Review by Brian Wilson for Garmin nüvi 1390/1390T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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I have bought, owned, and used 7 different Garmin units of various sizes including the 330 series that kind of evolved into the Nuvi, Rino, and others. I wanted to try out the new City Xplorer feature in this 1390T -> and the summary is City Xplorer JUST DOES NOT WORK! First of all you must buy a $10 extra package per city, fine. But when I enter a route it just spins the hour glass saying “Route Options” forever. I waited 15 minutes, then just shut the unit off. The newest iPhone (or iPod Touch with Wi-Fi) Google Pedestrian Maps completely works for approximately the same amount of money and a unit that is half the thickness, better touch screen, and this piece of junk simply does not work. I can’t get any route further than 5 blocks to “finish calculating route”, and the 5 blocks is where it just says “walk north 5 blocks”. Shame on you Garmin! You used to make good products, what happened, all the smart quality engineers left?

The GPS unit itself is Ok, but the speaker is terrible (as other people mention). It is a step down from previous Nuvi’s I’ve played with, it “cracks” and sounds terrible at over 50 percent volume, which you need to hear it over road noise.

On the up side, the “Nav Traffic” is pretty good! It works as advertised, is easy to use, and this unit’s external “bulge antenna inside the power cord thingy” is smaller than previous Nuvi’s I’ve played with. No extra hidden fees and comes with lifetime Nav traffic.

This is not really a compelling upgrade from the Nuvi 265T, save your money and get the 265T, or do what I’m going to do -> start looking at other brands and praying Apple releases a Garmin killer iPod Touch with built in GPS.

– BrianW

Review by NKC, MO for Garmin nüvi 1390/1390T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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Having used a factory installed in dash GPS system from what I consider one of thr leading systems for 3 years in my previous car, I have high expectations of a GPS system, and the 1390t lives up to almost all of them.

PROS:

-Slim Design – nice when traveling and need to carry for use in a rental car

-Free traffic – accurate traffic. In my metro area (Kansas City), traffic reception is strong and has been more current than the local radio DJ. And since the traffic service is funded by ads (non obtrusive, small and only display when not moving) beats other subscription traffic services hands down. (note the color stripe indicating traffic flow only show if a problem, a green stripe will not show along side route if no traffic issues as I originally thought).

-Strong satellite reception. Quickly finds satellites when powering up

-Map view zoom level. When in 3d view the zoom level auto adjusts when moving from a major interstate (broader zoom) to city streets (zooms in automatically to show more street details)

-Junction View – very nice view. Is limited (expect to only see when routing on major interstate intersections from my experience). If this is the only deciding point not sure its worth the extra $$ however.

-Lane Assist – tends to be presented at more locations than junction view and gives an early notification which lanes you need to be in for upcoming turn or merger.

-Bluetooth handsfree support (uses the speaker in the GPS)

Cons (why not 5 stars)

-Power cored plugs directly into unit (not mount) so if removing from windshield, must also remove cored connection (or take the cord with the unit)

-location of plug on unit. It is on the bottom back corner and goes down, so forces the unit to be about 1/5″ higher off the dash rather than mounted right down next to the dash.

I have had no software issues as some reviews mentioned. I made sure I updated the firmware once I received it and have seen no issues to date.

Update – Speaker – I have had no speaker issues and sound is loud and clear. I drive a truck so plenty of road noise in cab and can still hear fine without volume at 100%.

Review by Computer Science Graduate for Garmin nüvi 1390/1390T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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I purchased this GPS recently. I had used an older Garmin for 2 weeks and I had liked it. I did not have time to do much research on this product but after reading a few reviews, I knew that Garmin is the manufacturer of choice for Aviation GPS(s). Once I knew that, I stpped researching and simply placed the order.

I had to drive from NY to FL a week after placing the order and Amazon replied with an order confirmation email stating that I will be receiveing the GPS device in about 1 month from the time I had placed the order. Panic moment, sepecially as I had specified and payed for 2-day express delivery of the product.

My travel plans were all in the air from the moment I received the Amazon order confirmation email. I quickly sent an email to Amazon Customer Service (at 2-3AM), to ensure they have the item in stock and that they’ll ship ASAP. Amazon Customer Service reacted within minutes and was very very efficient in taking care of things. They even excusesed themselved for the automatic email I had received, which had the wrong date. I very much appreciate the Amazon Customer Service. In the past they have heped me just as promptly as they did with this order. Amazon is very much on top of everything!!! Efficient and fast and best!

I was able to use the GPS successfully from my very first attempt.

The first time I used it, I drove 1000 mi in 2 days. (It is totally fool proof! or as they call it in marketing “It’s very user friendly.”)

I also helped a lost trucker find his route with my GPS and I reached destination safely myself. Not one single wrong exit, Garmin GPS gives instructions well head, with sufficient time to react to the instruction at the speed you drive at. It indicates lane change, exits, well before you have to actually do it, thus giving you sufficient time to navigate the immediately surrounding traffic and follow the instructions in a very safe manner.

I have been using the GPS for 2 months now, daily and I absolutely love it. I have used the GPS with a NEON car, which is known for it’s loud engine at high speeds. I drove the NEON at 80-90-110 mph and had the GPS volume at 80%. I could hear it loud and clear!

I have no idea what other reviewers are talking about, when they say that they cannot hear the GPS. If the person has a hearing problem and is driving a tractor, then it is possible that they could not hear the GPS voice feature, indeed. But I one could hear it very LOUD AND CLEAR. In the city I am using it at only 50% volume, with music on and it’s still very loud.

I like the size. The screen is large enough, yet not too heavy to have in the purse. You can charge it once every 2 days without always needing to have the charging cable with you.

It has a feature that enables you to set AVOIDANCES: for example Highway if you want to drive off the highway at all times.

It includes a calculator, a currency convertor, world clock, etc.

It allows you to zoom in / out and re-center the map by screen-touch, just like you can grab the google maps and move it along the computer screen. You can use your finger and move the map across the screen of the GPS.

It has an ecoRoute feature, which comes with an “eco challenge” feature that measures how smoothly you accelerate / decelerate and it rates you. The smoother you drive, the less fuel you use, and the higher the score you get is. Pretty cool, huh?!

After you have saved a few addresses already, it will mark them on the map with relevant icons – a dollar bill for a bank, a tumb tag for an address, a pump for a gass station, etc.

I had it out in the rain for a few moments and the equipment is very well built, nothing happened to it.

There are a few other features, which I haven’t got to use yet, but I’m sure it’s all useful and practical. I have been driving a lot recently and this GPS was money very well spent. I hope this helps! Happy shopping.

Review by drumdude for Garmin nüvi 1390/1390T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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Just bought this GPS from Amazon and I’m having no problems with it at all. No sure why others have a problem with the speaker but it sounds fine to me. I bought this to replace my Nuvi 350 and it’s a major upgrade. The menus are much nicer and I like the Speed Limit display. I did have a little trouble with the bluetooth. After pairing my iPhone the “Phone” icon disappeared from my GPS. It didn’t seem to recognize my iPhone anymore. I went to the Garmin website, downloaded the 2.70 upgraded software for this unit (which has fixes for the speaker and bluetooth), did the pairing again, and now it works fine. I would definitely recommend this unit. Anyone who’s having problems should download the latest software for this GPS from the Garmin website.

Review by Blessen for Garmin nüvi 1390/1390T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic
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i read a bunch of reviews on different models before i ultimately chose the 1390t. when it came down to the wire it was a hard choice between the 765t and the 1390t. The main difference I would like to point out is the charger. the 765t uses a mount charger, while the 1390t uses a micro usb fed directly into the unit. some users like the fact they dont have to unhook the charger when dismounting the unit(765t). like i said personal preference. oh and also no mp3 playback, fm tuner or multipoint point destination. 765t has all those.

real world test of features

user interface: so easy a caveman can do it. garmin definitely has the other brands beat when it comes to UI. i liked the feature set for price in the tomtom 940t, but the UI just looks so primitive. They need a major rehaul of that. the 1390t always gave precise directions without causing confusion. there was no lagging either. being able to update the ETA to total distance is a huge plus. almost always gave me the local speed limit. your speed turns red if you’re speeding.

bluetooth: i was actually rather impressed with the bluetooth. it was easy to sync with my blackberry 8800(dinosaur phone i know). i had to speak a little louder than normal conversation. this is mostly because you’re talking to the unit from 1.5 feet away. if the mic was more sensitive it would pick up more background noise. call quality was good on the other end. my friend couldn’t hear the road in the background.

lane assist: i like the fact that it shows you all available lanes that you can take. it almost always did lane assist where available. junction view with photo realistic pictures never showed. i drove on the grand central, LIE, northern state, southern state, belt parkway, cross island. these are all major highways in the long island queens area. maybe it only does interstate highways. who knows. i was really disappointed when i didnt see the 3d simulation at all.

traffic alert: the ads are unobtrusive and don’t show up while you’re driving. traffic reporting was pretty accurate when it did have reception. i never tried any alternate traffic routes. the traffic map shows where the traffic begins and ends and your location.

new thinnest model of all time: don’t make this the deciding factor for you. although the unit is 25% thinner than most other garmins, it’s really not a big deal. the other garmins (200 and 700 series) were thin to begin with.

POI: for some reason when i looked for a mcdonalds or bk it would show everything but the closest location. i only used POIs 3-4 times.

random: i don’t know why other people were complaining about speaker volume. i put it on a 100% thinking that it was going have weak speakers. i assure you, def not the case. it was practically yelling at me at 100%.

cons: no fm tuner, no multipoint destinations. you can have a via point though. price is a bit high. i paid 280 including tax for the unit. i think $200 wouldve been a more reasonable price.

conclusion: if you wants all the bells and whistles go for this model or the 765t. if you just need a simple gps get a 200 series. theyre a lot cheaper. all in all great gps. 4.0/5.0. if you want a full list of features with pics check out [...]. theyre affiliated with amazon, so take that for what you will.

***edit** 2 months later: 3/5 instead of 4/5 for ratings.

1)I use this device on the road every day now. I’ve driven all over queens, manhattan, and Long Island. One thing I found incredibly annoying is how it kept taking me off a highway only to remerge with it 2 exits later. It certainly was not the faster route to be following the gps’ advice in these instances.

2)Another major gripe I had was the constant recalculation. I would follow its directions and it would say recalculating. When making critical turns that are close by, this can get really annoying. I don’t know if this is a problem with my model or gpses in general or just garmin, but something needs to be fixed.

3) The suction keeps falling off the window. It may be because of the cold temperature. It recently dropped to the 40deg F. My friend uses a magellan (old non-widescreen 2-d version) on the same vehicle and her mount stays.

4)One thing I have to admit I absolutely love is lane assist. You really appreciate it when switching to different highways. It definitely is all it’s cracked out to be. However, The 3-D sign simulation(lane guidance) is just a marketing gimmick(at least I think so). Not worth paying the extra $$$. Lane assist is more practical and worthwhile.

I know this edit may have confused customers on future purchases, but READ OTHER REVIEWS to see if the problems I’ve had are common in all devices or just this one.