUSION FEATURE
-ETC
YOU NEED TO FACE THE FACT THAT MAGELLAN IS NOT PERFECT!
-UNITS FREEZE UP OFTEN DUE TO BEING UNDERPOWERED
-USER INTERFACE NEEDS IMPROVED WETHER YOU AGREE OR NOT
-ETC
IM BEGINING TO WONDER IF YOU ARE WORKING FOR MAGELLAN?
WHY DO YOU THINK MAGELLAN HAS RELEASED AND DISCONTINUED SO MANY DIFFERENT GPS AS OF LATE? ITS NOT BECAUSE OLDER IS BETTER!
EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS YOUR OPINIONS YOU HAVE BEEN BEATING INTO THE GROUND.
IF YOU DONT WANT READERS TO GET FALSE IMPRESSIONS STOP ACTING LIKE MAGELLAN IS PERFECT. SINCE EVERYONE THAT POST SEEMS TO HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT WHY DONT YOU TELL US SOME OF MAGELLANS CONS. THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING!
REGARDS
STEVE,
IT REALLY BOTHERS ME HOW ANYTIME ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT MAGELLAN YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO COME TO THEIR AID AND MAKE AN ARUGHMENT YOU DON'T HAVE!
OLDER GENERALLY DOES MEAN WORSE WHEN IT COMES TO GRAPHICS AND ELECTRONICS. WHY DO YOU THINK A NEW VIDEO GAME SYSTEM COMES OUT EVERY FEW YEARS?
UNLESS YOU LIKE USING MAPS AND SYMBOLS THAT LOOK LIKE CAME FROM A COLORING BOOK?
I ADMITT I AM A BIG FAN OF THE GARMIN PRODUCT BUT I CAN ALSO ADMITT ITS FLAWS!
-PRICE
-NO ROUTE EXCLUSION FEATURE
-ETC
YOU NEED TO FACE THE FACT THAT MAGELLAN IS NOT PERFECT!
-UNITS FREEZE UP OFTEN DUE TO BEING UNDERPOWERED
-USER INTERFACE NEEDS IMPROVED WETHER YOU AGREE OR NOT
-ETC
IM BEGINING TO WONDER IF YOU ARE WORKING FOR MAGELLAN?
WHY DO YOU THINK MAGELLAN HAS RELEASED AND DISCONTINUED SO MANY DIFFERENT GPS AS OF LATE? ITS NOT BECAUSE OLDER IS BETTER!
EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS YOUR OPINIONS YOU HAVE BEEN BEATING INTO THE GROUND.
IF YOU DONT WANT READERS TO GET FALSE IMPRESSIONS STOP ACTING LIKE MAGELLAN IS PERFECT. SINCE EVERYONE THAT POST SEEMS TO HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT WHY DONT YOU TELL US SOME OF MAGELLANS CONS. THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING!
REGARDS
Garman,
You did this same thing to another person (Mozart) who correctly pointed out the flaws on the Nuvi 660 ... you got all defensive and unnecessarily abusive toward him. Go back and read all my posts regarding this topic and you will find not only that I presented a fair and balanced assessment of BOTH the Magellan and Garmin units while reiterating the fact that the single most important factor in choosing a GPS should always be whether or not it navigates well and finds POI's well. The Nuvi series does neither as well as several other products, the best of which just happens to be the Magellan line.
Several times I pointed out that the Magellans are not perfect (no product is), but that at the end of the day nobody else does it better. I also pointed out several times that I own BOTH Magellan AND Garmin products that I like a LOT. There is simply no bias here ... just an honest assessment based on experience with both brands.
If you like your Nuvi, fine ... go enjoy it! For those who haven't purchased a new GPS yet, I'm merely pointing out that Fletch's review, while very thorough overall, nevertheless fails to convey the reality that the Nuvi series DOESN'T have the great routing engine he claims it does, nor does it do even a mediocre job of finding major POI's that EVERY GPS out there should be capable of.
Bottom line: I can't help the fact that I have been spoiled by a GPS (the Magellan Roadmate 700/760 - sadly stolen) that did both of these things FAR better than the Nuvi 660 does, and that's technology going back at least five years!
Older, in this case, just happens to be significantly better at the core function we buy these products for ... navigation. As for the frills, the Nuvi660 has a lot of them and they are VERY desireable - I mentioned that several times in other comments, but you seem to have tunnel vision because you chose to overlook them.
If you want to debate me feature for feature I'll be happy to do so, but if all you want to do is make personal attacks because you don't like reading the truth you're accomplishing nothing except to make a fool out of yourself. You did this with Mozart and now you're trying to do the same with me... Good luck with that. I'm confident that anyone reading this will clearly see who is being fair and reasonable and who is having an online tantrum.
...And for the record, I don't nor have I ever worked for ANY GPS manufacturer, nor do I sell these products. I am a syndicated radio producer (and a stay-at-home dad).
Now, feel free to respond however you like, but if you would like others to take your point of view seriously I would suggest you put more substance and less opinion into your reply. That's what I have done ... nothing more, nothing less. In fact I freely admitted that I haven't had the chance to test the newest Magellan series. They may be fantastic ... they may be a step backward from the Roadmate series. I will say this much (and I said it before) ... if they navigate no better than the older models they're still leaps and bounds better than the poor performance I experienced with the Nuvi 660.
This product could definitely be the cream of the crop with a little hard work on Garmin's part, but right now it's just not a very good navigational aid. My Handheld Garmin GPS60cs (which I love) is FAR better at navigating than the Nuvi is. Good luck with yours...
Regards,
I purchased a Magellan 6000T last week and am very happy with its performance. I drive a NYC taxi and am amazed at how much of a useful tool my Magellan 6000T is. The screen is clear, crisp, and colorful. The mapping directions have not let me down once. I am convinced that Garmin uses paid professional bloggers to discourage those prospectus purchasers from purchasing a Magellan product. It took me a month to finally say I'm going with the Magellan 6000T because it has certain features which I find vital in my job. The "exclude" function is a must in NYC. If I know the Holland tunnel is backed up then I can at least "exclude" that tunnel route which will put me into the Lincoln tunnel. Best of all, I spent $495 on a new 6000T which is a lot less than what Garmin is asking for with their products.