Magellan Maestro 4700 Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigation

Magellan Maestro 4700

The Magellan Maestro 4700 is an ultra-slim 4.7-inch color touch screen Portable GPS Navigation which have Pre-loaded with NAVTEQ maps and six million POIs (points of interest) for the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, making the GPS device is suitable for both business trips and vacations. Other features include Exclusive OneTouch Favorites Menu, Exclusive AAA TourBook Guide, Voice Command, Highway Lane Assist, Bluetooth Compatibility, Predictive Traffic, Highway Exit POI Search, QuickSpell with SmartCity Search, Multi-destination Routing, Spoken Street Name Guidance, 3D Landmarks visual, and find your Car for Easily remember the location of your car in parking lots, airports, malls, universities, amusement parks, or stadiums. When your day is done, the Maestro 4700 will automatically guide you to your car. With the total cost of $139.99, we guarantee you wouldn’t disappoint to use this device.

Amazon customer Review :

With an occupation that keeps me on the road, a working navigational tool is a must have. Having gone through my fair share of slow and inconsistent GPS products ranging from Garmin, TomTom and yes even Magellan through the years, one must really do their homework. After researching several systems this model kept popping up on my radar screen.

Coming out of the box, this unit worked perfectly without the usual hiccups of other systems that I have owned. Installation is simple. Powering up is a breeze. The download time for entering starting point to destination is about 45 seconds. The One Touch screen is on the money. The menu allows for editing for one’s own personal choices. I really have come to like the Predictive Traffic feature. In short, it creates alternate routes for known traffic tie ups.

Even though this system is primed for Bluetooth, not all mobile devices are compatible. The Maestro 4700 paired at times with two out of three of our cell phones. When it did pair, connections were dropped a bit more often then expected and clarity was an issue. As usual, my personal phone did not pair up at all with this system. Maybe its a great working feature with the right phone. Even if it did pair up with my go to phone, I don’t see myself giving up my wireless ear piece anytime soon. This feature rates 3 stars at best.

Like every GPS system before it, Voice Command on this unit is simply a wasted feature that works when it wants to. This add on alone receives a failing grade from me. On the other hand, Spoken Street Name Guide with text to speech is clear and precise. The 3D Landmarks add on is a nice touch. I have yet to use the Find My Car feature. The free, no membership required AAA Guide is loaded with great up to date information.

The Maestro 4700 measures in at over 5″ wide x 3.5″ height and weighs about 6 ounces. The biggest draw for me personally is the large 4.7″ color touch screen, predictive traffic, and the lane guide arrow features. Unlike previous models that I have owned, the Maestro 4700’s screen is viewable in all lighting conditions. The user friendly one touch interface is definitely a winner.

Quick Spell automatically fills in the blanks and makes locating a destination easy. One of the sweetest features is the lane guide arrows (Highway Lane Assist) program that sounds a bell when my next turn is coming up. It quickly guides me into the correct lane without the usual “Oops, how did I miss that exit?”

The Maestro 4700 comes preloaded with maps of the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. Additional maps can be stored on board via SD Card. Included accessories are a windshield mount, storage pouch, dash mounting disk, car power adapter, handbook, USB cable, and an informative CD. I recommend buying a good protective case. Magellan loses major style points for not including an AC power supply plug. Unplugged, the battery provided me a little over 2 hours of power.

As with most electronics, this system includes the standard 1 year warranty. If it is returned within the applicable warranty period, Magellan will replace the defective unit. Most likely the buyer will receive a reconditioned unit of the same model or at the company’s discretion another model of lesser value. I know this from personal experience. Both Magellan and Garman share this replacement policy.

Magellan has come out with some great products but its always been their customer support that loses points with me. After my latest chat with off shore customer support, it still ranks three stars at best. Keeping that in mind, I strongly advise all buyers to think extended warranty packages to protect your investment.

I found that one continually overlooked offering is the warranty plan offered by most major credit cards. For me personally, my credit card warranty has been a worthwhile, cost effective investment. With pennies on the dollar, it is a warranty that backs up my products one hundred percent from the date of purchase.

The glitches I found with both Voice Command and Bluetooth pairing undoubtedly keeps the Maestro 4700 from garnering more then a four star rating. Even with those issues this product still delivers on the basics. For me that is more then enough. Its still an above average NAVAIDS tool.

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UPDATE:10.31.09
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I’ve owned this system for a few months now. I’ve driven cross country and back and also made my monthly run up the coast. The only issue that I have had is the age old problem with NAVTEQ maps. On more then one occasion the maps placed me in the opposite direction of my destination. I don’t see the folks at NAVTEQ fixing this problem any time soon because it has existed for so long. NAVTEQ mapping was an issue on my other GPS products as well. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery rather then waiting for the folks at NAVTEQ to fix their maps. Other then that, my Magellan 4700 GPS is still on the job and doing what it does best.