A Review of the Magellan Maestro 4040

Did I Really NEED a GPS or is it Just Another Gimmicky Expensive Toy?

I honestly am terrible with directions and like the stereotype male, I hate to stop to ask directions and that's usually because if it's not written down I forget what someone has told me before I get back in the car. I'm not sure if it's ADD or just selective listening. It drives my wife nuts so I usually ask HER to get out and ask for directions. She's much better at remembering.

Two years ago I had the attitude that GPS was another expensive gimmick; a toy for people who have extra money to spend on non-necessities. Six months ago I was in New York and saw first hand how these things work since my brother owns a Garmin brand. "Pretty cool," I thought. Fast forward to a month ago. We were attending my nephew's wedding in Manhattan and then also dropping our 3 kids off at summer camp for 3 weeks in the mountains of PA. I thought, hmm, no time better than now to get a GPS to help me navigate to Manhattan and then to PA from there.

I ended up buying the Magellan Maestro 4040 (AAA model) from Costco. So what does this thing actually do for you? As with most GPS devices it will calculate your current position and direct you to just about any address you key in and which is already stored on the device. It shows you via a map, shows your position on the map, and tells you via voice instructions where to get off (but in a nice way). I was hoping for a sexy sounding voice, but it's a computerized female sounding voice. Some brands actually let you choose male or female. My wife was annoyed she didn't have the option to choose a male voice on this model!

The screen on this is about four and a half inches on the diagonal. The map is bright, sharp, and easy to see. The unit attaches either to the windshield with a suction cup and bracket or you can use an adhesive disk and attach to the top of the dashboard. The voice directions are sometimes a bit difficult to understand but generally pretty good. I recommend using the suction cup. It holds REALLY well.