GPS Reviews

Magellan Maestro 3100 & 3140

Magellan have just announced the release of 2 new gps navigation systems on their Maestro product line. The 3100 and 3140 will feature slim lines like the ones on the 4000 series, but will have a 3.5″ screen in contrast to the 4″ screens that the 4000 series have.

The 3140 will feature the AAA tour book travel information for North America, both units will have a battery that lasts about 3 hours and have at least 750,000 points of interest (POI) installed.

Features on Magellan 3140:

• AAA TourBook Travel Information
• Bluetooth
• Text to speech

Review highlights of the Magellan Maestro 3100:

Pros:

• Affordable price
• Very good navigation capabilities
• Current maps
• Nice interface, very easy to use,works right out of the box, minimal setup. very friendly & intuitive user interface.
• Decent size for portability

Cons:

• Map screen’s pastel color scheme and small text difficult to see
• ETA(Estimated time of arrival) is not displayed on the screen
• No AC adapter included in the box, need to charge in car
• No text to speech/Bluetooth
• Short battery life
• Small POI (Points of Interest) database
• Screen freezes sometimes
• Difficult to remove system from windshield mount

Conclusion:

The Maestro 3100 is a bargain for the budget conscious consumer. This machine gives the Mio C220 a run for its money in the $200 range of gps navigation systems. Read more about other $200 gps systems here.

Additional resources:

• GPS Magazine have a very good in depth review on these systems and can be found here.
• If you want to learn more on the Maestro 3100, click here for a discussion forum on the Magellan maestro 3100 and 3400
• Compare the Magellan Maestro series using this tool from Magellan
• Lowest price on the Maestro 3100
• Lowest price on the Maestro 3140
• You now can also buy the Magellan Maestro 4040