Customer Reviews

Garmin nüvi 3790T 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(74)
3 star:		(47)
2 star:		(41)
1 star:		(71)

 

 

Received the Garmin 3790T four days ago. I upgraded from a from a Garmin Nuvi 760. My first comment is Wow! The size and physical design of this beauty is amazing. That's the same word that comes out of most people mouth's when I show them my new toy. Physical beauty aside this new unit really is a huge step up from my 760.
The 800 x 480 pixel glass screen is incredibly clear and a huge enhance over my old unit. The multi-point screen works great. Everything about the 3970 is an improvement from the old 760.
One interesting point is the 3790 picks slightly different routes than the 760 used to. I assume this is the nuRoute/trafficTrends in action.
Hands down my favorite feature on the 3790 is Voice Command. When I originally bought this item I had concerns about how well this feature would work. Let me tell you it works great. I can navigate to some place, add stops or phone someone without ever having to pull over or take my hands off the wheel. What a huge safety improvement.
Another seemingly small item they improved that I really like is the zooming. The map zooms in as you slow down and out as you speed up. It does it very smoothly and provides the perfect amount of data for my tastes.
The traffic data is also very useful in urban areas and well presented. However this area contains my only complaint about the product. Using the traffic feature causes small little adds to occasionally pop up on the screen. They are unobtrusive and don't happen very often so far but I would prefer to find a way to turn them off.
All in all I love my new Nuvi. It is one of the best purchases I've made in years.

As a GPS Unit, the 3790LMT is phenomenal, and I'll get to why in a bit, but first, I decided to write this review for those who, like me, live in a part of the world where the climate is extreme enough to make it a necessity to take your GPS in and out of the car on a regular basis to prevent damage (or crime).

I used to have a Garmin 765T, which was a great little unit, for all the reasons I personally purchase a GPS. I don't care so much about playing MP3's or viewing photos, or even bluetooth, I just want a fast, accurate, and user friendly GPS. And, I've come to discover that I also NEED one that is easy to take with me when I leave my vehicle.

So, when my 765T's maps were out of date I was faced with a decision whether or not to upgrade the maps, or just get a different unit and I decided that for about the same price I'd "upgrade" to a new GPS that came with lifetime map and traffic updates rather than paying for a couple month upgrade to my old Garmin 765T.

After shopping around I settled on a TomTom XXL500TM. As a GPS, it was a good unit, but I immediately missed the "quick release" feature of my old 765T which allowed me to just pop it out of it's charging cradle on extremely hot or extremely cold days or when parking in areas where having a GPS in plain sight might tempt the criminally minded beyond what they were strong enough to resist. After a couple 20 second episodes groping around at night in the dark to hook up the charging cable and snap the TomTom into its cradle, I'd had enough and I sent it back. It was simply impractical for where I live. If you live where you can leave your GPS in the car most of the time without it growing legs, melting, or freezing into a sub-zero brick, then save a few bucks, but if you don't, read on...

Next, I began a search of the web looking for ANY gps units that had lifetime traffic and maps and some form of a quick release charging mount. That was literally all I cared about in terms of features, and I sadly came to discover that it was going to cost me a small fortune to get a GPS matching those simple search criteria.

Finally, after comparing mounts between the TomTom and the Garmin I broke down and tried the Garmin 1390LMT.

Same story, while the Garmin 1390LMT proved to be similar in quality to the TomTom XXL500TM in terms of response time and features. And while I did find its car charger and mount to be slightly easier to hook up in a dark car (maybe 15 seconds of fiddling around with the power cable and mount instead of 20), it was still a no-go.

That only left me with a couple other GPS models offered anywhere, by ANY manufacturer that had quick release mounts (at the time of this writing) and I was hesitant to spring the $499.00 sticker price (again, at the time of this writing), for a Garmin 3790LMT just for what I saw as "a few extra features" I'd likely never use, and a return to a somewhat quick release mount.

But then luck struck and I was able to pick up a 3790LMT here at Amazon for a little over 20% off and I simultaneously sold my old 1390LMT for more than twice what I'd just recently paid for it making the upgrade a wash. And what an UPGRADE it turned out to be!!

This GPS does what it is supposed to do, and it does it well. It's quick. It's sleak. It has great battery life. AND, most importantly to me, it has a fairly quick release mount (not the same old button release as the 765T, but it can still be done in a second or two using one, stiff, cold, gloved hand. And for me that's not too bad at all).

Added Bonuses:
I quickly came to appreciate the 3790's "voice command" feature. NEVER thought I'd even use it, and really didn't care one tiny bit about it when I bought it, but now I have looked up all my frequent destinations via Google Earth and entered their lat/long in as "Favorites" and using voice command I am quickly routing my next destination, and adding via points for coffee or gas, all while driving down the road, with my hands and eyes fully engaged in driving. On trips with frequent stops, the time savings really does add up.

Voice Command Tip: The Voice Command feature works nearly flawlessly with good diction, but even when munching on a snack (aka talking with food in my mouth... shhhhshh, don't tell mom), it has still proven to be almost "false detection" proof when using the numbered destinations saved in my "favorites".

Can it be improved upon? Yes.
1. Garmin could go back to the old button release mount they used to have in the days of the 765T.
2. Voice Commands could have more options such as zooming maps in and out, lane assist and junction view.

Conclusions:
I heartily recommend this unit as one of the best all around GPS units at the time of this writing. All opinions and brand preferences aside, it is one of the ONLY offered by any manufacturer at the time of this writing that can be quickly transferred from your car to your pocket and back as needed.

This is a beautiful little unit - very slim, large, bright screen. The voice command system gets things right about two-thirds of the time, which means you can get going almost as quickly using voice as you can using the touchscreen. It switches between portrait and landscape effortlessly. And, having upgraded from a Nüvi 670 to this, I appreciate the new nüvi features such as displaying speed limits and cameras. Having included lifetime traffic is really handy too.

The integration of traffic into routing seems smoother than prior Garmins, although I drove in "red" traffic today that was moving really well, so maybe it overstates the problem sometimes. The new "mytrends" feature, in which the unit gets used to where and how you drive, sounds nice - I haven't seen evidence of how it affects things yet.

There is also a lot of new environmental and fuel economy software built in. The concepts will be familiar to people who drive hybrids - you get constant feedback, and can also access a lot of data, on whether you are doing too much stop-start driving, too many bursts of acceleration and too much rapid breaking. You get fuel economy and absolute cost estimates, all of which is handy. However, I don't like having the little "leaf" indicator taking up screen space, telling me whether I'm being naughty or nice. I wish I could remove it in the display options! A firmware patch is needed from Garmin.

OK . . . now on to the PROBLEM. This thing has POPUP ADS. Yes - commercial popups, like "Crabfest at Red Lobster" and "Best Western Rewards - Get 1500 points" and "Unlimited lunch $6.90" that pop up while you are driving, and take up screen space, obscuring the damn map. I called tech support, and they said that these are not supposed to pop up while you are moving, only while you are stopped. But these came up while I was driving today. Tech support says there is NO WAY THE POPUP ADS CAN BE DISABLED. Apparently it's built into the license with Navteq and will happen whenever you are receiving traffic information, and they cannot disable it. How is this OK? They don't mention it in the product specs, or on the box. I am paying hundreds of dollars for this device, and I cannot opt-out from popup ads?$#@!% Garmin seriously needs to get a firmware patch (or a hardware patch if it's part of the traffic receiver) out to allow people to disable this. The popups don't even have an "X" in the corner for you to press to get rid of them.

Having got that off my chest, I'm still happy, overall, that I bought this unit.

I've been using Nuvis for years. Was very excited to get the new form factor Nuvi so I could give my well-worn 765 to my graduating daughter.

Received my fancy new device and put it directly into service on a trip to NYC--my first time there after all these years of exploring the rest of the country.

Made it through the northward routes of PA into Jersey, and then found myself at one of the famous "Jersey jughandle" intersections and unsure which lane to take for the direction I wanted to go. And the moment I stopped, I looked at my beautiful new Garmin to find out my next move.

And right on top of the map was a damn Red Lobster ad, hiding the info I needed. Couldn't make it go away, couldn't see my map underneath. Let loose a stream of profanity. Then the light turned green, I began to move, the ad went away and I found I needed to be in another lane, but my moment in traffic to plan the lane change had passed.

Garmin takes the only safe moment to check your map away from you--the moment you are stopped. So the only times you can check your map are when you are in motion and should have your eyes on the road.

Who is the genius that came up with this garbage?

I knew this problem was going to be bad in NYC traffic. But this POS had me steaming before I even entered the city. Inside the Lincoln Tunnel, once again hoping for lane info to get to my hotel, up comes a great big ad, WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION, obscuring the directions I paid my $450 plus tax to have. I damn near caused an accident with the "tourist slowdown" needed to find the right lane in time to get there.

Once in the city, this thing was the very definition of useless, with ads obscuring the map every time I was at a standstill and able to look at it. When I realized I was going to be more of a problem to surrounding traffic with this thing than without it, I put it in my suitcase and went to electronics alley and got the cheapest Tom Tom on the shelf--$79.

The Tom Tom outperformed this POS Garmin in every respect. If you must have the latest and greatest advertising-delivery technology, you can bid on mine on ebay.

UPDATE FEB 11, 2011:

Response poster Kevin looks to have solved it--the ads are the trade-off for 'free' traffic data. If I'd gone into the menus and turned traffic off, apparently the ads would have been turned off too.

Living in the Balt-Wash area, I'm jaded as to the traffic functions of Nuvi units anyway--3/4 of the time they route you over to the BW parkway for massive delays on the 95. I take the 95 anyway if I'm going to the north side of D.C., and the massive delays the instrument prophesies rarely materialize.

More often I get stuck on the BW Parkway and the Anacostia, where the brilliant Garmin device is routing me and everybody else who has one. So I've pretty much stuck to the 95 and had better luck in the past year or so. I've firmed up my ego by practicing my skills at saying 'no' to a female voice issuing commands. First I was answering her with unprintables, then I just smiled and said 'yes, dear,' while ignoring her and continuing my chosen route.

Now that advertiser-supported traffic is the norm for Garmin, if I should buy another Nuvi I'll just remember to switch the feature off. It seems to have limited utility anyway.

So, potential Nuvi buyers: if the ads get in your way, pull over, go into the menus, and turn off the traffic update feature. Then I think you won't have any more problems with gigantic banner ads obscuring your maps.

I just got my Nuvi 3790 today and I must say it is by far the best GPS I have owned. I have owned Garmins, TomToms, Navigons, and Magellans.

The display is super crisp and bright. Even in bright sunlight. I had my Nuvi 1690 up next to it. The 1690 was washed out, the 3790 was very, very bright.

I transferred my favorites (waypoints) from the 1690 without a hitch. Also installed traffic cameras... no problem (UPDATE - the traffic cameras I installed were from GPS POI which I have used on other Garmin units without a problem. They did not appear on this unit. I understand there is some kind of bug Garmin is working on. I used the Garmin POI Loader, as I have in the past. I downloaded the Garmin Safety Cameras for the US, which they didn't have a while back and they do show up, but I need to see what happens when I come across them.). I tried the voice command and it worked surprisingly well. I had used a TomTom with voice control and this was far superior. You get a list of commands on the screen and I had no problem activating the feature simply by saying, "Voice Command.' Picked me up without a hitch. Only once did it seem to freeze on me and for a minute I thought I would have to do a reset, but I said another command and it cleared. (UPDATE - I really like the voice command feature. It makes things so much easier while moving. I am not a 'voice' person but this has come in very useful. Rarely does it miss a beat. If it does I just repeat and it gets it.)

The unit is super thin. In fact, I almost lost my grip on it a few times it is so thin. I bought the Garmin case for it and it fits very well. Easily fits in my shirt pocket.

I did a backup on the hard drive, which by the way is a whopping 8 GB, using a little over 4 GB -- room for expansion indeed. I couldn't select all on my mac and get them all to copy over, but I burned a DVD and pretty much everything was copied from what I could tell. It took about 25 minutes or so.

The unit did get pretty warm in use, perhaps because of the black back and the sun. I haven't used it at night to tell if that is it. (UPDATE - it doesn't seem to get as warm now even with the sun hitting it. Perhaps the electronics needed to get 'burned in' and all is well.)

I live in northern Virginia and was not able to pick up traffic. My 1690 was showing traffic in the same areas. The 1690 is cell-connected, the 3790 is FM.

In comparison with the 1690 with most detail selected, the 3790 is pretty much about the same in many areas, perhaps a bit more in others. No complaints about that at all so far.

I do like the ability to rotate the screen. I didn't think I would but I like the portrait view. It gives me more of where I am going rather off to the sides. I will need to experiment with it.

Routing is a bit different than my 1690. I will see how it evolves in its learning my routes. Calculation seems quick. It did take a while to lock in after being powered off, but nothing appreciable.

I can easily pack this, or put it in my shirt pocket and take it most places.

A great GPS. Pricey, but wonderful. This is the iPhone 4 of the GPS world. Nothing comes close to the beauty of the 3790.

_______________________
Update - 7/6/10

The Junction Views on this appear more often than they did on my 1690. Same map version, but obviously updated Junction Views. I have read that in Europe they have photo realistic Junction Views and from the pictures they look very good. Hopefully they will update the US Junction Views to photo realistic ones.... makes for a much nicer picture. (UPDATE - in portrait mode the junction view is on the top half of the screen and you still see the road and your 'vehicle' moving in the bottom half of the screen. In landscape mode junction view takes up the entire screen.)

Also, the software user interface is different in this unit and while it offers pretty much what the 1690 software does, many things are in different places. For instance the last position you are at when you remove the unit from the mount in the 1690 was found under favorites. In the 3790 it is found under parking - last stop.

Best thing is to explore all the menus and see what's there. Very nice indeed.

7-10-10... Some tips.... To power on push the on/off button and wait to hear the click. Let go at that point. To power off, you need to HOLD the power button down until you see a power off screen asking you to make a choice. Otherwise, if you hold the on/off button down briefly and let go, it goes into standby and when you push the on/off button to turn it 'on' you get a lock screen, at which point you hit the lock icon and it comes to life. This is not turning the unit off - just putting it into standby mode. For a quick return to where you left it, standby works great, but not for long periods of time as it uses up the battery. If the car power is lost the unit goes into standby, not power off. If you pull it off the mount, nothing happens. Interesting.

I decided to buy the 3760 after having the 250W Garmin for several years. I wanted a GPS unit that would warn me of traffic issues and could route me otherwise, and also one that had a sleeker design. The only problem I had with my 250W Garmin was that it took a long time to pick up satellites and then route me to the place that i wanted to go. The 3760 has upgrades like a better design, sleek, can be hand held horizontally or vertically and it does look like an IPhone. You can also use it as a walking navigation system which is neat, although I've always just used this as a car navigation. However, I must stress that one of the other reviewers was correct: It does NOT have any accuracy in letting you know in advance that there is traffic or providing any type of traffic updates. So because I live in NJ, (land known for being a constant parking lot), it never warns me that there is an accident ahead and a lot of traffic and never once has routed me to another way to go to avoid all of the traffic which was one of my main reasons for buying this unit. Now, that being said, I did try to adjust all of the traffic settings on the unit to ensure it was turned on, but it still does not work to update me in advance of the traffic. NOT WORTH $400! I think that it is worth it if the traffic updates would work like it claims to do. I'm debating whether to return it for a new unit or just return it for an older Garmin (like the 765) which everyone claims to work well, and it's cheaper, too because it's an older model. The other features of this unit were fine, it picked up the satellite signal very fast, and it could locate all of the addresses I placed in the unit to travel to, even confusing areas of New York, NJ and Connecticut with no problems.

Updated as of September 5th:

I ended up returning the 3760T unit and only received a $320 refund from Amazon. While I am annoyed I wasn't refunded the full amount I paid for the unit (I paid $400 initially), I decided to suck up the $80 loss and look for a better Garmin GPS unit. I have re-read my review above and have additional comments for anyone considering buying this unit:

Cons:
The unit, just like other Garmin 3700 series units, somehow gets extremely hot when you use it even for just a short while. It almost seems like it is burning and that was alarming because obviously high tech devices should not be so hot to the touch. It is also a very delicate unit, if you do not handle electronics carefully in general (and I know I've dropped my cell phone/ipod once or twice by accident), this is not the unit for you.

Currently:

I ended up buying a Garmin 1490T factory refurbished unit from amazon, and so far, I love it! Once I received it, I opened the amazon box. Since the unit is refurbished, it didn't come in a 'new' box, but it was definitely nicely packaged, and well I don't buy items for the packaging anyway. Just to let any readers know, I have never bought a refurbished product electronically, so I was weary about the effectiveness of the 1490T refurbished, but I read a lot of reviews on Amazon before making my decision and when I found I disliked this unit so much.

Once I received the 1490T, I had to call Garmin Support (unfortunately the wait time was ridiculously long, about 45 minutes until I spoke to someone over the phone, so add in adequate waiting time if you ever want to call Garmin for help). I had to tell them I just bought a 1490T factory refurbished item on Amazon and that I wanted a free upgraded map to be provided
in the unit. I had to provide proof of purchase to Garmin by scanning over my receipt and once Garmin received this via email, I received a 2011 map upgrade for free. It took about 2 hours of time to download from the Garmin website (but this updated map was provided by Garmin for free and was ultimately worth it.) The 1490T has a wide 5 inch screen. Once the new map updates were placed in the unit, the 1490T was great - it showed traffic updates, connected with signal satellites right away and routed me correctly, and it was even able to route me to a baseball stadium in Philadelphia (I didn't have the exact address of the Phillies baseball stadium on hand, but I was traveling to Philadelphia from NYC), and all I had to do was go to the points of interest, sports stadium, and it showed up. I am happy with this purchase because I only paid $178 for this unit, compared to the $400 I paid for the 3760 (minus the $80 I lost since i had to return it). So I recommend going with a refurbished unit like the 1490T if you want something just as good. I would just suggest that once you receive it, to upgrade the maps to the 2011 version and then it should work well. I know it sounds like a pain to do all of the steps above to make the 1490T refurbished unit working well, but it is worth it, in my opinion.

The 3790LMT is my 6th Garmin GPS, and it's my 2nd GPS which is designed specifically for vehicle navigation. So far, it has not disappointed. The size, brightness, and resolution of the display is excellent. I've found the touch-screen to be very responsive without being overly sensitive. The speaker in the vehicle mount is loud and clear. Satellite acquisition is fairly quick.

After I received it, I registered it on Garmin's website right away which then allowed me to download the latest software update for the device, as well as the most recent maps. Software updates for the GPS are fast (a few minutes), but map updates take hours because of the amount of data being transferred, so make sure you have enough time before you begin. [I do have broadband internet service.] The 'myDashboard' interface on Garmin's website is fairly intuitive, and I found it easy to navigate around and locate exactly what I needed.

As far as using the GPS, I really like the fact that the power cable goes into the mount, and not directly into the GPS device. This makes the removal of the GPS from the mount fast and easy, without having to deal with any cables. The GPS itself is slim enough to slip into a coat pocket.

As opposed to my SteetPilot 2720, the 3790LMT does have an internal battery, which means it can be used in 'pedestrian' mode if needed. The battery is only good for about 3 hours, but it's not designed to be taken on long hikes. It's a vehicle-based GPS device, with a supplemental battery good for short-duration excursions, and I'm glad to have it. I own a different hand-held Garmin which is designed for hiking outdoors, so I don't expect my vehicle's GPS to pull double-duty.

For those who are concerned about the pop-up ads when using the FM Traffic Receiver, there's a few things you should know. The ads only come up when you are receiving FM traffic signals. If you are outside of a traffic coverage area, you won't see any ads at all. At this time, there are only 98 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada that offer this FM traffic service. Geographically speaking, the coverage area is extremely small, and obviously geared more toward areas with higher population density.

To see a list of the areas that have this FM traffic service, as well as an overall coverage map, you can visit NAVTEQ's website. If the thought of those pop-up ads still bothers you, all you need to do is replace the GTM-35 power cable with a normal power cable (Garmin part number 010-11478-03) for about $20. You'll lose your traffic info, but there won't be any more ads popping up.

The 3790LMT comes with a Quick Start Guide, but not a full-blown owner's manual. You'll need to download that from Garmin's website in PDF format, and it's about 80 pages long. There is a help menu that you can access directly in the GPS device, but I also recommend downloading and reading the owner's manual. The 3790LMT has a lot of great features and functions, and you'll want to get the most out of it. Some of the features are accessed by simply touching the screen in the right spot, but others require a longer "touch and hold for a couple seconds" in order to get there. It's actually quite easy to use, but you've got to know the feature exists before you can take advantage of it, so the manual is worth the time.

<<< Sept. 1, 2011 Update >>>
After using my 3790LMT to navigate through Milwaukee and Chicago several times, I have become a huge fan of the Turn Indicator and Junction View features that appear on the map while in navigation mode (navigating to a specific destination).

The turn indicator appears on the top left corner of the map page, and indicates which lane(s) you need to be in to navigate through an upcoming interchange. For a large, multi-lane junction, the turn indicator will let you know if you need to be in the two right-most lanes or the three left-most lanes, etc., and it provides enough advance notice so you have plenty of time to maneuver accordingly.

The Junction View automatically appears in a split-screen on the map page as you near a large interchange, and it is a photograph-like image of the actual interchange as you would see it from the driver's seat. An arrow appears in this image of the upcoming interchange to show you the exact path you'll need to take to successfully navigate through it.

Both the Turn Indicator and Junction View features were incredibly helpful, accurate, and made navigating in and around these large cities quite nice, as I was able to avoid those last-minute lane changes that sometimes happen when you're on unfamiliar highways.

The only improvement that I would want in this GPS so far is the way that it handles toll booth locations on the tollways. Because of the separate lanes used for "open road tolling" and "cash only" toll booths, it treats these locations as if they were an interchange or exit on the highway. Sometimes they really are at an exit ramp, but sometimes they're not. It can get confusing at these locations unless you're already familiar with this stretch of the toll road.

The confusion at the toll locations is a minor issue, and I still give the 3790LMT a full 5-star rating.

The 3790lmt is a really nice GPS. There is a lot to like about it. But, there is one HUGE drawback to this unit or other lmt units. If you use the traffic service you will have to deal with pop up ads. Yes, can you believe it? You pay $400-$500 for a nice GPS and you have to tolerate pop up ads. You can't get away from this annoying pop up junk. Internet, cell phone and now your GPS. I had to take away 2 stars from a product that has the potential for 5 stars. Garmin should at least give you the option to see these ads or not and not force them on you. I called Garmin support and was advised not to use the traffic service if I didn't want to see the ads. Excuse me?? The traffic service is one of the main reasons I bought the thing. Had I known about the pop up ads, I would not have purchased. Buyer Beware.

This is my second Garmin Nuvi GPS. My first was a Nuvi 360 and it still works after more than 4 years. I decided it was time to upgrade to a newer version after having my old one for so many years. Some of the features that caused me to choose the 3760LMT were the lifetime maps and traffic, Lane Assist, Junction View, trafficTrends, and myTrends. If you're looking for additional reviews for this unit, you can search for the 3760T, which is the same unit, minus the lifetime map updates.

Pros: The wide screen is a great improvement over the smaller screen I was used to on the 360. The color is much more vivid and the screen is much brighter. Even during a sunny day, I have the brightness turned down. I had my old 360 up to max brightness and it was difficult to see in bright sunlight. The sound is also much louder on the 3760. I had the sound on max for my 360. The 3760 has the volume at less than half and it is plenty loud enough to hear above the road noise.

Two functions I think should be a must for any unit are Lane Assist and Junction View. Lane Assist shows you which lanes you need to be in when approaching a junction on a freeway. So far, I have noticed that it is quite accurate as to the number of lanes and picking the right lanes to be in. Junction View shows you a rendered picture of what the junction signs you are approaching look like and an arrow is included showing with route to take. The junction signs shown in the 3760 are, for the most part, what you actually see on the highway. When the junction view is shown, it is up for only a few seconds and then the unit reverts back to the map display. When shopping for a unit, I highly recommend these options.

Another great function is the Trip Planner. With my old unit, I used to have to manually move to a starting point on the map, then select my destination to determine travel time for a proposed trip. Now, with the Trip Planner, the 3760 allows me to plan trips, including the entry of a desired arrival time, which shows a suggested departure time taking into account travel time for the trip. You can save the trips and then call them up when you're ready for them. This is another must-have option.

I was also really looking forward to the traffic information being delivered directly to the unit. With my 360, I had to use a smart phone to get traffic information, which was not very convenient while driving in traffic. I don't live in an area where traffic information is broadcast, but I do travel to Los Angeles frequently. My take so far on how well the traffic information works is that it is better than nothing. I've noticed that it is not always completely accurate. I've hit slowdowns that didn't show on the unit. I have also seen it be very accurate. I was traveling westbound on a stretch of freeway in an area where the eastbound traffic was moving very slow. The map showed the point where the eastbound slow traffic began, which corresponded closely to where the slowdown actually started. When traffic information is being received, a traffic icon shows up in the upper left of the screen. The icon turns yellow for slow traffic ahead and red if traffic is really jammed. The unit automatically re-routed me once when traffic on my route was report as red. The route it chose was the same one I would have chosen had I known about the traffic jam. If the traffic is reported as slow, you can ask for a suggested alternate route. The unit displays the travel time for the main route and the alternate route so that you can make a decision of whether the alternate route is worthy of consideration. If you have your estimated arrival time displayed, the traffic function updates your arrival time to include traffic slowdowns. When it is receiving traffic information, the displayed estimated arrival time is much more accurate.

Cons: Reception of traffic information is not flawless. The unit occasionally loses the traffic data connection. Powering the unit off and then back on restored the connection.

A major problem I have with this unit is that it stops drawing the map after it has been running continuously for about 3 hours. I noticed that another reviewer of the 3760T reported the same problem. My guess is this is caused by a software problem and, hopefully, it will be resolve in a future update. The only way I can avoid this problem is to turn the unit off and then power it back on every couple of hours during a long trip. This is rather annoying for a GPS that costs more than $400.

I can't say whether trafficTrends and myTrends are good options or not, because I've seen no evidence that either is doing anything. It's possible that I haven't driven in the same area enough where traffic data is available for this option to kick in. However, I would have thought there would be some indication of myTrends working. The way I understood myTrends was that the unit would watch where you like to drive and then start routing you that way. I have a route I travel frequently that has a shorter by-pass, which I always avoid since it's only a 2-lane highway. My 3760 has not realized that I don't take that by-pass, because it tries to get me to take it every time. My recommendation for these 2 options is to skip them and save some money. If you commute every day in a big city, maybe these might be useful.

When searching for a location in another city, the unit does not display the resulting city list in order of distance from your current location. I'm not sure what criteria it uses to order the list. At a point about 250 miles from Los Angeles, CA, when trying to select a location near Los Angeles, the resulting city list shows Los Angeles, CA as the 45th entry on the list. Paging down 5 at a time, 9 times, to get to the desired city is not very convenient.

In summary, knowing what I know now, I would probably have chosen the 1490LMT instead. It has all of the functions that I find useful in the 3760. But, at around $200, it's a much better value.

For me the 3750 was the perfect balance between features and price. I really wasn't interested in the extra bells and whistles of the higher priced 3700 units so I was thrilled when I found this one. I'm upgrading from a Nuvi 250 and the difference is a quantum leap. This is just a stunning device. It's got a huge, beautiful display. The 3D display zooms in and out smoothly. It makes my old 250 look beyond primitive. I was also shocked at how light and thin it is. The biggest improvement is that the charging is done from the base, which means no more unplugging/plugging the cable when you want to take the unit with you. You simply pop it out of the base and you're done. There are tons of interface improvements. My favorite is that you can easily find out your latitude and longitude, nearest address, nearest intersection, as well as the nearest location of emergency services. I've always found the interface on Garmin units to be vastly superior to other competitors. I am thrilled with my purchase.