There's nothing particularly revolutionary about the Garmin 1490T. Aside from the free searching of address and POI databases and the cityXplorer compatibility, its features can be found in any number of alternatives. However, at £215 it's already good value. Factor in the larger screen, and the 1490T looks like a bargain. If you do happen to find regular 4.3in sat-nav widescreens too cramped for comfort, the Garmin 1490T could really expand your horizons.Read full review
Dreadful. The software on my four-year-old TomTom One was far more sophisticated than this!
The volume doesn't increase/decrease with the car's speed, the voice is tinny and hard to understand, there is no option to fine-tune a route (eg by avoiding a certain road or town), the speed camera warnings are frequently at the wrong speed, causing unnecessary beeping, and the camera warning flash obscures the next section of road.
Fortunately, the traffic information didn't work on mine, so I was able to return it.
NB My model was the 1390T (same but 4.3" screen)
Most of your comments seem to revolve around the speed cameras, these don't need to be activated, the only worthwhile speed cam database is that from PocketGPSWorld.com, much cheaper and way more accurate in every way.
No, that was the least of my problems with it. Had I had to keep it, I would just have disabled speed cams and forgotten them. I just found the device and its software such a backward step.
I find your comments interesting Biggles, particularly as I would like the feature you describe "...option to fine-tune a route (eg by avoiding a certain road or town)..." Do you mind telling me if you found that feature on any other sat-nav device, if so, which one? I can't find it in any manufacturer's literature.
... also, I would like to be able to plan my routes on my PC and then download them to my device. Have you come across that feature anywhere?
Biggles I'm not trying to be rude, but I've now read a lot of reviews on this sat nav and your comments are the only ones to mention this things. I don't quite understand the extreme determination with which you are bad-mouthing it, having seen this precise comment now on reviews of several different related nuvis on the Which reports, and elsewhere. Why comment on every Garmin to complain about the 1390? I appreciate the 1490 is virtually the same, but you've commented on other models with entirely different features for no apparent reason. Not entirely sure I understand your motive for the spatter approach of criticism.
Negatives - estimated journey times are far too optimistic and misleading and there's no way of tweaking the settings as there was on my old TomTom Go 300.
Exceeding the speed limit warnings kick in far too early and are constantly chiming out. On the Go 300 you could set them to come in at say 10 mph above the limit - to sort out those times when you may just be a tad over the motorway's 70 mph.
Phoned the Garmin Support line and their attitude was 'tough - live with it'.
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Nice screen, good maps, etc etc. But as a practical Satnav it is rubbish. Now I may have a faulty model, but when a satnav can take in excess of 10 minutes to find a satellite (and seems to lose it again at least some time during a journey) it is for all practical purposes useless. So avoid. I'm taking this back for a Mr Tom.
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Good features, but avoid
10th March 2012, By Grapevinebass
Nice screen, good maps, etc etc. But as a practical Satnav it is rubbish. Now I may have a faulty model, but when a satnav can take in excess of 10 minutes to find a satellite (and seems to lose it again at least some time during a journey) it is for all practical purposes useless. So avoid. I'm taking this back for a Mr Tom.
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