Customer Reviews

Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates

5 star:		(1,235)
4 star:		(617)
3 star:		(200)
2 star:		(150)
1 star:		(224)

 

 

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

*** UPDATE at the bottom of this review (February 2012)***

Background - I own a lot of technology. I like electronic toys and I indulge myself in whatever the latest gadget is. This has given me a broad taste in different segments of gadgets, and a pretty good eye for what works and what does not work.

Some convergence works but to date, most just plain suck (January 2011). Prime example of poor convergence is my iPhone 4 and Apple App Store GPS software like Navigon, Garmin, TomTom, MotionX, iGO, GlobalNav, MapQuest, Google and others. I tried them all - and in one way or another, they all suck. Why? Because the iPhone is primarily a mobile phone and an iPod. When an SMS message comes in, or a Facebook alert, or a Calendar alert, or a phone call, it either distracts or switches away from GPS navigation. Not a good idea when driving, far less when driving in unfamiliar areas!!!

Convergence in GPS mapping systems is completely understandable. Magellan, Garmin, TomTom and others are scrambling against an ever increasing golden horde of Androids and iPhones, other smart phones plus in-car navigation and GPS stereos, OnStar and other competitors. The GPS manufacturers HAVE to offer everything under the sun to keep in business - MP3 player, Audiobook player, Bluetooth connectivity, JPEG player, USB hard drive, Travel Guides, Traffic updates, offline maps, nearby shopping coupons - you name it, there is a GPS unit that has it. Long gone are the days of the single purpose GPS unit. Now most of them include the proverbial kitchen sink.

This Garmin 1490LMT replaces my still fully functional 2008 model 3.5 inch Garmin nüvi 370 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator. Prior to that, I had other older Garmins dating back to the StreetPilot days. My 370 has old maps, but it is a workhorse. It has never failed me as a GPS unit. Battery life on the 370 was a healthy 8 hours. The 1490 is about 2.5 hours with my settings. However, my Nuvi 370 has a raft of useless features - a Bluetooth hands free system, a MP3 player, a Travel Guide etc. - and well, frankly, those features sucked. And they sucked bad. But then, they all do. No one unit can do it all and do it perfectly. Not yet. See above. :-)

Things to do before you first use your 1490 :

Go to "my dot garmin dot com" and register your device. Update the firmware first - it takes a while primarily because the Garmin website is horribly buggy and unstable. But keep trying to update the firmware until it is the latest version. Then update your maps. This takes even longer, but is worth the frustration and the long wait. Keep trying and eventually it will complete and your GPS unit will be the better for it. My updates from start to finish took just over 4 hours. I have read of people taking 12 hours (unconfirmed) and most taking about 3 hours for this laborious process.

Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT : My Review :
Firmware 4.90, GPS 4.30

>Pros :
There is much to like about the 1490.

GPS functions - Outstanding! With all due respect, all of the GPS mapping nay-sayers must be mentally deficient (no offence meant). Big, bright, loud, 5 inch screen, beautiful resolution, extremely fast GPS lock and lightning scrolling as smooth as butter with maximum map detail switch on. It's like my Nuvi 370 on steroids.

Screen - 5 inches of wonderful. Did I mention it was big? It is HUGE. I absolutely love it. I do not need to look away from the road to see where I am and where I need to turn - it is in my peripheral vision. I keep the brightness at 70%. It is that bright. Polarised sunglasses do NOT black out or dim the 1490 LCD. They have no effect. My 370 could not be seen with polarised lenses. Major plus for me as I wear prescription polarised sunglasses.

Volume - loud. Really loud. And clear. I use the British Daniel TTS voice (taken from my 370) and it is crystal clear, no "crackling" or distortion at 80% or less. Maybe other negative reviewers had older firmware. More about Voices later in this review.

Interface - clean and clear and simple. A small child could use it. In fact, small children have used it without instructions or tutelage.

Keyboard - QWERTY, at last! That stupid ABCDE Nuvi 370 keyboard drove me to distraction. Now you can choose between QWERTY and ABCDE keyboards.

Traffic - Many have complained that the "traffic does not work". Actually, the traffic works perfectly in the areas it services. But first you have to go into the "Tools/Settings/Navigation/Avoidances" and make a change. Set Avoidances to clear (no green tick mark) next to Traffic and press OK. Make sure your Route Preference is set to "Faster Time" and you are all set. Traffic now works like a champ. For my thoughts on Lifetime Traffic - see my comments later in this review.

Lifetime Maps - love it. $80 was a tough pill to swallow for yearly map updates - so I didn't update. Having Lifetime map updates (up to 4 times a year for the life of the unit) is one of the reasons I chose this GPS model.

Boot picture - I had this on my 370 and thankfully I have the same feature on my 1490. It is trivial but it does give me a small sense of personalisation.

Vehicles - there are (literally) thousands of them on the Internet. The Garmin site has a scant handful, but in the wider Internet you can get a beautifully rendered "Batman Returns" Batmobile, or an Aston Martin Vantage, or a Volkswagen Beetle. Sky is the limit. Lots and lots of choices.

Bluetooth - don't care. Really do not care at all. Useless feature for me - i have Bluetooth in my Jawbone and car stereo which is superior to any GPS unit's Bluetooth feature. If I cared about Bluetooth, I would just use my iPhone 4 with the Garmin GPS software and not bother buying a standalone GPS. In my humble opinion, all the complaints about Bluetooth are wide of the mark because this is a GPS unit - not a handsfree unit! In hindsight, I should have bought the 1450LMT (which is a 1490 without Bluetooth) but did not understand the differences in models when I bought the 1490LMT. See my comments on "convergence" above.

>Cons :
All is not rosy in Garmin-Land

* Zip Code search - when will GPS manufacturers realise that in America, we have these little things called zip codes? Why do I have to laboriously type city then address etc. when I can get within a dozen miles or so of my destination if I have the zip code? Only one GPS manufacturer has woken up to this minor fact. Garmin is definitely asleep at the wheel here.

* Annoying (and loud) key press beeps cannot be disabled without muting the entire unit. I could disable the key press tone in my 370. A backward step from Garmin here.

* Voices - there is an absolute dearth of voices for the Garmin. Garmin and Pigtones offer a few unexceptional voices but nothing like the truly excellent TomTom "Star Wars" voices. From the factory, the 1490 comes with almost no voices to speak of. Luckily I copied my Nuvi 370 factory TTS voices over to my 1490, otherwise I would not have anything I could stand listening to. A major step backwards for Garmin!

* Annoying Traffic advertisements. I would happily pay more for the Lifetime Traffic to NOT have these intrusive and annoying advertisements and coupons popping up and obscuring the screen. It's easy enough to dismiss the ads, but they are very annoying. Resounding "F minus" to Garmin for this "feature"

* Things I could do without : Language Guide, Offers (coupons), Picture Viewer. All useless, all pointless. But hey! - it gives Garmin "feature tick boxes" they can fill against their competitors, so whatever works, I guess.

* Onerous, tedious and very buggy firmware and map update process. Garmin need to get with the programme and buy more servers and/or hire better Mac/PC programmers.

Undocumented Features :

Garmin, for reasons unknown, have undocumented features, some of which make great selling points. Maybe in their rush to market with their plethora of GPS offerings, they forget which unit has what feature and do not tout these neat hidden features.

Breadcrumbs - a blue line appears behind you, everywhere you travel, showing you your path. This may seem pointless until you are lost and you see the blue line and realise that you are traveling in a circle. Also great for finding your way back to, for example, an unfamiliar airport rental depot. Lots of uses - I like this feature a lot.

Satellite View - with the unit switched on and on the Home screen, press and hold the signal strength bars in the top left corner for about 10 seconds. It will switch to the satellite view and you can see your GPS accuracy, speed and elevation as well as a graphic of the GPS satellites overhead and their signal strength.

Screen Calibration - Power off your 1490. Now press your finger on the top left corner and press the power button while keeping your finger in the corner. Wait about 30-45 seconds and a black dot on a white screen appears in the top left hand corner with crosshairs. Follow the on screen instructions to calibrate your touch screen. Only necessary if you find that when typing you keep hitting the wrong key or the menus are hard to navigate because of incorrect key presses.

Master Reset - Power off your 1490. Now press your finger on the bottom right corner and press the power button while keeping your finger in the corner. Wait about 30-45 seconds and a "Do you want to reset all user data" message pops up. Select "Yes" and your 1490 is reset to factory settings - all your personal data is erased. Use with caution - all user data like Home, POI, breadcrumbs, routes etc. will be erased. However, this is a great feature if you wish to sell you 1490LMT in the future or if it is malfunctioning/unresponsive and needs a master reset.

Built in extensive hardware and software tests - With the switched unit on and on the Home screen, press and hold the "battery" icon in the top right hand corner. After about 30 seconds, you will e presented with an overwhelming number of tests with many, many sub menus. If you are a competent and confident tinkerer, you can diagnose (and repair!) many problems with your new shiny GPS system. Please use with extreme and grave caution!!! You can COMPLETELY BRICK your 1490 playing with the hidden diagnostics menus. Again, if you do not know what you are doing, do not mess with this!

Final thoughts :

If you are looking for an all singing, all dancing system, the Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT is not for you. In fact, no convergence unit is for you. None of them are masters of all - and most of them are masters of none.

The Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates is a GPS navigation system, and in that regard, it is spectacular. I like this unit. It does what I bought it to do - GPS Navigation - and it does it extremely well. I highly recommend it.

***UPDATE: A Garmin system and map update in late 2011 now has Zip Code Search!!! At last! I am very pleased with this update.

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.

Over the past 10 months I had spent WAY too many hours reading reviews on GPS systems. Something would look like the best thing since sliced bread, then there would be reviews that the tech support was a nightmare, maps were outdated, etc. I liked the bigger size and the way this looked (the Interchange graphics especially)and was going out of state in February, so I had to make a decision. At the time, there were only a few reviews. On the day I prepared to order this Garmin 1450 there was negative review. I thought "Oh, great...", but ordered it anyway, totally overwhelmed & frustrated with the whole endeavor. It has truly been a delight. My husband has had a low-tech Garmin for years & I never liked it. My son has a Tom-Tom, friends have Magellans, etc. We found restaurants, every location we needed, all effortlessly. I was afraid to do the review immediately, for fear it would die in the future, so I have waited 3 months. All is good! The only negative thing I might include is we did need to "reboot" twice on hot days when it was on the dash - I assume because it got hot. The reboot takes only a few seconds & it never happened when I left it sitting on its Friction Mount on the gearshift mound (out of the sun). I am truly quite pleased & grateful that I haven't had problems. I hope whatever you select turns out to be such a successful experience!

I received the 1490T on Tuesday evening and downloaded all the updates and new maps. I paired it with my Bluetooth phone and left it to charge overnight. On Wednesday we left Central Florida for the Panhandle and the 1490T worked flawlessly - this GPS was really terrific and we played with most every function. I turned it off and put it in the center console to keep it safe and left it overnight. Got it out and plugged it in the next morning and the screen flashed white then the Garmin name appeared - that is where it sits today. YES, I tried resetting the unit, turned it off and on and with and without the power adapter plugged in. Nothing works - it comes on and flashes a white screen and then the word "garmin" on the screen and it sits there. We made the trip back home without this amazing GPS and were just totally dissappointed. It was so nuch fun using it going up..
This was my 2nd Garmin in 1 week to go bad. I purchased a 265WT last week but the bluetooth would shut the gps down when it engaged. I obtained a RMA from Amazon as I decided to just go ahead and jump up to the latest feature rich unit (the 1490T). I previouslly owned a Magellan Crossover for the past 4 years and it is still running great but I wanted to upgrade and add the bluetooth. It appears that even though Garmin is gaining market share, they have sacrificed their quality to hold profits. I am going to try again with another 1490T as we did really love it but we are concerned over the Garmin GPS quality.
UPDATE - 06-02-2010
I received an email from Garmin support who offered the following (Thank you for contacting Garmin International, I am sorry to hear that this has happened. Your GPS will require warranty service. Please return your device to the address below ---- Once we receive your GPS Unit and check it into the system, you will receive it back in approximately 10 - 14 days. For most units, the device will be exchanged for a newly overhauled device)

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!! Ship, at my cost to Garmin, wait 10-14 days and get an "overhauled" unit back. After only 5 hours of use on a brand new unit??????????? I'm not a happy camper with Garmin!

NOW - Amazon on the other hand emailed me a return shipping label to send my dead gps back to them and they sent me a brand new NUVI 1490T (overnight) at the same time. AS I am writing this I am already updating my new unit. Amazon is GREAT - Garmin's customer service policy sucks.. (and this was over the Memorial day weekend - WOW)

June 23, 2010 - followup
I've been using the 1490T on a regular basis now and it is working just great. Everything is working including the traffic information updates. I have seen the occasional advertising from the fm traffic receiver but the messages are totally out of the way and cause no problems at all. this is a really terrific GPs and we continue to love it. I downloaded additional POI including the speed and red light cameras. Very nice feature and lets you know in plenty of time to be careful.
Although I love this unit I still harbor negative feelings toward Garmin and their customer service policy.

UPDATE 07-08-10
I received an email from Garmin telling me that I had to download a 'MANDATORY" free update. This update is to fix the previous problem I had on the first unit I had received. I followed the instructions, the download went fine and the new version was updated to 4.40. I disconnected the unit from the computer and the 1490T will no longer run. It is dead as a door nail. I have tried everything but it will not respond at all..

I am again returning this Garmin 1490T to Amazon but for a full refund this time. This Garmin 1490T and Garmin support is the worst there is.
quote---
Here is what Garmin says - Please allow 10-14 days for the repair and return of your device.

We know our customers rely upon their Garmin GPS device(s), especially during the summer travel season, and we regret any inconvenience this situation may have caused. We are committed to developing products that are known for their quality and reliability and will continue to work diligently to earn the trust of our customers..
endquote ---
Garmin has pissed on this customer one two many times.

My review is going to be geared to those who have owned previous Garmin units, and perhaps have several year old models. I have had a Street Pilot c550 and a 205W. I was never happy with either the screen brightness or the volume on the Street Pilot. When I bought the 205W it was a new model and promised a very bright screen and loud directions - it had neither. Still, I used it until about two months ago, when for no reason it suddenly dumped all my saved destinations. Swell. I figured it was time for a new unit, and I wanted Lane Assist and Junction View. Was originally going to buy another unit that has the feature where it will help you get back to your parked car, but that unit isn't going to be available for an unknown period of time, so I settled on the 1450lmt. I didn't care so much about the traffic, but I definitely wanted lifetime maps. So - excellent Amazon service with delivery, amazingly fast. Right out of the box, it picked up a signal in my apartment - wow. Downloaded an updated map and it only took about 45 mins. total, no problems. Tried it out today. Screen is beautifully bright - I don't actually need it on 100%. The voice is LOUD and clear, and again, I don't need it full volume. Those two things alone totally delighted me. It is ready to navigate almost instantly when I turn it on, including in my carport, where my previous model never got a signal. It has very accurate and exhaustive small local POIs, which again impressed me, as the 205W still showed places that hadn't existed for 5 years, and that was when it and the maps were new. The junction view/lane assist is easily visible and will be invaluable in unfamiliar areas. I haven't actually seen the traffic alerts in use, but I have cruised the screens and checked the scans, and it seems as if it will be helpful. I know it can't be perfect, but I'm sure it'll be better than not having it at all. I've also had fun downloading different vehicles and voices. I just might be tempted to pay for Spongebob (most of the voices are free). SO happy I didn't buy the unit I was originally intending to buy, and got this one instead with its great 5-inch screen. It's a vast improvement on my 3 year old previous model. Garmin's really started getting it right!

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.

I bought the Garmin nuvi 1450 primarily because of the larger screen. The initial reviews were mixed, but there was only a couple when I was looking to buy. Because Garmin makes a quality product and often the negative product reviews are petty on their other products, I decided to buy one. I've been very happy with the purchase. It takes awhile for the Garmin to acquire the satellite. The biggest warning that I would tell a new buyer is to be patient the first time that you want to use it. You need to turn it on outside and wait forever for it to initialize and find the satellite the first time. They say it takes awhile. No, it takes more than a few minutes. I thought it was broken because I was impatient. :<)

Garmin has a wide variety of models, which is a mixed blessing. You can probably find what model you want, but finding it takes a bit of effort. I decided Lifetime Map and Traffic updates made sense for the long haul - this model has it. I also bought the 5" display since I can see it better on the dash. Love the new features compared to my 3 year old Garmin, such as Lane Assist, Junction View, my speed displayed, speed limit displayed. Would have liked a case included.

Only complaint is that it is a bit tricky to disengage from the window holder while it is suctioned to the window. Garmin's tech support via email, was outstanding, with their response to a few of my start up questions. Recommended.

I have now had a couple of weeks to work with the new Garmin 1490T.

I should begin by mentioning that I have been using Garmin GPS units in airplanes for quite some time, and my experience with ROAD GPS units began with a Street Pilot III soon after they were introduced. Currently I also have a Garmin KNA-G510 which drives a 7" in-dash Kenwood display and a nuvi 660. I compared the 1490T to both the G510 and the 660. I did not have any of the issues with "buggy" software forgetting my settings which others have mentioned.

For me, the 5" screen of the 1490T was one of the attractive features; it provides almost as much viewable map area as the 7" G510 display; the 510 has most of the data outside of the map, whereas the 1490T and the smaller 660 have these as overlays onto the map. The 1490T map appears more "crisp" than either older map display as smaller width lines are used for most features. The older, thicker lines look bolder, but the thinner lines contribute to a sharper looking display. The 1490T labels use upper case and lower case letters rather than upper case only, and this too contributes to a somewhat more legible display in my opinion. One unusual note: at night the 1490T background appears dark blue rather than black. I think the contrast is better with black and would prefer the more dim background of the older units.

The most dramatic new 1490T feature is HotFix (tm), a feature present in the airborne units since introduction, but new to the road units. The result is a very rapid calculation of position when the unit is turned on. My 660 often requires a full minute longer than the 1490T which might require less than 3-5 seconds. I also have the impression that if my 1490 is charging in my car, it may be partially "on" and maintaining a fix in the background. In either case, the very rapid navigational fix is very noticeable and much appreciated.

For example, a rapid fix is really useful in a strange area, when you return to your car and need to start driving out of the city, for example. The long wait for a fix as you leave the parking garage, or pull from your parking space seems like an eternity.

One odd display change - while my older units will usually say something like "Oak St. Ahead" in the green boarder stripe at the top of the screen, the 1490T will say "Driving on Main St". Now I will grant you that in answer to the "where am I now?" question, it may be more important to know that I am on Main Street, but when I am looking for Oak Street, the older displays seem better. While it is true that the 1490T will have a map label for Oak Street (most of the time) and it is located properly on the map, this is somewhat harder to read than the larger type in the green stripe.

This may also relate to the 1490T approach to placing map labels on streets but not on "things" like parks and neighborhoods. Others have commented negatively on this loss of map labels. I think the 1490 labels more streets, so I am OK with this.

The 1490T appears to calculate positions and speeds and/or display more quickly; it is hard to tell which. If I decelerate slowly, the 1490 displays the decreasing speeds more rapidly than the 660. This may be due to a more rapid calculation or it might be due to a more rapid display cycle. Either (faster fixes/calculations or faster display updates) could contribute to more rapid updates of map display. It is hard to tell for sure, but it does appear to me that the 1490T map display updates more often and this appears more smooth.

I have had only a little experience with traffic data, but my first impression is that this is somewhat better integrated into the 1490T. For example, you can tell when you are receiving traffic data on the 1490 from the main map screen and the color indicates traffic conditions.

I have not had a chance to see the Junction View or Lane Assist feature, but I did like the turn preview feature, which, after a short display interval automatically returns to the map display. If my other units do this, I must have missed it; this is a nice feature as it eliminates a longer glance at the screen and another button push at exactly a time when you might be busy.

One last positive note: the 1490 has a scale bar AND a north diamond, my 660 has neither. It is a little hard to accept anything as a navigator if it does not indicate "north". Both 660 and 1490T do the same auto-zoom which for some reason I never noticed on the 660. Maybe it is more obvious now that I have the scale bar to read on the 1490. The 1490 shows topo features when zoomed out a ways, and this is nice - a cute feature to show off.

I was tempted to set up a double system in my car to mirror a double GPS display I have fooled with in the airplane, i.e. one screen zoomed in with track-up, and one zoomed out with north-up. But, aside from the question of whether you really need this in a car and aside from the odd looks one gets, perhaps this would invite one to spend too much time with their head in the cockpit and not on the road.

If I can have only one, I like the new 1490T.