Thursday, May 3, 2012

Garmin 1490LMT is Much More Than Just a Navigation Tool

By Kyle Walker


Many of today's smartphones have in-built GPS capabilities, and at first glance their feature set can be quite intimidating. Community-driven points of interest, maps downloadable on the fly, 3D buildings - the list goes on and on. But because smartphone GPS devices have to be stuffed into a small space along with a bunch of other features, they tend to be much weaker, and sometimes require assistance from the cellular network to even get a lock-on.

Dedicated GPS gadgets will not have these problems and that's why they are still viable purchase alternatives. The perfect example, and the subject of this assessment, is the Garmin 1490LMT, a five-inch marvel that carries a whole host of features equal with the rivalry without breaking the bank.

The first thing you'll notice about the Garmin GPS receiver and perhaps its most defining feature, is its massive five-inch screen, which is even brighter than some of the 4.3-inch devices that Garmin has released and makes touchscreen navigation much easier on the road. Some might complain about the fact that its 480x272 resolution remains the same as that of the smaller units, but no change was necessary given the distance at which you'll be interacting with the screen anyway. The whole device's hardware construction is sturdy, with a strong matte plastic back and a glossy bezel up front. An included suction cup mounting bracket lets you place the receiver on your windshield conveniently.

The interface is very easy to employ, with what amounts to a homescreen having 2 large buttons: "Where To?" which permits you to choose a destination, either from among the millions of POIs included or by road name, and "View Map," which permits you to browse the included North American maps or any others that you have downloaded and placed into it using the microSD expansion slot. The map alone can be viewed 2D or 3D, and is produced much nicer to apply by the excellent monitor. Turn-by-turn navigation cues are big and detectable, and are improved via clear voice navigation cues.

Bluetooth connectivity permits you to couple the Garmin 1490LMT with a Bluetooth-capable mobile phone and use the GPS receiver as a speakerphone, with its onboard speaker and microphone taking over the handset's own. The display could change into a dialer so you may make calls without ever reaching for the mobile phone itself. It is a nice trait, considering that there are committed "car mode" LCD panels that exist exclusively for this performance.

Overall the Garmin 1490LMT has many features that are much superior by a larger display. It could price a little more than its smaller brethren, however the improve provided by larger screen real estate is worth the additional cost.




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