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426 of 436 persons found the following review helpful.
Garmin's best nuvi model yet!
By Darcal
EDIT - 12/15/09: Upon further use of the unit and it's nuLink traffic feature, I've run into a heap of occasions where the traffic selective information plainly wasn't too accurate. There were times that I'd be driving and the 1690 would indicate that I was in yellow level traffic, however, there actually wasn't any traffic on the road at the time. There were other instances of where there'd be highway road construction going on with bumper to bumper traffic, but the nuvi didn't acknowlegde any traffic existed. With that said, overall there have been more times than not that the 1690 has nailed the traffic data and has been accurate, but it's been more like a 70-30 ratio which is just ok in my opinion. While I still believe the 1690 has the most exact traffic equated to other nuvi models (explained in my review), it still leaves alot to be desired at times. I've come to the conclusion that the radio is merely the best source for the most up to the minute traffic info.
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I buy alot of navigation devices, so I was excessively affected emotionally regarding the 1690 as there was much hype with this unit. The nuvi 1690 is Garmin's current top of the line model. It features the new Garmin nuLink service which includes things like traffic, weather, gas prices, movie times, etc. It's genuinely good if you like that kind of stuff. It's fundamentally a much better version of MSN Direct if you've ever employed that service.
I have a nuvi 1490t and 765t as well, so I'm going to make comparings of the units. First thing I ought to say is that this unit acquires a satelite signal FAST (provided you used the unit within the past couple of days prior). I'm talking less than 10 seconds fast. I do not forget with my old nuvi 350 I used to have to sit in my car and wait a few minutes for the unit to get a signal, not with this 1690. The same may be said with the 1490t as far as fast satelite acquisition. With the 1690 however, I may genuinely get a signal inside of my house without standing directly by the window, which is the firstborn device that may do that in my experiences. I would imagine it's good in a city with tall buildings like NYC with this kind of signal strength though I haven't tested there. As far as navigation, it navigates as well as any other Garmin device so no changes there. Directions are very exact and re-route calculations if you miss a turn are quick. Text-to-speech is splendid as well and is very exact and clear with pronunciation of street names. Something Garmin has done with the newer software in all of their new units is increased the size of the text in the green bar when you're navigating. This is outstanding because the text in that green bar used to be too little to make out now and then while you were driving. The size and thickness of the font of the arrival time (which may be changed to another category) and speed indicator (which can't be changed to another category) have also been increased. The speed indicator font now turns red whenever you go above the speed limit. I've noticed that the little speed limit signs are likewise now on practically all roads and not just highways. They are also beauteous precise and update as soon as I pass the real speed limit sign at times. Another thing to note with the 1690 is you now have an option to modify the screen layout. You may have it where the map screen itself is littler and a list of four categories (three choosable, can't modify speed indicator) are to the right of the approximately 3.5" sized map screen (ie. Arrival Time, Direction, Distance to Destination, etc.) You may now also flick your finger on the screen like an iphone to navigate the menus rather of pressing the up/down arrow which is neat. Some have complained in regards to the responsiveness of the keyboard, however, I feel it's the same as all the former nuvi models I've owned. When I press a key it gets without delay entered even though there have been a couple rare times it has taken a second to register. Nothing severe though, it's very useable. Also, the map screen redraw rate for the duration of a route is fast, so the car on the screen moves along nice and smooth like both the 765t and 1490t (and not similar to the nuvi 350, 660, etc. which hops along rather of glides).
The screen on the 1690 in terms of quality is incisively like the screen on the 765t. This is a bit of a disappointment for me because the screen on the 1490t is far superior to each other nuvi model. The 1490t's screen is of course more prominent (5" rather of 4.3" like on the 1690). The 1490t's screen is a much better screen because not only are colors more vivid, but watching angles are MUCH better. I was hoping the 1690 would have the same screen, but in a 4.3" version. Not the case. I uploaded a couple of screen shots of a 1490t and 1690 side-by-side so you may see the comparison in screen size.
The speaker in the 1690 is the same as the one in the 1490t which is a big plus because that speaker is LOUD. The 1690 and 1490t models have better speakers than any other former nuvi model. If you have the volume turned up to 100% it's actually TOO loud. Highway driving with windows down would be the only probable scenario for 100%. You may listen a heap of static notwithstanding for the duration of turn by turn instructions with it turned up to the max 100%, but not a deal breaker and the voice may still be understood. So much credit to Garmin for including a deafening speaker.
The nuLink services are good if you're into that kind of stuff. Traffic is one of the huge features included. Garmin includes a 2-year subscription to the service which is $5 a month thereafter I believe. Now WHY they still have the little popup ads present like in all their other "free lifetime traffic" models I have no idea. These ads for varoius companies that compensate Garmin will pop up on your screen from time to time, like if your vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or you're searching for a POI (they won't actually pop up if your vehicle is moving on an active route, only when stopped). Problem is there's genuinely no way to permanently get rid of the ads (which annoy me greatly, but a heap of others don't seem to have an issue with them). Weather is nice as you may view the forecast in your current emplacement or another emplacement you may manually choose. The White Pages feature is great as well as you may look up a person by basi and last name and drive directly to their address on file. It uses the info connection of the unit to get the info, so it'll be up to date since it's accessing the Internet. Google Local Search is an splendid nuLink feature. It fundamentally makes your POI database 10 times larger and always up to date since it accesses the Internet for it's data. It's discerned from the internal POI database, so you would have to choose one or the other to search for a POI. It would've been nice if both POI searches were integrated, but I may perceive why they aren't. The Google Local Search relies on an Internet connection being present whereas the internal POI database is already stored into the unit's memory. You would constantly have duplicates of the same POI if they were integrated since they may be named more or less dissimilar since they come from exclusively dissimilar sources. The Gas Prices search is good as well as you may search whatsoever area you're in for the lowest gas prices. In my experiences it's been very precise (gets the data from customers' credit card receipts) and will show you under the price it displays the last time it was updated... ie. Today, Yesterday, 3 Days ago, etc. It commonly says Today or Yesterday the times I've employed it.
Traffic on this unit is GREAT. I say outstanding because all the other units with free traffic are horrid because they're perpetually feeding inaccurate traffic info to the unit thru the integrated FM receiver. With the 1690 it uses at&t's data network for nuLink, so traffic info is MUCH more exact and may be delivered to the unit much rapidly and without delay making it more up to the minute. I did a real-time side by side comparison of the 1690's traffic selective information and the 1490t's free traffic. Think they'd be identical because they both use Navteq traffic? Think again. I searched for all traffic incidents nearby my current location. I'm not exhaggerating when I say the 1690 brought up double the amount of incidents that the 1490t brought up. Just to test it out I drove to the nearest traffic incident nearby and sure sufficient it was there. The 1490t didn't even know it existed. Also, there were times where they'd both have the same traffic incident, but dissimilar info (ie. 3 min delay as opposed to 10 min delay). I drove to a mutual incident as well to see which one was more accurate. Again, the 1690 was more accurate. I assume it's because the 1490t still had older info that hadn't yet been updated. That gives you an idea of how much better traffic on the 1690 is equated to all other Garmin models. AT&T's EDGE data network seems to be everyplace as well, so prospects are if your at&t cell phone has reception, so will the internal receiver of the 1690. I have MSN Direct on my 765t which I believe works good... when it wants to work. Problem is... it never works. It takes everlastingly to download info and reception is horrid in alot of places with MSN Direct. Not at all the case with the 1690 and at&t's network. In addition to having outstanding coverage, it downloads info fast which is great. Once the device is powered on (and has cellular network reception), you'll have all the modified traffic selective information in no more than a few minutes. I genuinely like the whole "connected" idea when it comes to traffic.
The border around the unit is when it comes to the same width as the 1490t, in spite of being a littler unit. It's also thicker than the 1490t. I suppose that's because they had to fit the cellular radio module with sim card inside the unit. The black border is a piano black finish and a fingermark magnet. The rear of the unit has a rubberized finish. The cradle mount is good because it's powered... meaning you plug the power directly into the cradle and plainly insert/remove the device. The 1490t doesn't have this kind of dock... it requires you to plug the cable directly into the unit for power.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the 1690. I just hope they make a 5" version soon because I love the screen size of my 1490t so much. If I had to choose, however, it'd be the 1690 because of the Garmin nuLink service which is without a doubt a great and utile feature. Perhaps every one won't have the same great experience that I've had therefore far with this unit, but it's worth the danger in my opinion.
113 of 121 persons found the following review helpful.
Slightly disappointing.
By Christina Le
I wrote a very heated review a few weeks ago... after playing around with the GPS for a full 24 hours. After a lot of hemming and hawing, I decisive to keep the GPS because it served it is purpose: provide directions for me while I drove around in LA/OC. I'm sure there's probably a better one out there but I salaried $360 for this unit from CarToys.
The following review is my original one including more views on this unit: I'm officially a GPS newbie. I never owned a unit before so fellow newbies - this is for you too. So far, I've had this unit for up to 3 weeks now and here are galore pros & cons. Also, this is a matter of my opinion, if you have any tips - PLEASE let me know.
PROS:
1) The GPS made my drive very convenient... it gave precise info even though their traffic selective information wasn't precise. In one instance they wanted us to hop off the 5 freeway, drive down a regular street, and do it again.
2) Garmin's NuLink service is very helpful as there were assorted occasions where I necessitated to find a good deal of info and I was capable to look through Google Local for it.
3) There are a lot of handy features. I like their points of interest. I never knew there were so some events in the area. It's handy when you want to see an art exhibit (doesn't list all), comedy show, or something. Looking for feed has never been so easy for me. I don't have to drive around in circles to look for it.
4) The bluetooth is very handy. I found it very easy to use. Too bad I can't have an "address book" on there. Favorites seem to be sufficient, nonetheless when I look beneath call history -- the number that I entered as a bestloved registers as UNKNOWN CALLER. This might be problematic because... what if you don't want to pick up? 
CONS:
1) Traffic info stopped working and it's somewhat unreliable. The introductory week it worked for me. However, for some UNKNOWN reason, it stopped working when I tried to look up traffic info a week after I got the unit. I was getting not complete data. Some freeways showed up as black (which the route employed to show up green for good traffic) and it'll show yellow and red. However, these colors didn't align to the freeway (when it used to).
2) The Google search helped a lot BUT it's more or less slow and the response isn't perfect. I live in Orange County and drove to Los Angeles w/ the device so it must be competent to retrieve info well enough. However, I held running to the "server is busy" messages.
3) THIS DEVICE RESTARTS AT VERY RANDOM TIMES (even even though it's wholly charged or plugged into the car). I applied this device all day and it restarted on me while I was driving, using it in pedestrian mode, and just entering data. I noticed that it happens rather a bit when it can't connect to the satellites EVEN THOUGH I'm in an open area. That led to manually restarting the device various times. If I clicked too fast, it restarts too! This is getting somewhat irritating. Also, in a place like LA, you can't have this thing randomly restart!
4) There have been a few times when the device registered wrong dates. Earlier, I was looking for comedy events that were playing TODAY. However, when I click on TODAY, it gave me the times/events for TOMORROW'S DATE versus TODAY. When I click on TOMORROW'S date, I get the next day's events. What happened to TODAY and not tomorrow? That is buggy.
5) Marking your car's parking spot is more or less unreliable. Sometimes it works and at times it doesn't. Maybe this is due to user error but I got it to work the primary time... however, afterwards, it didn't work.
6) ADVERTISEMENTS ARE ANNOYING - It obstructs your route. So far, the only way I may get around this is by clicking on it. Then it brings to a list of where all the stores are in the area, and I have to click back. This is a problem because it's a distraction that's discouraging and hindering and problematic when you're attempting to pay attention to the road. In California, you can't mount your GPS on the center of the windshield. As a test of the law, I had it mounted on far right side of the passenger's side and realized how hard it is to get out of the screen. I had to pull over, pull it off, and place it on the passenger seat just to have it next to me so I may click on the ads to make them go away.
7) The battery life is very short. It states that it lasts for 4 hours but it seems to last only a couple hours for me while I'm using it in pedestrian mode.
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Depending on things go with this device, I might even consider returning it. Luckily Car Toys has a terrifi return policy on Garmin products. I may call Garmin's client help to find how I may get around these problems. If not... I'm going to put it back in the box and do a return!
39 of 41 humans found the following review helpful.
Poor quality & and horrid accuracy
By Ray J
I've had this unit for a week. While driving the NE corridor approaching NYC, I noticed a great deal of inaccurate info: the screen will say to stay in the right lane to carry on on I-95N, while the voice prompts will say to stay in the left lane. This is horribly mixing up when you do not know the area (I did not) and are relying on the GPS unit for directions. This happened multiple times - I had to ultimately just turn the unit off.
It likewise was interesting that it described our nations capital as "District of Company."
When returning home on the train, the screen went blank after when it comes to 20 minutes on battery power. I am praying that it is just a faulty battery. However, another reviewer described the battery as only lasting 30 minutes. This makes the pedestrian or bicycle mode useless.
Yes, it is a cool unit. But it ought to work as advertised. My basi Garmin unit, based on the Palm Pilot V platform, worked much better than this more progressed unit.
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