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I recently got a Magellan Maestro 3100 for Christmas. I know nothing about these things and need a little help. I turned it on and tried to put in my address and it wouldn't let me type it in. I would like to look for a decent navigation system with the ability to at least type in my address, and would like the different voices/accents. any suggestions/comments?

Need more info, like how much do you want to spend, and any other comments about how you will use the device. If you just want an auto navigation system, I'd suggest you take a look at the Garmin 7XX series at www.garmin.com. They (until 2nd Qtr of 2008) are the latest in the Nuvi line from Garmin, and are really great devices. At the risk of being dumpted from this forum, I currently have one for sale at www.gpscity.com (in their forum area). I have a Honda with an onboard system, and no longer need the new Nuvi 750 I bought.........

Joel

well i would use in the car.... and if i were to get another one i would want to be able to trade or try to return the one i have first... if i can't keep it and download things.
I have always wanted the ones with the different voices/ accents... does that limit it a lot or do a lot of GPS systems have that? and if i does limit it.. which ones have a better ability to find places you type in?

Download things? Like what things? Most GPS devices can only download firware updates to the operating system within the unit, and "custom" points of interest (POIs).

Joel

o ok well i didn't know

Look - I'm going to be honest with you. The Maestro 3100 is a bottom-of-the-line unit from Magellan, but still looks like a great "starter" unit for anybody that knows nothing about GPS devices. Get the manual for the device - use it for a while, then decide if you want to spend more money for a much better unit. Go to www.magellangps.com and learn what the unit should be capable of. If you want to spend more money, search the web sites I've given you. I'm not going to slam Magellan, but I will tell you that I've been there, and done that.

Good luck........... Joel

Thanks for your opinion Joel and I appreciate your time, but the reason I signed up here and posted this was to avoid reading all the websites, because trust me i tried that, and I had a hard time understanding what everything was, along with the fact that it is time consuming. I just wanted to ask someone who knows about GPS units, where I get get a decent unit (could be a starter unit) with decent navigation and the voices/accents; so I decided a forum would be best. So...any suggestions/comments?

I did a quick browse on the web on this unit. It look like it is a decent unit, and it has a Sirf chip. It has a map database, and it should be able to let you enter your address.

Look at this link, section 8 talks about how to enter an address.
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/05/mage ... p?page=4#8

Did you read the manual?

Thanks JCBI.
I did try doing that. With this system I guess it has built in addresses, because when I started to put my address in it omitted letters I was able to use and gave me possible streets and cities. So when I put the first letter of my street in it grayed out the second letter. I was pretty shocked because my road is named after and runs along a river, it is also a county road with a number.

for any of the GPS units... I would think whenever it gets to the point where it "greys" out the next entry, it's basically telling you that there are no entries in it's database that match your query.

think of looking for a name in a paper phone book .. say Goofa... and you get to Google .. and realize then that there is no Googa in the list.

So if the GPS list of streets does not contain your street then it could mean that it is a new street and not yet incorporated into the map database - on your unit - or maybe even the latest release... if the road is less than 4 or 5 years old,..

OR it could mean that your street has two names but only one is embedded in the database. This is not as weird as it might sound.

Many streets are simply numbers in some states but may also have a "name".

For instance the road near where I live is "613" but it is also known as Brock Road. The GPS does not "know" about "613" but it does know "Brock".

OR.. it could mean that for whatever reason.. and older road did not find it's way into the database...

and this sometimes might apply to a non-public road. We have some of these in our county.... they are not public but they ARE named and even have street signs on them for 911 purposes so they show up in my unit as an unnamed road.. which of course means there is no way to key in an address because obviously the road is not identified.

OR finally it could be an error. My unit actually knows the name of some roads.. but not the addresses on that road...

I remind folks looking at a GPS screen that what they are looking at is not a real-time depiction of the area depicted on the screen - but instead an electronic map.. very similar to a paper map... and I'm sure everyone has had the experience of looking at a paper map that clearly did not accurately represent a physical reality.

so GPS units are just a bunch of electronic map data... and as we all know computers and databases are subject to errors..... and not perfect.

Try browsing the GPS's map to the street you live on, and see if it even appears on the map. If it is there, then see what name it is labeled with. As LarryG noted, some streets may have more than one name. Or the map software may list an incorrect spelling of the name. If you can at least find the street on the map, you can then use the map's name (even if it's wrong) to refer to the street when you need to.

Another idea. If you are home right now, then just look at the GPS's map page and zoom in until the street names shows up. You will then know exactly how they spell or refer to your street.

BTW, I have often noticed that many brands of GPS will refer to streets differently than how the local people do. For example, "2345 15th NW" may be referred to as "2345 NW 15th", or have the suffix of "Ave" instead of "St" or "Rd".

It all depends on where the GPS manufacturer buy their e-maps from.

thanks guys.. I will try all of those and get back to you... if thats the case then it should be that way with any other GPS system I would encounter this problem with correct?

Joel, I am really curious as to how you would rate the unit in your Honda compared to the Garmin Nuvi. I recently bought an Acura with a built in unit (which I assume is basically the same as yours) and my wife has been using a Garmin SP C330 for over a year. The unit in the Acura is an Alpine. It cost over 4 times what the Street Pilot did and basically it is a dog compared to the Garmin. Both it's built in POI list and it's routing software are significantly less capable than the Garmin. The only thing it has to recommend it is it's integration to the rest of the system particularly the Blue Tooth link to my phone. It also has the Zagat rating system but I am a Crackerbarrel, Red Lobster sort of person so that is of minimal use. The closest Zagat rated restaurant that they list closed up a year ago. Please post your thoughts on your comparisons. Thanks

I'll tell ya, I was excited about having the on-board system (with Navteq maps), and finally getting rid of my wife's complaining about the "hazard" of the mobile 750 sitting on the center console cup holder. Navigation wise, the on-board system won't hold a candle to the Nuvi 750. I've traveled with it extensively, and it's routing engine leaves a lot to be desired. I actually carry the 750 (in a plastic Wal-Mart bag) behind my seat "just in case" . God watches out for fools and drunks, so I'm really glad that my 750 hasn't sold. I've had several mobile units, and this is my first (and last) on-board system. Updates for the mobiles are 70 to 80 bucks. On-board system updates are 185!! They better get a lot better updates before I'll pay that much!!

Cheers............ Joel

Joel,

You might want to consider listing it at GPS Passion
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/foru ... ORUM_ID=22
I bought my Garmin StreetPilot 2730 used from someone there over a year ago. He was happy to sell it and I was happy to buy it.

I have actually been looking at possibly getting a Garmin Nuvi 750 for my wife sometime. I saw this place on Froogle.com for $409.99. I am kind of dragging my feet until I recover from the Christmas spending, but I think a Garmin Nuvi 750 would be well suited for her in her van.

the map shows where I am but it doesn't show the street, just an area next to the street my road comes off of. I wasn't able to search the map, is that just because my system isn't a more expensive one? Do different systems have more extensive maps and the ability to find more addresses... or are they all pretty much the same?

Has your street been newly constructed in the past few years?

i figured it out... apparently the zip code is actually of one town, but the street and location is of a different town. I found it, thanks for all your help I guess the only other question now is, what would be another unit I could get with the different voices/accents, or good quality. I am not asking for one that I would trade it in with a simple exchange, I don't mind paying more, but if there is a unit out there with the vioces and accents that is close to this price range (or if I could doa simple exchange), it is something I would rather.

Have you checked to see if you can just download different voices? I know a variety of voices are available for the Garmin Nuvi and Tom Tom GPS lines.

well I was hoping you guys could tell me that. I have the Magellan Maestro 3100, and if it can't which ones can, so when I decide on which one I know there may be more options