Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

• Sunlight-readable, 5-inch backlit TFT color touchscreen display with 480 x 272 WQVGA pixel resolution
• Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S. and Canada),1 year limited warranty
• 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
• Includes travel tools such as JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock, currency/measurement converters, calculator and more,Battery life: up to 3 hours

Researching GPS devices was and is worse than buying a car with all the different product offerings and features plus none of the model numbering seems to make sense which was even more frustrating. You can't tell a low end unit from a high end unit. Garmin is no different either.

Through all of that I am very pleased that I settled on the Garmin 1450. IMO Garmin has made a wonderful device. The UI is very intuitive and very easy to operate even with my big hands. The touch screen is very accurate and responsive. From power up to satelite acquisiiton takes seconds. The turn by turn instructions are very clear but a bit too chatty. We have found the street name pronunciations fairly entertaining. The points of interest have been pretty accurate as has the gas station mapping and the hospitals and such. The bread and butter of a GPS is really whether it can get you where you need to go especially if you as the operator have no idea. I have travelled outside my area of familiarity a few times now and this GPS receiver has been flawless. The screen size is very nice and easy to read while driving.

This unit I purchased has liftime maps and traffic. So the first thing I did was register the unit and update the maps. The web site is pretty easy to navigate on. The map update was simple but just expect it to take awhile. The traffic portion seems to work however to date it has not offered any alternate routes so I can't judge its effectiveness. Nor have I tried the blutooth functionality.

This unit comes with everything you need so unless you want extra power cords or something there is no need for anything extra. The window suction cup works well. The unit fell once but I found I did not seat the suction cup very well. They do have a weighted mount that sits on the dashboard which would be better if you have a co-pilot and you need to look for alternate addresses or something. I found putting the unit in the middle of the window creates an annoyingly large blind spot. So I now put it to the left of the steering wheel.

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My review is going to be geared to those who have owned previous Garmin units, and perhaps have several year old models. I have had a Street Pilot c550 and a 205W. I was never happy with either the screen brightness or the volume on the Street Pilot. When I bought the 205W it was a new model and promised a very bright screen and loud directions it had neither. Still, I used it until about two months ago, when for no reason it suddenly dumped all my saved destinations. Swell. I figured it was time for a new unit, and I wanted Lane Assist and Junction View. Was originally going to buy another unit that has the feature where it will help you get back to your parked car, but that unit isn't going to be available for an unknown period of time, so I settled on the 1450lmt. I didn't care so much about the traffic, but I definitely wanted lifetime maps. So excellent Amazon service with delivery, amazingly fast. Right out of the box, it picked up a signal in my apartment wow. Downloaded an updated map and it only took about 45 mins. total, no problems. Tried it out today. Screen is beautifully bright I don't actually need it on 100%. The voice is LOUD and clear, and again, I don't need it full volume. Those two things alone totally delighted me. It is ready to navigate almost instantly when I turn it on, including in my carport, where my previous model never got a signal. It has very accurate and exhaustive small local POIs, which again impressed me, as the 205W still showed places that hadn't existed for 5 years, and that was when it and the maps were new. The junction view/lane assist is easily visible and will be invaluable in unfamiliar areas. I haven't actually seen the traffic alerts in use, but I have cruised the screens and checked the scans, and it seems as if it will be helpful. I know it can't be perfect, but I'm sure it'll be better than not having it at all. I've also had fun downloading different vehicles and voices. I just might be tempted to pay for Spongebob (most of the voices are free). SO happy I didn't buy the unit I was originally intending to buy, and got this one instead with its great 5-inch screen. It's a vast improvement on my 3 year old previous model. Garmin's really started getting it right!

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Just received my 1450LMT so I will post more details later about its performance but I wanted to share some install/update/registration tips based on my experience today. I had to call Garmin customer service and based on their help, I would think Garmin would want to include the following tips in the box since the customer service rep said this is a common problem:

1. Before you plug in the GPS into your computer, go online and create a user name at www.Garmin.com.

2. Once you have setup your initial username, DO NOT click on "Register" instead, close out of all internet browser windows.

3. Plug in your GPS into your computer without any internet browser windows open.

4. Now open Internet Explorer (it runs better on this then Chrome, etc.)

5. Go to "www.garmin.com"

6. Login with your new user name

7. Click on "register" and you should be good to go.

I made the mistake of having a web browser already open when I plugged in the unit and the unit would always get caught in a loop of looking for the registration information and never connect. However, once I followed the above instructions, I had no problems. These instructions may be somewhere in the box but I could not find them so I thought I would share them and hopefully save others some frustration. Cheers.

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Garmin has a wide variety of models, which is a mixed blessing. You can probably find what model you want, but finding it takes a bit of effort. I decided Lifetime Map and Traffic updates made sense for the long haul this model has it. I also bought the 5" display since I can see it better on the dash. Love the new features compared to my 3 year old Garmin, such as Lane Assist, Junction View, my speed displayed, speed limit displayed. Would have liked a case included.

Only complaint is that it is a bit tricky to disengage from the window holder while it is suctioned to the window. Garmin's tech support via email, was outstanding, with their response to a few of my start up questions. Recommended.

After using a hand-held unit for 10 years and watching the apparent progress of the mobile units, I had high expectations for my first mobile GPS. First, the positives: I liked the idea of map updates being included. the 5" screen was easy to read. The spoken street names and lane change assistance were accurate and very helpful. I found myself referring to the little speed limit sign on the map screen more than I expected. The initial software setup and map update was painless, but time-consuming.

I used it for a couple weeks before deciding that it just wasn't worth the money. For example, the extra money does not buy you a better POI database: at least 5 of the 40 or so restaurants it listed near my house have been out of business for years, in one case about 4 years.

Planning a route using "via points" is cumbersome and hit and miss. The most obvious "via points" to use are intersections along your route, but when you do that, the software invariably directs you to exit at the intersection and perform maneuvers for a few minutes before getting back on your intended route. At one intersection, it routed me off the highway, 2 miles south, U-turn, then 2 miles north back onto my route. At a cloverleaf interchange, it routed me through every exit and entrance ramp at the interchange before resuming my route. It's comical unless you're in a totally unfamiliar area.

The FM traffic feature is also a mixed bag. It seemed to be fairly accurate when it was working, but sometimes the automatic re-routing was so convoluted that it could not possibly have saved time. Also, when you start up the Traffic feature in a new city, it takes 10-15 minutes to update itself. So, on a recent trip, the traffic feature didn't kick in until 10 minutes after I left the DFW airport in my rental car, at which time it correctly informed me that I was in the middle of a traffic jam.

"Touch" screen is an exaggeration, but I suppose the Garmin marketing guys were opposed to calling it a "mash-your-finger-into-it" screen. The QWERTY keyboard screen had an intermittent dead spot in the vicinity of the "N" and "M" where, sometimes, no amount of touching/pressing/mashing would get a response. One of my biggest complaints during my de facto trial period was that you could not pan/scroll the map screen. I eventually realized I was just not pressing hard enough. Several re-calibrations didn't seem to have any effect.

I've read of other Garmin touch screen issues (gpsreview.net, et al), so this might be a recurring problem. At a minimum, it means poor quality control. I returned mine to Amazon for a full refund. I haven't bought a replacement yet. I'm considering whether all the bells n whistles n lifetime updates are worth the significant extra cost when the hardware, POI database, and basic routing functions still seem a little beta.