- Sunlight-readable, 4.3-inch backlit TFT color touchscreen display with 480 x 272 WQVGA pixel resolution
- Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S. and Canada)
- Free lifetime map and traffic updates for the most up-to-date maps, POIs, and navigation info, along with constantly updated traffic information
- Advanced navigation features including voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, lane assist with junction view, fuel-saving ecoRoute
- Integrated Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker for hands-free calling,Battery life: up to 4 hours
In a nutshell, the 1390LMT performed reasonably well. It has features that I will never use or will use infrequently at best, like Bluetooth and EcoRoute. The "Where am I?" feature is very useful. The initial satellite acquisition took a couple minutes which is normal. Subsequent satellite acquisition was pretty quick after the initial acquisition. I like that I will never have to pay for another map update. For the rest of the story, read on...
I bought the 1390LMT as an upgrade to my aging StreetPilot c340 Garmin StreetPilot c340 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator. I actually have no issues with my c340... it is a solid, basic GPS that usually gets me where I want to go. I say usually because the maps are now 3 years old and it sometimes doesn't know about new streets and such. Plus, as most GPS's will occasionally do, you sometimes get directed to non-existent locations. Someday I'll tell you the story of being guided to Home Depot only to find that I had "arrived" but all I saw was a big open field with a bunch of mooing cows but no Home Depot. Another time I was told to turn left into a parking lot and once that happened I was stuck in an endless loop of mis-direction by the Garmin. Most hardened GPS users will have similar tales... being told to turn left when the display indicates a right turn and things of this nature.
In any case, I was not willing to pay the high price for a map upgrade for my old and comparatively large & clunky c340 so I began to search for a replacement. I looked at and read a mind-numbing number of reviews for Magellan, TomTom and Garmin GPS's. Since I had had relatively good luck with my Garmin c340 (I'll tell you about my misadventure with the nuvi 1300 later on in this review) I took a look at the bewildering product mix of GPS's that Garmin produces. Each series of Garmin GPS has between 2 to 8 variations. For instance the 1300 series includes the nuvi 1300, 1300LM, 1350, 1350T, 1350LMT, 1370T, 1390T and 1390LMT. That's a lot of choices and that is just for the 1300 series. You've also got the 205 series, 500 series, 705 series, 1200 series, 1400 series, 1600 series, 2200 series, 2300 series, 3700 series representing about 45 differing GPS devices.
Let me help you if you are as lost as I was... the "T" stands for Traffic. "L" stands for Lifetime. "M" stands for Maps, "W" stands for Widescreen and so forth. So a 1300T gives you lifetime Traffic updates whereas a 1350LMT will give you lifetime maps -andtraffic updates. And within each model you will get varying amounts of other features like Bluetooth, the speaking of street names, photo navigation, MP3 player, 3D terrain view and such. Then you've got 2.8" displays, 4.3" displays and 5" displays. You will also have to decide what maps you want included with your GPS... do you want or need Canada and Mexico? If so, make sure the model you choose has those installed by default. Or you could add them later I think by purchasing the map you need but of course that will entail spending more money. It can literally take years off your life trying to decipher all this and decide on a GPS that is most appropriate for you.
My take on this is to get the most basic GPS you can deal with. 4.3" screen is probably the best size for most people and cars. Truckers may want the 5" screen. Traffic updates don't work in rural areas and many small cities. Even in big cities, traffic updates are of dubious value (many people complain about this feature.) Do you really need an mp3 player in your GPS? Probably not. Do you really care about "EcoRoute"? Probably not. "Lane Assist" sounds really helpful, and it is when and where it works, but it doesn't work everywhere so it's not as helpful as it sounds.
It's not easy picking a GPS. But I chose the 1390LMT contrary to my advice to you. It has a lot of feature bloat. Many of the features I will not use and quite honestly, all -Ireally want a GPS to do is get me to my destination as accurately as possible.
As it happens, I have both my c340 and the 1390LMT installed in my car so I can evaluate their performance simultaneously, side by side. It's quite strange because sometimes they are both talking and saying exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Other times, like announcing upcoming turns, the 1390LMT will speak up first... sometimes by just a couple seconds, other times it announces the next turn as the last thing it says after announcing a previous turn... for instance it will say "Turn left on Main Street then turn right in 1 miles." Whereas the c340 will say "Turn left on Main street" and after a while it will say "Turn right in point-three miles." I can't figure it out but usually the 1390LMT gives more detailed instructions and generally does so with a bit more advance notice, which is greatly appreciated, especially at highway speeds.
I did notice that the screen icons and menus have changed somewhat between the c340 and the 1390LMT. Similar in many ways but just different enough that if you are familiar with the old layout, the new layout will frustrate you a bit until you un-learn the old way of navigating the menus/screens. One thing that really frustrates me is that "Spell Name" for a location requires an additional screen touch. With the c340 I'd just have to touch "Where To?" and then "Name Search" but with the 1390LMT I have to touch "Where To?", then "Points of Interest" -then"Spell Name." One extra button push may not seem like a lot, but it is if you are not used to it.
I briefly owned a nuvi 1300 about a year ago and due to terrible touchscreen responsiveness, I returned it. I'm very happy to report that that is no longer an issue with the newer devices. Apparently a firmware/software update a few months ago addressed that and other issues. The touchscreen on the 1390LMT is quite responsive and accurate.
The volume and sound quality of the 1390LMT is decent enough although the c340 had a fuller sound whereas the 1390LMT has a scratchier, more treble sound. I did not notice any distortion that some people have reported at 100% volume.
Screen brightness is good and the screen can be seen pretty well even in bright light although it does wash out a little. The screen also does a pretty good job in the glare department, reducing it to a manageable level.
What I like the most is the "Where am I?" feature. When you click that button on-screen, it shows you your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. You can also then save that locations as a favorite. Very handy.
What I like the least is when you arrive at your destination, the nuvi does not always say what side of the street it is on. As a comparison my c340 would say, "Arriving at Home, on left."
The Bluetooth works but it's not the best quality sound. I prefer my Plantronics bluetooth headset Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset [Retail Packaging]. But in a pinch (like when my headset battery dies) this will work. I had no issues pairing my phone to the nuvi.
If you are looking for your first time GPS, this -mightbe a good choice, but you could save money by getting the more basic 1300LM which gives you the lifetime maps updates and dispenses with many of the non-essential "features." On the other hand, if you liVe in a large metropolitan area and you think the Traffic feature would be beneficial, then get one of the models that have that features.
I could probably write a lot more but I've probably bored you enough by now. I like the 1390LMT overall but don't and won't use many of the features so I should have opted for the 1300LM which would have provided me the main function of getting me where I need to go and lifetime maps which is important and will save me lots of money in the long run.
Inexplicably, the nuvi 1390LMT sometimes routes me crazily. For instance I was .1 mile from an expressway that would have taken me to my destination the fastest, but the GPS routed me on local roads... the same distance but would have taken much longer. I made sure that the settings were for "Fastest" not "Shortest" so I can't explain this bizarre behavior. It happens frequently so I just go how I know to go and the Garmin will then "recalculate" the route and the second time is usually the right route (or the route that I think is the best.)
I'd recommend getting the Garmin Portable Friction Mount as it will make hiding your GPS much easier when you are in parking garages and other places where GPS theft is a likelihood. The suction-mount rarely works well in the long-run. My c340 was always falling off the windshield because the suction would be lost, particularly in super hot, or very cold weather.
Finally, in order to install the newest maps, you -willhave to delete unneeded voices from the device to make room for the maps. With memory price as cheap as it is, it's totally baffling why Garmin doesn't include enough memory with enough overhead to handle a map update. Why should less tech-savvy people have to deal with hooking up the device to a PC, navigating to the proper directory location and then carefully deleting the correct files in order to make room for a map update? It's ridiculous in my opinion. Nevertheless, it is what it is so if you attempt to update your maps, be forewarned that you will need to make room for them by deleting some voices that you will never use anyway.
Happy trekking.
UPDATE: 11/12/2010 I can't believe I forgot to include this on my original review, but the length of time it took to download and install the map update from Garmin was absurd. Ittook over an 1.5 hours. I had read other people saying that the map update took this long but I just assumed they had a crappy/slow internet connection or just didn't know what they were doing. Well, they knew what they were doing and it does take this long. I have a very fast RoadRunner internet connection. I download huge files frequently and I have never, ever, had a download take so long. It felt like I was back in the dial-up days. So be forewarned, again, that the map updating process is not something that you can do in 10 minutes. Plan on more like an hour... at least.
UPDATE: 11/16/2010 I've learned that the "inexplicable" routing choices by the nuvi was due, in part, to the fact that Traffic was enabled. If the nuvi thinks that there is a traffic issue, it re-routes you. The problem is that you are not aware that this is happened, you don't know why you are being re-routed and the instances where it has happened to me, there was no traffic issue at all that would have necessitated re-routing. I don't like that feature and have now dis-abled it.
UPDATE: 11/22/10 In case you are considering a Tom Tom instead of a Garmin, I was too. I just went to a Sam's club and was toying with a TomTom XL335TM TomTom XL 335TM 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition). To be totally fair, I do not own it and was not able to use it while driving, but as far as navigating the menus and using the touchscreen, I spent quite a bit of time with it and in my opinion the Garmin is much easier to operate. The Garmin menu system and touchscreen was simply a better overall experience for me. Just thought I'd pass that along in case you are teetering between the two.
UPDATE: 12/13/2010 I traveled to Buffalo a few days ago and the Traffic function came to life once I got into the Greater Buffalo area. And yes, it was essentially worthless. It alerted me to traffic delays that never materialized and it wasn't really clear to me what to make of the alerts it was giving me anyway. Maybe I'm too dense. I also started seeing the pop-up advertisements that others have commented and complained about. I did not find them obnoxious, they were quite small and only displayed when I was stopped. No big deal.
UPDATE: 12/3/2011 I recently purchased a TomTom Go Live 1535M and have to tell you that the Garmin menu system, voice commands, accuracy and display of posted speed limit and so much more is significantly superior to the TomTom. Although the TomTom has a great looking display and the the 3D look is superb, the operation of the screen is very sluggish and the voice prompts are not as helpful as the Garmin.
On a negative note, the power cord for one of my Nuvi 1390LMT's stopped working. It was not a blown fuse since the LED indicator light is still lit on the plug. I did check the fuse though and it is fine. The cord or plug itself just must have developed a problem preventing it from working. Garmin support was helpful and is sending a warranty replacement. Kudos to Garmin for the quick help and resolution to the problem.
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This is my third GPS, and the best.Pros:
1. It is super fast acuqiring signal.
2. It is very sensitive to your car movement, allowing fast route correction alert and other turning alert.
3. The route algorithm is excellet. It actually give me better route in areas that I am very familiar with.
4. Very intuitive user interface. You do not need manual.
5. Text to speech is excellent, very smooth, just like real speech.
6. It does tell you your destination is on right or left when you arrive. Very nice!
7. The buildin bluetooth is very good. The voice is clear and loud. The other side can hear me clearly everytime. Much better than my current Jabra bluetooth unit, which goes to dumpster now. :-)
8. 4.3 inch screen is perfect. I returned a 5 inch GPS couple months ago, just because it is too big and blocks my sight.
9. Touch sreen is easy to use. Very responsive.
10. "Where Am I" is great feature. I used it to find fuel station once when I ran out of gas and it did well.
11. The line assistance works. It really helps. I am surprised that this kind of info is even available in local driving.
Cons:
1. There are ads popping up. Not very annoying (just one line on your right up corner, and only when the car stops (say, in front of a red light). But it is still a big con and the biggest one.
2. The map updating requires installing new software on your computer. It took more than 1 hour to finish the whole process.
3. Hard to overview your overall route. You have to use zoom out button to see your overall route, which is not very convenient.
4. The map interface display limited info. For example, you have to select one of the following to be displayed: your estimated arrval time, you remaining distance to your destination, etc. I usually want these infos listed.
5. No battery indicator.
6. Self-start everytime when I start driving. (someone may put it in the pros category, but I do not like this idea.)
7. I have to press some stupid button everytime before starting to use the unit, saying I understand some terms blah, blah. Very annoying.
Pending:
1. I have not seen how the traffic info helps yet. Maybe I can see it when there is a big accident on the way. But I feel it should work given that it accurately tells me there is no traffic when there is really no traffic :-)
I gave 5 star just because I really love it though the cons list is not short :-)
Update (12/15/2010): The traffic function works like a charm. It actually routed me in a different way (about 2 miles longer than my normal route) in my way home after work when I took off early and there was heavy traffic. The new route saved me about 20 minutes in a 40-60 minutes drive as I knew how long it normally takes just by following my normal route. The route is selected based on accurate estimation on delays in each routes. The delay minutes for the selected route is shown on the map and is updated in real time. The feature really really works. I feel very happy I bought this unit with traffic update.
Update (12/27/2010): I found an issue during extensive use of the unit. When somebody calls in, the unit may reboot itself automatically. It happens for about 1/3 of incoming calls (I have not figured out the pattern when/why an income call trigers reboot. Outgoing call has no such issue. I think it is a serious bug and I therefore downgrade my rating from 5 to 4.
Update (01/23/2011): I found a way to solve some of newly discovered issues. One day, the unit lost its voice. The bluetooth stopped working as well. I pressed the power buttom for 10 seconds. And then turn it on. The issue was resolved, though I have to set up my bluetooth from my phone again. Another issue is that the traffic coverage is not so great. For example, in Reno, NV, there is no traffic info.
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I got this GPS from another store. Out of the box I noticed it had two stuck pixels. This might be not a big deal but it is very visible when driving at night and is kind of annoying.The more important issue that just struck me is popup ads on the screen. Every time you start driving you see them. They can pop up even when you stop on the red light. When you start driving the popups go away ater few minutes, but isn't starting moving on intersection when the light switches to green requires double attention on the road ?
I find these ads obtrusive and I would rather pay or get rid of the traffic feature that causes this.
I am not a lawyer but it could be these ads are actually illegal. For example California Vehicle Code §2890 (West 2004) specifically states that any display visible to the driver is illegal, with a few exceptions including global positioning display. However an ad popping on the GPS screen is not a part of positioning process.
So to make the story shorter here are the highlights. Don't take me wrong. The GPS is still among the best out there. But here is what I would like to get improved:
1. Popup ads. A big minus!
2.If you know the road do not rely on the GPS to give you a better route. I noticed that the routing is not always optimal. Sometimes it is just anecdotal. It takes you off a freeway, directs to another one, then leads through some back roads and will return close to the original freeway. The time lost is 5 minutes on a 15 minutes route. Note this is at night with no traffic whatsoever.
3.Traffic feature is not that reliable. Sometimes it reports traffic when there is literally no a single car on the road. I suspect the above mentioned mis-routing could be caused by this.
4. Reported speed limits are 5 miles lower or higher than the actual one in about 50%.
Edit: After using it for a couple of months I had to return it. The audio would go on and off randomly, the unit would reboot sometimes at the most critical moments while I was driving.
I found my old Nuvi 680 unit with the broken screen, bought the screen on e-bay for $10 and installed on my old unit. It works much better than the new one. No reboots, no audion problems, nothing.
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1)Get in your car 2)Bring out the Nuvi 1390LMT from your glovebox/bag 3)Turn it on (abt 30 seconds) 4)Assign a location/address (assuming you know where you want to go) in under 30 seconds. Thats it. Yes, it's that simple to use!I've been skeptical about getting a separate GPS device since I own a smartphoneI often Yelp/Google search a destination, then copy that address straight into Google Maps/a GPS app. The problems I ran into: THE GPS ON SMARTPHONES ALL SUCK. I've tried Google GPS Navigation on my Samsung Captivate, Motion X and Magellan Roadmate for my iPhone 3GS. I gotta tell yathey don't come close to having an actual separate GPS device. Smartphone GPS's are glitchy, slow, crash often, and when you receive a call while its navigating things get real ugly! The Garmin 1390LMT is punctual, simple, straightforward, and convenient.
I love the way the 1390LMT looksslim, black, sharp. Doesn't stand out as a bulky item. I drive a honda civic coupe and it doesn't bother me. Since I drive in California I need to stick it on the bottom left corner of my windshield, which is totally fine. I usually don't plug it in until the battery is 1/2 drained. It lasts for a good 3-4 hours worth of driving before I hit the 1/2 way mark.
UI is very simple & easy to usenever opened up the user manual, got everything down the first day.
Turn-by-turn navigation is again, punctual and responsive. Every turn is captured immediately and should you make the wrong turn or decide to go a different way, it recalculates in under 15 seconds (my estimate average for the areas I drive, which are city urban to sub-urban areas).
I'd def buy from Garmin againbut I won't have to because this product is everything I need to get around!
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The 1390 is my second Garmin Nuvi. My first is a Garmin Nuvi 370. I have used it in both the US and in Europe. My main critique was that the screen was not bright enough in bright sunlight and my second is that the voice from the GPS was not always clear and understandable. The new Garmin Nuvi 1390 is a significant improvement is both areas. The screen is bright enough to see clearly even in bright sunlight and the voice from the GPS is crystal clear.The 1390 shows the speed limit on the main screen next to your current speed(lower right hand of the screen). That is helpful in keeping my speed within legal limits. In most cases it is correct. In some cases road construction zones change that speed limit and this temporary change is not reflected on the screen. The other new feature is the lane preview in the upper left hand corner of the screen. It tells you well ahead of time which direction your next turn will be and which lanes you need to be in the make the next turn.
My one critique is that the new method of entering data is not as easy as the one of my 370. It was easy if I wanted to get out of a data screen and return to the map. The only way to return in the 1390 seems to be a series of backups. I would still buy the 1390 despite this critique. It seems that Garmin has made two significant advances and one small back step. Perhaps I will get used to it, but I will continue to use both in my family.
I also like having both lifetime maps and lifetime traffic. Map purchases can be expensive and maps that are not up to date are not very helpful and can be harmful. I have added lifetime maps to my Nuvi 370, but it was an additional cost purchase. In my area, the traffic is not terribly useful, but perhaps in other areas where I will travel it will be.Garmin nüvi 1390LMT 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates
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