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Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
48 new or used available from $179.40
Average customer review:
(806 customer reviews)
387 of 393 people found the following review helpful.
Garmin's nuvi 1450LMT is Outstanding
By J.B.
Researching GPS devices was and is worse than buying a car with all the different product offerings and features plus none of the model numbering seems to make sense which was even more frustrating. You can't tell a low end unit from a high end unit. Garmin is no different either.
Through all of that I am very pleased that I settled on the Garmin 1450. IMO Garmin has made a wonderful device. The UI is very intuitive and very easy to operate even with my big hands. The touch screen is very accurate and responsive. From power up to satelite acquisiiton takes seconds. The turn by turn instructions are very clear but a bit too chatty. We have found the street name pronunciations fairly entertaining. The points of interest have been pretty accurate as has the gas station mapping and the hospitals and such. The bread and butter of a GPS is really whether it can get you where you need to go especially if you as the operator have no idea. I have travelled outside my area of familiarity a few times now and this GPS receiver has been flawless. The screen size is very nice and easy to read while driving.
This unit I purchased has liftime maps and traffic. So the first thing I did was register the unit and update the maps. The web site is pretty easy to navigate on. The map update was simple but just expect it to take awhile. The traffic portion seems to work however to date it has not offered any alternate routes so I can't judge its effectiveness. Nor have I tried the blutooth functionality.
This unit comes with everything you need so unless you want extra power cords or something there is no need for anything extra. The window suction cup works well. The unit fell once but I found I did not seat the suction cup very well. They do have a weighted mount that sits on the dashboard which would be better if you have a co-pilot and you need to look for alternate addresses or something. I found putting the unit in the middle of the window creates an annoyingly large blind spot. So I now put it to the left of the steering wheel.
256 of 258 people found the following review helpful.
Great Screen - Great Fratures - Some Quirks
By C. James
Having been a Garmin owner for about 5 years I had no doubt what brand I was going to buy, my old Garmin served me well but it was time for a new one and the wide screen was a key feature I wanted in my new one.
The screen is impressive, while going from 4.3" to 5" does not sound like much it is really amazing how much more map and information that fits well on the screen. The screen itself is anti-glare that works, and very bright if you want it, I have the brightness at 60% and that is fine even in bright sunlight. The images are very crisp and clear, street names and such are auto-sized to not obstruct the map but big enough to read easily. The volume when it is reading out direction is also outstanding, so loud I have it also on 60%. So a solid 5 Stars on the screen and voice volume, as well as the pronunciation of the street names!
Quirk: When I first got it I was in my office and opened it, plugged it in to just power and fired it up, it kept asking for me to agree to the license terms and no matter how I answered it rebooted itself, did this like 4 times and then was ok. This would happen each time I turned it on. Not a big issue really, as soon as it "sees" the sats it stops doing it and is fine. Little off for the scare factor, it has never done it again.
The update process is very easy but long, likely very long on a slower PC and/or slow internet connection, the map data is huge. That said it is the nature of the beast and Garmin makes it as painless as possible, the registration and update process was very slick.
Once all updated and ready to go it is time to go through the options, you don't have to, out of the box it picks everything, but I think most will find it worth it, there are a lot of options on how you want it to find routes, deal with traffic (comes with lifetime traffic info), how you want the maps to look in many aspects, 2D, 3D, Track top to your direction or top to always north, and all kinds of additional information that can optionally be on the map screen. Out of the box Garmin has every bell and whistle turned on which I guess I understand but this is why I say it is worth getting it where you like. From the factory you will only see 4.3" of map on route as it has 4 tabs of optional information along the right side. I wanted 5" of map so I disabled the side tabs in settings, very nice option, you can also pick what tab is showing what information from a good selection of options.
Quirk: If you are using the traffic information and have the traffic avoidance enabled you can get some really odd routes, since I was just trying mine out around town and to work and back I knew it was telling me wrong turns, a little time in the manual and I found out why, it was automatically altering the route around traffic alerts, while this may sound like a good thing and would be if it told you it was doing that, in my case it was not, no other route is going to help and I did not know what in the heck it was doing :) I found you can have the best of both worlds, keep trafic information turned on but disable traffic in the avoidances setting tab. Then it warns you of traffic on your route, lets you see where, and gives you a detour option at that point you can take or ignore. It would be better during the route calc process if it said it had added detours, and when it does it on the fly it should also, minor quirk once you know. This is a 3 star feature in the auto mode. 5 star would be to tell you and offer y/n detour options for each point.
Junction View to me was one of the most impressive features, I go through one very complex set of interchanges for 3 freeways with express lanes to bybass interchanges and local lane to pick up any direction to or from any free way, many a folks have left on the wrong path... When I was aproaching it the garmin flipped to junction view and wow, it had a clearly marked path through the maze, and nailed every lane on the money, and the optimum lane for the follwing turn if there was more than one lane leading into it. Very nice! Another 5 star feature, this would have made my first time through that a lost safer than the old garmin with just a yellow line through it.
The routes it comes up with are 4.5 star, it hits most very very well but will toss a few more odd ones out than my old Garmin did, they all do some, I think this could do better, the good news is these are not horrible routes, just not the better or best always.
The next 4 star item is the power cord/FM Traffic radio, it is like having jumper cables going up your dash, why it is not in the unit is beyond me, I am stumped so far as to how to route the cables a lot more cleaner than this and have traffic info.
Another option is to skip the traffic radio and run on battery, with the right settings you can get 3 hours, but with my settings I can get just over 2 hours on battery before the warning. The final power option is just power, that is an optional cord you have to buy that is a lot less bulky than the powered traffic cord. So battery life and traffic radio/power cord is 3 star.
Bluetooth phone paring was very easy and works great, the noise cancelling is pretty good also on its mic, so your caller can hear you and not road noise. 5 Star
Another nice feature is the speed limit that shows up in a little speed limit sign icon by your actual speed, if you are going over the limit for the road, the actual speed turns red in the display. (I will not say how I know but it is a relaible source!) 5 Star, speed limit signs on a lot of our local town roads is a problem.
I was also impressed that I could pick maximum map detail and it keeps up even in the city, during fast turns in very high street density it will occaisionally repaint the screen instead of smooth scrolling with your motion but it does it so fast, unlike my prior Garmin, they it is not distracting or leave you hanging with a partial map. This is 5 star all the way.
Overall I have to say I am very happy with the Garmin 1490LMT, I could not give it a full 5 for the things it fell just a little short on to me, but if I was to make the decision on a model again with what I know, I would buy it again, I think it would be hard to beat.Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map Updates and Traffic
220 of 225 people found the following review helpful.
Nice upgrade
By C. Pak
Update: August 15:
- My con I listed below about the buggy firmware (2.7)... it's VERY buggy. The nuvi "forgets" my settings such as vehicle icon, map detail display level, time format whenever I plug my nuvi into my PC (to transfer waypoints and such). Still keeping the unit but looking forward to an update REAL SOON...hopefully.
I've owned many Garmin units over the years (GPS V, eMap, nuvi 350, 265W, 750, 755, tried 1260T, 1350). I decided to upgrade to the 1490T because of the larger screen and thinner form factor.
Just some observations:
Pros:
- The display is 5 in diagonal, that may not seem much bigger than the 4.3 but it is. The resolution is the same as the 4.3 wide-screens units but the extra space is well worth it and noticeable! It also makes it easy to hit the right button on the touch screen.
- User interface has received some minor updates, mostly in the cosmetic department. The font is new and contributes to a refined feel, everything is "smoothed" and looks very good. It's also VERY responsive and doesn't feel like it's lagging.
- I like the new menu organization, they didn't bury as many of the options and settings in sub-folders.
- You can change the map display so that the data fields are stacked along the right side as opposed to being in the corners. I like this view a lot. With this stacked view, you can see 4 data fields (3 are customizable) versus the two in the normal corner view.
- The unit is about half an inch thick, it's very easy to carry around, even pocket-able in a pinch.
- (updated) The speaker on this unit is MUCH better than on my 755, 1260, 1350; perhaps they had room to add a larger speaker. The spoken directions sound not only louder but fuller and do not distort at high volume.
Cons:
- The mounting cradle is a two-step/two-handed affair, unplug the mini-USB then unmount from the two point cradle. The older, better quality cradle is literally one click grab and go from a nice powered cradle. Don't know why they removed that (cost savings?).
- A common complaint: less detail shown on maps. The newer nuvi's show fewer street names at the same zoom level as the older units. The argument being this reduces clutter. I'm not happy with it, but it's not a deal breaker. Garmin has added alot of other information to the map display and I can understand they don't want to overwhelm the user with text.
- The latest firmware is 2.7 and it seems to be quite buggy. Issues with Bluetooth, saving favorites, thats all I've experienced.
- Note, this comes with version 2010.10 maps. Garmin just released version 2010.20 maps. You only get one free upgrade.
- Very expensive...
I am planning on replacing my 755T with the 1490T. The larger screen size is just so overwhelmingly impressive it outweighs the cons in my book. If you're not into that type of stuff then the 1490T is probably not for you.
See all 806 customer reviews...
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
48 new or used available from $179.40
Average customer review:
(806 customer reviews)
Product Description
nüvi 1490LMT features FREE lifetime map and traffic updates.One-year warrantyProduct Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #66 in Consumer Electronics
- Brand: Garmin
- Model: 1490LMT with Lifetime Maps & Traffic
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 2.60" h x 5.30" w x 5.30" l, 1.00 pounds
- Display size: 5
Features
- Sunlight-readable, 5-inch backlit TFT color touchscreen display with 480 x 272 WQVGA pixel resolution
- Preloaded with City Navigator NT data for the lower 48 states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, with nearly six million points of interest
- Free lifetime map and traffic updates for the most up-to-date maps, POIs, and navigation info, along with constantly updated traffic information
- Advanced navigation features including voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, lane assist with junction view, fuel-saving ecoRoute
- Integrated Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker for hands-free calling. Comes with One-year warranty.
- 5 inch easy-to-use enhanced touchscreen interface
- Bluetooth wireless technology? enabling hands-free connectivity
- Comes with lifetime traffic and mapping updates
- Multiple Point Routing; Lane Assist; Junction View; EcoRoute fuel efficient routing
- Preloaded with City Navigator NT for North America
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
The large screen nüvi 1490LMT comes with free Lifetime Maps and Traffic and offers multiple-point routing and Lane Assist with junction view to help you manage busy highway interchanges. It announces streets by name, has hands-free calling compatibility and pedestrian navigation options. The ecoRoute feature calculates a more fuel-efficient route.
Includes Free Lifetime Map Updates
With free Lifetime Map and Traffic updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation information available at your fingertips. Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year. Both features are ready to go, right out of the box, with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.
See Even More
It's easy to see where you're going on nüvi 1490LMT's 5-inch (12.7 cm) touchscreen display. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. With its big, bold display, you won't miss a thing.
Know the Lane Before It's Too Late
No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation. Lane assist with junction view is available in select metropolitan cities.
Navigate City Transit
With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nüvi 1490LMT is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.
Plan Ahead
nüvi 1490LMT includes advanced navigation features to take the worry out of traveling. With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the 1490LMT's large screen. In addition, nüvi 1490LMT automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.
Get Turn-by-Turn Directions
nüvi 1490LMT's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps, nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and the speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1490LMT's enhanced user interface, you can slide your finger to conveniently scroll between screens. You also can upload custom points of interest (POIs). And with HotFix satellite prediction, nüvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.
Make Hands-free Calls
For hands-free calling, nüvi 1490LMT integrates Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker. Just pair it with your compatible Bluetooth phone and talk hands-free through the 1490LMT while staying focused on the road. Simply dial numbers with nüvi's touchscreen keypad to make a call. To answer calls, just tap the screen and speak into its built-in microphone. Enjoy convenient one-touch dialing for contacts and points of interest.
Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1490LMT saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1490LMT includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1490LMT features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.
The large screen nüvi 1490LMT comes with free Lifetime Maps and Traffic and offers multiple-point routing and Lane Assist with junction view to help you manage busy highway interchanges. It announces streets by name, has hands-free calling compatibility and pedestrian navigation options. The ecoRoute feature calculates a more fuel-efficient route.
 It's easy to see where you're going on nüvi 1490LMT's 5-inch touchscreen display. |
 Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available up to 4 times a year, with no subscription, fees, or expiration dates. |
 Travel tools include JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. |
 Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit. |
Extra-Wide, Feature-Rich GPS Navigator Lifetime Maps and Traffic
Includes Free Lifetime Map Updates
With free Lifetime Map and Traffic updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation information available at your fingertips. Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year. Both features are ready to go, right out of the box, with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.
See Even More
It's easy to see where you're going on nüvi 1490LMT's 5-inch (12.7 cm) touchscreen display. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. With its big, bold display, you won't miss a thing.
Know the Lane Before It's Too Late
No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation. Lane assist with junction view is available in select metropolitan cities.
Navigate City Transit
With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nüvi 1490LMT is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.
Plan Ahead
nüvi 1490LMT includes advanced navigation features to take the worry out of traveling. With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the 1490LMT's large screen. In addition, nüvi 1490LMT automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.
Get Turn-by-Turn Directions
nüvi 1490LMT's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps, nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and the speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1490LMT's enhanced user interface, you can slide your finger to conveniently scroll between screens. You also can upload custom points of interest (POIs). And with HotFix satellite prediction, nüvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.
Make Hands-free Calls
For hands-free calling, nüvi 1490LMT integrates Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker. Just pair it with your compatible Bluetooth phone and talk hands-free through the 1490LMT while staying focused on the road. Simply dial numbers with nüvi's touchscreen keypad to make a call. To answer calls, just tap the screen and speak into its built-in microphone. Enjoy convenient one-touch dialing for contacts and points of interest.
Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1490LMT saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1490LMT includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1490LMT features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.
What's in the Box
nüvi 1490; Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S, Canada and Mexico); Lifetime Maps and Traffic; FM Traffic Receiver With Vehicle Power Cable; Vehicle Suction Cup Mount; USB Cable; Dashboard Disc; Quick Start ManualCustomer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews387 of 393 people found the following review helpful.
Garmin's nuvi 1450LMT is Outstanding By J.B.
Researching GPS devices was and is worse than buying a car with all the different product offerings and features plus none of the model numbering seems to make sense which was even more frustrating. You can't tell a low end unit from a high end unit. Garmin is no different either.
Through all of that I am very pleased that I settled on the Garmin 1450. IMO Garmin has made a wonderful device. The UI is very intuitive and very easy to operate even with my big hands. The touch screen is very accurate and responsive. From power up to satelite acquisiiton takes seconds. The turn by turn instructions are very clear but a bit too chatty. We have found the street name pronunciations fairly entertaining. The points of interest have been pretty accurate as has the gas station mapping and the hospitals and such. The bread and butter of a GPS is really whether it can get you where you need to go especially if you as the operator have no idea. I have travelled outside my area of familiarity a few times now and this GPS receiver has been flawless. The screen size is very nice and easy to read while driving.
This unit I purchased has liftime maps and traffic. So the first thing I did was register the unit and update the maps. The web site is pretty easy to navigate on. The map update was simple but just expect it to take awhile. The traffic portion seems to work however to date it has not offered any alternate routes so I can't judge its effectiveness. Nor have I tried the blutooth functionality.
This unit comes with everything you need so unless you want extra power cords or something there is no need for anything extra. The window suction cup works well. The unit fell once but I found I did not seat the suction cup very well. They do have a weighted mount that sits on the dashboard which would be better if you have a co-pilot and you need to look for alternate addresses or something. I found putting the unit in the middle of the window creates an annoyingly large blind spot. So I now put it to the left of the steering wheel.
256 of 258 people found the following review helpful.
Great Screen - Great Fratures - Some Quirks By C. James
Having been a Garmin owner for about 5 years I had no doubt what brand I was going to buy, my old Garmin served me well but it was time for a new one and the wide screen was a key feature I wanted in my new one.
The screen is impressive, while going from 4.3" to 5" does not sound like much it is really amazing how much more map and information that fits well on the screen. The screen itself is anti-glare that works, and very bright if you want it, I have the brightness at 60% and that is fine even in bright sunlight. The images are very crisp and clear, street names and such are auto-sized to not obstruct the map but big enough to read easily. The volume when it is reading out direction is also outstanding, so loud I have it also on 60%. So a solid 5 Stars on the screen and voice volume, as well as the pronunciation of the street names!
Quirk: When I first got it I was in my office and opened it, plugged it in to just power and fired it up, it kept asking for me to agree to the license terms and no matter how I answered it rebooted itself, did this like 4 times and then was ok. This would happen each time I turned it on. Not a big issue really, as soon as it "sees" the sats it stops doing it and is fine. Little off for the scare factor, it has never done it again.
The update process is very easy but long, likely very long on a slower PC and/or slow internet connection, the map data is huge. That said it is the nature of the beast and Garmin makes it as painless as possible, the registration and update process was very slick.
Once all updated and ready to go it is time to go through the options, you don't have to, out of the box it picks everything, but I think most will find it worth it, there are a lot of options on how you want it to find routes, deal with traffic (comes with lifetime traffic info), how you want the maps to look in many aspects, 2D, 3D, Track top to your direction or top to always north, and all kinds of additional information that can optionally be on the map screen. Out of the box Garmin has every bell and whistle turned on which I guess I understand but this is why I say it is worth getting it where you like. From the factory you will only see 4.3" of map on route as it has 4 tabs of optional information along the right side. I wanted 5" of map so I disabled the side tabs in settings, very nice option, you can also pick what tab is showing what information from a good selection of options.
Quirk: If you are using the traffic information and have the traffic avoidance enabled you can get some really odd routes, since I was just trying mine out around town and to work and back I knew it was telling me wrong turns, a little time in the manual and I found out why, it was automatically altering the route around traffic alerts, while this may sound like a good thing and would be if it told you it was doing that, in my case it was not, no other route is going to help and I did not know what in the heck it was doing :) I found you can have the best of both worlds, keep trafic information turned on but disable traffic in the avoidances setting tab. Then it warns you of traffic on your route, lets you see where, and gives you a detour option at that point you can take or ignore. It would be better during the route calc process if it said it had added detours, and when it does it on the fly it should also, minor quirk once you know. This is a 3 star feature in the auto mode. 5 star would be to tell you and offer y/n detour options for each point.
Junction View to me was one of the most impressive features, I go through one very complex set of interchanges for 3 freeways with express lanes to bybass interchanges and local lane to pick up any direction to or from any free way, many a folks have left on the wrong path... When I was aproaching it the garmin flipped to junction view and wow, it had a clearly marked path through the maze, and nailed every lane on the money, and the optimum lane for the follwing turn if there was more than one lane leading into it. Very nice! Another 5 star feature, this would have made my first time through that a lost safer than the old garmin with just a yellow line through it.
The routes it comes up with are 4.5 star, it hits most very very well but will toss a few more odd ones out than my old Garmin did, they all do some, I think this could do better, the good news is these are not horrible routes, just not the better or best always.
The next 4 star item is the power cord/FM Traffic radio, it is like having jumper cables going up your dash, why it is not in the unit is beyond me, I am stumped so far as to how to route the cables a lot more cleaner than this and have traffic info.
Another option is to skip the traffic radio and run on battery, with the right settings you can get 3 hours, but with my settings I can get just over 2 hours on battery before the warning. The final power option is just power, that is an optional cord you have to buy that is a lot less bulky than the powered traffic cord. So battery life and traffic radio/power cord is 3 star.
Bluetooth phone paring was very easy and works great, the noise cancelling is pretty good also on its mic, so your caller can hear you and not road noise. 5 Star
Another nice feature is the speed limit that shows up in a little speed limit sign icon by your actual speed, if you are going over the limit for the road, the actual speed turns red in the display. (I will not say how I know but it is a relaible source!) 5 Star, speed limit signs on a lot of our local town roads is a problem.
I was also impressed that I could pick maximum map detail and it keeps up even in the city, during fast turns in very high street density it will occaisionally repaint the screen instead of smooth scrolling with your motion but it does it so fast, unlike my prior Garmin, they it is not distracting or leave you hanging with a partial map. This is 5 star all the way.
Overall I have to say I am very happy with the Garmin 1490LMT, I could not give it a full 5 for the things it fell just a little short on to me, but if I was to make the decision on a model again with what I know, I would buy it again, I think it would be hard to beat.Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map Updates and Traffic
220 of 225 people found the following review helpful.
Nice upgrade By C. Pak
Update: August 15:
- My con I listed below about the buggy firmware (2.7)... it's VERY buggy. The nuvi "forgets" my settings such as vehicle icon, map detail display level, time format whenever I plug my nuvi into my PC (to transfer waypoints and such). Still keeping the unit but looking forward to an update REAL SOON...hopefully.
I've owned many Garmin units over the years (GPS V, eMap, nuvi 350, 265W, 750, 755, tried 1260T, 1350). I decided to upgrade to the 1490T because of the larger screen and thinner form factor.
Just some observations:
Pros:
- The display is 5 in diagonal, that may not seem much bigger than the 4.3 but it is. The resolution is the same as the 4.3 wide-screens units but the extra space is well worth it and noticeable! It also makes it easy to hit the right button on the touch screen.
- User interface has received some minor updates, mostly in the cosmetic department. The font is new and contributes to a refined feel, everything is "smoothed" and looks very good. It's also VERY responsive and doesn't feel like it's lagging.
- I like the new menu organization, they didn't bury as many of the options and settings in sub-folders.
- You can change the map display so that the data fields are stacked along the right side as opposed to being in the corners. I like this view a lot. With this stacked view, you can see 4 data fields (3 are customizable) versus the two in the normal corner view.
- The unit is about half an inch thick, it's very easy to carry around, even pocket-able in a pinch.
- (updated) The speaker on this unit is MUCH better than on my 755, 1260, 1350; perhaps they had room to add a larger speaker. The spoken directions sound not only louder but fuller and do not distort at high volume.
Cons:
- The mounting cradle is a two-step/two-handed affair, unplug the mini-USB then unmount from the two point cradle. The older, better quality cradle is literally one click grab and go from a nice powered cradle. Don't know why they removed that (cost savings?).
- A common complaint: less detail shown on maps. The newer nuvi's show fewer street names at the same zoom level as the older units. The argument being this reduces clutter. I'm not happy with it, but it's not a deal breaker. Garmin has added alot of other information to the map display and I can understand they don't want to overwhelm the user with text.
- The latest firmware is 2.7 and it seems to be quite buggy. Issues with Bluetooth, saving favorites, thats all I've experienced.
- Note, this comes with version 2010.10 maps. Garmin just released version 2010.20 maps. You only get one free upgrade.
- Very expensive...
I am planning on replacing my 755T with the 1490T. The larger screen size is just so overwhelmingly impressive it outweighs the cons in my book. If you're not into that type of stuff then the 1490T is probably not for you.
See all 806 customer reviews...
