Three questions on this well detailed (as are all of your articles) review:
1. How many "levels of detail" of map display are offered? For instance, the 760 has five levels, but the 755 only three.

2. When on a "Route," does the green bar at the top of the Map View display the name of the "Next Turn," or does it display the "Current" street or highway name?

3. While your unit comparisons of the map display (between the 1490 and 765) show that the TEXT size is larger in the green bar at the top of the map, it LOOKS like the font type of Street Names ON THE MAP are the same size as the smaller 765 unit: Is this correct?

Hi Fletch,

Thanks for the detailed review, as always. As you might be able to tell from the following questions, I'm trying to decide between the 1490T and 765T.

1) You mention smooth "smooth and fluid" scrolling in Section 7, and "fast frame rate" and "ultra smooth scrolling map" in the Conclusion section. Is the frame rate better, worse, or not noticably different than on the 765T?

2) Does the system setup allow you specify a qwerty keyboard layout? I don't think any of your screen shots show a qwerty setup, but I'd assume Garmin didn't leave this option out.

3) I like how the system clock is now much easier to set. Can you confirm that there is no option to automatically have the clock set according to the device's location? (It's pretty easy to understand why they'd leave this feature out -- I can imagine setting and following a route from one time zone into another, and not being clear on whether the ETA and any other time fields were based on the local or destination time. On the other hand, the process of setting the system time on my 360 is so convoluted that I don't bother doing it, and just tend to mildly resent having to manually convert for local time every time I look at the ETA value when I travel outside my local time zone.)

4) Other than the screen size, the main reason I'd consider this unit over a 765t is volume; you report that the 1490t is 35% louder than Garmin's 4.3" models. (Thanks for these measurements.) Do you know how the loudness on 4.3" models compares to that of the 3.5" models like my 360? If the 765t is slightly louder than my 360, that'd probably be enough. If they're roughly the same, it'd push me towards the 1490t.

5) Any chance you could take a picture or two of the 1490t alongside your 765t? I think your readers would appreciate a direct comparison for both readability and portability.

Thanks.

EXCELLENT reviews of both this unit and of the 1390T model - thank you very much (I will be clicking through to amazon.com to purchase so you get some credit!).

I'm having a hard time deciding between the 1390T and 1490T. Besides routes and screen size, is everything else the same including the functionality (reviews, mapsource, etc) between both units?

I'm upgrading from a several year old Nuvi 350 and either model will be a welcome upgrade. I love the functionality of the 1490T and if it's not included in the 1390T, then I will go with the 1490T (screen size isn't all that important to me).

Thanks,

Ry.

On page 13 (Traffic) there is an icon of a camera below the traffic delay icon. What is that?

Hi Fletch,

Your answer above, "Other than screen size, the only difference between the 1390T and 1490T is that the 1490T supports multi-destination trips with "optimization" (sorts the stops by distance). Also, the battery life is slightly longer on the smaller 1390T." confuses me.

This seems to contradict the fact that you said, "internal speaker is 35% more powerful than the speaker found on smaller Garmin nuvi models."

Are you saying that the speaker volume on the 1390T is just as loud as the 1490T?

Thanks Fletch for the great review.

Some features I like in 755T: power cable being connected to the cradle instead of to the GPS unit itself; 3D buildings. Any reason why these features are not in 1490T?

Thanks for the review, Fletch. How about the reception? Does it take long to get the satellite signals from a start-up? Also does this GPS have sleep mode, meaning if a route is set up and the GPS is powered down, at next start-up, does it continue with the route?

Excellent review once again and great site. Wish I could have supported your site by clicking through the Amazon link but I could not wait for your review and ordered last Friday!

Hi great review.

can you tell me which is a better unit, 1490T vs 765T
Thanks

Hi Fletch!

Any chance to see in the future a nuvi with larger screen but with all all goodies like 765t?
Thanks!

I saw no mention of the many problems encountered by Garmin users when updating their firmware, and Garmin's unwillingness to even work at eliminating some of the problems that have existed for years. A prime example is the use of custom-POIs with custom mp3 audio alerts; if an mp3 book (or music) is playing, the mp3 POI alert will cause the pause. However, instead of starting back up at the spot where it paused, it skips to the next selection. This problem was created with one of Garmin's famous updates. They has acknowledged this and other bugs for over a year, but refuse to allocate any resources to fixing them.

Unless and until the reviewers point out the real negatives of buying Garming products, Garmin will continue to develope a new buggy lineup every 6 mos and keep breaking things with their firmware updates by never adequately testing them prior to release.

Hi Fletch.
Greetings from Greece. Great Review.

I don't have a dedicated GPS, but I use Garmin XT on my symbian phone.
In the XT version you get the name of landmarks (like squares, important buildings & places) on the map, either you navigate to a destination or just driving around.

(for example at figure 17, I get the name of the park at left. Let's say CENTRAL PARK)

Is this feature available in the 1490T model?
In the 765T?
I read somewhere that IT WAS available in previous models but it is missing from 1490. Is this true?

TIA

Great review, I was thinking of going for a Garmin 885t but since reading your review I might be persuaded to go for a 1490 instead
In your scoring the 1490 beats the 885t

Any thoughts

Andrew

Comparing decibels: Decibels are logarithmic. Loudness increases approximately three times for every bel (or 10 decibels. Are you sure your math is right? Are you comparing absolute or relative decibels?

V 3.40 was the version that bricked the 7x5 you have v 3.4. At least it didn't brick!

No Zip Code!

I keep waiting for some Garmin lover to point out the fact that you can't enter a Zip Code to navigate. But that never seems to come up and it is beyond a deal breaker. To have a device these days basically amounts to a handheld computer more powerful than was used to land men on the moon and ask you to enter a state, followed by a city when 5 simple digits will get you within 5 miles or so of your destination is ludicrous.

I have purchased several Garmins, up to the 865, hoping that maybe it is a "pay for" feature, but unless there's a hidden menu somewhere, it is sadly missing.

I could have missed it, because no one seems to complain about it. My TomTom has it. My Magellan has it. Did I miss something?

Hi Fletch,
Thank you for your great review, as detailed as required to make your choice even harder! I just wish they would built up on a great GPS, rather than improving and cutting corners at the same time!
I am up north in Canada (Toronto), any chance you provide Amazon.ca link to your reviews so we Candians can also support you? We can't order through Amazon.com.
Cheers

Kaivan

The best review of the 1490 T I have come across. I have been quite pleased with mine, but there are some beefs. In the month there have been no crashes, and the performance is excellent. Recalculations are particularly fast.

The only manual provided online is for the 1200/1300/1400 series. How difficult would it to edit the PDF file to make a manual dedicated to each type, even if it were only available online?

The big screen is only an extra 0.7" diagonal, but it seems to make much more difference than that, as you point out. It really is easy to read. They could have made more use of the extra room, though. There is no indication of the next cross street, which I used a lot in the old Street Pilot. If fact, I wish we could get the old Street Pilot software in this unit.

There is really enough room on this screen to display 6 or 8 data fields on the right hand side rather than just 4 in the. And there is room for a lot more information on the maps.

I agree with the person who mentioned you should be able to search by zip code.

Another issue which seems to apply to all of the car GPS units I have looked at is lack of context, a sort of tunnel vision. You are shown roads and numbers, but there is nothing to say where you are in the big picture. You really need a navigaor with a paper map as well.

For instance, on this big screen there would be enough room for a note on each edge with an arrow pointing to a nearby city or mountain or river, with distance. Then it would not resemble being guided through a tunnel.

Hi Again,
After reading your review on 765T, I was about to order it when I read your review on 1490T, and I had to stop, because a bigger screen and louder speaker definitely beats NOT havinf mp3 capability. I have 2 questions for you.
1.In your review of the 765T, you review the Routing engine performance of that GPS, but I didn't see routing engine review on the 1490T, are they the same?
2. You mention that 1490T has 3D building capability, but Garmin's web site doesn't show that and when you compare it with 765T, Garmin highlights this as a difference between the two, any thoughts?
Oh, and Amazon.ca link for Canadians will be appreciated.
Cheers
Kaivan

Hello,

I have been reading Fletch's excellent reviews on various GPS units and I personally bought the Garmin Nuvi855 from Costco for $250+shipping+tax=$281. I like it more than any of the other units simply because the voice commands are excellent, even with my Indian accent. I would have loved a combination of a Nuvi 1490T/765T & 855, but Garmin has not made one as yet. I chose the 855 over the 885T because I have a separate bluetooth speaker for the car and do not need the bluetooth on the device.

So please remember, that even though the 1490T might be better in other aspects, there might not be a substitute for navigating the entire GPS menu by voice and not having to touch the unit while driving. I have also found that some of the short cut voice commands are really neat, especially those to find a particular restaurant.

Navin

Hi Fletch,

Your otherwise comprehensive review fails to point out a disappointing issue with the 1490T GPS. I have already purchased this unit and tested it with a 600 km trip. The map in 3D shows only a web of roads with no info about surrounding places. I could not see nearby cities nor any other info, no matter which zoom level I used. This was very frustrating.

However, I discovered by chance that tapping on any part of the map, the view switched to a flat 2D map, oriented N, with all city names around. The map was static with the car icon moving on the road. The returned arrow took me back to the text-empty 3D view. I hope Garmin will update the firmware of 1490T to include detailed text info on 3D maps.

Nicholas

Hi Fletch,

As a user of both Aviation & Ground based navigation units produced by Garmin I was disappointed with the NUVI 1490T. As a professional reviewer I would have thought you would have reported on some of the less desirable features of the NUVI 1490T.

On the 300, 600, 700 NUVI’s pretty much all professional review’s touted the powered mount. It was simple to use, vibration free. When the power cord was connected to the cradle it became a two piece unit (Ball / Suction cup…Power cord / Cradle) easy to transport from rental car to rental car. The mount for the 1490T retains the Ball / Suction Cup but does away with the powered cradle. It now is a three piece unit, Ball / Suction Cup…Mount…Power cord. With the “new” set up it will easy to misplace the mount. The new mount has considerable vibration whether using the windshield mount or the bean bag mount. Garmin also recognizes the vibration problem by making the receptacle on the new mount for the Ball extremely tight. This in turn makes it very difficult installing / removing the mount from the ball and possibly causing the mount to crack and fail. It still vibrates like Jell-O. The power cord is as thick and as cumbersome as a typical household extension cord. I thought NUVI’s were supposed to be “Portable”. The “new” mount & power cord severely downgrades the portability of the unit.

The 1490T has reduced situational awareness. The older NUVI’s kept the driver informed on approaching cross street’s on the Text Bar. Garmin has deleted this feature on the 1490T. Now the only way to get this information is to try to read the street name directly off the moving map, difficult at best.

There was a time when Garmin touted the GPS Chipset that was used in NUVI’s (SIRF III). Now they are either embarrassed or ashamed of the GPS Chipset they use. They now actively try to restrict information related to the Chipset used. Question, why aren’t you providing background on this. Garmin still tout’s NAVTEC Maps as a selling point why not the GPS Chipset.

Garmin still does most things right. Unfortunately the longer the NUVI line is produced the more things they do wrong. Just because you can change something doesn’t mean you should.

As for your reviews. A lot of your reviews are using boiler plate. Many of the descriptions of the features of the NUVI 1490T were identical to the NUVI 1390T. Granted, some of the features are identical, but by assuming that the unit’s are virtually the same it’s easy to miss the differences. In my opinion each GPS Navigator should be reviewed as a separate unit. There are differences even in the same series of unit’s

Hi, nice review.

I had a Nuvi 265 that worked well with clear sound. I decided to buy a 765T model for the extra features. It's now my second 765T device and I plan to return this one too. The sound is awfull (compare from my previous 265), the voices vibrates just like if the speaker would be torn. The voice trough the FM is ok, but as we all know the FM reception is terrible. I often wonder why they discountinued the VIB 11 unit, I would have loved it for my 765T.

Your review mentions that the sound is louder, but is it clear? Or is it "scratchy"?

After all, one of the main features on any GPS isnt the sound?

Thank you for your answer.

Hi, nice review.

I had a Nuvi 265 that worked well with clear sound. I decided to buy a 765T model for the extra features. It's now my second 765T device and I plan to return this one too. The sound is awfull (compare from my previous 265), the voices vibrates just like if the speaker would be torn. The voice trough the FM is ok, but as we all know the FM reception is terrible. I often wonder why they discountinued the VIB 11 unit, I would have loved it for my 765T.

Your review mentions that the sound is louder, but is it clear? Or is it "scratchy"?

After all, one of the main features on any GPS isnt the sound?

Thank you for your answer.

Finally I did UPDATE my good old Garmin Streetpilot C550 to Garmin Nuvi 1490T today..

- Screen is HUGE. I can still see out of windshield, but.. Its BIG.

- Too bad that sometimes unis seems drawing screen very slow.. This is difficult to understand of new device.

- There isnt satellite screen. I did hope that there were. Its not important, but would be nice.

- Sometimes sound doesnt sound as clear as C550 had. Like it had little distrotion, vol is orginal 80%.

I did update firmware, upload my old POIs and load some other POIs to extras. For some reason I cant download more cars from update software. This I need check out next.

I hope this unit is good buy, C550 did work nice, but lately it did give routes that werent so good.

Finally I did UPDATE my good old Garmin Streetpilot C550 to Garmin Nuvi 1490T today..

- Screen is HUGE. I can still see out of windshield, but.. Its BIG.

- Too bad that sometimes unis seems drawing screen very slow.. This is difficult to understand of new device.

- There isnt satellite screen. I did hope that there were. Its not important, but would be nice.

- Sometimes sound doesnt sound as clear as C550 had. Like it had little distrotion, vol is orginal 80%.

I did update firmware, upload my old POIs and load some other POIs to extras. For some reason I cant download more cars from update software. This I need check out next.

I hope this unit is good buy, C550 did work nice, but lately it did give routes that werent so good.

I am having problem..

Unit has lost some settings like languages and all my favourites already 3 times..

Suddenly my favourites/bookmarks have those that were at device from factory and all that I did copy there were lost..

Not good start..

I dont know what wrong, but this device really drives me crazy.. It did lost all settings again.. Also Garmin when I did go My garmin page with Firefox (+plugin) it told that I dont have latest firmware at 1490T even I did. After update all settings were gone again.. I dont know if problen is favourites that I did copy from Streetpilot C550, but when I did edit favourites, it did show many of my favourites two times etc.. I go nuts if it does lost all settings again.. Suddenly my units are miles even I have setup to kilometres and suddenly I have to set my home location and all Eco route settings again.. Not nice at all. I wonder whats wrong :(

If someone has cable that did come with Streetpilot C550, it would be intresting see if it does really reset all 1490T settings.

Also wonder about Mapsource program. I have never used it before, but after reading review I did download it. I cant run program, course after install if I try run it, mapsource does say that it cant find any maps and close itself. Didnt help even 1490T was plugged to computer.

I am not sure how you determined that the 1490 was 35% louder than 765T.

Being an Acoustic Consultant, roughly every 10 dBA increase represents a doubling of perceived loudness. A 20 dBA increase in sound level represents 4 times as loud. Your measurement of a 26 dBA represents a 5 fold (500%) increase in loudless, not 35%. I trust you heard a substantial difference when testing units. A 35% increase would have been about 5 dBA.

Thanks

Fletch, maybe you should allow HP to test the audio output test in the future?

I decided to go with the 1490T and it got delivered today. I played around with it a little, and it seems fine so far.

There does not, however, seem to be a way in the setup (or anywhere else) to turn off the "touch beeping". Am I missing this option somewhere? My 360 definitely has this option.

I havent had problems anymore after I stop using USB cable that come with Streetpilot C550. I did notice that I lot all settings always after using 1490T at PC.

Does someone know how I can get to setup where you setup TMC settings? I mean that where you choise Automatic and Mhz. I got there first, but now I can only find page where you see X TMC ON/OFF and TMC services that are ordered to device.

Any information how get to diagnostic mode? C550 had one and I am sure this has one too.

Your mention of the 765T got my attention. I had purchased one in July. The FM Transmitter had an intermittent short. When I returned it to the vendor I was told all models had been recalled and were no longer available. The 885T was not in stock as a replacement, so all I could do was get a refund, and go back to using my 750, which I am quite happy with. I do miss the traffic information.

Is the recall info correct?

PS: Even with the low power of the FM transmitter in the 750, I really like the MP3 player, and find the lack of that feature a show stopper in the 1490. Also, I have been transitioning to SDHD cards and don't want to have to start buying micro SDs.

Thanks for your review. It gave me the information I needed to decide on purchasing the 1490T. I'm waiting for delivery from Costco.

I purchased and returned two 765T's from Costco, as they were defective. This caused me to question the quality control at Garmin. I hope I have more luck with the 1490T. If I don't, you will hear from me.

Fletch,

Thank you for a good review.
How does route optimization work on 1490T? Is that good?
Alex

Thanks for the review. Will the 1490T take the "Best Buy Rating" away from from the 765T ?

Hi, excellent review, great job!

I'm looking for integrate this unit in my car with not access to the USB port let me say easily.

I've been playing with the 765T and I've seen that you need an especial connector to power the unit, the same as it has the docking unit. If you connect the USB cable, it recognize it as a pc connection.

With the 1490T, what happen when connecting a USB cable to the unit and to the lighter power convertor, it just charge batteries or enter in pc connected mode?
And when connecting the unit to a laptopn with the same USB cable?
Does it recognize the Garmin as 2 external disk units where copy maps or whatever?

Thanks!

New Firmware v3.0 did come come out. After this I had problem upload my own favourites to unit. 1490T did always replace my favourites until I did copy them inside archive folder.

Does someone know how I get to Trafic Reciver setup again, where you can choise Mhz or Automatic for TMC ? I had this first, but I cant get there anymore.

Hi Fletch (and any other reader that may be able to answer my question).
I am a GPS novice. I am seriously considering buying my first GPS when I visit the USA next week (I live in Australia). I thought I would post my question here because my current choice is the 1490T, which is not avialble for purchase in Austrlia (I plan to use it as my regular bluetooth device for my phone and I'm attracted by it's larger speaker).
My question is - if I buy the 1490T in the US, which would be preloaded with the North America maps (which I'll use during my visist), and I buy the additional Australia / New Zealand Maps on MicroSD card as part of the purchase package - will I be able to update the Australia/NZ Maps as they are released online once I'm back in Australia?
I'm sorry if this is a basic and misplaced questiion, but this is all new to me. I will appreciate your advice.
Thankyou.
David

I just do not understand how someone who is supposedly familiar with GPSs, especially Garmins can think that this GPS does not stink. I used it once and am returning it immediately. I had a 760 and the 1490 is like not having a map at all. There is virtually no and I mean NO actual map information put on the screen while you are driving. No street names almost no major road anmes or numbers. It is almost unbeleivable that Garmin can put out a product like this as a gps. The fact that you praise it so much leads me to believe that you are either a paid representative or on the take.

Why there is no Digital Compass???

This one is a piece of junk. It can't recognize major arteries in the heart of Orange County. Traffic display sucks (i get better display with google maps on my cell phone).

I am so attached to my StreetPilot 2610 and all the information items I can select (different in 'follow a route mode' and 'just viewing progress without a route mode') and display on the right hand side of the screen. Between the 4 tabs, I display 7 different items of interest in each mode, including elevation in both modes, one of my most cherished items of information. All the nuvis, including, yes, the 1490T seem to be so lacking in information display -- even with the huge screen!! Why? Why, little attention to situational information? If I hold out NOT buying a new unit for another 6-7 months, will a better, more situational gps come at us from Garmin?

Hi Fletch, Someone stole my Garmin Nuvi 660 i had it for 4 years and really liked it. I always upgraded the maps and the latest firmware from garmin when it became availabe. I hope that My new Garmin is just as good i purchased the Nuvi 1490t tonight. I have not had time to use it yet, but there is no power cord to charge the unit up and if you can help me i can not find out how to stop all the beeping when you navigate thru the menus. My Nuvi 660 had an option beeping or no beeping.

Hi Fletch, Someone stole my Garmin Nuvi 660 i had it for 4 years and really liked it. I always upgraded the maps and the latest firmware from garmin when it became availabe. I hope that My new Garmin is just as good i purchased the Nuvi 1490t tonight. I have not had time to use it yet, but there is no power cord to charge the unit up and if you can help me i can not find out how to stop all the beeping when you navigate thru the menus. My Nuvi 660 had an option beeping or no beeping.

I also am debating between the Nuvi 765T and the 1490T as most people have already stated. I guess it's between the size/brightness/sound of the 1490T vs the MP3 player/3D buildings/FM Transmitter of the 765T. I was wondering if there's often a lot of static when the MP3 player plays through your car speakers? If it's something I'd have to keep changing the FM station on to get it to come in clear or not? If it's not going to be crisp/clear and easy to use when playing MP3's then I'll just go with the 1490T, but it's def a feature that'd be nice to have if it works well.

I purchased a Garmin Nuvi 880 and am now thinking that I wasted my money. How do you think the 1490T and the 880 compare???

I have just bought 1490T unit and am on the verge or returning it. I can live with the above mentioned defects and deficiencies but the sound really irritates me.

In short, the speaker of the GPS emits a buzzing sound. When the unit is powered up it starts making that sound at a point where the maps are being loaded. The buzzing stops when the speaker is muted in the Volume control pane. Interestingly, it also stops if the brightness of the display is set to 100% ! Once the buzzing stops, only low acoustic noise is emitted (which is quite fine).

Sometimes there is a little distortion when a beep is played, especially if it is isolated - sequence of sounds is likely not to be so scratchy. Also, if USB cable or power cable is connected to the unit this is followed by a sequence of rustling noises.

I went to a Garmin official shop to see if my unit is defective but brand new unit unpacked from a box had the same problem !

This looks like as if Garmin was trying to produce a unit which would have louder speaker but something went wrong, including quality control.

If an owner or two of 1490T could share their experiences with the speaker, that would be great.

I purchased the 1490t at Costco on Black Friday. I was visiting family and drove 1,100 miles home with it. My unit worked awesome. I had a 765t and had nothing but problems with it. I would agree the 1490t does not have details while driving on the screen. One feature that is good is the louder speaker (and my unit did not have a buzzing noise in it)..Is there a way to convince Garmin to put an update out there to have more details on the map?

Ryan - Did you go into the Map Settings and select a higher map detail option?

I am having serious problems with my 1490T. I did but this device at summer and it did suddenly reboot/lost settings when you drive.. Not always.. sometimes.. Strange things like speed camera that doesnt come any closer at motorway with limit 30mph etc. Suddenly reboot and lost my car icon middle of screen and there was only arrow to choise left. I got device back to service little before Christmas and new one I got did reboot too.. I didnt get too far away from service it was new device.. Got another new boxed one.. It did reboot on my way back home.. At second trip to my friend at Christmas holydays device did suddenly freeze.. Nothing moved at screen and screen or power botton didnt respond. I have had Streetpilot C550 before it work great, but I had to update my old model to new and all problems started. So question is.. What GPS next.. I am going to change this to new ASAP.. I really like Garmin user interface, its very easy to use and has mostly only things that is needed.. But device has to work.. It cant just suddenly reboot/freeze..

Hi,

This is a great review, I'm trying to decide between this Garmin, a TomTom 340 and a Magellan roadmate 1700.

I've never had a GPS before and am horribly directionally challenged, and want something accurate, easy to use and fast.

Any recommendations among the 3 I've listed above?

I was ready to jump on the Garmin but I've read reviews that it suddenly shuts down and then stays shut down for like 15-20 minutes like reviewer Mika describes...anyone else experience this? I've read at least 4 reviews now saying this.

Has anyone tested Navigon 8410? It looks very intresting. I hope that here would ne review sometimes, course reviews here are very good.

now i really do not know what lane-assist/voice command unit to buy
sigh

garmin 855 freezes etc
tom tom go 630? not sure but pricey for maps and more
now this 1490t bites the dust

what to do?~!

I just bought a 1490T. When the volume is set to 40% or up, I can hear distortion in the navigation voice once a while. It sounds like a blown speaker out-of-the-box. I like the 5-inch screen. But, for $300+, this problem is not acceptable. I am going to return this unit and get the 765T instead, which is $100 cheaper.

I bought 1490T on black Friday. It took very long time to boot. But most of all I DID NOT do any route optimization. Its regular routing sucked, was just out right wrong, it did know the present location, took too long to recalculate, this is all in comparison to trusty C550. After a month of frustration is going back to the store! Shame on you Garmin, for putting out such an inferior product!!!

I got my 765T yesterday. Though the volume is not as loud as the 1490T, I can still hear distortion on with American-English Jill voice file at 80% and above. Is this a common problem with nuvi these days? Or, am I just lucky with a bad batch?

Hi All
How do I setup 765T 3D Building?

i am on my second unit purchased at costco, first one came and i did all software update from garmin, unit touch screen was very slow and sometime not responding, plus unit was shutting down randomly, and surely when on a call. Sent it back and got a second unit, this ones touch screen is much better but still have the shut down problem... not sure what to do now, tried a xxl540s from TomTom in the meantime and its useless, poor mapping at best.

I have had it with my Garmin 1490T. The unit shuts off randomly every time I use it and it will stay off for a few days at a time. The unit is charged, the 12V outlet is fine, and holding the on/off button down for a period of time to try and reset the unit will not bring it back to life. Garmin should be ashamed of itself for selling such a buggy unit as every board has users complaining about this problem. When it works, it performs well but I can't trust it on the road. I have purchased my last garmin product.

I used a 1490T for a few days. I found the display, interface, maps and navigation excellent in England, but not so good in Scotland. The touchscreen was hard to use and would often select a point several pixels away from where I poked it (thus choosing the wrong letter from the keyboard). The software froze a few times, and I couldn't trust the device to complete a journey without problems.

I sent it back and got a refund. Nevertheless, I liked it when it was working, and I'd get another if I believed that Garmin had fixed the problems. Sadly, though, the company seems to be completely unresponsive to these issues. If things improve, I wish somebody would let me know!

I'm still happily using my original 10-year-old Garmin GPS II+. It has no maps, but it's a professional navigator's tool.

I just recently purchased the 1490t and I have been happy with the purchase except for one glaring issue that people have mentioned: Very few street names are shown in the map window. This is extremely annoying. And yes, I have the map detail option set to "High", but it still shows very few street names regardless of the zoom level. I am considering returning this as it really is unacceptable. I went to BestBuy and looked at some low model GPS units from TomTom and they display all of the street names and cost $250 dollars less. So what gives? Will Garmin ever release a firmware update for this?

1. Can I purchase detailed maps of Italy? Are they hard to download?

2. Which assessaries are desirable?

I spent months researching GPS units, and decided on the nuvi 1490T. (I previously had a Tom Tom and while it was OK, I found paying $100 to ugrade maps off putting.) I noticed there were some negative comments, so I contacted Garmin tech support indicating mixed reviews.

I was extremely impressed when I had a response within 10 minutes. The rep acknowledged some problems with earlier firmware, but indicated recent versions (most recent is 3.6) should have fixed bugs. The rep also indicated owning a 1490T, having been a long road trip, and said it worked well (of course what else could be said). He indicated it is important to check the dates of reviews since with any product, early releases can have problems.

So far I am very pleased. Love the large screen, lane assist, speed limit indicators, etc. It did take several hours to download and install the latest maps and firmware. myGarmin Agent installed on a computer makes it easy to check for updates.

I purcheased the 1490T just before going on vacation in late 2009. The unit was prone to freezing. Turning it on was hit and miss. I returned it to Best Buy and was given another new unit. Had I not watched them bring out a new box and switch the units, I would have sworn it was given back to me. It perfroms exactly the same. I just got back from a 6 hour trip. The unit froze for times. I don't see me replacing it with another Garmin product.

I purchased a 1490T just a couple of weeks ago replacing a Navman S90i.

The S90i has been a problem unit over a two year period with issues like the camera function failing, usb cable plug broke, bluetooth unreliable to a point of "don't bother", extreemly slow to pick up current location and recalculating route to it's current problem of continually looping through the boot sequence and not accessing the operational screen. It has been sent back to Navman even though it's at the end of the waranty period.(Here's hoping!)

The Garmin has been like a breath of fresh air and has been faultless in operation (so far) as well as the online update. I am impressed with how quick it responds and recalculates routes. The screen is brilliant and bluetooth actually works!

Like a few other comments, I feel the detail is a little light on even though the detail is set to "most" but i can live with it.

There is a "detour" option you can try and using it has successfully emulated the route I use to get to work and home (50k round trip). I've down loaded other voices nad cars with no problems. So far so good!

I love my device HOWEVER, there is no bell or chime to tell you when you make the turn, as contained in all other GPS devices I have owned. The "cur-chink" when you arrive at the place to turn is not present, and the only method to know when to turn is the "turn in 100 feet" nonsense.....which unfortunately is EXTREMELY INACCURATE. Is there a fix to this major problem? Additionally, the ability to input a destination by zip code would be a blessing. Please advise. Thank you.

Am I the only person who has a problem with the 1490t avoiding the use of interstates when it would be the fastest and shortest distance?
Anyone know of a way to eliminate the problem?
Thanks

Thanks for your review. purchased a 1490T. Used Mapquest to create a route and download to 1490T. ths Gps recalculated the route to the one gps originally did. I don't want that one. I want the route from mapquest to remain intact. How do I do that?

Thank you for your very in-depth review of the 1490T! I have searched the Garmin 1490T Owner's Manual, and can find no reference to the "More Data" mode that you show on the bottom of page 3 of this review. Could you explain in more detail how to access it? Did that feature appear after a firmware update, or was it there "out of the box"?

No matter how much I read reviews I cannot make my mind between 755T and 1490T;

- 755T has and does everything I need (and has extras I do not think I will ever use (books, music)) but screens is dim in comparison to 1xxx units and speaker is not that laud. Price is REALLY good (CAD$200) and it was steadily falling since 2008.

- 1490T has brighter and bigger screen and it is louder but according to user’s feedback is prone to freezing. Price is (CAD$310) - 50% higher but price is not deal breaker for me.

I just do not want to get stuck with the unit which will misbehave when needed the most.

I own LegendHCx and would not replace it with any other handheld unit. For the time being I use it for road trips navigation and it never failed but is little bit difficult to manipulate all those buttons during driving and spouse refuses to handle it during driving (only I drive) since she says I will blame her no matter what she does (and she is correct).

755T and 1490T owners please help.

Hi Fletch, thanks for the indepth review on this PND. I'm tryin to decide between:
RoadMate 1475T or nuvi 1490T

My main requirements:
1) segment avoidance (e.g. I don't want to take I-95 to New York) - this is very important for me because, being a female traveler I don't want to be driving through neighbourhoods I shouldn't be in.
2) some form of traffic info and ability to re-route
3) early and multiple warnings of upcoming turn to take
4) lane assist (junction view is bonus but not required)
5) basic pedestrian mode is very nice to have but I also have Google Mobile Maps on my Blackberry so I can fall back on that or onto StreetWise/StreetSmart laminated maps (which I own anyway for the cities I travel to often like New York and London)

Not important:
1) bluetooth
2) extras like MP3, photos, etc.
3) Pin-point accuracy isn't a big deal, consumer PNDs will always have a margin of error

Based on my research, what I do like about the Magellan is the ability to explicitly tell it avoid one or more roads in the set of maneuvers it had mapped out and will re-route. Does any of the Garmin have this feature? On a Garmin I know you can specify "avoid highways" but that's not what I want.

That said, what I can't find any information on is whether the Magellan can be used in a basic pedestrian mode? I know most of the Garim, based on research, can do that (at least the ones on my short list) and the newer 12xx, 13xx, and 14xx models also supports enhanced pedestrian features.

I'd also like to hear others thoughts on total-cost-of-ownership. In other words what's the cost of map updates for the life of my owning the device? I see that Garmin now has a "lifetime map" upgrade program for what seems to be reasonable cost, but what's about Magellan?

I'm looking for any thoughts you and others may have on my choices and answers to my three questions above. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Al for your experience with the RM 1475T and nuvi 1490T. Very helpful. I did see your earlier post but it was mostly talking about the Garmin's 1490T and 755T. It seem that the 1475T might be the one for me because specific road avoidance is important for me. Pedestrian mode is very nice to have, but I also have Google Map Mobile on my Blackberry (which is what I have been using sometime to navigate even driving trip but I don't like not having voice prompts).

Al, thank you very much for detailed comparison of 755T and 1490T.

So far I had played (at Future Shop, Canada, display items) with 775T and one from 13xx series but with 1490T. I am little bit confused with your statement that ‘755t screen seems brighter’. When I looked at the store, 13xx had obviously brighter screen than 775T?? But maybe 755T has different screen than 775T? I understand that 1490T is 5” vs. 13xx 4.3” but would expect to be the same brightness since it is newer than 7xx series? I might be wrong…

OK. I found The Source (Canada) has both (at least on web site) so I will be checking brightness very soon if they have them in the store.

Purchased my 1st 1490T bout a month ago upgrading from a 265WT to get the larger screen, lane assist and better speaker. I returned the 1st one as it died in about 20 minutes and would not power up. Traffic updates are very important to me as I am constantly on the road trying to keep to my schedule. I have the traffic receiver barely works (I am in the NY Metro area and should have excellent coverage) I have found the traffic icon is grey most of the time and has very poor reception. The speaker while loud is very distorted when announcing street names. Not worth the $300 at all and I will be returning this one too. I should have kept the less expensive 265WT.

I didn't see in the review if its possible to just get a map view of an address that was entered instead of turn by turn directions. I sometimes just need to see the map of an area that I am traveling to.

did anybody come across one strange thing i got on my1490t, usually the speed, time to destination etc apprear left and right , but some how in my gps initially when i used gps it worked fine but later on speed, time , elevation, etc are appearing like rows on the right hand side. how many times i try that is there like that permanently except on the Home screen(where to and Map) did you know why this is happeneing

I have had many GPS units and I can tell you that the 1490T:
1. Has potential to be a very nice GPS...BUT!!!
2. I have had to swap first one as it locked up. Traded it out for a second one that lasted a couple of months and now randomly powers down, and dont come on for a long time and this repeats. After having several other Garmin GPS 6xx, 7xx, 8xx series, I have concluded that Garmin quality is no longer in existant. I am currently searching for another brand. This is sad. My first unit was the Garmin 2730 and it worked well and I still have it. It all went downhill after that unit. They came out with the Nuvi series and I consider them junk!

I own a Nuvi 1490 and everything seems ok except that the language used in Canadian French is a real disaster.I do not know anyone who could understand the pronunciation of street names.Will there be a correction

Hi, folks:

Great review and great comments. I have two question about the Garmin units:

1. On ad-supported "T" traffic models like the 1490T: I simply will not tolerate ads. Can ads be defeated by not using traffic features? Or do they appear randomly no matter how you are using the GPS?

2. Consensus is that the 1490T is deficient in not including adequate street names. Any idea when a better product may come out that does have this information?

Thank you,

Fredo

Garmin continues to rush models to production with tons of bugs and problems. I had a 1350T and now the 1490T and they both suck. They don't even take me to the correct destinations even after map updates. They are both off by miles or allow me to over shoot a target without saying right or left side of the street. Customer service is a joke. No matter what time of day I call it's a 30 to 45 minute wait. They are extremely rude, unhelpful and have hung up on me once for no reason. Garmin is going in the tank fast. Tom Tom is not much better. I borrowed my Dads Tom Tom 330 XL and it does the same thing. Took me in the middle of the woods when I wanted to go to a Famous Footwear. This was military technology 15 years ago so you think one of these bozos could figure it out.
What is the best GPS? We rented a car in Arizona last year from Hertz. They had a GPS called Neverlost. It's supported by Magellan. It was a great GPS. The most info on everything. The unit is large and it hardwired to the car.

I just bought the 1490T at Costco for $290.00 Canadian and I think it's great so far. I will be using it to travel around Canada visiting clients.

The map update process was really simple compared to the Tom Tom 340XL which I returned because the system kept crashing on my Mac and I spend 4 hours with tech support (that was a freaking nightmare).

I like the screen ... its big (although not as big as the Nav system in my A8 which is 7 inches). I cannot see using a much smaller screen that a 4.3 ... just my preference. Anything smaller and how are you going to read it on a bright summer day in traffic?

I agree that the power chord is huge ...

The software is dirt simple and the map interface rocks. The hands free is meh but I will only use it on occasion anyway (I prefer the headset on my iPhone). Bluetooth pairing was dirt simple.

I love the "where am I?" with the ability to click on the car and instantly see the nearest gas station, police or hospital. That is just great if you are panicking and in trouble.

I think the powered mount would be okay but sometimes you just want to have the pieces separate so you can pack a bag in a different way ... no?

All in all I give it 5/5 so far

Phil C

I'm a newbie and scared to death about making a bad decision. I've wanted a GPS system for more than 6 years but the information out there has been so confusing I was happy with printed instructions from goggle maps. I have a new job that puts me on the road 5 to 10 days a month. I've spent so much time lost the last month or two the time has come to buy something.

I had narrowed it down to Magellan 1475T because of the lane assist feature, there are landmarks on the map and detours are possible. The nuvi 1490T was my top choice because of lane assist, the larger screen and higher volume output. Down side was the Garmin not telling me when to turn by voice or beeps. Price on a refurbished 1490T with Bing cash back is $50 more than a new Magellan negating any pricing concerns. This may be a time when factory refurbished is better than new-- hopefully they got all the bugs out.

After reading these reviews I'm back in "I do not know" mode. Figuring there will be less to go wrong, I'm considering getting the least expensive model with audible street names and pairing it with printed directions from Mapquest or my Blackberry's goggle maps mobile.

So, is there a perfect GPS system out there. One that is easy to use without the quirks, that is in the affordable range of $200-$350? How could spending money be so difficult?

I just got my 1490T today. If you go to Tools > Settings > Map then click the down arrow, you will see Map Data Layout. Change this to "Standard" to remove the buttons on the right side of your map.

I there a way to turn off those annoying viewing offers on the NUVI 1490?

@ Robert: No, it's part of the "free" traffic service. I don't find it to be that annoying.

After searching for a GPS unit for nearly 1 year and reading all the reviews of the various models I decided on the 1490T for it's larger screen & louder volume. So far it's been flawless. I called Garmin to change the user info as it was supposed to be a refurbished unit, but the tech said it was a new unit, he guided me thru the map updates etc, was very friendly throughout the process. only took me 20 min to update (fast connection) I'm heading to Sacramento from Phoenix in a couple weeks and this will be a nice test for it, but so far, driving all thru phoenix & throughout AZ has been problem free. voice prompts have been great, plenty of time to make the turns. no lockups, no lost data, NOTHING. It has pinpoint accuracy, fast satellite acquisition. clear voice prompts, just everything I could reasonably expect from a GPS. I kept my expectations low and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well this unit operates.

Seems to me people are starting to expect too much from these things. As I've said for years & years. KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid. I don't need some unit beeping at me when I'm arriving at my destination, nor playing MP3's etc etc, thats what a dedicated player or stereo is for. I still own an old Garmin iQue M5 and it works perfect too, granted outdated, but does the job. The more bells & whistles they add to these things, the more chances of issues arise.

Have a great one

I don't mean to come of harsh in any way and I apologize to anybody I might have offended, but c'mon people NOTHING in this world is flawless. this is merely a device to ASSIST you. It's always a smart idea to have a paper backup JUST IN CASE. I would NEVER rely 100% on a complicated device such as these things when their subjected to bumps,high heat, humidity etc etc.

I'm trying to decide between the Maestro 4700 and the Garmin 1490t. Maestro seems to have more bang for your buck, but the lifetime traffic and the better graphics on the 1490t is very tempting. The only thing that is keeping me from choosing the 1490t is the inability to exclude a road. I think this is a must! How often do you hit a road-block? Then you have to program your gps to detour, only it doesn't know the road is blocked and constantly tries to put you back on that road. I have that issue with my factory navigation in my Murano.

Anyway, do you guys thing this is something that would be updated via firmware?

Excellent review, but i need buy a GPS, what gps do you recommend between garmin nuvi 765T and 1490T, I'm a little confused.

Thanks,

Rod.

Piece of Junk... Left Boston to Virgina. Every 10 seconds in NY the GPS stated "Traffic-recalculating" Got so annoying I disabled it. There was no traffic. Blue tooth terrible- people couldnt hear me.
On my Return to Ma the stopped Guiding and turned into MAP mode with no notice.

I returned it to the store. I see why theres 1000's of refurbished ones for sale. There JUNK

After using a Nuvi 750 for the past year, I decided to try the 755t. Ended up returning it to Amazon because of the terrible touch screen inaccuracy. If I hit a letter on the keyboard display, it would frequently register one several characters away. Calibrating the screen did no good. From browsing user forums, this is a continuing problem on both the 755t and 765t. Garmin has no solution, other than telling you to do a master reset and recalibrate the screen.

Next, I decided to try the Magellan 1475t. After using it for about 2 weeks, today the screen started flickering, then gradually faded to black. Now it won't even turn on. Returning it to Amazon also.

I'm considering the Nuvi 1450t, since I don't need Bluetooth, but I sure missed the Garmin powered mount when using my Magellan. I wish Garmin would fix the flaws in the 7x5 series, instead of constantly churning out new, buggy models.

I am going to buy a gps and like the big screen on the1490. Costco has them for sale but it just says 1490 is that the same as 1490T?
Thank you

Help! Can anyone tell me how to turn on the arrival signal for turns and destinations on the Garmin 1490?

Can someone tell me why I'm have problems with transfering routes. I made up a route and transgered it to my unit. I've also done the import thing and it's still not on my unit.

Any help would be great!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks

I often vist this site, and am invariably impressed with the excellent reviews available.
Fletch m,ust have a teacher background, given the clear and thoughtful detail he presents.

When paired with my cellphone, the 1490t screen freezes when receiving a text message. Also, names stored in my contact list show as "unknown caller" during an incoming call.

In both instances, I had to reboot the unit.

Looked and looked for the Traffic icon under Tools/system at my desk. Only after a while did it occur to me to plug the unit into the car cord w/traffic receiver on it, aha, now the Icon appears.

Brings me to another question: I do not have the same: Tools/Map/More Data Layout options as shown in the review. Of the 3 user selectable buttons, they all list the same 3 choices for each button: Direction of Travel, Elevation, Time of Day. The review shows different options.
GPS version: 4.30

Any thoughts?

Great review, and on the strength of it I purchased one and straight away updated the unit software to V4.3 on Garmin site and I have not experienced any of the problems of freezing up and losing data that users of earlier software have reported.

The 1490T is just a fantastic piece of kit for the price, I love the way you can plan and save routes, the junction view and lane indication is great, with the lanes you shouldn't take greyed-out and the ones you should take highlighted, and I appreciate the way the screen automatically zooms in as you approach road islands. I won't be using the blue-tooth feature as I consider any phone call while driving a major distraction to safe driving, MP3 I can live without but and the lovely large, bright screen and clear TTS directions are fantastic.

I have used UK safety camera POI's from pocketgpsworld.com for about 6 years now, and they are great - have never missed a camera location, and although I try to stick to speed limits it is nice to be warned of up-coming cameras and I find I can relax more when driving. The speed limit indication for roads is useful, as here in UK the speed limit can change several times in the space of a couple of miles and with all the other signs cluttering up our roads it's easy to miss a speed limit sign. The speed limit is updated within a few metres of the change of limit signs, which is re-assuringly accurate.

I purchased a 1490T online (should have used Costco so I could return it) and am very unhappy with them. The first one would randomly shut down and not restart sometimes for days. Garmin sent me a replacement, and the replacement shuts down randomly. The replacement shuts down but then restarts by itself right away. Apparently I'm not the only one who has had this happen.
I had been using a 5 year old 2730 on my motorcycle and it was perfect other then small size and no speaker for car use. The Motorcycle specific units also have more features.

I have the impression the Nuvi's are junk. If I get a second replacement that doesn't work I may go on Ebay and look for another Streetpilot 2730, SP 7200, Zumo 550, or a different brand altogether.

I have previously owned the Streetpilot 2610 and a Nuvi 660. Both performed admirably without a glitch.

I've now ordered a Nuvi 1490t in spite of the great number of complaints out there. Seems like every site you go to there is another complaint with customers returning the unit time after time. Nonetheless I don't really think anyone else is building better quality into their units. I see in BruPri comment above that his has worked fine so far.
And I'm hopeful that Garmin is working diligently on downloads to correct the complaints in what is otherwise described as a great GPS when it is working as intended.

If I run into problems I'll report in once I have it up and running....

Jim -

I think a lot of Tom-Tom employees have been working hard posting negative comments on the Nuvi 1490T on this site.

Mine behaved flawlessly straight out of the box (as did my previous streetpilot C510) and I have not experienced any of the problems posted.

The Garmin aftersales backup is fantastic, I e-mailed them a question about loading waypoints into my C510 and a well as an e-mail reply within 24 hours I was sent a CD of waypoint software FOC which arrived less than 5 days after my e-mail.

Well, it seems that everyone has deifferent wants and needs for a GPS. I have used many over the years and my 1490 is the best. Although it was very expensive when I bought it. I will say that the first thing you should od out of the box is update all the software/formware and get your free map upgrade.

The FIRST time I used mine it froze up and I had to do a hard reboot. OF course I didn;t know how to do that on the highway. But, since I have updated all software/firmware, etc. it works like a dream.

Honestly, a lot of the compaints on here about lack of street detail can be corrected by simply using the settings and change it. It took me a while to figure out this, but by playing wroudn with the settings I was able to get everything nicely set up.

This is a nice unit well worth the price and does a fantastic job. just get the updates. By the way the new traffic light subscription is pretty cool.

I have a new garmin nuvi 5days old and it worked fine for the first day and now it reboots every 10 min, WHY?????

I have a Garmin Nuvi 880. The holder and cables were stolen. I looked for an equivalent GPS replacement. The closest I found i the 1490T. I just purchased the 1490T and haven't even unboxed it yet. Thank you for your review. I'm ready to open and travel.
Just for curiosity sake, do you know of a gps with all the features of the 880?

I made the mistake of buying one of these worthless pieces of crap and it absolutely would not acquire satellites. Thus, making it completely worthless. I immediately returned it and stupidly got another one of these worthless pieces of crap. I was lulled into the belief that the first one was merely a bad apple in the barrel because the second one actually was able to acquire the satellites...for a little while. I have installed every update that Garmin has issued for this worthless piece of crap and I have no idea if it is going to acquire satellites the next time I power it up.

Now let's talk about Garmin's worthless piece of crap support line. If you don't mind waiting for nearly an hour just to speak to someone in Bombay who has absolutely no idea about how to rectify the problem with the worthless piece of crap product they have sold you, then you will be completely satisfied with Garmin's worthless piece of crap support line.

In conclusion, I am returning this worthless piece of crap as soon as humanly possible and WILL NOT purchase another worthless piece of crap Garmin product ever again.

We just bought this GPS for my wife who is a real estate agent. We may just be GPS newbs but we can't seem to figure out two things that have been really frustrating:

1. We've been able to upload routes into the system from various mapping websites/programs. When we get the route it seems to work well but its not always recognizing that we've arrived at one of the destinations...is there any way to force this on screen or to tell it we are ready to go to the next destination on the route? I can't seem to find anything and it keeps telling me to go back to somewhere I already am.

Any help would be appreciated.

Just what is the difference between the LOCATE function on the 1690 and the ability to place a current location on the favorites on the 1490? If I stop for a hike in Southern England and want to find the car. How are they different?

I am experience a very slow route re-calculating.It's much slower then my previous GPS ( nuvi 680)

I was so upset about this.

I bought the Garmin 1490T about 6 weeks ago dispite the many negative reviews I have seen. I must say that I have experienced no negative issues with this unit at all. I am reasonably technically savvy, but found the operation and performance of the unit so easy that my 10 year old grandson can operate it as well as I can. All the positives I have read are true, It is bigger, brighter, louder and, I will add, more responsive than other GPS units I have owned. I guess as with anything you buy, there are some "lemons" and maybe that's the reason for the negativity in some of the above comments. It would appear that Garmin has any bugs that may have been in this unit pretty well worked out now. I was notified to download a fix or a patch a couple of weeks ago which dealt with the screen images freezing up or some such thing. Although I never experienced the issue, I downloaded and installed the patch without a hitch. The bottom line is.... if you can operate a cell phone, you can operate the 1490T. I am happy with this unit and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good higher end GPS unit.

I last commented back in early July when my 1490t was on order. I've now had it for about a month and have to report it is working flawlessly. I've experienced none of the complaints you will find elsewhere on this blog. This included a trip to Vegas and all around St. Louis. I have no problems. So it is my recommendation that you ignore those who complain. If there where indeed problems with the earlier production run they appear to have cleared them up. My 3rd Garmin....

I bought the 1490t a little while ago and it works awesome! The first thing I did when I got it was download updates BEFORE I used it. I read in some review to do that first. Suction cup mount let go once so I put in one of my cup holders and it works great. I think I made a good choice in this unit.

I keep hoping that Garmin will get it right... As they once did...
I still use my nuvi 660 because it displays citys and parks and indian reservations and corporate headquarters... etc. One of the joys of having GPS is for it to enhance your driving experience and your knowledge of what is around you... I travel cross country a lot and i do not know how many times i have noticed something on my map view (like a small national park that i did not know existed) and exited) and found an amazing gem... Garmin has eliminated these views, in my opinion, to squeeze more performance out of cheap processors by giving them less to do...

I have had a 765t that i paid full retail for when it first came out... junk... bad touchscreen, bluetooth did not work at all...bricked by bad firmware update from Garmin and had to be returned to be fixed which took a month and they refused to extend the warranty... gave to my wife... traffic/power cord broke because of their wonky connection and $110.00 to replace...

So got my wife the 1490t... hoping again...

well the touch screen is better... but still no poi's displayed in map view... horrible... and no-one mentions it... I have only seen one other reviewer refer to it...

Is it just me... when I update my electronics... I expect to have the same functionality that the previous models had and more... not less...

I will keep using my 660 which is not obsolete and quite superior in my opinion to current models... and will probably keep using it long after Garmin has stopped manufacturing consumer nav units... kicked to the curb by better more functional options that run on smart-phones...

Everyone seems to expect something different from a sat-nav and I don't think there will ever be one that pleases everyone. I for one don't want the screen cluttered up with extraneous information - just show me the roads, the speed limit, warn me of speed cameras, show me if the traffic is blocked up ahead, the lane I should be in, how long I have left to drive till I get where I want to be and I'll look for other stuff as and when I want it! I am very happy with my 1490T.

As for sat-nav on smart phones - show me a phone with a 5" screen and I'll begin to be slightly interested - but until then there is still a place in my car for a well made and well spec'd Garmin sat-nav.

I am now a 4-time Garmin owner.
1. StreetPilot III
2. 2720
3. Nuvi 760
4. Nuvi 1490T

Although I've only had the 1490 for two weeks or so, I would rate it as one of the best GPS on the market. I read MANY reviews that complained about this and that before making my purchase. I thought long and hard about my decision. If you do the registration, firmware update, and the "free" map update BEFORE trying to use the 1490 it seems to work flawlessly.

Many complain that the traffic function doesn't work. I find that to be incorrect. El Paso is my "nearest" traffic center and I've found their warnings etc. to be spot on.

Lane assist shows a nice picture in the upper left for what lane you should be in for your upcoming turn. Quite helpful, in my opinion. I haven't yet seen the Junction View in action 'cause I haven't yet taken a trip to an area where it would be needed. That's coming in the near future!

The larger screen is great. You may change the "basic" display on the screen to show additional items such as elevation, arrival mileage, arrival time, etc.

The best advice I can offer to someone with this unit is to "play with it" - "make it your own". There are many things you can adjust to suit personal preferences. I do suggest that you remove it from your windshield when exiting your vehicle. It is VERY attractive and will surely bring a thief to your vehicle.

Best of luck to you all.

I've commented twice previously back in July and in August.

Well I have had the Nuvi 1490T for about two months now, it has been a fine unit with no problems.
That is until I attempted to obtain my free map update via the Garmin website.

After following their directions to a T, I found my Nuvi screen frozen with the message "loader loading" I read around the web and saw others with this problem,. but I had no success in solving it. I understand now that the message indicates a corrupted download.
So I have written to Garmin Support who thankfully gave me a prompt email response about how to do a Master Reset, with the caution that all personal data would be lost unless you follow their instructions, however since i am unable to get beyond the initial Logo Screen with the "loader Loading message I cannot save my data.

Furthermore using their instructions to power up, while holding the right lower corner of the touchscreen to await a message only leads me right back to the " loader loading" message. I cannot get to the master reset stage.
So now I'm writing to support a second time. I suspect I may have to ship this thing in, perfect since I leave on vacation in a few days. I should have never tried the free map update, and I'm now skeptical of purchasing the lifetime map updates.....
However prior to attempting this map update the unit was fine.

My brand new 1490T thinks I am in Chicago. Needless to say, I am not. I am in VA. Any ideas on how to fix it or should I return it to Costco and try out the GPS on my phone?

I used the 1490T for two weeks and traveled in
Quebec, Canada for 7 days. Routes were perfect
and very reliable. So were the POI's.

The only critics I can make is a cracking noise
when I open the GPS and press options.

As writen previously the voice is also bizarre.
As if the speaker was played to loud. I used
it at a 40% of the volume and still that
cracking or scratching voice is present. All
voices have that noisy problem.

I am afraid to exchange the GPS and get worse as
I read on this page. I have Costco's 30 days
satisfaction waranty. 15 days left...

Everything else works find but that cracking
voice reminds me an old mini transistor radio
of the seventies with it's crapy little speaker.

Is there any other 5 inch display that works
as well with a nice voice and no cracking
sounds?

I see by the comments that all the GPS's have
their own aberrations. So I am confused and
can't make up my mind. I thought I bought the
best among the other units avalaible... :(

I recently bought a 1490T to replace my 660 that died. The 1490 only loads the phone book when I turn the cell phone (LG ENV2) on after the 1490T boots up and hand select the connection. It does not appear again if the 1490T is shut down and restarted. When its there the phone book contains the name/number of the lsat 6 months of phone calls made, rather than the phone book that is on the cell phone. My 660 reliably ;oaded the true phone book at every boot up. The blutooth sound of the 1490T is very good and clear with ample volume.

Hi, I have a question for the reviewer and all users on a topic I have not seen addressed at all.
Do *polarized* lenses on sunglasses blank-out or darken the screens on these Garmin GPS models? I have my eye on a 1490T, on sale this week at Costco. They do not have a working display model for me to test, and I have not had the chance to see on at another store. (I am aprehensive because I once tried navigation on a cell phone and the screen completely blanked-out when I wore my *polarized* sunglasses.)
I do not want to buy *any* GPS if I cannot use it with polarized lenses.
Thanks!

Hi, I have a question for the reviewer and all users on a topic I have not seen addressed at all.
Do *polarized* lenses on sunglasses blank-out or darken the screens on these Garmin GPS models? I have my eye on a 1490T, on sale this week at Costco. They do not have a working display model for me to test, and I have not had the chance to see on at another store. (I am aprehensive because I once tried navigation on a cell phone and the screen completely blanked-out when I wore my *polarized* sunglasses.)
I do not want to buy *any* GPS if I cannot use it with polarized lenses.
Thanks!

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. 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 gamin 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 tutlage.

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 a 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 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.

EnglandGreen is right, the 1490 is a brilliant sat-nav, is very intuitive to use, and does exactly what it says on the box, the only problem I have is with the 3 hour battery life, but 5" full colour touch screens don't run on fresh air.

Everyone wants one device now that does everything, but I haven't seen a mobile phone with a 5" screen yet. The i-phone is supposed to be a phone (the clue is that it has 'phone' in its name) but has problems with receiving phone signals - how bad is that?? They had spent so much time and effort designing it to be an 'all singing, all dancing' device with thousands of 'apps' that they apparently forgot its primary function was to be a phone!

I hope Garmin continue to make brilliant, easy to use sat-nav devices and are not totally seduced into the mobile phone 'app' market which will leave us with nothing more than a small screens and fiddly controls to use when we are driving.

It's simple really, if the routing algorithm stinks every other feature doesn't matter. I had the nuvi 660 for > 3 years and although it was basic by today's standards, it was pretty good at plotting a route from A to B. In comparison, the 1490T has a much slicker interface and feature set but it's routing is appalling. I was actually, and literally, embarrassed by its choice of route when I had a car full of in-laws the other day. If the 660 hadn't died, I would go back to it, as it is, I've now spent $200 setting up my smartphone in my car - google maps navigation spanks it and is only a beta version! I can't for the life of me understand how a specialist GPS company has gone so spectacularly backwards in routing in the past few years. Garmin deserves to have its lunch eaten by the likes of google.

does anyone know why when I up-load a route from map source it only enters the way-points in favorites instead of all to the route created.if you want to go to a route you only have way-points instead of a folder with the route in it. I am lost.

I had a MyGuide3100 GPS, though old but had great features. I just got my 1490T and this is what I have to say:

Features: Good features, no doubt. I love hands-free calling (Bluetooth), very handy, really.
Screen: 5" wide screen, bright, clear and crisp.
Touch Screen: Needs a little pressure, but not bad.
Maps: New (I would say most recent maps)
Voice: Clear, loud, I like the spoken street names.

However, 1490T lacks the following:

- Situation Awareness: It does not show the name of the road you are currently travelling on. Similarly, it does not show the names of the street near you. I work for the emergency services and its very important for us to know our surrounding roads. 1490T definitely lacks that feature. And yes, you have to remember the last road name you were on, and dont forget to right down the last street name you just passed, BECAUSE, if you check the nearest junction, it's NOT going to show you the NEAREST intersection, its going to show you the nearest MAJOR intersection.

- Screen Space: Badly used (actually well wasted) by Garmin programmers. The buttons (if you are seeing detailed data) are so big that the remaining screen space is probably not more than 3.5". On such a big screen, a lot of usefull information could be displayed. And yes, I dont need to know my Elevation (all the time), do you?

- Current Location / City: My old MyGuide3100 could automatically pickup your current city/location. With 1490T, you are screwed if you dont know where you are, unless you first check "My Current Location". It would be great if it could pickup your current city/town automatically so you dont have to type the city name every time.

- Map: Recent maps, I am happy with that but again lacks the situation awareness. Also, you cannot move around the map like my old MyGuide3100. You have to zoom out to see more streets / larger area but it still wont show street names.

Thats all I could think of for now but I am sure I will find more.

The 1490 bluetooth is pretty flaky. If you go to the garmin website there is much discussion. Sometimes I get the phone book when paired, but when I leave the vehicle and return (garmin always on) it fails to re-pair or the phone book doesn't appear. Check you have current bluetooth software (1.70 I think) Per the forums still a problem.

Hi, I saw a similar review on gpsbest.co.uk but he had ranked this unit higher, do you think its worth the buy?

Bought the Nuvi 1490LMT from costco. I have returned and exchanged 3 times due to all devices has buzzing noise coming from the back speaker. Called Garmin and they pretended that it is the first time they've heard this issues. I'm on my 4th device with annoying noise and will hold it and exchange it with the higer end Nuvi 3790LMT when costco will it on sale.
I assumed costco has refurbished stocks from Garmin as they have it on sale for only CAD$169.99.

Hi

I'm about to replace a vinatge Mio with a 1490T.

One of the best features of the Mio, as old as it was, is the one-hit mute button.

I can't see such a feature on the 1490T - how easy/quick is it to mute the sound when on the move?

Great review by the way.

Why would I need this device when the iPhone gps apps are every bit as good as mid level stand alone gps units?

Does anyone know how to turn off the four tabs on the right side of the 1390 LMT screen and instead have the "Arrival" and "Speed" tabs displayed along the bottom margin as depicted in all advertising and on the box the unit comes in?