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Product: Hewlett-Packard dv2-1030US List Price: $933.00 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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This laptop hit the sweet spot for me. I had a netbook, the MSI Wind, and it was great for what it was. However, the 1024×600 screen size was a constant issue for me..many programs weren’t really happy with that resolution. My eyes are fine, and screen size isn’t an issue, but the resolution was.

So my next laptop I also wanted it to be ultraportable, but I need a 720p minimum size resolution AND a discrete graphics card (and NOT an Intel.) I previously had dell 17″ with a Nvidia 7900m GO video card - it was basically my traveling gaming laptop - however the size and weight got to be way too much for me.

The DV2 has everything I need, and these are some notable features.

- A discrete video card, ATI 3410 512MB (had to play TF2 and City of Heroes with no problem - I like to do light gaming). It’s a decent card, but it won’t replace a real strong gaming laptop or desktop but enough for my needs. This chart helps explain how the video cards stack up:[...]

- Screen size - 1280×800, a good solid resolution

- 4GB, Vista home premium 64 (on the 1030us model)

- Clear screen, but not a great viewing angle

- Lightweight, 3.8 lbs

- Cheap (<600 w/rebate)

- Good wifi card (a/b/g/n)

- no bluetooth (bummer)

- Alright battery life (just slightly above average, considering the intense video card)

A few things to note about some of the complaints:

- Yes it can run hot. However, I did not witness it heat up until AFTER I played a game and then it wouldn’t come down. Using speedfan, I saw 41C at one of the probes (which I assumed to be the processor), another probe was like 15C. The hottest I saw was 58C, 17C. You have to remember to do the bios upgrade, this helps cut down on heat issues. You should expect heat if you game or put it down on a bed for long time or something. Get a laptop cooler for home like I did - it won’t hurt and may help in the long run.

- There was an INCREDIBLE amount of bloatware..more than I’ve ever witnessed in my life (no kidding, really.) After removing as much as I thought safe and doing all the updates, I saw a noticeable improvement in speed overall

- I would be happier if it were a dual core. However, that being said, it is good enough to do office apps, web surf, email, and yes IT WILL GAME TOTALLY FINE too depending on the game title. So, the dual core, IMHO, is only needed if you are going to do video compression, which I would not do on this (that’s what I have a desktop for, a quad core too.) The MSI WIND was good enough for office apps too.

- Viewing videos was ok. I’m having a hell of a time getting DXVA (video hardware acceleration) working. I can view a 720p movie (.mkv H.264) decoded in software via the processor running at about 70%. The MSI would run the same movie at 92% so this processor is definitely more powerful than that when it comes to video decode on CPU. The DXVA problem stems from it being Vista x64 vs the 32 bit version. I’ve always been wary of x64 operating systems on Windows and I would place the blame squarely on its shoulders because DXVA works fine on my 32 bit Vista desktop with an ATI card as well. Anyhow, I don’t think I’ll be viewing 1080p titles (since the screen can’t do it anyway).

So that’s all I can tell you for now. I’ve had it for a few days only but it seems fine, especially given the price. TF2 runs at like 40+ FPS at full screen resolution (1280×800), with medium to medium high settings. City of Heroes runs a little more sluggish 22+ FPS at full screen resolution and low settings. However, CoH is a more CPU intensive game than most due to the PhysX stuff and logic behind the game so it would definitely benefit from a dual core. It does play and that’s what’s important.

Overall it’s a great laptop but you have to know what to expect. Don’t think it won’t get hot, because with that kind of oomph and teeny package it will happen. It won’t burn you legs or anything but hot it will run.

So remember, uninstall all the bloatware, do a BIOS upgrade, get a decent H.264 DXVA compliant video codec installed, and you are set for a nice mobile experience. I will next try to load Ubuntu 8.10 using WUBI to see how it installs out of the gate with it. Should be a nice experience. The MSI WIND ran that nicely and even ran Compiz no problem with the big cube and effects on. It should be a piece of cake for this machine.

Enjoy, and don’t let the negative reviews deter you. It’s not a dual core machine, but it does have a lot going for it…in a 12 inch ultraportable form factor too!

Basically it’s not really a netbook (and would not be fair to compare it to one), but it is an ultraportable laptop. No doubt, this will blow the doors of a netbook. This is about as small as I could find that would do gaming. It is more expensive than a netbook, but look what you get. Look around, 12″ laptops you have to pay a premium to purchase that size ($1000+). This is priced in the range of some decently powered 15.4″ laptops but as I said, you pay for the size.

It is for someone who is looking to purchase this size AND wants a firm multimedia and ok gaming capability, but doesn’t want to spend $1K for the dual core and near desktop replacement features.

To me, it’s just the right combination of power, portability, and features. This laptop is positioned perfectly between a netbook (which costs half as much) and an ultraportable (which costs twice as much).

It looks a lot like a netbook, except it’s not a netbook. There is no sense comparing dv2-1030us to a glorified calculator with 1 GB of RAM and a 4 GB SSD. This laptop comes with 4 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive, so it can be used to do real work, not just take notes before transferring the data elsewhere.

The screen is bright and clear, and has the same resolution as a 15″ HP laptop such as dv5-1250us. There is an HDMI port so I can hook it up to my large monitor or an HDTV.

There is no internal DVD drive The external drive comes bundled. This makes dv2-1030us much lighter than other laptops. I rarely use the DVD, so I won’t have to drag the external drive with me.

Pros:

- 64-bit CPU, supports 4GB RAM

- 320 GB hard drive

- great screen quality

- HDMI connector

- very good touchpad with scroll

- more power per pound of weight than any other laptop or netbook

- a physical switch to turn off wireless

- external DVD drive, no need to drag around the extra weight

- power cord is about 15′ long, you don’t have to sit by the outlet

Cons:

- external DVD drive, I will probably misplace it one day

- power cord is about 15′ long, I constantly have to untangle it

Bought the DV2 for about 700 2 months ago, and am pleased to say that this little notebook performs quite admirably, all things considered. The Neo surprised me with astounding speed - for a single core processor. Don’t let that mislead you, however; under most circumstances, one wouldn’t be able to distinguish the diminutive single core from one of AMD/Intel’s lower/mid-range dual core processors.

Speedfreaks beware: this machine does not handle 1080p videos and high-end games terribly well… Nevertheless, anything 720p and below will play flawlessly on the beautifully bright screen, and games like TF2 and COD 4 will play at wonderfully high framerates and mid-high settings. Even Crysis, to some extent, was playable at low settings.

Two cons: heat and battery life. The left side of the laptop can get prohibitively hot; this isn’t much of an issue if one tends to use the computer on a desk, but sitting on a lap, one should be rather careful to make sure the vent isn’t blocked, lest a potentially dangerous situation arise… Battery life isn’t anything to write home about - I see an average of 2-3 hours, which isn’t terrible, but could be better.

Design-wise, HP made this model perfectly. This laptop is quite thin, quite light, quite fetching, and also quite prone to fingerprints…

All in all, a wonderful machine that I wouldn’t hesitate to buy again. As a side-note, HP recently updated this model to a dual-core, which would undoubtedly make this machine faster and more capable than before. Check it out!

Product: Fein FMM 250Q Select List Price: $389.00 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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This company makes first class made tools. There appear to be no short cuts on quality. This is the third generation of this tool that I am aware of - first tool 150watts - second 180w — this and third 250w. This tool is very powerful and smooth. Still my favorite is the first 636-1. It is well powered, smaller and super smooth. This model has a wonderful blade change system ( non slip blade mount) like some of their higher priced tools. The usefulness and operation of this system have always been phenomenal! The newer tools are more powerful but the original tool has no trouble performing any job and causes a lot less body fatigue - that is why it is my favorite. I own the first and the latest generation of this tool.

This is a well-made product and the new star mount and quick-release blade change make it a worthwhile upgrade from the old Multimaster. I suggest purchasing the empty metal carrying case separately, which will run you about $55 online.

If you are reading this you already know that the Multimaster handles many tasks easily that are very difficult using other tools.

The Fein multimaster is a good, well made tool. Very powerful. I was surprised by how well it could cut into wood. The biggest problem, however, is the cost of the blades. These blades quickly wear out and have to be replaced. New blades are extremely expensive. Some people are making their own blades (do a web search) to try to avoid the cost. But there are some jobs that no other tool can do. It can plunge cut and it is great for precise woodworking.

Product: Magellan MA4370RGXNA List Price: No List Price Available Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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Just got my refurb’d 4370 in a couple of days ago since we’re going to go on a couple of trips in the near future. I initially wanted to use my iphone 3G with Navigon but have found that the it only intermittently works - think the 3G is too slow and it kills the GPS process and is constantly showing no GPS signal though google maps picks up the GPS signal (blinking blue dot just fine) but the software seems to work fine on my brother’s 3GS. I already have a built in GPS unit on my 05′Accord Hybrid that is super easy to use but can’t take it with me when we fly. I love the navigon maps on the iphone and their lane assist/reality view but I wanted something much more reliable and here are my initial impressions:

Upon opening the box:

1) Unit looked brand spanking new

2) Only sign that it was a refurb unit was the white box as well as “rf” stamped at teh bottom of the unit in very small letters

3) All parts were in the box: USB cable, CD, quick start, traffic code coupon, slip case, car charger, and wall charger

Upon powering it on:

1) Boots up fairly fast

2) Was expecting it to take awhile to aqcuire a signal since I was inside (though I do have windows in my office) but it acquired a signal fairly quickly (~30 seconds)

3) I downloaded the Content Manager software and plugged in the unit - found that the maps were already up to date but there was a new OS update. Update was quick.

4) Was able to pair it with my iphone fairly quickly - though the mic sounded super soft when I tried calling myself to test

5) Copied over an avi video file to an SD card and it worked great - not sure how often I will use this feature since can’t watch and navigate at the same time. It won’t recognize any of my music files (m4a extensions). Don’t want to go through the trouble of converting it to MP3.

6) the visual crispness of the maps looked great on the screen

7) Did notice some lag inbetween some of the screens as others have noted

Upon driving around to test the unit:

1) The built in speaker is decent and loud enough

2) Tried the FM transmitter and it worked ok. Sound quality is ok - not great - but definitely understandable

3) Though the unit is labeled as TTS for speaking street names, I found that it ocassionally only spoke the names of the street. Seems like it doesn’t like announcing numbered streets (ie 20th ave, etc.). This was a bit of a disappointment since I was hoping it would like Navigon does on the iphone.

4) The 4370 didn’t seem to provide a lot of directions compared to Navigon or my accord’s nav system. Granted that my destination was fairly straight forward, it didn’t provide any guidance on slight curves/turns while my car’s GPS was providing guidance so I was a little disappointed. Some of the intersections I passed would have been confusing if I wasn’t already familar with the area that I was testing. The 4370 seemed to assume that if the route was on the same street, there was no need to provide verbal guidance even at a fork in the road (for those in SF area, 19th ave and Junipero Serra right coming from hwy 280).

5) I tried deviating from the recommended route and it recalcuated very quickly and provided an alternate

6) Traffic seemed to work fine though don’t expect it to be instantaneous when an accident just happens - will require some delay to get the accident reported.

7) Lane guidance seemed ok but the doesn’t seem as visually appealing as Navigon on the iphone.

Love the fact that the unit will auto shut-off if you are using the car charger and turn off the engine.

9) Wished the car mount would fold flat so you can store it better and not worry about breaking it.

Overall, seemed to be decent unit and for the price is a good deal. Just wished the 4370 was more chatty and provided more directions/instructions as well as speak street names more vs turn left/right…

——–

Thought I’d provide some additional comments after taking a 4 day trip using the Magellan….

Things that I liked:

1) The auto night/color adjustment. It auto dims and changes to the night high contrast colors based on time of day as well as if it knows that you’re on a route that take you through a tunnel.

2) Chiming before turns - subtle feature but it reinforces when you should turn

3) Maps are fairly up to date - worked perfectly even though my Accords nav maps had no idea how to get around in the small town of Copperopolis, CA.

4) Very quick recalculations of directions when needed

5) When it loses GPS signal it doesn’t stop in its track like some other units or like the Navigon software on the iphone. It assumes your maintaining the same speed in the same direction until it acquires the GPS signal again - (ie when you lose line of sight when you go through a long tunnel)

6) Battery life is decent - if you decide not to plug it in.

7) Address entry is easy - love the fact that to get started you can just enter in the zip code, then the street address versus having to type in a state then long city name. The address book is a useful feature as well since it allows you to pre-enter all of the destinations of your upcoming trip.

Things I didn’t like as much:

1) The unit froze up once on our 4 day trip. There was no indication/error except I realized the map and distance to the destination wasn’t changing (was on a long stretch of back country roads so everything looked the same on the map) Had to power cycle it. Luckily this thing boots up fast and continues onto your current destination. It hasn’t frozen up since but would have caused lots of trouble if there was an exit that was missed due to the freezing up.

2) Dual plug - USB power and 3MM traffic plug that you have to plug into the unit (though both are on the same cable) - would have been nice if they could have integrated it together so that all you have to fiddle with is a single plug.

3) Traffic - It comes with 3 free months - after that, it’s $39.99 per year - haven’t had the unit reroute that often due to traffic so not sure I’d renew this when my trial is over.

My wife has also taken it on a couple of other trips to Baltimore & Atlanta without any issues and she loves it compared to the nav in her 01′ TL.

After using it I’m upgrading my rating to 4 stars and with the price drop to $109 for the refurb unit, I’d highly recommend it and may pick up another one for a family member.

I was looking for a better GPS unit than the one I had(The Magellan Roadmate 1412). I liked the updated graphics and the bluetooth functionality. After recieving it, the basic features were easy to figure out without reading the instructions. I have to admit that I’m one of those people that normally have no problems figuering out most tech equipment. The bluetooth functionality was the only problem. I have a Samsung Omnia which was not listed on the compatibility list but another similar model was listed so I tried anyway. After fiddling with it for about an hour I finally got the units paired and was able to make and recieve calls but it was not stable and very unreliable. After 1 or 2 calls an exclamation point icon would appear on the screen indicating a bluetooth problem and the unit would no longer pair with the phone. I would have to do a hard restart and re-pair the phone and GPS unit. After about 3 days of this I gave up and went back to the in-ear bluetooth. Other than the bluetooth issue, I like the unit. Since it was just over $100 I don’t feel ripped-off about not having the bluetooth function. When the bluetooth did work, the sound quality wasn’t that great anyway. To conclude, I would recommend this to anyone wanting a GPS unit in the $100 range that does not need bluetooth functionality. If your phone is on the very short compatibility list, maybe it will work for you.

So far so good with this refurb. It came with all the parts but one and that was a tiny safety screw for the mount that I can pick up at the hardware. I was able to register the device with Magellan no problem.

The Magellan did boot up with a CE Operating System error first time but, was a message that said to reboot and report if it continues. So far it has not come back. (TomTom OS has never error-ed)

The SMS texting feature does not work (Paired with BlackBerry). Magellan has a disclaimer on the text feature. It only works on some cell phones.

Using the hands free calling does work. The sound quality on the receiving end “from the built in speaker” is not the greatest.

Using the factory warranty (well) I hope it never comes up. I did buy the SquareTrade warranty with this to be safe.

No trial period on the Traffic Service so I have not turned it on yet.

My TomTom was and is still great and after 2 years my stepson has it. I needed a bigger screen and read good things on Megellan while shopping.

Hewlett-Packard FM946UT#ABA Christmas Deals!. Product: Hewlett-Packard FM946UT#ABA List Price: No List Price Available Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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This laptop is grand for its notice. If only it had a webcam it would bag 5 stars from me.

Product: Hewlett-Packard A6700F List Price: $731.00 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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Been in the market for a new PC for a while and wound up purchasing this one yesterday, locally from Office Depot (sixty dollar rebate enticed me over the edge )

Initial impressions were that it seemed slower that I expected a quad core processor to run but it is still plenty fast (downloads and loading software from CD where not much faster at all than my old Pentium 4 1.2G)

Where the quad core really shines is when running multiple apps (antivirus scan while surfing, etc.)

The wireless card requires an external antenna (included, but weird) which is invaluable if you happen to be located any appreciable distance away from your wireless router. I have mine on the other side of the house and still register 100% signal.

I really have only a couple of gripes, with just one of them major. 1, the HP suite is an enormous, cumbersome waste of space that does absolutely nothing. Hard to believe that when I ran antivirus on a brand new machine and the Task Manager showed 61 processes ( Yea Vista ) running and over 700,000 files already on the hard drive. Which leads me to 2. Windows Vista 64.

If you are looking for a single reason to run for the hills away from this computer - this is it. First and foremost, you can toss anything at all you expect to use peripheraly right out the window. I guarantee if it’s over a year old, there are no drivers for it.

Found this out the hard way after spending most of the evening trying to locate drivers for my printer only to find out that the manufacturer no long supports the model and does not and will not write drivers for it. So my 3 year old perfectly good laser printer is now a boat anchor.

Additionally, I planned to do sound editing (actually one of the reasons for the purchase) and guess what? No Vista 64 drivers for the Alesis Multimix. and so on.

Thinking about wiping Vista off and replacing with a copy of XP service pack 2? Forget it - unless you’re gonna replace the motherboard and buy new sound, video, PCI cards…HP doesn’t support XP drivers for the sound and video cards. Talk about a catch 22.

The sound and video are integrated on the motherboard and the sound card is a Realtek which seems more than adequate. Scaleable to HD, 5.1 and 7.1, I’m pleasantly impressed. The video card is average at best and definitely the weakest piece of the package. Gamers will not be impressed.

Overall, it is fine for the money, but be aware of what you are getting. If this is a first purchase, I’m sure the OS will become more and more prevelant and any gear you purchase to go along with it should be Vista 64 compliant. If it’s a replacement, get ready to buy all new stuff.

I bought this computer in the middle of March and began having problems within the first week (random crashes with a Blue Screen). After several phone calls to HP technical support and after doing all the troubleshooting you can possibly think of (I’m still guessing as to why I was the one doing all of that instead of a trained technician?!), the tech finally agreed with me that it was a hardware issue and not a virus and that my computer needed to be repaired.

After the first “repair” no hardware was replaced and the problem was still there. I had to send in my computer two more times (keep in mind that it takes weeks to ship the computer to a repair facility across the country) and both “repairs” did not fix anything. I wanted to have a replacement for my brand new computer right away, but apparently it takes THREE UNSUCCESFULL REPAIRS before any of the supervisors who have the power to give you a replacement get involved. I’m not even talking about trying to get a refund… Now it is the middle of June and I still don’t have a computer… Bottom line: HP has HORRIBLE TECH SUPPORT so if your computer (this model or any other) breaks, get ready for a long fight to get the problem fixed.

We bought this in package form along with an HP monitor and printer to replace our aging desktop. It completely screams when asked to do anything multimedia related, and cruises on native MS programs like Office 2007 as well. If you really want to get some performance out of it, install OpenOffice and Firefox, as both seem to take advantage of the hardware and outperform their MS brethren by wide margins. I can’t help but think what Linux would do on such a machine.

The only problem we had, and it WAS frustrating, was that a technician bent a pin in the wireless card during install. It was nothing that anyone would have noticed visually, and the system initially performed well, but after a day, the bad connection was too much and the wireless card only worked intermittently. After an all night session talking with HP Service in India, I located the problem. A new wireless card, free of charge and with straight pins, fixed the situation. I can’t hold it against HP. The card initially worked on start-up, so it probably passed the bench tests. These things happen, even at Apple and Dell. HP’s customer service was patient and effective, and the new part arrived in 2 days.

Overall, incredible machine. By our “Performance Gadget,” we haven’t even begun to max the processor or RAM out, even with the latest versions of Pinnacle Studio, OpenOffice, and MusicMaker.

Product: Sunforce 11240 List Price: $399.00 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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Bought this off Amazon a month or two ago. I was looking for an inexpensive pure sine wave inverter to replace my Duracell (Xantrex) modified sine wave inverter. I was expecting to have issues from the get go (due to the cheap price!) but this inverter is working out quite nicely. I have it hooked up to 4 Trojan T-105 batteries which is charged up with an 85 watt Kyocera solar panel and Xantrex C35 charge controller.

Being pure sine wave, I can run anything now that my old modified sine couldn’t. No more annoying buzzing sounds from CFL’s or TV’s. certain appliances that wouldn’t power up on the old inverter now work flawlessly. Some things I run on the Sunforce: Samsung 22″ LCD TV, CFL’s of all sizes, Playstation 2, battery chargers, laptops, electric cooler.

I haven’t tripped the over current protection yet at all, not even when using items that typically surge, such as a large power drill.

No fan issues like the other review mentioned.. in fact I haven’t heard it come on at all yet; then again it’s winter time here in Missouri so I assume it truly is thermal controlled.

The remote keychain that was provided with the unit works great. Since I’m doing the electrical work on our new cabin, I can turn off and on when working on the electrical. Then turn it off when we leave for the week.

The only issue I’ve had so far is once I came back on the weekend and the inverter turned itself back on sometime during the week. This normally wouldn’t be a big issue except we’re limited on battery capacity and can be a nuisance if kept happening. This has only happened the one time so no biggie.

The LCD readout on the front of the inverter is a nice feature, more expensive inverters don’t have this by default, though I rarely look at it.

I would like to determine how much power the inverter uses when it’s powered on and in idle mode. The documentation doesn’t mention this anywhere and would expect that would be a major selling point. (or, disadvantage if it’s too much of a power draw). I don’t have an amp meter to test what it is, if you find out please post a review.

The only other downsides is:

1) this inverter has no permanent mounting brackets. only rubber feet on the bottom. luckily the thick DC cabling keeps it well secured within the battery box.

2) the DC hookups are HAND TIGHTEN only. This can be an issue if you, like me, use the proper gauge wiring. in my case I’m using 6 gauge, which is actually borderline of being too small but the batteries are close by. I ended up using pliers to tighten the hand lugs. With thicker wiring, I imagine this would be a huge pain.

PROS:

inexpensive! I noticed the price just went up though
LCD readout on front panel

Keychain remote, I haven’t seen any other inverters include this with the inverter itself

CONS:

no mounting brackets? I’m sure you could finagle some aluminum straps around it, instead.

hand tightened DC connections

no mention of idle power usage.

I’ve had the Sunforce 1000w inverter for a couple of weeks now. Like a kid with a new toy, I had to try it on a couple things.

1. Bass guitar amp - First thing I noticed was the static noise was a lot louder than when it was plugged into grid power. I guess the power isn’t as clean as it should be for a pure sine wave inverter.

2. Rice cooker - It drew around 600 watts according to my Kill-A-Watt. The inverter cooling fan was turning on and off very frequently during cooking. When the rice cooker was done and went to “keep warm” mode, it was only drawing 40 watts but the cooling fan still turns on and off for a while until I unplugged it. I can see the fan turn on for any draw over 500 watts, but 40 watts???

Pros - It works. Cheap price. Cool remote power unit. Power information display panel.

Cons - Like other reviews, no way to mount it. Fan turns on at really low power consumption. The heatsinks are plastic and serves no real purpose. You would think if they used real heatsinks, it would’ve provided better passive cooling to minimize cooling fan operations. The big thumb screws for the battery power leads doesn’t tighten good enough, better to replace them with nuts and washers from a hardware store.

I give it a 3 1/2 star.

Product documentation was lacking this info, so called Sunforce and was told this inverter is 90% efficient, and has 2.5 Amp self consumption (standby.) 2.5 Amp seems like a bit much, but it’s the price you pay for a budget inverter.

Product: Actron CP9150 List Price: $582.99 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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I purchased this item for my father. It has definitely paid for itself! Just a heads up for those planning to purchase this item… The scanner itself is CP9145 NOT CP9150. I had 2 of these delivered and thought I was sent the wrong product each time. According to the manufacturer, a CP9150 is a CP9145 with extra cables included which allow you to test a greater selection of vehicles. Hope this helps.

This is one awesome tool I was able to save big on this scanner; this is a tool that pays for itself. I was able to troubleshoot two of my co-workers vehicle without charging them, one was a BMW & the other one was a Lincoln town’s car the next time everyone got to pay the piper. It definitely pinpoints the actual fault code. I had it for about 6 month; I just started to use it. I even found the problem with my 1988 Buick OBD I It’s an amazing product. It has all the attachments for OBD II & I, which enables one to get the job done without, having those dealers & shop ripping you off. If you did take it to the shop after scanning your vehicle, you can definitely intimidate those dealership by representing your fault to them. Being that they know what your talking about, they will not tend to make markups suggestion to you, if you know what I mean.

I love it. I have only had it for about 2 mo. and i have helped so many friends find out what’s wrong with thier car’s when they were afraid of bringing it to the shop for a 60-80 dollar diagnostic fee to find out thier gas cap was bad!!! If you gonna buy one of these you have to go with the 9150 because it does all those domestic cars older than 96 that the other scanners actron sells don’t. They only do OBDII. Well worth the 270$ we paid for it.

Product: Paslode 900600 List Price: $359.00 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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This nailer works great. If the tool fails to fire or jams frequently (if you read other reviews you’ll read about complaints of this happening, where they drepress the nose several times and then it works for a while, etc): CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATE ON THE FUEL CELL.

An expired fuel cell will make the tool malfunction randomly (drive 3-5 nails, not work, drive 3 more then not work or jam, etc). Creating huge amounts of frustration.

I have a set of Impulse nailers (framing and trim) and both worked flawlessly when I first bought them. I use them for home projects, that is, it can be a year or more before I use it on another project. Last year I started a new project and the framing nailer started not firing after driving 3-5 nails. I cleaned, oiled and cleaned again with temporary results after a few nails. The “usual procedure” is to depress the nose 10 times on the trim and at some point it starts firing again. Needless to say frustrating enough to make you want to buy a corded tool.

Four days ago I started working on trim, and the finish nailer started behaving the same way. Finally mad as heck I contacted paslode, and they told me to check the expiration date on the fuel cells. Sure enough, both of them were over 18 months expired. I replaced the fuel cells with a new one from the store, and wham, works without hessitation. I offloaded about 100 nails with each nailer and not a single misfire.

[this is now a year from my original post - and both nails run like champs. Never again have they failed to misfire]

I would have rated this as a 5 star, if the manual would have suggested to check the expiration date of the fuel cells. Alas, it is possible that mine didn’t say this because I bought mine over two years ago, and they had recently introduced the nailers.

I use alot of tools,have read alot of reviews but have never been inspired to write one,Until Now!Leave the compressor and hose at home,Forever..This cordless finish gun is the only one you need,it has every bit the power as a pnuematic.The features are great,depth of drive that lets you know where its at and which way you need to go.Nail lockout that every nailgun should have, atleast high end,Period.Quick clear jam lever.At 4.9 pounds it may not be the lightest finish gun,but with no tail attached you can manuever it like its floating on air.The angled magazine appears to be 20 degrees, which hasnt been a problem getting into corners or tight spots,but use’s special 16 ga. nails,not the 15ga. senco type nail most of us already have,but it does hold as many nails and is still more compact.The nails are priced competitively,The fuel cells on the other hand are half the size as the other paslode guns but cost the Same? The cost must be in manufacturing the cylinder not the fuel,The advantages far outweigh the negatives and this tool is here to stay so the fuel cells should become cheaper and the nails should always be around..I’ve shot well over 500 2-1/2 inch nails I’m still on the same battery and fuel cell.The night I got it I set it up shot 10 nails WOW! Put the battery in the charger took the fuel cell out put it all away.The next day set it up Nothing,Nothing,,I thought fully charged battery,new fuel cell whats the problem,still nothing.I was ready to tear it apart or take it back untill I pulled the fuel cell out manually expelled some fuel put it back in Bam,Bam.Apparently something clogged the tube,since then I’ve left the cell in and just take the battery out before I put it away FLAWLESS! Most mornings it fires first pump,a couple of times its taken 2 pumps one exceptionally cold morning I noticed a slight loss in power,a quick adjustment no problem.All in all this is one great tool,it was designed for the professional to be the best finish gun you can buy air or cordless.Get one you’ll love it…

We own several different Paslode nail guns, including the framing nailer and the straight finish nailer. We began using the Paslode products about 4 years ago. I will say that the new guns we have purchased in the last few months are significantly better than the quality of the guns purchased just a year ago. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t disappointed with our purchase a year ago, it’s just that these “newest generation” guns fire smoother, have more power and have been more consistent.

I have heard others complain about the cost of gas cartridges and replacement batteries and that the guns have to be reloaded fairly often. I will say that all of these are very minor inconveniences when compared to the overall benefits of these tools.

We now own about 10 of these various Paslode guns for our crews and they are truly a great tool. While they are quite a bit more expensive than the air tools, the freedom of use that this style of gun offers and how it will make your work more effecient makes this a purchase well worth the money. Also, Amazon’s price is EXTREMELY competative and not paying sales tax on the purchase saves us in Michigan another … . You will not be disappointed with this purchase.

Product: Garmin Nuvi 780 List Price: $699.99 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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This is my first automobile GPS, and I did a lot of research before settling on the Garmin 780. I live in the Washington DC Metro area, so all of the extra features work here. Upon its arrival, I downloaded and installed the latest Garmin WebUpdater v.2.41 and then updated my 780 from software version 2.50 to 2.90. I also updated the Bluetooth and other firmware, along with the languages that I use. This all worked flawlessly in a Windows XP virtual machine on a Linux host. FWIW, the 780 will charge off of the supplied USB cable.

The 780 acquired the necessary satellites in just a few minutes when first activated, and does so in less than a minute for subsequent activations. I found the screen brightness to be fine for both day and night. I’m using the 780 with the Garmin Portable Friction Mount. Smashing windows and stealing GPS devices is the sport of choice in the DC Metro area, so I wanted no evidence of a GPS extant when I left the car. The friction mount works perfectly on my Honda Accord dashboard and stores easily in the center console, leaving no trace of a GPS behind. Very cool. The 780 easily fits in a shirt pocket, so it’s not necessary to leave it in the car.

I tested the 780 immediately by driving during rush hour to a residence across the river in a tangle of park roads off of the beaten track, then returning at night. The Garmin had no trouble creating a very fast route to the destination that bypassed most of the heavy traffic during rush hour. On my return, I bypassed a turn on its preferred routing. It recalculated a new route in less than a second which was the exact right answer. The new route wasn’t a recapture of the original route, which wasn’t possible from that location, but an entirely new route. The routes it picked were appropriate for the times of day traveled, which can be a daunting task here if you don’t know which roads go which direction during the appropriate rush hour. DC is a notoriously difficult area to navigate, but so far the Garmin seems up to the challenge.

I found the volume of the internal speaker to be more than adequate even with the radio, air conditioning, and windshield wipers going. Voice notifications led upcoming turns by an adequate amount, and the voice prompts always helped me get into the correct lanes in plenty of time for upcoming turns. During a particularly tricky section where several major roads converge on a bridge, then diverge on the other side, the Garmin gave almost constant appropriate guidance to ensure that I took the correct forks and turns. I was quite impressed.

The Bluetooth paired quickly with my Motorola Razr V3. It even provided its PIN code at the appropriate time. The phone functions work great and it’s easy to hear over the 780 speaker. The party on the other side of the phone said that I sounded like I was in a tunnel, which is typical for remote devices for autos. I have another BT hands-free device and it garnered the same comments. The Garmin’s on-screen phone cues make hands-free easy.

Activation of the MSN Direct service was simple over the Net. On initial activation of your free 3 month trial, they offer a 6-month extension for $9.95 which gets you to 9 months of service total for less than $10–a very good deal. MSN Direct information took a while to load the initial information, but then it said that in the Quick Start pamphlet. Once loaded, the traffic, weather, and news worked great. Gas prices were behind by several days, which is an eternity these days. My favorite (and cheapest) station wasn’t listed.

Overall, I’m very happy with the 780. I’ll be working it out heavily in the coming weeks, including on a road trip to another city with MSN Direct service. I can’t believe that I waited this long to take the plunge to a GPS device for my car. Even though I’m a master with maps, the Garmin suggested a clever routing that I did not previously discover on my own. From what I’ve seen so far, the 780 will be a highly valued addition to my road warrior kit bag. I can recommend the 780 without reservation.

I purchased a Sony NAVU-83T, a Garmin 680, and a Garmin 780 to compare their features and routing capability. I kept the 780 and returned the others, but it was a very difficult decision.

The Sony unit [...] at Costco, and has a 4.8″ screen (1/2″ larger!). It has one of the best user interfaces on the market, primarily due to a few things: 1) you can always get back to the map by pressing one button, regardless of where you are, 2) you can always get to the main menu by pressing one button, regardless of where you are in the menus, 3) it has a split screen function that gives you lane guidance visually so that you know which lane to get into, well before the turn, 4) it has shortcuts, for instance to GO HOME you make a V shape on the screen and it takes you home…no menu navigation required!

On the down side, the Sony took FOREVER to calculate or re-calculate routes, and in many cases I missed the newly recalculated turn because it took too long to figure it out. It also took longer routes than the Garmin, would avoid commonly used roads for no apparent reason, and would not take me down roads that were shown on the map and clearly the shortest route. Last of all, the Sony took forever to gain a satellite fix once turned on. And the Sony mount was soooo very cool and useful! For $249 you got the cool mount and a nice carrying case. I did not get a chance to use the TMC traffic service.

The Garmin 680 ($349 at Costco) was a fine device, with very fast and accurate routing. It found points of interest quickly and accurately (the Sony often could not find them). However, I really liked the thin size of the 780 and the fact that the antennae was built in, so I kept the 780 in spite of the extra cost.

What do I like about the 780 (and the 680):

1. The MSN Direct is VERY handy and I use it every day for weather, news, fuel costs, and movie listings.

2. Very fast route calculations.

3. I have never looked for a POI that was not present.

4. The tour routes that you can download (for about $12 each) are cool. You can take car tours of a few hours that are laid out for you, telling you where to visit along the route.

5. The ability to sort points along a route is handy. If you have 10 places to go in one day, enter them all in and it puts them in the most efficient order.

6. It can find rest areas on interstates. The Sony could NOT do this, which is annoying when you are trying to figure out if you should stop at a gas station or wait for a rest area when you have three kids in the car on long trip.

What would I change on the 780? Many things, and most of them would cost Garmin no money to implement. These are simple fixes that they should consider!

Bad Points of the Garmin 780:

1. If I go into the menu system, I can go 7 or 8 layers deep to get to what I want to do. To get back to the map, I have to keep pushing the “BACK” button, up to 8 times in a row, to get back to the map. Stupid!

2. If I go into a menu item and decide I’m done, but don’t want to push “BACK” over and over, the unit stays on the menu or submenu screen forever.

3. It would seem that on a unit this expensive it could give you lane guidance. The Sony does. The Tom Tom does. Why can’t this unit, at almost double the cost?

4. When you turn off the car the unit asks if it should stay on or turn off. If you don’t answer, it turns off in 30 seconds. For people who are making deliveries, or running errands, this is a real pain. It would be nice to allow you to configure this once to set how long it should wait before turning the unit off (options like 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, for instance). This would allow you to run into Kinkos and back out again without having to wait for the unit to turn back on, get a satellite bearing, and then finally get to its map to tell you where to go next. Simple software change!

5. It would be nice to have the unit start up on the same screen where you left off. If you were on the map screen, then it should return to the map screen. If on the weather screen, then return to the weather. I like to keep it on the weather, but I have to hit about 6 different buttons every time I turn the unit on to get to the weather! Simple software change!

6. Most GPS units even at half this cost allow you to SEE your speed, direction, and target’s relative direction while on the main map screen. This unit requires you to go to a dashboard screen to show you this information….so you have to choose the map or the dashboard to view. Since some people may not like this feature, it could be configurable. Simple software change!

7. I can’t seem to figure out how to show the satellite signals/connectivity. ALL units have this, even though it is just for fun.

8. For $500 the Garmin should include a carry case for the unit. They sell it small size, light weight, and its “ability to know where you were when you take it out of the cradle, to help you find your car later”, and yet don’t give you way to carry it around safely. Just about every unit on the market, starting at the $149 units, include a case!

9. The 780 does NOT include an owners manual. You have to go online to view the manual, at garmin.com. Garmin may be surprised to know that not everyone has the internet (50% of homes don’t). Although not perfect, the Sony included a fairly comprehensive start up guide and a CD based owners manual.

10. The display looks like a cartoon movie, and that causes a lack of detail. The Sony displayed a very concise map where you could actually identify road splits, acceleration lanes, etc.

11. There is no ability to show POIs on the map. You can route to one, but you can’t just show them. The Sony allowed you to pick which POIs to show, and it actually showed you little BP, Shell, Cracker Barrel, etc. logos on the map so that you could know well ahead of time which POIs were near you.

12. Many units tell you how far to your next turn AND the direction you will be turning in. The Garmin tells you how far to the next turn, but it does not tell you which way to turn until you get within about 2/10 of a mile. So on most multi-lane roads I find myself staying in the middle lane as I get close so that I can go either way. It should warn you which way you will be turning at least a few miles in advance! As soon as you get onto any road the Sony tells you that your next turn is “LEFT 123 MILES”, and it is always displayed on the main map. Handy. Simple software change!

I like the unit, but I only give it 3 stars because of its price, its lack of common sense features, and lack of “in the box” support. It’s strong points are fast, accurate routing and MSN direct.

I did a lot of research before I changed from my old Garmin c340. I think I made an excellent choice, this GPS has everything and more. I was new to traffic so I first tried the TomTom 920T which I didn’t like because of how innacurate the maps were so then I turned to Garmin and I was happy again, with the addition of news, stocks and events for the MSN direct 2 version is great. I read the news once in a while is just a plain summary of what is happening not much with no pictures or anything but hey at least it gives you something else on the GPS to do. I find the mp3 functionality great the sound is loud enough just don’t put it all the way to 100% volume because you’ll hear static. The FM transmitter is one of the best I found on a GPS and the picture feature is great I even put it in my room as an LCD screen for pictures hehehe. This GPS gives you all the directions you need pretty accurate, MSN traffic needs to improve on this, its usually delayed most of the time it tells me traffic is there but then I find no traffic why? I don’t know but I can say that is probably 80% right on other traffic updates. I really like this product and I am more than happy with this item, it is now a lot cheaper than what I bought it for which was $700, so do yourself a favor if you want an accurate, nice looking, fast GPS signal, great feature GPS get this one, I recommend it.

Product: Magellan Magellan Maestro 4350 List Price: $499.99 Average customer review: Amazon Price: Too low to display Click Here To See Amazon Sale Price Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available

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As this is a lengthy review, those not wanting to wade through the entire text can find a summary under the ‘Conclusions’ heading.

Test Conditions:

All tests were conducted in the Northeast U.S. Although I don’t own another portable GPS, I do have a factory installed navigation unit in my 2006 Audi which I’ve utilized for several side-by-side comparisons (the Magellan is actually for my wife’s car).

Updates to the 4350’s operating system and navigational firmware are available at no-cost from Magellan’s website. These significantly improve the functionality and stability of the unit and if you own one you’d be making a mistake not to install them. The procedure is made relativity easy by the CD based instruction manual that comes with the unit. It took me about fifteen minutes to bring my unit up to date and in a month of testing since, it has never crashed, frozen, or seriously misbehaved. All findings posted here are based on a unit updated to the following: OS Version 00.42.01.0919 and Navigation Version 8.3.2.64084. As the 4350’s were just released in September 2008 there are no map updates available or required.

Startup:

If powered by an ignition controlled power source the 4350 turns on/off with the car. Otherwise pressing the power button for about two seconds turns it on.

Acquiring satellites happens very quickly - we’re talking seconds, not minutes. Only once, inside my house during a very heavy snowstorm, did it take longer (about two minutes) to lock.

Display Screen:

The display is plenty bright and the touch screen feature is very sensitive (sometimes too much so). An optional power-saver feature dims the screen somewhat between turns when using the built-in battery. I found this very useful as besides saving the battery it tends to catch your eye when it ‘wakes up’ to normal brightness. Since that happens about five seconds before the first spoken notification regarding the next turn it gives you a visual heads-up that a verbal instruction is imminent (so if you happen to be blaring Hendrix on the car stereo you have time to lower the volume a bit). Touching any part of the screen will also restore it to full brightness.

The menu system is well organized and intuitive. There are a few things I’d change but overall it’s very good.

Audio Quality and the MP3/Photo/Video Player:

The audio is loud and clear even with the volume all the way up, which was never necessary for me. There’s a male or female voice option for each available language (English, Spanish, and French).

Like most units in this price range the 4350 announces the actual street names along with the turning instructions. The pronunciations are occasionally off but they get the point across. One odd thing was although the male voice pronounced ‘county’ properly the female would say ‘count’. I.E… “In one quarter mile turn right onto count route 513″.

The built-in MP3 player and the photo viewer are nice enough and get the job done. The video player only handles Xvid .avi files, which limits its usefulness, but I believe this is the only GPS to have a video player so you probably can’t do better elsewhere.

Now to one of the two big gripes I have with this unit…

There’s no headphone/line-out jack! What good is an MP3 player without one??? This restricts you to listening through the single (mono) speaker or using the FM transmitter to send the signal to your car stereo (more on that later).

POI’s (Points of Interest) and AAA:

Magellan claims 6 million POI’s reside in the 4350’s database (my Audi only has about 1.7 million). Locating one couldn’t be easier. You can search by name, category, and/or area. In addition to this is a listing of all facilities reviewed by the AAA, complete with descriptions, ratings and member discounts. AAA members also get an additional year of warranty coverage and one-button access to local certified garages. Although it’s not mentioned in the rather sparse instruction manual, you can import your own POI’s as Google .kml or .kmz files. To do this you’ll need Magellan’s ‘Content Manager’, a free download, which if you updated your firmware you’ll already have.

Route Selection:

Planning a route is extremely easy, as is adding interim stops (something you still can’t do with many GPS models). The keyboard can be configured as QWERTY or ABC and it gray’s out irrelevant letters as you type - a nice feature.

Once you’ve selected your destination the 4350 calculates four possible routes: Fastest, Shortest, Most Economical, and Simplest. The fastest route is chosen by default but you can examine the relative times and distances or see the routes compared visually on the map before selecting the best one for you. Some or all of these routes may be the same as multiple criteria are often met by the same route. I found the [post-upgrade] route selections to be very good, certainly on a par with my Audi’s unit.

A ‘One-Touch’ menu allows you to store your favorite destinations as icons on a single menu. ‘Home’, ‘Previous’, ‘SOS’ (emergency), and AAA ‘Service’ icons are there by default. You can add five of your own which can point to specific addresses or POI lists. I.E… A list of all Starbucks in the current area.

Finally, being a portable device you can select your type of ‘vehicle’ from: Car, Bus, Emergency, Bicycle, or Pedestrian. In another undocumented feature, when switching to pedestrian mode you’ll be asked if you’d like the unit to remember your car’s location. Garmin makes a big deal of this feature; you’d think Magellan would at least mention they have it too. Go figure…

Guidance - On the Road:

On the road is where this unit really shines. The 4.3″ screen packs in a surprising amount of map detail without looking cluttered. Maps can be displayed in 2D or 3D (I prefer the 3D view which my Audi doesn’t have). Landmark buildings can also rise from the map in three dimensions but in my rural area I’ve yet to see this in action. Information regarding the next turn is displayed across the top of the screen and I especially like how the names of cross streets appear as I approach them, then disappear. You can select which POI categories appear on the map - I chose restaurants and gas stations. Unlike some other units this feature works in 2D or 3D mode. For major chains (BP, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, etc) the generic symbols are replaced by the company logos, allowing you to see at a glance what type of establishment is coming up.

An optional warning displays the speed limit on the left side of the map when you approach or exceed it by a percentage you preset from 70 to 130%. You can also set an audible alert for this if you wish (I have a wife who performs that function). Although I don’t consider this an important feature, those who do should know that in my area it only worked on the interstates.

A new feature called ‘Lane Guidance’ is one of the primary reasons I choose this unit over the Garmin 760. At complicated interstate exits it displays a visual representation of the overhead highway signs to show you which lane you need to be in for an upcoming maneuver. The Garmin models with a similar feature called ‘Lane Assist’ are far more expensive. The only other GPS to offer lane guidance near this price range is Navigon’s 7200T but its POI database is small and its search features are reportedly poor.

The verbal directions are extremely clear and precise. It always beat my Audi in giving me a heads-up regarding the next turn and was usually more specific as to what I needed to do.

Besides the detailed spoken instructions the 4350 also produces a ‘doorbell like’ chime at the point you should be turning. It even chimes differently for left, right, and U turns. This is a feature that several prior Magellan owners have mentioned missing after switching to another brand. For some reason Magellan initially omitted it from this model but the firmware update restores it along with another enhancement that tells you which side of the street your destination is on.

Lastly, recalculations (required if you go off the designated route) were very fast, taking about the same amount of time as my Audi’s unit and often producing a better result.

Bluetooth, FM Transmitter, and Traffic Info:

At first the 4350 refused to find my Blackberry Curve but after doing a hard reset (as suggested by Magellan’s website) the units paired right up. Bluetooth connectivity has been fine since then but all is not well… When making/receiving a hands-free call I found the audio on my end to be satisfactory but I had to shout at a distance of two feet from the unit in order to be heard faintly at the other end. In actuality I had to speak 1 to 3 inches from the built-in microphone in order to be heard properly. Compounding this issue is the fact that there’s no external microphone jack like on some other brands. This was the most disappointing aspect of this test. Even though I don’t use this feature, some of the people I gave these to might want to. Therefore if you need Bluetooth capability I must recommend you look elsewhere.

In my initial review I stated that the FM transmitter (which sends all sound from the 4350 to the car’s audio system) worked like a charm in my Audi but didn’t perform so well in my wife’s Sable Wagon. I attributed this to the Sable’s rear mounted antenna and the fact that the U.S. severely limits the transmitter strength of these units. However, further tests have resulted in excellent results with both cars. One thing I did notice is that the DC power cord seems to act like an antenna so if you’re having reception problems plug the power cord into the 4350 (this seems to work even if you don’t plug it into the cigarette lighter). My MP3’s played back with FM quality and were automatically muted during turn instructions. As this feature draws universal complaints from Garmin users, I wasn’t expecting much from Magellan but I’m pleasantly surprised by how useable it is. With that said, the volume from the 4350’s built-in speaker is more than adequate for most applications.

The 4350 comes with a three month trial for a real-time traffic avoidance system but the service doesn’t extend to my area (coverage areas are shown on Magellan’s website) so I haven’t seen it in action. According to Magellan’s website a yearly subscription costs $39.95. Some competing GPS’s come with free lifetime traffic alerts but be aware that those contain commercials.

Conclusions:

The best things about the 4350 are all to do with its core functionality - it gets you from one place to another with clear maps and explicit verbal instructions given in a timely manner. My Audi’s navigation system sometimes fails to provide all pertinent information regarding an upcoming turn, or it alerts me too late to react when driving in heavy traffic. The Magellan unit never faltered in that regard. In fact some may consider the 4350’s guidance to be too chatty but I like to feel confident that I’m prepared for the next move, even in traffic, and this unit gave me that feeling.

Magellan has produced a full featured unit with superior performance at a very competitive [street] price. This was why, despite the missing headphone jack, I gave it five stars. Had I discovered then that the built-in microphone was so lacking that it made the hands-free feature useless, I might have gone to four stars. Still, it’s a great choice for anyone who doesn’t need the Bluetooth capabilities.

Pros:

Brand new full featured model.

Excellent volume and audio quality on navigational prompts.

Highly detailed display with 3D maps.

Lane Guidance feature and informative audio prompts.

All accessories included (case, AC & DC cords, USB cable, sturdy mount, owners manual on CD).

2200 ma heavy duty battery.

Great value due to low street price.

Cons:

Terrible built-in mic and no external mic jack renders the Bluetooth hands-free feature worthless.

No headphone jack!(What’s with Magellan and a few five cent jacks?).

Must update the firmware to have a ready-for-prime-time unit.

Power and traffic cables plug into the unit (instead of the mount).

It’s been few days since I bought the Magellan 4350. It is an excellent piece of art. It’s ready out of the box. Although I had little difficulty connecting it to my smart phone (8125), it worked very well after that. The FM transmitter is a nice feature where you use the car audio system to listen to GPS directions, MP3 and make your own phone conversations with good quality sound. The Magellan 4350 price is not even comparable to the premium price paid for the GPS option built in new vehicle.

On the other hand, Magellan customer service is very poor. Cannot even get through and talk to technical support for help. I was going to rate it at 4 stars, but because Magellan has many different GPS products with same weak customer service, I decided to fairly rate this unit (4350) with FIVE stars.

After using the unit several times, the GPS directions are clear and very helpful, for example, its instructions for the next turn are clear and helpful that you won’t miss your next turn or exit (I ran through such problem with my old Garmin Street Pilot c340 where I missed my next turn/exit several times). Also, it’s important to mention that Magellan 4350 recognizes “Michigan” U-turns very well. The FM transmitter is a nice feature, moreover, the unit interrupts the MP3 function and speaks the directions/warnings appropriately. The only thing I found that to be careful of is when using the unit’s Bluetooth feature with the phone, the unit does not interrupt the phone conversation to speak directions; therefore at this point, you’d need to be aware of the directions and next turn, displayed on the unit screen, when making phone calls.

Hope this helps.

I purchased a Maestro 4350 based on superior professional reviews and price value. My limited usage to date shows it has excellent features. Some nice features my daughter’s NUVI 760 does not. That’s where the good ends!!

Magellan provides little or NO service. I downloaded the software updates and the unit hung up, said “please wait” for over 18 hours. I called C/S and reached a person with very limited English skills and could not solve the problem but gave contact to get return instructions. A week and a half later got a call to give instructions for return and repair, a really fast response you think?? I had already returned the unit for a refund. Bought a second one from Amazon/BestSeller21 and received FANTASTIC service. It was delivered in less than 3 days!! At the Magellan web site, which overall is infantile, you can’t tell what it is that you are going to download as an update!! To make sure that I didn’t foul up the 2nd unit I sent three text message about more information on the downloads and proper procedures. NEVER GOT A RESPONSE!! I received a request from the Magellan Web Master asking for a review of my experience. I gave them this same information and got no response from my previous messages or the surveys input. Before I wrote this review I visited Magellan’s site and they have eliminated the down loadable updates??#*