Magellan Maestro 3250 Review:
Magellan Maestro 3250 portable navigator eases your travel time with its powerful combination of guidance and communication. Use the interface on the 3.5″ touchscreen display to find detailed maps of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, along with the 6 million preloaded points of interest.

Screen size: The 3.5″ Magellan Maestro 3250 screen was a nice bonus when compared to the Garmin’s 1.5″ screen. I was happy with the Garmin display, so I am that much more happy with the Magellan.

Screen Zoom: While the Magellan was fine, the default zoom level on the Garmin provided just a bit more information (zoomed out a little more) and I find that the added view was helpful when navigating unfamiliar areas.

Brightness: I never had a problem with the Garmin, but the Magellan was definitely brighter.

Re-calculation: The Garmin was quicker to detect that I had left the route and start the recalculation. Once the Magellan 3250 detected that I was off route (usually at about 75% re-calc on the Garmin) it would initiate and finish the re-calc very quickly (usually at the same time as the Garmin, despite the Garmin’s 75% head start). The quickness with which the Garmin detects that you have the left route is NOT always a blessing. One of my few complaints about the Garmin was that it was/is U-turn crazy. That is to say that it detects that you have the left route and tries to force you (repeatedly) into a U-turn to get back on route. I had no such trouble with the Magellan.

Bluetooth: The Garmin i3 is a budget model and does not have this feature. With the Magellan Maestro 3250, my SMT5600 Smartphone is not on the supported list. However, it still works as a bluetooth headset, which is sufficient for me. The quality (both on my end and on the end of the person that I made the test call to) was better than my Motorola bluetooth earbud.

Traffic: This is another advanced feature of the Magellan 3250, which the Garmin does not have. I was not able to test this feature because I have not yet started the free trial.

Maps: The Magellan 3250’s maps are from NAVTEQ and were very accurate. The Garmin also uses NAVTEQ maps and are also very good.

Routing: Both the Garmin and the Magellan Maestro 3250 calculated the same base route when going from A to B (and it was a route that I know well and can attest that the selected route was good).

Re-routing: Here, the Magellan Maestro 3250 is the hands-down winner. Not only did the Magellan NOT display the “possessed U-turn demon” of the Garmin, but it seemed to make smarter assumptions (i.e. not forcing me back to the highway when local was just as fast) when re-routing.

Mounting: Because the Garmin is very small (fits in the palm of your hand), the mount is a ball-and-socket which makes it very easy to adjust to any angle. I was pleasantly surprised that the beefy Magellan mount provided a similar range of flexibility.

Navigation: While both systems navigate quite well, I have to give the nod to the Magellan 3250. Whenever there are complicated branches, the screen splits into two (map and branch) clearly showing which branch is the correct one to take. The Garmin describes the branch (stay left/right, then stay right/left), but a picture is worth a 1000 words! In some cases the Garmin did have a few extra niceties like the top screen banner indicating what the next major action would be. Also, the Garmin uses names for highways while the Magellan Maestro 3250 uses the highway numbers (e.g. “M-10″). If you are local, the names might make more sense, but I know from experience that out-of-towners would prefer the highway numbers over the names (here the Magellan wins again). The Magellan has text-to-speech and the Garmin does not; I can see that this would be useful for out-of-town adventures.
Finally, one point to the Garmin for verbosity. The Garmin was/is always talking before the Magellan and sometimes even when the Magellan sat quiet. The Magellan said nothing to assure me that I merged to the right path; maybe a minor point I don’t know.

Controls: This is the #1 reason why I am replacing the Garmin. The Magellan 3250 has a touch screen. The Garmin i-series uses a thumb-wheel. While the thumb-wheel is very fast to use while sitting still it can become nearly possible to use while driving on less than perfect roads. I know that you are not supposed to play with the GPS while driving, but honestly - who doesn’t!?? Since I do, the touch screen is a definite winner.

Boot-up: The Garmin always boots fast and doesn’t antagonize with the nag screen for too long. The Magellan Maestro 3250 seemed to boot a little slower, but what really bothered me was the nag screen that sticks around for several seconds after it has been dismissed.

POI: Do NOT underestimate the importance of the POI database. In this case, both the Magellan 3250 and Garmin i-series have 6 million built-in points of interest. A lot (most) of the budget systems have “millions”, which usually translates into just a few more than 1 million. If you do not believe that 6 million is a big advantage over 1+, buy two systems and compare for yourself. You will be shocked at the difference that it makes in finding exactly what you are looking for. BTW - Both the Garmin amd Magellan POI database includes accurate phone numbers as well. This is especially great on the Magellan because you can call directly from the GPS unit via bluetooth to your cell phone!

Magellan Maestro 3250 Features:

Easy To Use Interface
Use the big icons on the 3.5-inch touch screen to search for your destination by address, intersection, or any of 6 million points of interest (POIs), including restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations, and more. You can even touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination, see name and address, and get an instant route. Turn by turn visual and spoken directions guide you every step of the way.

Auto re-route gets you quickly back on track whenever you make a detour or miss a turn. QuickSpell feature intelligently searches and checks spelling when you enter addresses. The Magellan Maestro 3250 offer multiple view options, including 2D, 3D, and TrueView that shows your upcoming turn using a 3D split screen. Maneuver List displays the full turn-by-turn details of your route. Auto night view adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing.

Voice Command and Control
Voice Command further enables hands-free operation so you can keep your eyes on the road. Say a command to access the most used navigation functions. Find the nearest coffee, restaurant, gas and ATM or get an instant route home. Plus, you can ask for your location, the distance to your destination and quickly get details for the nearest roadside assistance and more, all with the sound of your voice.

AAA-enabled
The Magellan Maestro 3250 provides AAA members roadside assistance details, with exact location and a toll-free number. Plus, the Magellan Maestro 3250 is Bluetooth-enabled so you can connect your Bluetooth cell phone directly to AAA for immediate help when you need it most.

Bluetooth for Hands-Free Calling
The Magellan 3250’s Bluetooth wireless technology lets you make hands-free phone calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. You can store or sync numbers and contact information through the easy-to-use touch screen, and even place calls directly through the Magellan 3250’s integrated microphone and speakers.

Integrated Real-Time Traffic
The integrated traffic receiver offers onscreen RDS-TMC traffic incident reports in real-time. A free 3-month traffic service subscription makes it easy to avoid accidents, slow downs, road closures, severe weather and more. Magellan Maestro 3250 automatically recalculates your estimated time of arrival based on traffic conditions and prompts you to reroute when a quicker way is available.

Take It Anywhere
The Magellan 3250 is super-thin, lightweight and fits easily into any pocket. The integrated rechargeable battery enables you to operate the Magellan Maestro 3250 away from your vehicle for up to three hours. The battery recharges while driving via the included vehicle power adapter.

Tons of Data
The Magellan Maestro 3250 comes pre-loaded with Navteq maps of the United States and Canada, and 6 million points of interest (POIs). POI data includes telephone numbers and addresses.

It also has an Address Book in which you can create and store POIs and addresses that you use frequently.

Flexible Routing
The Magellan Maestro 3250 provides a particularly large number of routing features relevant to its price point. Multi-destination routing lets you select up to 20 destinations and find the best route to get to all of them. SmartDetour prompts you to route around heavy or stopped freeway traffic.Customizable route methods let you choose between several different routing methods, including “Fastest Time”, “Shortest Distance”, “Least or Most Use of Freeways”, and “Avoid Toll Roads”. Route exclusion lets you pick streets and freeways you want to avoid.

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