Minggu, 11 Maret 2012

Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates





Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates

See the big, wide world with the large screen nüvi 1450LMT. It offers free Lifetime Maps and Traffic, multiple-point routing, lane assist with junction view to guide you through busy highway interchanges, pedestrian routing options and ecoRoute to find the most fuel-efficient route.
See the big, wide world with the large screen nüvi 1450LMT.
Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available up to 4 times a year, with no subscription, fees, or expiration dates.
EcoRoute calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more.
Simply tap the screen for your exact coordinates, the nearest address/intersection, and the closest fuel and emergency services.

Extra-Wide, Feature-Rich GPS Navigator Lifetime Maps and Traffic



Includes Free Lifetime Map Updates
With free Lifetime Map and Traffic updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation information available at your fingertips. Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year. Both features are ready to go, right out of the box, with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.


See Even More
It's easy to see where you're going on nüvi 1450LMT's 5-inch touchscreen display. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. With its big, bold display, you won't miss a thing.

Navigate City Transit
With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nüvi 1450LMT is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.


Know the Lane Before It's Too Late
No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.


Plan Ahead
nüvi 1450LMT includes advanced navigation features to take the worry out of traveling. With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the 1450LMT's large screen. In addition, nüvi 1450LMT automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.


Get Turn-by-Turn Directions
nüvi 1450LMT's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps, nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and the speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1450LMT's enhanced user interface, you can slide your finger to conveniently scroll between screens. You can also upload custom POIs. And with HotFix satellite prediction, nüvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.
Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1450LMT saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1450LMT includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1450LMT features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.

What's in the Box

nüvi 1450; Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S & Canada); Lifetime Maps and Traffic; FM Traffic Receiver With Vehicle Power Cable; Vehicle Suction Cup Mount; USB cable; Dashboard Disc; Quick Start Manual




Customer Reviews Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates
February 4, 2010
By
Chris85713 "Chris" (Tucson, AZ USA)
  Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics) 
This is my third Garmin GPS and I really like everything about it EXCEPT their tech support. None of the three worked right out of the box, I had to call tech support for all three of them. The first one took about two hours with tech support to get it working. The second one took four hours to get it registered, then I signed it up for the lifetime maps update program which is a fantastic deal. Unfortunately they sent a bad link to the updates and that took two full days for tech support to correct and send the proper link.

The third one is brand new, A Nuvi 1450. Now that it's working it's a fantastic unit but here's what we went through to get it working:


It wouldn't register on line, I waited 35 minutes on hold for a tech support person, then spent four hours getting it to register. I tried to use it and got an error message 'can't unlock maps'. Another 40 minutes on hold with tech support, another three hours fussing with it and I was told that I just needed to update the maps (Updating maps on a Garmin takes about 4 and a half hours). I spent the time, updated the maps, turned it on and got the same error message: 'can't unlock maps'. At this point I'd invested nearly eight hours on the phone with tech support, plus the four and a half hours to update the maps and STILL did not have a working GPS.


I waited till the next day to call Garmin Tech Support... only spent ten minutes on hold that time, and the tech support guy had it fixed in just a few minutes.


The result of all this: While I really like all three Garmin units and they all work very well I'll be looking for another manufacturer if I need another GPS. Garmins are indeed easy to use, they work very well and do a great job but the greatest product in the world is no better than the tech support offered - and Garmin is failing miserably in that area.

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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great GPS, December 3, 2010
By matt - Amazon Verified Purchase 

This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
The Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT is a great GPS unit. I updated the new maps immediately and found them to be very up to date. I contacted the Garmin Customer Service because the map was a litle slow to update at higher speed. They were very helpful and solved my problem quickly. The Nuvi now operates quickly and flawlessly. The Bluetooth feature is great! It was very easy to set up, the microphone picks up good and the external speaker is very clear. I bought this through Amazon.com and was very pleased with their service. They had the best price, easy to use website, and free fast shipping.
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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Locked up at start screen, only 57 days old, July 1, 2010
By
Newkirk Iowa (Iowa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
This easy-to-learn nuvi 1490T is my first GPS and I love the independence it gave me on my CA road trip - first time there, no navigation problems to speak of. The Garmin did freeze a couple of times during rush hour in Fresno & San Francisco, but overall, truly a lifesaver.
57 days after impulse purchase at BB, pressed the power button and it will not progress past the Garmin logo. Cannot perform the reset discussed at Garmin & other forums; so I left it on to drain the battery & recharged it. Still nothing. Took it for trips around the neighborhood, still won't go past the initial screen.
To say I am disappointed is a gross understatement! After some searching on the WWW, finding that others have had the same problem; some people say their replacement units also lock up, after varying periods of time. I will send to Garmin, but I am very unhappy, since I paid too much at BB just so I could have it before I left the next day for CA. (Note to self, research all purchases for reliability & cost BEFORE purchase.) And the 1490T performed wonderfully until it locked up-- so Reliability gets one star, everything else 5 stars. And because I cannot get to all those 5 star features, overall I give it a one star.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing gps, December 9, 2010
By
Sam
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
This garmin is amazing. I have had no problems with it since I bought it on black friday of 2010. The only thing that happened is the traffic feature stopped working on the unit but only because there was an outage in all areas and no one was receiving traffic info at all. Once it was fixed (was down for 4-5 days) the traffic feature has worked perfectly and has even saved me from getting to work late! The size of the screen is amazing that lets you see alot of stuff and the features are awesome and the unit gets reception super fast (within seconds). This is an excellent purchase for this price. Elsewhere this unit goes for close to 300. Do not think twice about this unit. 

September 8, 2009
By
D. Lovett "miGuy" (REAL NAME) 
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
The nuvi 1490T was my first ever Garmin. Like other reviewers, I found the display to be big, bright, and very clear. The refresh rate was also very good, and there was much to like about the unit. Since I have never had a Garmin before, I did not find the "lack of detail" others have complained about to be a problem. The spoken directions were very clear, and plenty loud. Quite unlike the nuvi 885T I tried next.

But there were problems, too, most notably with the traffic features, which when accessed caused the unit to reboot every time. No fix bug fix was available at the time (early August), so I wound up returning it. In addition, I was disappointed that the nuvi couldn't fetch addresses out of my Bluetooth iPhone. (Apparently, the iPhone is willing to share, but the nuvi didn't know how to ask). Other aspects of Bluetooth connectivity worked pretty well, though in a rather cumbersome manner, such that I doubted I would make use of the Bluetooth features much until they improved. And yes, battery life is shockingly short.


I think the unit has lots of promise, but that unrealized potential comes at a premium price.                                                          

June 12, 2011
By
dom1992 - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
I cannot recommend this unit to anyone after what has happened to me. I consider myself a GPS veteran, as I've owned various models since they first became available to the public. This unit has basically died after just two weeks of ownership while I'm in the middle of a cross country trip. Now I have to go out and buy a new one (obviously a different brand) just to finish our vacation.

First, Amazon doesn't tell you this comes with ads if you want to use the traffic function. I can see this with a $100 unit, but for one that costs almost $200, it's ridiculous. Shame on Amazon and shame on Garmin for not making this fact easy to find.


Second, our unit defaulted to a "press dot" screen suddenly while on our vacation. I tried pressing the dot at various points on the screen about 50 times but it just kept going. Master reset won't work and it just keeps coming back to the same screen. I subsequently found out these 1400 series navigators have all sorts of problems like this and people on the Garmin forums are dumping it like a plague for other models. I've read several threads of people saying they returned their 1400 up to three times for new ones and each new one also died various deaths. Too bad I didn't research this info before I bought.


Do not buy this unit unless you want a major headache!

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54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A lemon! There's a design flaw in this product!, July 30, 2010
By
Stellagirl - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I love the big screen!

But ... I've had the unit for a week, and I'm returning it today as a defective product. The unit is much less reliable and much slower than my old Garmin 4.3". Flaws:

1. The unit has twice shut down while navigating a route. The first time, it took 5 minutes to reboot. Last night, it wouldn't turn back on. Garmin's website says there's a patch for this. The need for the software patch was identified in Feb. Why is Garmin still selling units that need a sw patch?
2. Compared to the 4.3 inch, it takes much longer to calculate new routes. That's a big problem if you need a new route quickly, such as when you're on the road.
3. The 4.3 inch shows the road you're on, even if you haven't set a "go to" destination. This unit shows the car as being in a white field, and the road in the distance.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Register and update your GPS before you use it, November 14, 2010
By
Katz365 (Gettysburg, PA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
We took our new GPS on our vacation this summer and it did all the things folks have complained about. Turning off, locking up. I sent it back and got another one and immediately registered it online and new software was installed, probably patches or fixes for these problems. It has worked perfectly ever since. The first one also had a really weird sound to the voice. The second one was fine. Amazon was great about returning and replacing.

If you are buying this for the screen with the highway signs for the lane assist, be aware this does not show up very often. Maybe 2 times on the beltway around Baltimore. However on trips to Pittsburgh and other cities, it did not come on at all. The arrow on the top left corner shows you what your next turn is going to be (right, left) and in how many miles. But the cool highway signs don't show up very often. It's still a good item and we love it. Just please register it and update it before you use it.


Also check the settings. Ours was set to "avoid traffic," which is hard to do if you want to take the route on the highways. We didn't check it until it started taking us off on strange roads. I'm sure this can happen with all GPSs. Just an FYI. All in all, we are pleased with it.

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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great GPS, December 3, 2010
By
N. TUFO (Boston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
This is a great GPS, large screen, finds satellites quick and if you mess up a turn it re calculates real fast. The junction view is great, shows you exactally which way to go when you have several options and a second to decide.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big screen, good antenna., March 26, 2010
By
J. Hill (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I just upgraded from a Garmin 4.3" screen. This 5.1" screen is much nicer. The software is more refined. It auto zooms in or out based on your speed. The touch screen is very sensitive and fast. The only thing i dont like is the trip view with speedo is not like the dashboard view it used to be. I would definately recommend this unit to anyone.

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT vs. TomTom Via 1535TM, July 10, 2011
By
M. A. Manabat "Maverick" (So. San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT vs. TomTom Via 1535TM

I purchased both units to compare them and in the end pick the unit that best suits my needs and preferences. I wanted to get a new GPS unit because the built in unit I have in my SUV is outdated. The portability, being able to use on another vehicle, and the free lifetime maps are really what I'm after but decided that lifetime traffic alerts is not a bad option either. I would like to point out that whatever you chose between the two, the decision will not be a mistake as they are both good GPS units, they both have their own strengths and weaknesses, but it will come down to what you really prefer or your comfort level.

I tested both units driving around where I live and when we went on vacation in Las Vegas. I had them mounted next to each other most of the time.

TomTom Via 1535TM


PROS:


- By default, provides more info (speed, distance, time etc) on the status bar, located on bottom of screen, compared to the Nuvi. And just above the Via's status bar, it shows the street name that you are currently on (I find this very helpful), the Nuvi does not have this feature while navigating. The Nuvi will give you the option to display the same info on its status bar, but it will place the status bar vertically on the right side of the display that makes the main screen smaller (like an old 3.5" GPS screen) I really really like this feature and how it's displayed on the screen, it's really cool to have all this info ready at all times. Something you might say, "Honey, I'm about 65 miles away and will be home in about 50 minutes, by 2:30pm, I should be pulling up by the driveway." All this info is displayed on the unit at all times, you don't have to calculate in your head.


- Consistently finds POIs faster than the Nuvi. It's almost instant whereas the Nuvi could take seconds, sometimes even several minutes to find its first POI (this really sucks when you are so ready to go, even a minute feels like an eternity!). But this also depends on how popular the POI is, if you're looking for McDonalds or something well known, then both units will give you an instant list.


- The voice command feature is great when it works and it works most of the time. I really like this feature especially when driving to a new address; it is so much easier saying where you are going instead of manually inputting everything onto the unit. It's also great for looking for a certain POI while driving, I love how you can just say "Go to the nearest Starbucks" and it will get you there with just a single button input! The voice command feature is not perfect though, as some POI names, no matter how your pronounce it, just won't get recognized by the unit. I tried IKEA and 7-ELEVEN numerous times with no success. I was driving on the freeway one time and my low fuel indicator flashed and in a city I'm not familiar with and all I have to say was "Go to the nearest gas station" and within minutes I'm filling up my gas tank! This is so cool! I didn't have to fiddle with the unit to input and chose where I needed to go, keeping my attention on the road - where it should be. Even with the feature's shortcomings, I found this feature to be a deal breaker!


- I also like the fact that you can still access the device while connected to the computer. This is helpful if you wanted to change settings or play around with the unit. The Nuvi locks you out the minute you plug in the USB cord.


- The voice on the unit sounds a lot better than the Garmin Nuvi. The voice sounds more human, better to the ears while the Nuvi's voice sounds too robotic. The volume on the Nuvi is much louder than the Via though.


- Preloaded speed traps/traffic camera POIs. The unit will beep to alert you of incoming traffic cameras! It'll make you rethink about running that red light!! The Nuvi does not have any traffic camera POIs preloaded, although you can download these from online.


CONS:


- The Via takes a long time to acquire a satellite signal! It takes anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes just to get a lock on a signal! You're probably saying, what's 1-4 minutes?! Well, I had the Nuvi next to it turned on the same and it acquired a signal in less than 30 seconds! The 4 minutes of waiting feels like forever! And this is not sometimes... this is all the time!!


- Like a lot of people say, the LCD screen of the TomTom Via is inferior to that of the Garmin Nuvi's. And I have to agree! The display gets easily washed up under the sun! There are times when you have to really focus on the screen just to read what is on there. It also doesn't help that the letters and graphics on the screen are smaller and the colors are not that vivid! The icons look flat as well. I was shocked when one day I was driving (almost sunset) when the sun's rays coming from the rear window hit the Via's screen and I totally couldn't see it, while the Nuvi sitting next to it was still visible!


- The unit is not very responsive, very sluggish... You press an icon and it almost takes a full second to respond! There are also no beeps when you click on something, unlike the Nuvi that responds faster and gives you an audio cue every time you touch something on the screen.


- Although the unit generates a POI list very fast, the list it provides shows very little info. It will only list found POIs and the distance in miles away from your location... Drilling down further will only provide a phone number and a mini map of its location. I found this very annoying as I always like to know the address of where I'm going, what city, what street it's on etc. I live in the Bay Area (California) and would always like to know the city of my destination since I would rather travel more miles than to cross one of the bridges, deal with the traffic and pay toll! I find it uncomfortable to just drive to a location xx miles away and with no other info... The Nuvi provides the full address, phone number and more info of all its POIs.


- Voice Command when making calls is almost useless. If you have an iPhone, use its Voice Control feature to make calls instead - it will give you better results. The Via has a hard time recognizing names, so when you say "Call (insert name here)", it'll give you a list of your contact info, and you have to scroll down to get to the person you want to call then say the number of the contact before it'll dial. And given how the unit is very unresponsive to inputs, this little call could become very annoying fast!


- There is also a bug that they need to fix. After updating the maps, all your favorites get deleted! This can get frustrating if you end up doing these four times a year (number of times they issue map updates in a year). MyTomTom, their online support, is still not fully functional. The only thing that it really does is update maps; you can't download extra voices, extra POIs and other things.


Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT


PROS:


- The LCD Screen on the Nuvi shows very well under the sun. The colors pop and you won't get the washed up colors you get with the Via. The display is not cluttered with unnecessary info, very easy to read with big letters, better contrast and vivid colors. This is one of the main selling points of the Garmins, they are very easy to understand and use! You glance at the screen instead of "focusing" because of how easy it is to digest. The Garmin just has a better GUI (in my opinion) compared to the Via. I find the icons on the Nuvis looking better compared to the Via's flat look. The Nuvi just displays everything better, it's "prettier" and easier to look at than the Via. The Via is like reading a book where the Nuvi is like reading a book with pictures. The presentation is just better with the Nuvi.


- Detailed POIs. The Nuvi generates POIs with complete addresses, phone numbers and how far it is from your location. I really like that Garmin included the complete address instead of just the distance. It gives you a better sense of direction and the comfort of knowing where you're going. The downside is that the Nuvi takes longer than the Via when looking for POIs that are not very common. It is also very convenient when saving these POIs to your favorites as you don't have to enter/edit too much info.


- Acquires satellite signals very quickly compared to the Via, which usually takes 1-4 minutes. The Nuvi usually takes less than 30 seconds to lock on a signal, a minute at the longest. The GPS start up is also very quick. The unit is also very responsive to your commands; it gives you audio cues when inputting commands. It seems that the Nuvi just does everything a tad quicker than the Via.


- I actually like the fact that Nuvi will say "Recalculating" when you miss a turn. I like to know when I make a mistake, so for example, when I come back to the same place without the GPS, I'm not taking the "wrong turn" and thinking that it's the correct way... The Nuvi recalculates fairly quickly and usually gets you on the right track right away. The Via will not give you an audio cue if you miss a turn, it'll just instantly recalculate and show you the next correct turn as if you were on the correct path all along. Some people actually prefer this as they are sick of hearing "recalculating".


- When you put an entry in your Favorites, the Nuvi will actually pronounce the name you give it. (BTW, the Nuvi does this for all destinations) For example, if I name my friends address as "Fat Joe's House", the Nuvi will actually say "Arriving at Fat Joe's House in .5 miles" or "You have arrived at Fat Joe's House on the right". Just imagine the possibilities... hahaha! It's surprising how many words and names the Nuvi can pronounce! The Via, on the other hand, will just give you the default message - "You have arrived at your destination on the right". Some folks might not find this as a PRO but I sure am entertained by this!


CONS:


- I wished that they could've added the same info on the status bar like that of the Via. On the status bar on the bottom of the screen, it only shows the estimated time of arrival on the left pane, the current speed and the speed limit on the right pane, the middle pane shows the lane assist feature when needed. The Nuvi also does not show the current street you're driving on, and if you have forgotten, the only option is for you to look out the window and look for street signs.


- Looking up non-common POIs can be very frustrating! My family decided to check out the Boiling Crab, a very popular restaurant that serves mostly seafood (super yummy!). Upon entering the name, the Via showed 2 Boiling Crab locations instantly while the Nuvi was still "searching". We decided to just go and not wait for the the Nuvi. 50 minutes later, we are parking the car and the Nuvi is still "searching"! C'mon Garmin, if it's not in the POI database, then just make the unit say "not found" or something like that, instead of making us wait! The Via will show you "not found" if it didn't find the POI in its database, it won't make you wait forever!


- The traffic alerts comes with its evil twin - advertisement! If the TomTom Via can give you lifetime traffic alerts without ads then why can't the Garmin Nuvi? I found that the ads will pop up when at a complete stop and when your are driving on unmarked roads, like parking lots, the ads do not block too much of the screen to become a safety hazard but still annoying to some people (it doesn't bother me at all). There's an option to disable the ads but doing so will also disable the traffic alerts.


- While navigating, the Nuvi's display would all of a sudden turn blank (white screen) for about half a second and it then quickly "re-draws" the map. It seems like it "reloads" the map at certain points. This reload does not affect the navigation in any way but it's just odd that it does this. I'm not sure if it's a defect on my unit... I will contact Garmin about this and will keep you guys updated. This happens at least once every time I use the GPS unit! I find this annoying as I never saw this happening with the Via. Anyone else experiencing this on their 1490LMT? Please comment...


MORE STUFF:


- These two units will get you to your destination one way or another. I drove with these 2 units around my neighborhood and found that both make "mistakes". Mistakes, meaning they will take me to longer routes or make unnecessary turns... From South San Francisco to San Francisco - The Nuvi made me drive on El Camino Real, a long boulevard, (after purposely missing some turns) before making me hop on the freeway (I-280) at the end, while the Via kept directing me to hop on the freeway entrances along the way. From SF to SSF - I'm driving down 10th street towards the I-280 freeway entrance when all of a sudden the Via told me to make a left, then a right, another right and finally another left to get back on 10th street! WTF?! Bottom line, they will both make navigation mistakes but they will both get you where you're supposed to go.


- The traffic routing is hit or miss. If the accident or the delay is not reported then there's no way for you to find out or avoid it in time. There was only one time in which the Nuvi gave me better traffic routing than the Via. Most of the time, both of the units, gave me the same routing. I also found that both units also report delays inaccurately... for example, both units will say a 2 minute delay (afternoon traffic) along my route but it really is more like a 10-15 minute delay!


- Both units monitor how fast you're going compared to the speed limit. The Nuvi's display will turn red if you surpass the speed limit even by 1mph, the Via will only turn red if you go 5mph faster.


- The Nuvi always shows an earlier estimated time of arrival compared to the Via. There's usually a 10-minute gap between the two units. For example, the Nuvi will estimate a time of arrival of 2:30, the Via at 2:40 but you actually get there by 2:35 The Nuvi seems to base its estimate as if as though you will not encounter traffic delays and the opposite can be said about the Via.


- The Nuvi shows a very accurate picture of the junction views - it will actually show you all the signs like how you would see them on the actual freeway. It grays out the signs that you are not suppose to take. The Via only shows the sign that you are suppose to take, it's as if it is the only sign on the freeway. I wonder if this might confuse some drivers. They both do a great job at illustrating which lanes to take. The Via shows the junction views longer than the Nuvi. The Nuvi shows the picture for about 7-9 seconds while the Via shows it close to 15 seconds.


- Updating the maps on these units are very straightforward but the process is much quicker on the Nuvi that that of the Via. The Via took hours to complete! Close to 3 hours if I'm not mistaken. Updating gadgets should not have to take that long...


- Both units paired with my iPhone 3GS without a hitch. Both units automatically pair up with my iPhone and downloads my contact info upon boot up. Receiving a call is easy with both units but found that the Nuvi is easier at making calls. You have to use the Via's troublesome Voice Command feature to make calls while the Nuvi uses the iPhone's Voice Control feature that is so much easier to use. I find the bluetooth functionality very convenient as it makes making and receiving calls that much easier while driving.


It took me almost a month to decide which one to keep... and in the end I chose the Garmin Nuvi. I went with the Garmin because of its LCD display and it's GUI (Graphic User Interface) - it's simple, easy to read, understand and use. It puts me at ease that my wife can use it without asking me how to use it! I like the fact that the display stays sharp and vivid under the sun. I like how it gives the full addresses on POIs and how easier it is at making phone calls. As much as I like the Via's Voice Command feature and its included traffic/speed POIs, I can't overlook the fact that the Nuvi is a much "polished" product. I really don't care that the Via's MyTomTom online support is non-existent at the moment (it's still in beta) as long as they can provide me with updated maps, which they can. Although, it made me smile when I could download my little kids favorites - Spongebob and Dora, as Voices and car characters from the Nuvi's online support page.


I really really like all the info that the Via shows on the screen but I find myself looking at it too much instead of the road! I like computers, so I like data and info as much as the next nerd but my wife had to tell me to keep my eyes on the road a couple of times while on a long drive... the Via became somewhat of a distraction. I really miss the Via's Voice Command... it is soooo cool! It doesn't work sometimes but when it does, I feel like Captain Kirk! A couple of updates on the voice command feature and it'll probably work much better! If I were given a few more days with the Via, I would have probably picked it over the Nuvi... I don't know, it's just a super cool device for the same price!!


I'm a family man with wife and kids. So in the end, I chose a unit that I feel is very safe on the road that could easily aid us in getting where we need to go. The less distraction the better... '

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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Augh! So close yet so annoying!, December 29, 2010
By
Daniel E. Pearson (Yakima, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
First of all, I'd like to admit that I'm a Garmin fan. I've used other GPS's in the distant past and they never seemed to stack up to Garmins. I'll mainly be reviewing this GPS to other Garmin units I've owned, so if you're looking for a review that compares it to other brands, this isn't it.

I've owned several Nuvi's and the main difference between this and the others I've owned is speed and size! As another reviewer pointed out going from a 4" screen to a 5" screen makes a really big difference. And the speed compared to my other Nuvi's is incredible! Everything from initial boot-up to typing addresses in to map-drawing is lightning quick. I've always hated how my old Nuvi's would get me turned around or make me miss a turn after typing an address because the draw refresh rate was so slow, this 1490LMT nearly does it in real-time.


One note on speed; it doesn't seem like searching for something by name is any faster, still slow as molasses.


Build quality seems good, but the shiny black plastic around the edge of the screen collects fingerprints easily, if you care about that kind of thing.


Overall I really like the unit...with 1 minor and 1 MAJOR annoyance:

Minor: I can't seem to figure out how to get my current speed to not display on the screen. This Garmin has a feature that displays the current speed limit of the road your on (nice feature) and displays your current speed right next to it. If you go over the speed limit your current speed turns red. I KNOW I'm speeding Garmin! Quit nagging me! I live in southern California, of course I'm speeding!

Major: This is the first GPS I've ever owned that has ADVERTISING BUILT IN! On the homepage every time you turn it on, there is an "offer bar" that displays coupons for nearby businesses across the top of the screen, slightly blocking the "Where to?" and "View Map" buttons. How do you disable this wonderful "feature" you ask? By turning off traffic updates. Yes, they actually spam you if you have traffic updates turned on. The ONLY way to disable it is to turn off traffic updates, one of the main reasons I bought this unit in the first place! Someone correct me if I'm wrong...


Overall I'd buy it again, but I hate spam with a passion. I'm sure someone will be able to patch the software somehow, but that's really shady of Garmin to set up the software to spam you if you want to use a feature you paid for. Great hardware, weak and shady software.

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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoying my Garmin nuvi 1450LMT, December 10, 2010
By
K. B. "Love to Shop" (Florida) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
I needed to update maps on an older Magellan GPS I received as a gift and when I found out how much updates cost I started looking closer at newer GPS' with lifetime maps. I first purchased a 5" TomTom XXL540LMT because of price but had so much trouble trying to download updated maps with help from TT Customer Service. After 5 hrs and 5 techs they said it was a defective product and return it. So I returned it but decided to try another that had caught my eye.

The Garmin nuvi's had much better ratings. I picked out Garmin nuvi 1450LMT (we travel across country once a year) and started having the same trouble updating but the Customer Service at Garmin handed my call over to a higher up Computer Tech and she had me do a few things that within 45 minutes I was downloading updates with no problems. Because of their expertise and product features I think I will stick with Garmin from now on. Only drawback with this particular model is that it lets me know how much gas I am using when I go anywhere, if I care to look. Hahaha, I better stop looking.


Easy to use, looks great, keeps track of trips, has lots of great features. Can be updated every 3 months but probably will only update once a year. Very satisfied with my purchase and Garmin Customer Service.

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68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time with this......, December 21, 2009
By
J. Hannah "Radio Junkie" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
I love the features of this GPS however Garmin has really messed up lately and the quality of their work shines through. This unit constantly freezes up, reboots, stutters when it talks and often times it will not even load the voice files leaving it and myself speechless. I have updated it to the latest firmware using the Garmin Updater tool and still it has problems. It's very slow to respond to key presses and searching for a Point of Interest takes a very long time. This Garmin has a larger screen but it retains the low resolution found on the small units. What this means is that the screen cannot show any more information than the smaller units. The only advantage to the larger screen is that everything is larger and easier to read. To compound the shoddy software Garmin removed features that are found in their lower end models. Gone is the 3D building view along with the nice wired suction cup mount that had the quick release button.

Due to the fact that this GPS reboots every few minutes I returned it for a refund. It's useless to me in it's current state of beta software.

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114 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good, but some backward steps in my opinion, August 7, 2009
By
AlanG "Alan" (Franklin,ma) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
Final Update:
After some frustration returned it:
1) You drive on a state highway for miles with detailed view, you only see a web of road networks with little to no text (no cross roads marked, no poi etc). Compare with 660 where it was fun to use the GPS. I asked myself do I need a 5 inch screen @499 to just view this ? NO!!
2)GOt impression software has been rushed out to meet deadline. Eg. Keyboard style not remebered, they tried to fix it on a update which is BTW available already out a product release at the start fo the month, but still messed up. Now on 'ABCD' style it remembers but defaults to number view when entering street names so need more key presses to get 'letters'. This indicates to me probably pure management of sofwtare testing vs requirements at Garmin. I am sure this will get fixed eventually but I have formed a poor impression on newer garmins. Too many with big price variatiations, but minor differences..

3) New graphics style- They have managed to make the same information on same size screen (I tried the 765, exact same software as 1490t) looks smaller with new menu button right in the middle of the main navigation route. To see what I mean go to for eg: [...] and check the image of the 660 and then any of the newer ones like the 765.

Garmin- If things are not broken dont try to fix! What was broken was inability to sort alphabetically. Good new features were lane assist & integrated antenna & multi point routing. What needs fixing is better traffic updates. I am afraid the 300/600 series may become the classic garmin that made the company the market leader at one time!!

Well thats my review, hopefully by the time others buy they would have updated the sofwtare to fix some of the issues so maybe should check later reveiwe!

=======================
Original review:

My NUI 660 was stolen 3 weeks ago so waited till end of this month for this as thats when it became available..

My first impressions are not all that positive, that I have got a RMA and wondering if I should buy the 765 ($200 cheaper) or a tom tom or some thing else.
Basically the 5 inch screen is nice, and compared to 660 ability for multi point routing is good. Although the later seems not that efficent at routing, if any one lives in Boston and drive to South NJ, will know the importance to avoid GW bridge and go on Tapanezee. I tried inserting tapenzee as a way point, but incredibly it calculated to TPZ then drove back via 87s back to GW, instead of a more logical and shorter Garden State Parkway.

The junction view poped up briefly when driving on mass pike and approaching 128 but seems just a flashy feature because when I was actually got close it never showed up. I just happend to glance and was lucky to spot it the brief moment it poped up.


My main complaints is compared to 660 experience or in general


More Update: Unlike 660 if you make a right turn and then have to make another immediately, the 1490t does not say so before the first one. Instead as I made the right tun, accelerated but withing 400ft it says make a right. No pre warning like in 660, and I missed that turn. I am just wondering who makes design changes at Garmin!!!! That will be a deal breaker, unless tells me I am mistaken on this!!!


1) Pann-ing map is almost impossible, it is jerky than scrolls more than you want. Huge problem..

2) Even in detailed map it does not label some points of interst or local river/lake names anymore as you are driving. That was a nice feature so consider it as step back from 660.
3) Autorouting is slower but probably can live with it. Nice if the upgrades went the other way though!! Same with map drawing..
4) Annoying pop up balloon on map when searching for address. Why, why?? Cant see the map anyway with baloon
5) Commercials for bes western and others annoying. I think just shows up when idling though, not sure
6) Traffic allert wiltl sometimes say traffic ahead but never came across and the map does not high light where it is. Traffic feature as in 660 have low confidence it will help daily travel, at least its free now..
7) High Time Garmin fixes their search method, same issue with 660. For example to seacrh near.. You cannot type boston, ma. If you just type boston you will see an unsorted listing of cities of Boston and you need to scroll to find where boston ma shows up. No logical ordering. Nice if we can specify a state or zip or at least sort by distance to where you are or something better!! Imagine seraching for some more common name than boston!!
8)Jills voice is now very annoying and rough, maybe new speakers. Also I think it says re-calculating few times when doing so which can be annoying. At least ran into it once not sure if 2 recaluclate events triggered while the first one hadnot completed.
9) Keyboard style is not remembered between power cycles so might as well not have that option. nobody is going to go to tools menu to change it from qwert to abcd every time.
10)Keyboard seems more crowded and less responsive than in 660, delelte key not obvious.
11) Contact list cannot be sorted alphabetically as in 660. hasnt enough people complaint about this already for garmin not to listen???
12) At power up the display does not automatically rivert to map view if you dont do anything, instead the main menu screen which is useless to watch while driving.
Update: The display does ebentually go to map mode so this is OK..

13) Speed display seems consistantly less by 3MPH from actual speed. tested on two cars so wondering if they could not have calibrated it better as it seems systematic..

14) No MP3 or Audio Books or FM transmitter or line out (I can live without so not big for me, line out would have been nice to hook up with your car audio)

Improvements

1) Bigger screen, but less glossy
2)No anntenna on the back, beautiful exterior design, looks more sturdy
3) Power attaches to unit not base holder. Have mixed view on this. May be good if travelling no need to take the base holder with you
4) More customizable options, menu labeling is better, i.e not everything is hidden under food and lodging anymore
5) speed limit indication is good, and seems accurate even as the limits changes on the same road. Impressive, at least around boston so far!

Overall dont see anything major to get excited about vs 660. 765 seems to have the same features minus the 5inch screen and $200 cheaper, so may consider that or studying other tom tom too. Wish Garmin will spend more resources on address sorting, seraching etc than adding flashy features as upgrades.

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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elegant Display! Stylish finish. Beauty with brains., December 1, 2010
By
henry - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
I bought the GPS a few days back. I received the GPS yesterday.
Pros: Display, handsfree call quality, satellite reception, fast processor.
Cons: Needs a MicroSD card a minimum of 4GB

I updated the first map update in 3 hours. The device comes with a USB cable. The GPS is loud and clear. Tested the Bluetooth feature with my iphone 3G. Connected with ease and I am able to see the phonebook and call history in the GPS. Tested a few calls. Clear on both sides of the call. I am impressed by the speed it calculate routes. I am getting satellite reception even indoors. I will try to update the review after a few trips.


Updated 12/24/2010:

The GPS is showing some ambiguities while connecting to the iphone 3G. The phone gets paired instantly but the phonebook sync doesn't work most of the time. The GPS is restarting out of no reason while navigating. I have to check with Garmin and see what is the problem.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Could be better, December 19, 2010
By
J. Santiago "jas32" (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
These are my first impressions on the Garmin 1450LMT as I've only owned this unit for about 1 week. This is my 3rd Garmin GPS unit/ The first was the IQue 3600 followed by the Nuvi 750. Most of my comments would be in comparison to my 750 which I use with Microsoft's MSN Direct (traffic service).

I've had my Nuvi 750 for a few years and came across the 1450 LMT for a good price so I thought I would upgrade to a new one. Features on the 1450 I wanted to have were the 5-inch screen, lane assist and junction view. All three features were a welcome upgrade to my 750. The 5 inch screen does wonders for readability. Lane assist is a big help in unfamiliar areas together with Junction View (even if available only sporadically, is a neat feature to have).


Compared to my 750, this one locks on to the satellites in less than half the time in first time power up. In re-starts, locking on the satellites was almost immediate.


The few things I did not care for are the following:

- Non powered mount. Now I need to use 2 hands to remove the unit from my dash. Big inconvenience if you are used to this feature.
- Advertisements for Traffic service. These are quite annoying (although quite easy to ignore), considering I never had them in my MSN Direct service.
- Traffic user interface needs 2 steps to get the traffic delay information. They should look at what MSN has done.
- Random restarts. Happened 4 times total in the week I've owned it. Twice when switching back from displaying "more information" and twice during a 4 hour trip (the unit just turned off by itself).
- I miss the added features of MSN Direct (Fuel Prices, Movie Info, Weather, etc.) that Traffic does not provide.
- Big bulky power adapter
- Recalculation time appears a tad slower vs. the 750.
- Big difference in brightness between 10% and 0% in Night Display mode. Too much brightness/glare in 10% setting while the 0% setting is too dark.

Not really blown away by this unit since there are features I love about my 750 that are not even available with the 1450. I'll continue using it and add some more comments later.


_________________________________


I've used this unit on 2 trips to Chicago over the past few weeks and had the following additional observations:

- Recalculations are definitely slower vs. my old 750
- I registered my unit and updated the maps but I still have observed 1 random reset during a 3 hour drive stretch. I was hoping this problem would go away after doing a map update. Not yet a problem for me but it's definitely annoying.
- I don't understand why the return button is STILL positioned at the bottom left corner, the same spot as the "cancel routing" button at the base page. This makes it very easy to inadvertently canceling your routing. BTW this set-up is similar to the old 750.

_________________________________


2nd Update:


The random resets have been happening every other time I use the unit which is becoming a nuisance. I noticed that the resets would only happen when I am following a route. I never observed a reset when the unit was just turned on.


I was just about ready to call customer service regarding the random resets but I remembered to check if there is a software update for my unit, and yes there was. I performed the software update (and a map update as well). I am happy to report that since the software/map updates I have not observed a reset at all (knock on wood)! Hopefully this version of software have taken care of the problem.


Note too that I've noticed locking on to satellites a lot quicker now than before. Recalculations are quicker as well. Not having a powered mount still bugs me but I'm getting used to it. The unit is getting better, and liking it much better than my 750.


_________________________________


3rd and last update


I did a Map Update about a month ago just before I was going on a trip and to my surprise it said the updated maps will not fit in the unit's memory and that I should delete some of the map coverage area so it will fit the available memory. I thought that was dumb that I have essentially a one year old unit that did not have enough memory to fit US and Canada maps. Since I bought a micro SD card Asian Map for an upcoming trip, I did not want to install any part of the US/Canada map on the external card. I decided to remove the maps for middle Canada instead, where I do not plan to do any driving in the near future.


This is quite disappointing as the unit was most likely designed and delivered with marginal amount of memory to reduce the cost. Also, random restarts have also come back on a somewhat regular basis.


BTW, this unit was stolen during my Asian trip (therefore my last update) and have been replaced by a much better Nuvi 2460. Just wrote a short review on it, please check it out.

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88 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Great, BUT...., November 26, 2010
By
Isaac N. Davis Jr. (Bertram, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
This Garmin 1450LMT (Lifetime Maps and Traffic) is a very nice GPS but it does have some draw-backs. I have used Garmin for years and have been satisfied with them if you can overlook some of their problems. One of the problems is that although you get lifetime traffic if in a covered area, you also get lifetime advertisements in a covered area. They pop up and eventually go away but they are annoying to the max. The only way to get rid of the ads is to disconnect the traffic receiver which defeats its purpose. To just make them disappear from the screen quickly, you have to touch the back arrow and go to the main screen and then select View Map again. The second problem is that if you decide you want to Update your Maps because its free, you had better be on a very fast internet connection. I am on a T-1 line (fastest and costliest) line around and it took 4 hours to update my maps. And whatever you do, don't interrupt the process or you will have a display that is total trash. Then there is the added feature of inserting a Micro SD card. Sounds great but listen up. You can add pictures to your Favorites as an added feature. You can have pictures (jpegs @ jpgs) on the card and you can see them with the Picture Viewer feature and you can add those pictures to your Favorites. HOWEVER. Once you turn the GPS off, those pictures are removed from your Favorites. You can still see them with the Picture Viewer, but in order to have the pictures attached to Your Favorites, you have to connect the GPS to the computer and save those pictures to the GPS INTERNAL memory folder called pictures. Seems that it will not go back to the external Micro SD card to pick up those pictures after Turn Off. Then there is the Language problem. If you select American English, you get clear and concise commands to "Turn Left", "Turn Right" etc. If you want the voice to tell you not only when or where to turn but to tell you what to turn onto ( so and so street) you have to select American English -Jill. These may be nit picky things but you would think that at some point all of these small things would be incorporated into a fully loaded unit. As far as use is concerned, it is simple and frustrating. Simple in that you can tell it where you want to go, but it may take you there in a way you never wanted. Although you can select "Shortest Route or Fastest Route", don't be surprised if you get to see a portion of the country side you have never seen. It will get you there eventually but to be safe always carry a paper map. Garmin is still the best GPS on the market but just once it would be nice to have a product that has everything in one package. Enjoy but don't expect everything to be perfect.
Isaac
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85 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Garmin GPS Yet, September 21, 2009
By
amazonfan - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
Received the 1490T around September 10, 2009. I am replacing a Garmin nuvi 680(cost $800) which is a good unit but becoming dated. I also have a Zumo 550 for my motorcycle. I absolutely love the large screen of the nuvi 1490T(cost $405). It is by far the best GPS screen I have ever used, both for size and clarity. As my eyes get a little older the slightly larger type helps immensely. I am not sure what all the complaints and fuss is about from some of the other reviewers. When I received the unit I immediately went to Garmin's Webloader and updated the firmware. Then, I updated to the latest 2010 maps since Garmin gives you 1 free update in the first 60 days. I like this gps even better than my nuvi 680 or the Zumo 550 for that matter. The unit has lane assist and junction view which you will love if you live in a big city like I do. The traffic service is free and is as good as or better than MSN Direct that I have on the nuvi 680. And, of course the service is free. There is a small ad that appears in exchange for the free traffic service but the ad is tiny and inconsequential because it disappears when you change the screen. Route planning is a huge bonus. The 680 did not have route planning. The 1490T shows the speed limit of the road you are on and more data is available on the screen than was on my 680. The screen is bright and they have improved the volume immensely. I use it on 50% volume. The 680 I had to use on 100% volume. Must be a bigger speaker or something--or maybe even 2 speakers. The unit is thinner than the other nuvi's and pretty light also. Garmin did not include a cover/sleeve with this unit like they did with the 680. The only negative I can think of is that the power cord is slightly thicker than the 680's cord and the power cord plugs into the unit rather than the cradle. This is a small hassle because you have to unplug the cord from the unit when you want to take it off the windshield and hide it in it's case on the floor(which I always do when I park in public). Overall, I gave the 1490T 5 stars. For $400 it is a very very good value. It's a much better unit than my $800 nuvi 680 since it has more and updated features. I think this is the best automobile unit Garmin makes right now. I love it.
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58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unstable unit (updated again), September 1, 2010
By
jsung (Austin, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
This model is unstable. Mine was turned off more than a dozen times in a three months of ownership. Reason is unknown. When contacted the Garmin tech support, they kept saying do a soft reset and/or do firmware upgrade. I did the upgrade twice but the symptom has not been fixed although it got somewhat better just for a while after the update. After about one or two weeks, however, the unit's power became unstable again and the power turned off unexpectedly. Besides, due to small internal storage size, you MUST delete some voice files from the unit to install a new firmware. With unstable power and unhelpful technical support, I would not recommend this model to anyone.

Newest update (04/03/2011) :

The power problem that is seemingly gone comes back and the unit does not stay turned on even for an hour! It seems that there is a problem in power circuit as it keeps saying low battery even though it is connected to a power source. To make sure it is not a problem of a power adapter, I have tested with various connecters, including original Garmin, computer USB, and 3rd-party vehicle power adapter and they all show the same symptom. In less than a one year, I have had so many problems with this unit and very very disappointed.

Update (03/03/2011):

Since the update in November in last year, the power problem finally seems gone. Now the unit seems stable and I have not experienced the arbitrary power off since then. Without this problem, this unit is very good with a big screen and fast capturing of satellite signals. However, it would be much better if they fix the problem first before they release the product. Also the internal storage should be larger so that the user do not need to delete any preinstalled files. Another minor problem is the touch screen. It allows you to "drag-and-move" of the map but what usually happens is instead of moving the map, the screen pinpoint a location, which might be attributed to the incorrectly set pressure sensor sensitivity of the touch screen for these type of dragging motions. Anyway, except those problems, the unit is solid with basic features that work fine. I am now quite satisfied and therefore upgrade my star rating from one to four.
96 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Registration Tips, March 29, 2011
By
PSP Gamer (VA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
Just received my 1450LMT so I will post more details later about its performance but I wanted to share some install/update/registration tips based on my experience today. I had to call Garmin customer service and based on their help, I would think Garmin would want to include the following tips in the box since the customer service rep said this is a common problem:

1. Before you plug in the GPS into your computer, go online and create a user name at www.Garmin.com.

2. Once you have setup your initial username, DO NOT click on "Register" - instead, close out of all internet browser windows.
3. Plug in your GPS into your computer without any internet browser windows open.
4. Now open Internet Explorer (it runs better on this then Chrome, etc.)
5. Go to "www.garmin.com"
6. Login with your new user name
7. Click on "register" and you should be good to go.

I made the mistake of having a web browser already open when I plugged in the unit and the unit would always get caught in a loop of looking for the registration information and never connect. However, once I followed the above instructions, I had no problems. These instructions may be somewhere in the box but I could not find them so I thought I would share them and hopefully save others some frustration. Cheers.

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200 of 210 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garmin Nuvi 1450, November 16, 2009
By
"Leo" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I've had my Garmin 1450 now for about a week, and I got a great deal on it ($299). I was drawn to this GPS when I saw how easy it was to use for someone like me who has never had a GPS before purchasing this one. I played around with it on the store's display. The large screen can be easily viewed while driving without struggling to view it.

I love the touch screen feature, and the easy on/off button. It does effectively inform me of which lane I should be in; however, I do not see any road signs pictured on my GPS like the one pictured here. I see small arrows on the top left that display the correct lane to get in. I love that it also displays the time at which I should arrive at my destination.


It does not have bluetooth capability, and it does not come with live traffic updates (you will have to purchase it separately). I do wish there was a feature that would allow me to return to the main screen without continuously having to press the back button to get back to the home screen.


I haven't gotten lost using this GPS, and I was told today when I showed up for an appointment that they were impressed that I found their business location, since even people from their city tend to get lost and can not find the address- I am impressed. In my current city, the GPS will map it's way in a totally different location than is the most sensible option. Mapquest, and Google maps would not even use some of the routes. Perhaps it is because, I have it set on the fastest route. The GPS will easily re-route the trip if you miss a turn, or decide to go another direction. I am able to save 10 addresses to my favorites, which is helpful, but I want to save more than 10.


The points of Interest tab is great. I can find locations quickly for food, gas, coffee, medical attention, shopping, etc.

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356 of 385 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Many bells and whistles, but poor "touch" screen and routing, November 22, 2010
By
D. Schultz - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
After using a hand-held unit for 10 years and watching the apparent progress of the mobile units, I had high expectations for my first mobile GPS. First, the positives: I liked the idea of map updates being included. the 5" screen was easy to read. The spoken street names and lane change assistance were accurate and very helpful. I found myself referring to the little speed limit sign on the map screen more than I expected. The initial software setup and map update was painless, but time-consuming.

I used it for a couple weeks before deciding that it just wasn't worth the money. For example, the extra money does not buy you a better POI database: at least 5 of the 40 or so restaurants it listed near my house have been out of business for years, in one case about 4 years.


Planning a route using "via points" is cumbersome and hit and miss. The most obvious "via points" to use are intersections along your route, but when you do that, the software invariably directs you to exit at the intersection and perform maneuvers for a few minutes before getting back on your intended route. At one intersection, it routed me off the highway, 2 miles south, U-turn, then 2 miles north back onto my route. At a cloverleaf interchange, it routed me through every exit and entrance ramp at the interchange before resuming my route. It's comical unless you're in a totally unfamiliar area.


The FM traffic feature is also a mixed bag. It seemed to be fairly accurate when it was working, but sometimes the automatic re-routing was so convoluted that it could not possibly have saved time. Also, when you start up the Traffic feature in a new city, it takes 10-15 minutes to update itself. So, on a recent trip, the traffic feature didn't kick in until 10 minutes after I left the DFW airport in my rental car, at which time it correctly informed me that I was in the middle of a traffic jam.


"Touch" screen is an exaggeration, but I suppose the Garmin marketing guys were opposed to calling it a "mash-your-finger-into-it" screen. The QWERTY keyboard screen had an intermittent dead spot in the vicinity of the "N" and "M" where, sometimes, no amount of touching/pressing/mashing would get a response. One of my biggest complaints during my de facto trial period was that you could not pan/scroll the map screen. I eventually realized I was just not pressing hard enough. Several re-calibrations didn't seem to have any effect.


I've read of other Garmin touch screen issues (gpsreview.net, et al), so this might be a recurring problem. At a minimum, it means poor quality control. I returned mine to Amazon for a full refund. I haven't bought a replacement yet. I'm considering whether all the bells n whistles n lifetime updates are worth the significant extra cost when the hardware, POI database, and basic routing functions still seem a little beta.

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97 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth It, November 24, 2010
By
Diane Harrison (CHATTANOOGA, TN, US) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
So you may pay a little more for the life time maps, but it;s worth it! Worked great out of the box. Be prepared, it took 4 hrs to upload the new maps, but hoping next update doesn't take that long. Its easy to work and quick to respond. One of the best buys I've made recently. My sister has the 13?? Garmin with the 4.7 screen. The 5 screen does make a difference and now she wishes she had gotten the one I have. Pay a little more for a bigger screen, you'll be amazed at the difference!
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159 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator, October 14, 2010
By
Banjo46 - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
I immediately began using my Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator. I planned several trips, researched numerous items as to locations for my upcoming trip. During the trip I searched for my nearest Starbucks coffee houses, rest areas and restaurants. I found this little device to be invaluable, for my Spouse also (who, not being a computer person... immediately began using it). I am addicted...I love it. Can't wait to start planning the next trip. I did have 2 instances of misdirection to areas that were not as requested...(1)a Starbucks (was not where I was directed...I accredited this one to the fact that Starbucks had closed some of its stores in recent months)(2)a restaurant was not where I was directed. I believe Streets / Lanes / Avenues and Ways played a big part in this misdirection. I love my Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.
One last item... my vehicle is equipped with OnStar and the first cell phone to be turned on in the vehicle is usually the first to be picked up by the OnStar Bluetooth phone system (it only handles one at a time).... The Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator will pick up a second Bluetooth cell phone and is loud and clear. Thanks Garmin.
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489 of 535 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Read Ads and grab fast food coupons while you drive, December 29, 2010
By
Gene H. Olson (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
You should know that the unit displays **Advertisements** while you drive.

Who has the best Pizza? Want a discount coupon for some burgers? Click here! Switch to another screen to read more about this fabulous deal.


Want your kids doing this while they drive? Is it any benefit to you?


Garmin doesn't want you to enter navigation directions while you drive (it's dangerous!) but they have no objections to presenting you with fast food discount coupons to look at.


These Ads appear on the screen every few minutes in metro areas, blocking the map display, and there is no way to get rid of them.


I find them maddening. I've read elsewhere that all the Garmin Nuvi's do this.


Consider purchasing another brand.

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680 of 750 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Comparison of Garmin Nuvi 1490T and Magellan Roadmate 1475T, November 22, 2009
By
J. Chu (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
Recently I bought a Magellan Roadmate 1475T at $220 and Garmin nuvi 1490T at $399 and tested side by side in my car just for some real situation comparison. Here are some findings:
1. Destination Address Input: Roadmate 1475T allows input of city name or zip code, followed by street name and street number. It tolerates inaccurate address information input and provides best guess of where I want to go. For example, when I am not sure about exact street number, I take a guess based on the legitimate street number range that the Roadmate 1475T lists. Also, in case two acceptable city names exist for a given city, using city name to input address will cause error or failure, but a zip code will give an unambiguous entry, plus most time it saves time by entering zip code rather than city name. However, nuvi 1490T doesn't accept zip code entry. You also need to enter state name first if the current location is different from your destination state. nuvi 1490 also requires entry of street number before entering the street name, so you will have trouble if you are not sure about the street number.
2. AAA Travel Book: Roadmate 1475T contains searchable AAA travel book. I can find nearby attractions or hotels or restaurants with AAA ratings easily with Roadmate 1475T. nuvi 1490T does not have this feature.
3. Traffic Information: Both GPS have capability of receiving subscription-free traffic information. However, Roadmate 1475T have much more reliable reception of the traffic information than nuvi 1490T sitting side by side in my car. Often time, whereas Roadmate 1475T still have the traffic information displayed, nuvi 1490T cannot receive any traffic information.
4. Highway Lane Assist: Both GPS units claim to have this feature. However, only Roadmate 1475T has truly advanced Lane Assist. The lane assist in Nuvi 1490T is not reliable and show up only in sporadic occasions, and, when it does show up it only flash up for 2 seconds. Plus, Nuvi 1490T shows only an artistic drawing having nothing to do with the actual exit configuration.
5. Screen size and view quality: Roadmate 1475T is of 4.7 inch size, whereas nuvi 1490T is of 5 inch size. However visually Roadmate shows much crispier image than does nuvi 1490T. When I looked at the tech specs, it indicates that nuvi 1490T has exactly the same 480 x 272 pixels as a 4.3 inch screen. Therefore nuvi 1490T increases the screen size in the sacrifice of the resolution.
6. Map Information Display: Roadmate 1475T displays much more information than nuvi 1490T. Roadmate shows the street names of the current and nearby streets. Roadmate shows nearby other landmarks, such as gas station, bank, hospital, restaurant, or mall icons. However, nuvi 1490T usually shows an empty spider's web of the streets with no street names. Novi also does not show any landmarks. Especially in active routing mode, you feel you are driving in a dark tunnel, with no landmark information. This is especially bad for a female user, because research indicate that women rely more on landmarks than men in figuring out the direction.
7. Turn Signal: Roadmate 1475T provides a bell tone at the last moment of a turn. It makes a "Dong-Ding" sound for right turn, a "Ding-Dong" sound for left turn, and a "Ding-Dong-Ding" sound for a U-turn. Roadmate also shows a blow-out big junction view at the same time. However, nuvi 1490T does not have this feature.
8. Speed of re-routing: Roadmate 1475T re-routes instantly, but it takes several seconds for nuvi 1490T to re-route.
9. Reliability: So far I don't see any problem with Roadmate 1475T. However, Nuvi 1490T sometimes forget the setting. One time I was in active routing mode, I had a stop-over in a drug store, when I resumed the driving the nuvi had already forgotten the routing. Roadmate, however, always allows me to resume routing under this situation.
10. Driving Speed Display: nuvi 1490T displays the current driving speed and most time also displays the posted speed limit, but Roadmate 1475T does not have this feature. However, I noticed situations, in which nuvi 1490T showed the driving speed of 35 MPH but my car odometer showed 45 MPH. One time, I saw the posted speed limit on the road to be 35 MPH, but nuvi 1490T diaplyed a speed limit of 45 MPH. I would not want to risk getting ticketed for relying on Nuvi's speed display.
11. Speaker volume: nuvi 1490T has louder speaker volume than Roadmate 1475T.
12. Bluetooth: nuvi 1490T has built-in Bluetooth, but Roadmate 1475T does not.
I will report more findings as I continue my comparison. But so far I recommend Roadmate 1475T over nuvi 1490T for functionality and for price. Looks like I will return nuvi 1490T within the allowed returning period.
An update on January 8, 2010:
When I traveled last month in Connecticut, after a lunch stop at I-95 Exit 81, the nuvi 1490T directed me to enter I-95 North from Parkway South near Beechwood Dr. The road sign at that entrance indicated that it was "for emergency vehicles only". I did not want to get ticketed by Police, so I took a U-turn on Waterford Parkway South and followed the direction of the Roadmate 1475T entering I-95 via correct entrance.
An update on January 26, 2010:
Last weekend when I was driving with active routing, the nuvi 1490T suddenly restarted itself three times for no apparent reason. After each restart I had to re-enter routing information. On the third time, it simply refused to start at all. I had to unplug the power cord and wait for several minutes to reset it...and finally got it started. The Roadmate 1475T, however, was running happily fine (Remember that I have been running both units side by side in my car).
Another problem has been that the nuvi 1490T had trouble receiving traffic alert most of time while the roadmate 1475T receives the traffic alert fine.
An update on February 28, 2010:
I believe I have had enough comparison and the winner is clear to me now. So I returned the Garmin nuvi 1490T, and I bought a second Magellan Roadmate 1475T for my second car from Costco for $129.99 after an instant rebate.
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64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the money, this is sweet!, March 9, 2010
By
A. Funk "selling boats" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Wonderful GPS. I have owned $600 Lowrance units and $200 Tom Tom's. But for the money, this 1450 Garmin is wonderful. The support online for updating the unit and adding some custom touches to the gps are really nice. BUT there are only two items that I don't like about this gps. First, is the "lane viewer" or what ever they call it sucks. (The feature that shows a picture of the signs that you will be seeing) I travel 6 states for business and drive through major cities; Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Cinci, Indianapolis, etc... I had it only show me the picture of the signs that show what lane to be in twice after visiting all these cities. This was a bonus feature for me, not a selling point. That's why I didn't have it affect the way I rated it. Second, is when trying to find a hotel or gas station, it shows them surrounding you. That is great, but I wish there was an option to see what is on the way to your destination. I want to see what is in front of me, not behind. This just makes it harder and longer to find what you are looking for. So once again, not a huge problem for me. Now, if you care about bluetooth or voice navagation, I don't so can't give you a review on that. I mute mine and just glance at it from time to time. But what I can tell you is the ease of finding your destination, the continued updating online, the fact you can rate a hotel or destination, the size of the screen, easy to use, and how you can add a destination or correct a current destination, are things I love about the 1450 Garmin. Great price and very happy with it. I recommend this product!
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231 of 253 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars unreliable, May 28, 2010
By
O. Giangiordano - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
This unit replaced an older Garmin. It was easy for us to operate since many of the operations/features were similar to the old one. We received it the day before a long trip (around 1100 miles round trip). We were familiar with the route, but we wanted to give the unit a good test since we have several other trips later this year where we do not know the route.

The overall features were good to excellant. However, the unit locked up once and it took us a while to get it back on line. The unit also randomly shut itself down 9 times, and it took several minutes each time to get it back on line. Since we knew the route, no problems were caused. But there are times where shutting down on it's own could cause significant confusion or problems.


We sent this one back. I think a GPS has to be reliable, otherwise why have it (the first Garmin never gave us a single problem). .

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69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good solid product, November 14, 2010
By
Desert Rat (USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
The first unit shipped died in less than a week, but Amazon was excellect in arrangeing to replace it. The new one works fine. I noted that it had a much higher serial number and slightly different packaging. My conclusion is that Amazon had some early production run units in the inventory that should be sent back to Garmin.

Anyway, prior to this I had some experience with a older TomTom. Both are fine on the basics. The pluses for me on this unit is the larger screen, abiliity to use GPS co-rdinates or a street intersection as a destination and POI's. The former is especially useful for locating trailheads at the end of dirt roads or other locations not having a formal address.


Biggest limitations I've found probably relate to third pard data: A- the map database (I recently could not add an adress for a newly constructed museum in the area. I think that the address just diddn't exist in the data base. I used the nearest intersection instead.) B- The Garmin unit's "real time" traffic service is only as good as the data broadcast by NAVTEC. (In the Phoenix area for example, it seems like it takes quite a while for delays appear on the screen and a while for them to disappear after the delay has been cleared. Also the severity delay's are substantially underestimated.) All this means that the driver should not be afraid to override the route shown if it conflicts with personal experience. Also note that the program rarely if ever suggests U-turns which can result in some silly routes; however if you know a U-turn is the best solution, the re-calc time is very quick. In short the features work best if you think mof it as one more information source rather than a voice that must be obeyed. 366 of 377 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Glad I Got This One!, November 27, 2010
By
Shamrock M☾☽n O'Cat - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
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!
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249 of 258 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice upgrade, August 11, 2009
By
C. Pak (Greenville) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
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.

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132 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garmin 1450, February 14, 2010
By
Tennessee Dude - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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. :<)
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165 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love my new Garmin, November 21, 2010
By
Peter P. Bud "author of How To Be A Best Sell... (Canandaigua, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
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.

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169 of 175 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth moving up!, October 30, 2009
By
David J. Hudson "bass/pilot" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
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.

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

521 of 529 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Garmin Nuvi 1490LMT - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly., January 18, 2011
By
Stephen Rawlins "EnglandGreen" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
*** 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.

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816 of 838 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garmin's nuvi 1450LMT is Outstanding, October 24, 2010
By
J.B. (Carlsbad, CA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
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.

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352 of 360 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My research paid off...I'm thrilled!!, April 17, 2010
By
KyOTGal "Mimi" - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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!
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1,593 of 1,660 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Loved it - Loved it - then DEAD in 5 hours (update 07-08-10), July 9, 2010
By
R. Jackson (Orlando) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
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.
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366 of 377 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Glad I Got This One!, November 27, 2010
By
Shamrock M☾☽n O'Cat - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
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!
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249 of 258 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice upgrade, August 11, 2009
By
C. Pak (Greenville) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
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.

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132 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garmin 1450, February 14, 2010
By
Tennessee Dude - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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. :<)
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165 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love my new Garmin, November 21, 2010
By
Peter P. Bud "author of How To Be A Best Sell... (Canandaigua, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates (Electronics)
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.

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169 of 175 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth moving up!, October 30, 2009
By
David J. Hudson "bass/pilot" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic (Electronics)
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.

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