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

Reviews

1. Never again a Garmin Nüvi 1490

   by Sonne Im Herz

   Some days ago we bought a nüvi 1490 because we wanted to replace our old Streetpilot 510.

   The description of the nüvi was so good that we bought it at Amazon.com

   2 days later we received the parcel.

   After I startet that part the first time, I was wondering why there was no evident button for activating or configurating TMC.

   When I contacted Garmin Austria I became the only information that I did not buy it via Garmin – Austria, so I should look myself how I solve that problem.- Customerservice = 0 points

   So I wrote a mail to [...]: No reply but after 3 weeks an automated mail, that I should contact Garmin Austria ? Customerservice again: 0 points.

   When we used the navigation system the first time, we found several bugs: The nüvi takes much longer time to calculate a route than the 4 year old streetpilot did.
   
   Sometimes it gets stuck for 1 minute at 99% calculated and after 3 Minutes shuts down.
   
   If you miss an exit, it takes really long to recalculate, so that you already have passed the point where the new route is calculated from.
   
   Commands like turn left are made far too early, so that you have to look on the map, where exactly you have to turn.
   
   Radarpoints are available eg. for France, but: it even alerts you if you are on the motorway and the radar is located on the route nationale 300 m away.

   I would never again buy a Garmin product. I haven’t tried Tomtom and others, but now I am sure that I will give them a try.

2. Great GPS – Hate the ads

   by Squawky

   I’ve had numerous Garmin GPSs. This one has a ton of features and the screen looks great. I was delighted to see it came with a traffic subscription – but I was very unhappy to see annoying ads on my GPS with no way to disable those ads. I think if I pay $250 for a GPS, I should be able to disable the ads.

   The Bluetooth works, but the sound, according to the people I call, is terrible.

3. Great GPS

   by jazzy

   We used the Garmin 1490/1490T on our recent trip to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. The size of the unit is great in that I can see the screen without needing to put on my glasses, which I had to with my previous smaller Garmin unit. Having adjustable sound was also great. My previous unit did not have this capability either. It allowed me to keep my window open a little while driving. My only complaint was that sometime the device told me to take a turn that I still can’t figure out where it would have taken me. I later looked on a map and was very puzzled as to why it would want me to exit a highway at that point! I knew I needed to stay on the interstate and did not follow the suggestion so the device just “re-calculated” and that was it. On one other occasion (not on this vacation) it did something similar. Other than that minor problem I am very happy with the unit.

4. Garmin 1490 review

   by David Kang

   Was invaluable during my house hunting trip to DC. Only freaked out once as I was getting on the Highway and it put me on the HOV lane to DC on I395 which resulted in an additional 20 minutes to get to our hotel. Overall, great product. Screen size is a big plus. Sound was good. Voice is a little choppy but understandable. Haven’t dug into the manual yet but one thing that bothers me is that I have to go back 4-5 screens to get back on the map if I look up a POI or address. Should just be one button that gets me to the map screen.

5. Garmin vs Magellan

   by Duane

   Having owned the Garmin 780 for three years, I decided to update. I looked through all the reviews on every GPS available. Sorting through all the pluses, minuses, rants, raves, and stories, since I loved my Garmin, I opted for the Garmin 765t. The rants proved correct. In NYC, this thing bypassed the “traffic” through the Holland Tunnel and into Chinatown. If you have ever been to NYC, this must be the route from Hades as I was trying to get to the east end of Long Island. The trip got no better as it re-booted and miss-directed me through an estimated 3 extra hours of traffic re-direction. On the way back, crossing the George Washington Bridge, it rebooted as I emerged to find a complicated mess of interstate spaghetti. The 765t finally got back on line and told me to keep left onto I 87….87 goes to the right. I kept to the left and ended up looking at a map and turning around…AGAIN. The unit was sent back when I returned home. Still being loyal to Garmin, a month later I bought the more expensive and hopefully better 1490t. Wrong again. A trip to Philadelphia was rather uneventful until the traffic got a bit more intense near the city. Just when I needed this thing the most, just as the maze of interstate ramps, bridges, and route changes mixed with late traffic, airport maniacal narcissists, and frenzied sports fanatics, it froze up! Yep, froze up solid. If you have ever relied upon a loved one to keep you afloat while you attempt to conquer your fear of deep water only to realize that that love one is gone, you have a sense on my situation.

   So, off to the local Best Buy to purchase a Magellan. I bought the 1700. Although routing me though Harrisburg instead of around the interstate system, the trip home was rather uneventful. I will return the unit to Best Buy, it was 100 dollars more than at Amazon, it is difficult to change home and favorite addresses and it is totally inept at starting the route out; IE. when I program the desired route, it takes a few driven feet of actual road to begin to respond. IT doesn’t recognize anything off the route. Sit in a gas station an it doesn’t respond until you are back on the road. Now this may sound like a mere inconvenience, it is major when it doesn’t know which direct to start out, neither do I, and Murphy’s Law prevails, I pick the wrong direction at which time the little arrow either just sits there as befuddled as I am, or it spins in rotational deliriums trying to figure out what just happened.

   So, the reviews: I still love Garmin’s attempts at realistic and smooth rendering. They have done much to improve the overall look and functionality, BUT, they have tried to load Windows 7 in a 486 computer, tried to put a 400 pound man into a buggy, tried to roast a side of beef with a match. The software from Garmin is great, but until they upgrade the hardware, it just wont work. The Magellan is proof of the above theory. They have archaic software which doesn’t overpower the hardware. The screen view is choppy and primitive. The lane assist works great. The large screen is good (I Velcro it to the lower dash area under the radio and although it doesn’t fit there as well as the 5 inch Garmin, it works ok). Both have great features, the voices are great, but the Garmin is like a Ferrari that runs out of gas before you can get to a gas station. And although the Magellan isnt a 1960’s Bug, it is a 2010 Volkswagen….it tries, but just isnt that Ferrari.

   For me, I am going to survive with my old Garmin until they figure out they have to have hardware powerful enough to stuff the software into without bursting at the seams. For you, try a lesser model of either, but in any event, have an Atlas with you and have a good sense of where you are headed, how to get there, and don’t rely on one tool to get the job done.

6. Intermittent bluetooth, then complete failure

   by S. Wood

   I’m returning this unit. Before the device failed completely, I found that the Bluetooth call history and phonebook functions only worked intermittently. Then the device hung during boot with the “GARMIN” logo and would not completely come up for operation. Neither “master reset” nor “soft reset” would clear the hang. Garmin support adviced return and replacement. Not sure whether I will try again with this model or another Garmin.

7. Still very buggy (5-2010)

   by stefan king

   As soon as I got it I downloaded the latest firmware (end of May 2010).
   
   The device worked about two weeks and then froze and could never again
   
   successfully reboot; it would display GARMIN and hang.

   The ‘net is full of sob stories, obviously these devices have weak
   
   software.

   The advantages of the 1490 are all for naught without reliable firmware
   
   which this device lacks.

   From my experience I would instead recommend people to select a simpler
   
   model with fewer features, preferably one that has been available at least
   
   one year. The abundance of capabilities of these new boxes requires
   
   complicated firmware which quite obviously the manufacturer is not able
   
   adequately to debug.

   Another thing to avoid would be the path-logging feature since this causes
   
   data to accumulate. The timing of some of the bugs reported makes me
   
   suspect the OS has bugs related to expiring old track data. Turn that off.

8. great 5inch gps

   by Wayne B. Sutter

   garmin 5 inch gps is so much better than 4.3 inch.map is very easy to see,street names large and easy to see,you dont have to look at hard to see info moves threw menu fast and easy.workes great in all cars and trucks.

9. garmin 1490t

   by Richard Hathorn

   traffic dont seem to work anywhere ive been yet turn footage is off my magellen was better at turn distance otherwise works great close for geocaching screen size is great it dont come with much for directions

10. Works Great, Easy to Use

    by A Name

    I almost didn’t buy this because of all the negative reviews regarding reliability. But betting on the possibility that by now any firmware problems would be fixed and/or I wouldn’t get one of the bad units, I purchased one at Best Buy. I can’t say much about its relative performance in regard to features as this is my first GPS; the main selling feature was the 5″ screen. But I can say I found it easy and intuitive to use. I have had no reliability issues whatsoever, but then I have only owned it a week now.

    Be sure to update the firmware right away and the map soon after buying it – the free map update offer expires in 60 days. And the map does take about 3 hours or so to download.

    As a side note, I have a 2010 Chevy Equinox without navigation but which has Bluetooth GPS feature. I was not able to pair the Garmin with the car BT. I have paired the car GPS with my cell phone. I suspect the problem is on the car side of the handshake; i.e. it has no functional support for GPS units despite the supposed GPS BT feature (which is not described in the Equinox owners manual, but shows up in the configuration menu). I was hoping it would tie the Garmin into the car audio system so I could hear it through the car audio while the radio was automatically muted during Garmin voice directions. I didn’t attempt to pair the Garmin with my phone as I already have handsfree phone capability in my car. The 1490 fits very nicely in the cubbyhole in front of the shifter without the need to use the mounting hardware and there is a DC outlet there. It could also fit nicely in the dash sunglass cabinet, but would need some sort of support to hold it upright and there is no power outlet in that slot.

    Why not a 5 rating. I can’t compare to other units but higher resolution in the maps and smoother zoom and pan capability would have made it nicer to use. And the destination point of interest flag can obscure much of the map – it would be nice to be able to close that bubble. In any case I am happy with the unit.

11. It’s a great GPS

    by Mohammed A. Rahman

    I had considerable recharge before bought this GPS. Using it for about a month in TX. I love this 1490T model for its big screen, loud sound, and great features like Lane assist, traffic etc.
    
    I have updated the map before my first use. The route selection is excellent. The feature I most enjoyed is “Lane assist” it gives me total comfort in highway, never found wrong direction while I drove at Dallas TX, and Palm beach & Miami, FL.

    The sound is really very loud, I set it at 40% volume level.

    I am planning to buy another same unit and replace the old model for our 2nd car.

    FM traffic providing some data, I have doubt whether traffic delay estimation always correct. FM popped up some ad message during route start that I did not like at all.

    I would recommend the model for you!!. By the by I did not use Bluetooth feature.

    Thanks.

12. Works great.

    by Huh? Wha?

    I’d previously used my Google Navigate on my Android as my GPS, as I didn’t think I’d need anything fancy. But junctions weren’t covered by it very well, and it was easily misinterpreted (got me lost in the middle of nowhere a couple of times). When I found I had to move to a city I’d never been to, I figured it was time for something else. A friend recommended a Garmin, and the junction assist was a major selling point for me. I must say, I’m not disappointed. The only complaint I’d have is with the mounting hardware. It’s a bit tedious, and comes off fairly easily. I found that out while going 75 on the interstate, when the Garmin went flying into my lap. However, where the Google nav system failed, this one succeeded.

    Pros:
    
    * Quick recalculation, so if you miss a turn it can quickly reroute you.
    
    * Actually tells you what’s going on with a junction well ahead of time.
    
    * Bluetooth functionality works amazingly well.
    
    * Easy setup and easy use.
    
    * Estimated time of arrival.
    
    * Shows your current speed right on the unit. (Handy if you’re not good at looking at something on the dash and keeping your speed constant).

    Cons:
    
    * Occasional ads DO pop up. While this is only a minor thing, I’m not sure why a paying subscription would get this, but I’m not going to question the cost of satellites versus a tiny ad.
    
    * The mount. It’s not easy to adjust without ripping the adhesive off of your dash. I’m thinking I’ll just rubber cement or super glue the disk to the dash next time.

    Really, I like this device, but have only used it for one trip and haven’t explored the vast number of features. All I know is that it works to get you from point A to point B quickly.

13. Garmin needs to update

    by D. Bannister

    It’s ironic that I bought this Garmin unit just a few days before its new ultra thin line was announced. And I seriously considered returning it and waiting for the new ones. But I am not going to because the 5″ screen makes all the difference. It makes the unit easier to manipulate.

    I have had three Garmin Nuvi’s and to some degree have hated every one. The first two were very expensive and had limited use, were slow to acquire the satellites, would stop working for no reason usually from over heating. Don’t ask me why. So I vowed never to buy another Garmin.

    I looked at Tomtom and Magellan units. I looked at the reviews. For the people who write neutral or slightly negative reviews in each line there were the same issues. I went to Best Buy to check out the Magellans and the TomToms but still preferred the Garmin product. Magellan produces a GPS with a 7″ display that was very attractive and about the same price but it would take up a lot of interior driver space since I don’t place the unit on my dash.

    What I liked about the Garmin 1490T was the larger screen. What I don’t like about the larger screen is that Garmin did not increase the resolution. No big deal but I think they could have gone the extra mile and done it. But the fit and finish to the unit is fabulous and it acquires a fix very quickly which is a great improvement. The speaker in the unit is tinny which is a surprise. With the extra room I would have assumed a better speaker but the old familiar voices are there.

    Routing seems good and it has this Eco function that seems more gimmicky than functional but it gives some interesting information about fuel usage and driving. It needs a better fill up and mileage function. Hey Garmin if I can buy an app on iTunes that I put in the odometer reading at each fill and the litres of gas and it calculates the rest and keeps a running total of gas and mileage you should be able to too.

    Now why only three stars? Pure and simple it’s content and functionality outside of navigation. Sure the 1490T has a 6,000,000 POI database but it is not presented in any different way then it always has been. For instance fuel is by station but not by fuel type for instance I would like to find all the diesel stations but it is not separated out. Garmin has the maps down and obviously with the next generation it has the physical footprints down but it really needs to work on the presentation of its content. It’s old and it desperately needs updating and I don’t mean a cosmetic fix I mean an operating system overhaul. I should be able to designate all the stations that sell diesel and have them pop up on the map. That can’t be rocket science to program.

    So folks at Garmin it is time to stop thinking hardware and start thinking software and firmware and give us folks a meaningful and useful update.

14. Took it back

    by Mrs. Spumoni

    This is not our first Garmin. Our first Garmin got left in a rental car in a rush to catch a plane. Our first Garmin was my best friend.
    
    The 1490t was bought as a replacement and supposedly an upgrade.
    
    Pros:
    
    1. Posted speed limit display. This was our favorite feature that was different from our previous Garmin. Most of the time the posted limit is displayed on the Garmin, and our current speed displayed next to it. No more worrying about how much over the limit we’re going, or cursing when a truck blocks the view of the speed limit sign.
    
    2. Big bright screen. As others have mentioned, it is a nice big display. My husband thought it was TOO big, but I liked it.

    Cons:
    
    1. Meandering routes. Instead of picking the direct route over bigger roads to our destination, we found the 1490 was taking us on a rather meandering route. We rented a house in Santa Cruz, coming down from San Francisco. Instead of directing us to get off at a close exit from Highway 1, the Garmin had us get off at one of the FIRST Santa Cruz exits. Then we were directed left, right, right, left, etc. etc. up the coast in and out of neighborhoods through tons of stop signs on mostly two lane (1 in each direction) roads. Once we FINALLY arrived at our destination and looked it up on Google Maps, we would ignore the Garmin, take an easy, straight route on major roads (2 lanes each direction with a turning lane) through town to a much closer exit off H1.

    2. Via points not recognized. When we would enter a via point, if we varied from the route Garmin was directing us, the Garmin wouldn’t figure out when we’d made it to the point. We missed the directed turn, but were looking right at the store, and went around the block and pulled into the parking lot from the other direction. Once we were leaving the store, Garmin kept directing us back to the store, the way it wanted, and wouldn’t navigate on to the final destination. It was stuck on the via point, which we had to manually go in and remove from the route. It was that, or obediently follow it around back to the store we’d just left, entering the parking lot from the CORRECT way, so it would figure out for itself that we’d arrived.

    3. Incorrect traffic delay calculations. I didn’t like the way it would look ahead, figure there was traffic, then suddenly start adding minutes to our estimated arrival time. My kids, who watch that arrival time pretty closely on a long car trip, would cry out in horror when suddenly it was bumped back by ten minutes. We never once ran into the big delays it was predicting, though when we were sitting in traffic it was curious to see that the Garmin hadn’t calculated on THAT delay, and it started adding minutes on, just as you’d expect. (That one’s easier to explain to the kids. Later, the added traffic delay minutes would suddenly disappear, when we apparently passed its imaginary traffic jams. It made the arrival time bounce around rather oddly.

    We returned the 1490t to Costco, and bought the Garmin 256 wt for $100 less. My husband has only been using it for one trip, but he reported that it doesn’t seem to have the 1490’s ideosyncracies. He said it’s like having the old Garmin back.

15. Got me where I was going!!!

    by Ryan Hasselmeier

    I used it on our vacation to “break it in”…. it took us from South East Texas up into the mountains of New Mexico with out a hitch. Found gas stations, found hotels, found everything we asked it to take us too…. Can not complain thought it was bought for company use…. I plan on using to find my clients. I am mobile Notary Signing Agent for (…) and being able to find houses over a seven county spread is getting more and more difficult with all of the development. I am looking forward to see how well it performs in that regard. Garmin nüvi 1490/1490T 5-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic

16. No used instructions supplied. Updates via internet for XP and newer only.

    by M. Graham

    Upon arrival opened the box and found three small booklets, all of little use since they lacked step by step instructions. After emailing the illusive customer support, this after holding an hour on their 800 telephone number, I got piece meal advice on how to interact with the device, only to find out registration and updates, those that are available, must be accomplished via computer with Windows XP and newer no less. That leaves out a large segment of potential users for this device, I guess I’m one.
    
    I’m writing this review after 4 days of unit ownership and have still to sucessfully register and update. Have written three more emails to customer support with no real resolutions offered. If you find a more user friendly device on the market, buy it, but stay away from this one!

17. Excellent GPS System for beginners and advanced users

    by DrDare32

    My ‘old’ GPS was a Sanyo and they didn’t even weant to help me when I asked about upgrades. Took them 6 months to answer me.

    However! The Garmin 1490t has plenty of ‘gadgets’ to keep most people happy and it is SO easy to use. I have even managed to get my wife to use it! The screen is clear, the sound does not distort and the bluetooth works with ease.

    If I had one ‘con’ about this, it would be, they should supply the GPS clear screen protectors (or at least one). I have bought some just to help keep the screen clean and protected from scratches.

18. Great, but…

    by R. Cox

    In general, for its primary purpose, the Nuvi 1490T worked great, We used it on a recent long trip from PA to VT. One complaint on the road – the travel info was not available when most needed – in New York City.

    But my biggest issue with Garmin is that this wonderful GPS has limited features when used off-road. With today’s computer processing power, I suspect that this was purely a market decision to try to get us to buy two Garmins – one for on the road and one for off road.

19. SAVE YOUR MONEY, IT IS NOT WORTH THE PRICE

    by Thor Syvertsen

    Garmins 1490-T has a very impressive list of features, but their relibility falls far short from the advertisement. Bluetooth: works about 75% of the time.
    
    Traffic reports: totally inaccurate.
    
    Lane assist: works in about 50% of the times you need it to work (could be that our highways in Dallas are too confusing for Garmin).

    I’m selling mine on eBay and going with another brand. I hope your experience is better than mine.

20. Speedy and very user friendly

    by Michael D. Bell Jr.

    I purchased this for my father for his 57th birthday and so far so good. First boot and setup was quick and easy; however we had to drive down the street to get a signal. It was very overcast that day so perhaps that was it. After that it was all good, turned down screen brightness (it can be BRIGHT), turned down volume (it also can go VERY loud), and mapped out to a local POI. No problems there.

    We updated the firmware and maps, good there also.

    He called me the next day from the bluetooth, I could tell he was on a speaker, but it sounded great for what it is.

    So far so good, no problems yet; will update as necessary!