Key Features4-inch touchscreenPlays MP3/AAC/WAV/WMA and MP4/AVI files3 million points of interest128MB internal flash memory stores maps of U.S. & CanadaSD card slot (supports up to 4GB)Rechargeable battery (4 hours)
The Guide + Play GPS-500 is one of the best-looking personal navigation devices on the market. Its good looks are matched by the feature set. This unit serves more than adequately as a media player. The GPS-500 supports MP3/AAC/WMA/WAV formats and will play your MP4 and AVI files. You're better off using the headphone jack for music listening than the little built-in speaker; as for video, the 4-inch touchscreen is bigger than your iPod. In today's culture of mini-screen entertainment we would much rather have the GPS-500 for video playback - and then use it for navigation. That's the advantage of the all-in-one approach. However there was a drawback, at least with our test unit. It took over half an hour for the GPS-500 to lock in a satellite when we first turned on the device. Once we had the satellite we were able to navigate with ease. The directions and rerouting worked perfectly fine in our area, even in the rowdy, less-traveled areas of grimey Los Angeles. The menu in terms of look and layout is one of the best we've seen on a PND (we've already drawn the Apple comparison - we wondered if they had a hand in designing this product, it was so well done). But again the problem of acquiring a satellite signal diminished the value of the portable. We took it on a work-related trip to Florida where it never found a satellite. (In all fairness, we did not have the opportunity to test the Maestro in another state.) The worst part is that it failed to quickly lock onto a satellite once we returned home. It took ages. Were it not for that, we might have proclaimed the Guide + Play THE PND/PMP to buy. Its slim, lightweight and can be literally full of entertainment. We can easily overlook its lack of Bluetooth. But we can't overlook the fact that it doesn't fulfill its main function; that is, as a nav device.