EDIT - 12/15/09: Upon further use of the unit and it's nuLink traffic feature, I've run into numerous occasions where the traffic data simply 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 really 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 accurate traffic compared 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 simply the best source for the most up to the minute traffic info.
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I purchase alot of navigation devices, so I was excited about 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 really good if you like that kind of stuff. It's basically a much better version of MSN Direct if you've ever used that service.
I have a nuvi 1490t and 765t as well, so I'm going to make comparisons of the units. First thing I must 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 remember 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 can be said with the 1490t as far as fast satelite acquisition. With the 1690 however, I can actually get a signal inside of my house without standing directly by the window, which is the first device that can 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 accurate and re-route calculations if you miss a turn are quick. Text-to-speech is excellent as well and is very accurate 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 great because the text in that green bar used to be too small to make out sometimes while you were driving. The size and thickness of the font of the arrival time (which can 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 also now on practically all roads and not just highways. They are also pretty accurate 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 change the screen layout. You can have it where the map screen itself is smaller and a list of four categories (three choosable, can't change speed indicator) are to the right of the approximately 3.5" sized map screen (ie. Arrival Time, Direction, Distance to Destination, etc.) You can now also flick your finger on the screen like an iphone to navigate the menus instead of pressing the up/down arrow which is neat. Some have complained about the responsiveness of the keyboard, however, I feel it's the same as all the previous nuvi models I've owned. When I press a key it gets immediately entered though there have been a couple rare times it has taken a second to register. Nothing serious though, it's very useable. Also, the map screen redraw rate during a route is fast, so the car on the screen moves along nice and smooth like both the 765t and 1490t (and unlike the nuvi 350, 660, etc. which hops along instead of glides).
The screen on the 1690 in terms of quality is exactly 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 every other nuvi model. The 1490t's screen is of course larger (5" instead of 4.3" like on the 1690). The 1490t's screen is a much better screen because not only are colors more vivid, but viewing 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 can 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 previous 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 can hear some static however during turn by turn instructions with it turned up to the max 100%, but not a deal breaker and the voice can still be understood. So much credit to Garmin for including a loud speaker.
The nuLink services are good if you're into that kind of stuff. Traffic is one of the big 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 pay 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 really no way to permanently get rid of the ads (which annoy me greatly, but some others don't seem to have an issue with them). Weather is nice as you can view the forecast in your current location or another location you can manually choose. The White Pages feature is great as well as you can look up a person by first and last name and drive directly to their address on file. It uses the data 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 excellent nuLink feature. It basically makes your POI database 10 times larger and always up to date since it accesses the Internet for it's data. It's separate 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 can understand 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 slightly different since they come from completely different sources. The Gas Prices search is good as well as you can search whatever area you're in for the lowest gas prices. In my experiences it's been very accurate (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 usually says Today or Yesterday the times I've used it.
Traffic on this unit is GREAT. I say great because all the other units with free traffic are horrible because they're constantly feeding inaccurate traffic data to the unit via the integrated FM receiver. With the 1690 it uses at&t's data network for nuLink, so traffic data is MUCH more accurate and can be delivered to the unit much faster making it more up to the minute. I did a real-time side by side comparison of the 1690's traffic data 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 closest traffic incident nearby and sure enough it was there. The 1490t didn't even acknowledge it existed. Also, there were times where they'd both have the same traffic incident, but different data (ie. 3 min delay as opposed to 10 min delay). I drove to a common 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 data that hadn't yet been updated. That gives you an idea of how much better traffic on the 1690 is compared to all other Garmin models. AT&T's EDGE data network seems to be everywhere as well, so chances 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 forever to download data and reception is horrible in alot of places with MSN Direct. Not at all the case with the 1690 and at&t's network. In addition to having great coverage, it downloads data fast which is great. Once the device is powered on (and has cellular network reception), you'll have all the updated traffic info in no more than a few minutes. I really like the whole "connected" idea when it comes to traffic.
The border around the unit is about the same width as the 1490t, despite being a smaller 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 fingerprint 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 simply 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 useful feature. Perhaps everyone won't have the same great experience that I've had thus far with this unit, but it's worth the risk in my opinion. Garmin nuvi 1690 4.3-Inch Portable Bluetooth Navigator with Google Local Search & Real-Time Traffic Alerts - Garmin 1690 - Garmin Gps - Gps - Nuvi'
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