Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS

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Brand

: Garmin

Model

: nüvi1490TREFURB

Reviewer: Lee Besing| Date:2010-02-09

I bought this item after much comparison with the others available. This item was refurbished by Garmin, but still had a 1 year factory warranty, so why pay full retail? I just found this same GPS at a local major retail store for $449.99, so my $243 purchase price was a bargain, especially with free shipping!Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic (Factory Refurbished)

Features - I wanted multi-point mapping abilities & ability upload routes from my PC, cause I volunteer for the MS150 and Tour de Cure bicycle events that have multiple break points (rest stops) and a route that zig-zags all over creation.

Features - I liked the idea of a larger screen (5 inch), the lifetime traffic service, the built in bluetooth speakerphone, and Garmin's reputation.

Map Upgrades - I found that I could buy a lifetime subscription to map updates for a little over $100, using the 10% discount code Garmin gave me for registering my unit with them. (Note: register with Garmin first, then buy the map upgrade from their site, save 10%.)

Other Items Bought - I also bought the Garmin friction dash mount to use instead of the (included) suction cup window mount.Garmin Portable Friction Mount [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]

Who Needs the Stinking Manuals - Being a guy, I didn't bother with reading any manuals until much later. Got it straight out of the box, turned it on and used it for a trip right then and there, comparing it side by side with my old GPS. I plugged in a destination about 160+ miles away involving interstate highways in Texas, plus some side roads, multiple towns, etc. I went straight from the PO Box, to the carwash before leaving town and hitting the highway north to Ft. Hood from San Antonio, TX.

The Garmin 1490T got me there faster (than the way my old GPS tried to route me) by about 20 minutes, cause it took me down a state highway with 60-70mph speeds, instead of sticking only to US highways.

Audio Directions - Audio quality quite nice in my opinion. Computer female voice, default 80% volume setting, easy to hear over road noise even in a rainstorm while driving.

Bluetooth Speaker Phone- I figured out how to connect my cell phone to the Garmin 1490T fairly easy, with pin code 1234. I've been making and sending calls thru it, mostly as a speaker phone, but found that the 1490T actually pulled down my phone directory and I could dial from there instead. But it didn't get 100% of the directory. For some reason, it didn't get all 500 phone #'s, like it skipped my wife's cell number. (not good). Audio has been reported as good from the callers on the other end, saying some road noise detected, one saying I sounded like I was on a speaker phone, but quite legible even while highways noise was in background. Don't try using the speaker phone while driving in a rainstorm, too much background road noise from the rain hitting the windshield, etc.

Traffic Alerts - I wasn't sure how that worked, but trusted it would, since San Antonio, TX, (where I live) was on the list of covered cities. But as I drove north on IH-35 toward Austin, TX, all of a sudden a voice came out of nowhere saying "Severe Traffic Congestion Ahead, Recalculating Route". This was about 35 miles before the congestion! It took me up into the congested area, then routed me around the majority of it. Wish I had trusted it earlier and I would have popped over to the nearby tollroad miles earlier instead. To me it was magic, I'm not sure how this works (FM transmitter / received built into power cord) in terms of where they get their live traffic info from, but it worked.

Lane Changing Alerts - The visual guide to changing lanes was more of a "hey, there are two right turn lanes ahead, left two lanes go straight", etc. Audio was very accurate in saying "stay left for exit to..." or "stay right to exit then turn left/right, etc." Very timely alerts and I never missed a turn while using it on this trip.

Screen Display - Easy to read! It alerts me to local speed limits when driving on highways, was only off by 5mph one short stretch of Texas Hwy 195 (speed was actually 60 instead of 65). Noticed some glare when the sun hit the screen from behind or from the side, will apply anti-glare screen like I used on my digital camera to see if that helps in future.

Cons: When text messaging received, it says "unknown caller" and stays on the screen, despite touching "ignore" or "answer". Have noticed a few times that pop-up screen (while using bluetooth function) is annoying only because it didn't go away right away, but the GPS kept giving me audio directions even though I couldn't see the map. I'm going to keep playing with that "issue" and contact Garmin tech support about it if I can't resolve it myself.

Recommendation - Yes, I strongly recommend this model to anyone wanting a easy to read, easy to use, accurate GPS for their vehicle. Supposedly it has pedestrian direction functions built in, with additional maps available for purchase (really cheap per metro area), but I will only be using it in my mini-van.

Thank you Amazon for another amazing deal!

Review from Review from Amazon