I lost my Magellan Roadsmart GPS a couple years ago when Brendan took his 750 along with my GPS and Radar Detector for a swim at the bash. I purchased a new Magellan GPS and it threw a fit recently, after the warranty expired naturally. So I began researching the latest generation of GPS units available.
After much online research I decided on the Garmin 1490T. I would have been happy with the 1490 since the T model has traffic included. However, Costco has the 1490T for $249. So yesterday I purchased this little unit and it has everything I required plus a couple I didn't require.
These are the items I required above and beyond getting me from point A to Point B like all the basic ones do.
1. Multi-destination trip planning.
2. Save present location without a physical address (Great for marking spots in the hills and hollers where no address is available)
3. Entering Go To points using Global Positioning Latitude & Longitude.
Now for the goodies it has that was not required for my purchase but cool just the same.
1. Where am I (gives my current position with a button for locating the closest Hospital, Police Station & Gas Station)
2. Ultra thin body with 5" screen
3. Capability of uploading planned trips from my computer with multiple destinations. (I think it has this installed but never used it so I'll see how well and what map programs it will recognize)
4. Shows lane choice at interstate intersections and exits. (Good to have in heavy traffic while navigating in unfamiliar territory)
5. Speed limits on most major roads. When your speed exceeds the posted limit the display turns from black to red.
6. Maximum speed is held for viewing until you clear it (May be good for showing the officer when he says you were doing 103 and you were really only doing 97)
7. Bluetooth
8. Tunes
9. Store Pictures
The undesireable items I've notice:
1. The power plug plugs directly into the back of the unit restricting how it's mounted on your bike if you intend to wire it to your electrical system. Mounting with velcro on a flat surface is not an option. However the plug is off to one side so you can let the unit overhang enough to make it work in some cases.
2. It's not waterproof. If you get caught in the rain you'll need to have a nice dry place to carry it like an inside jacket pocket. If you ride in the rain on a regular basis, this is not the unit for you. One of the 500 series waterproof models would be a better choice. I looked at those but way to expensive for me.
If anyone else has this unit please post up your thoughts and pointers on operation.
After much online research I decided on the Garmin 1490T. I would have been happy with the 1490 since the T model has traffic included. However, Costco has the 1490T for $249. So yesterday I purchased this little unit and it has everything I required plus a couple I didn't require.
These are the items I required above and beyond getting me from point A to Point B like all the basic ones do.
1. Multi-destination trip planning.
2. Save present location without a physical address (Great for marking spots in the hills and hollers where no address is available)
3. Entering Go To points using Global Positioning Latitude & Longitude.
Now for the goodies it has that was not required for my purchase but cool just the same.
1. Where am I (gives my current position with a button for locating the closest Hospital, Police Station & Gas Station)
2. Ultra thin body with 5" screen
3. Capability of uploading planned trips from my computer with multiple destinations. (I think it has this installed but never used it so I'll see how well and what map programs it will recognize)
4. Shows lane choice at interstate intersections and exits. (Good to have in heavy traffic while navigating in unfamiliar territory)
5. Speed limits on most major roads. When your speed exceeds the posted limit the display turns from black to red.
6. Maximum speed is held for viewing until you clear it (May be good for showing the officer when he says you were doing 103 and you were really only doing 97)
7. Bluetooth
8. Tunes
9. Store Pictures
The undesireable items I've notice:
1. The power plug plugs directly into the back of the unit restricting how it's mounted on your bike if you intend to wire it to your electrical system. Mounting with velcro on a flat surface is not an option. However the plug is off to one side so you can let the unit overhang enough to make it work in some cases.
2. It's not waterproof. If you get caught in the rain you'll need to have a nice dry place to carry it like an inside jacket pocket. If you ride in the rain on a regular basis, this is not the unit for you. One of the 500 series waterproof models would be a better choice. I looked at those but way to expensive for me.
If anyone else has this unit please post up your thoughts and pointers on operation.
