CAPSULE REVIEW: Read this for the quick low-down:-
+s: Good, large and clear display/screen; reception of traffic info is now more reliable due to nu-link service using mobile network instead of FM radio signals; useful new speed limit information; Google local search useful; simple, well-proven interface; generally good routing; Excellent form factor - feels good in the hand.
-s: traffic info now classed as a nu-link subscription service (will cost approx. £70 per year after first 12 months); limited nu-link services; no MP3 playback; no FM transmitter to connect to car stereo; still some screen lag/slow redraw issues; traffic service is still Traffic Master and no equivalent to TomTom HD traffic or IQ routes; some users report reliability issues.
INTRO: Garmin v TomTom
What are my Garmin 'credentials'? I've used their hiking units and avaiation units, and have 'graduated' from i3, to 200, 250, 265 and now Nuvi 1690 car units. I'm not a die-hard fan and open-minded about the whole Garmin v TomTom issue. Garmin have a long history in the satnav business, being well known for their excellent hiking, aviation and marine GPS products. When it comes to in-car sat navs they have become a bit of a niche choice in the UK and Europe, lagging behind TomTom when it comes to sales. This is not necessarily justified, since Garmin's experience in GPS design has meant that over the years they have released some excellent models (255W for example).
ENTER THE 1690
The 1690 is the latest model in the Garmin UK line-up, but despite it's fairly hefty current price, it does lack some 'top of the line' features that other Garmin in-car models possess. For example, while it has a generally excellent junction view feature, it lacks the 3D building feature present on other high-end Garmin units. It also lacks voice command control (can be useful and is safer in the long run) and an MP3 player. The latter might appear gimmicky, but bear in mind that some of the interesting third party products that offer guided tours and itineraries rely on this MP3 feature to provide audio commentary, so you would get text only with the 1690 - a shame. It is also odd that in a unit that costs more than the lower-spec 1490 model, you get a SMALLER screen that appears to be less bright and clear. Odd.
NU-LINK - the 1690 is a 'connected' Sat Nav
So what is new about the 1690? Well, it features Garmin's new Nu-Link 'connected technology'. Inside the unit is the guts of a mobile phone, meaning that it can connect to various mobile services and thus provide real time information of various sorts via the mobile connection. One major gripe about this is that over here in Europe, we only get 12 months of Nu-Link free of charge (in the US they get 2 years !). So after 12 months it would appear that all Nu-Link services will stop working on the 1690 unless you pay to subscribe to them (I believe about £70 per year in the UK - this is currently £10 cheaper than the TomTom Live service annual subscription in the UK - worth noting !). Now while this might seem a minor headache, bear in mind that it looks like Garmin class the traffic info on this device as a Nu-Link feature, so it will probably stop working unless you keep up the subscription. So what do we get in the UK with Nu-Link. Well disappointingly we don't get a useful feature that our US cousins get - we do not get live entertainment info - so in the US you can look up cinema times and what movies are showing, as well as local concerts and theatre listings. Not so, in the UK. We do get 'live' weather info for our current destination - I have found on the whole it isn't as accurate as the Met Office web site though. We get updated petrol prices - these seem pretty accurate and useful. We get the ability to do a Google local search - useful and this provides many more points of interest than any in-built database would. We also get the 'Ciao' friend finder - I found this to be useless - in theory you can see where your friends are and they can see where you are - great, except that everyone has to either have a Garmin 1690 or a nuviphone for this to work...
LIVE TRAFFIC
What is the traffic info like? Well it does seem better than the FM version featured on previous models - at least you don't need a separate antenna/cable for it to work, as it gets the info via the mobile cnnection. Trouble is, it is the same TrafficMaster traffic as featured on other Garmins. It is less sophisticated than HD traffic on TomTom, but of course many TT users report that HD traffic is pretty useless at present in the UK anyway. So the Garmin traffi, relying on TM as the provider, only features traffic info for major roads - motorways and A roads essentially. I found it to be OK - the unit will automatically re-route you around traffic if you want it to, but sometimes you will find it doing this even though the traffic jam it THINKS is present has actually disappeared. Still, it's better than nothing, and you are more likely to retain traffic info with this new system of it being delievered over the mobile network connection - before, with FM radio based traffic, there were spots in the UK with poor reception - this should now be less of an issue.
SPEED CAMERAS
The Nu-Link technology is also used to deliver up-to-date speed camera information, which is apparently updated via the mobile technology rather than the old way of connecting your unit to a PC via USB - that certainly is handy. Shame that you get no info about when the data is updated though.
BASIC NAVIGATION
Basic navigation features are similar to most previous Garmin units, and are generally sound. There is no equivalent to TomTom IQ routes though, so some routing choices can be odd at times, though for much of the time the Navteq sourced maps seem to be OK. The unit I received from Amazon had the latest 2010 maps on it and they seem generally OK but I am guessing they were actually put together early 2009 judging by what is still missing from them. One feature which is now much better implemented is the speed limit info - most roads now display this (though not always correctly) and the 1690 has the new feature of showing your existing MPH in red if you are going over the speed limit for the current road - nice. This unit shares one feature with other high-end units - you can plan multi-point routes on the unit, which is good, and missing from some lower-line Nuvis such as the 25x and 26x series. It is a real pain to plan them, though, on screen, as I find it quite hard to get the touch-screen to know exactly which road, junction etc you are pointing at/pressing at. You can use Google Maps to send locations to the unit, but sadly, it looks like you can't use GM to send a route. You can, however, use the optional (extra) Mapsource Garmin software to create and send routes to the unit via USB.
A FEW QUIBBLES - The speaker and screen lag
I must mention the speaker on this unit - it is quite loud but could be clearer - it rattles a bit and doesn't give the impression of a high quality component - a shame on a unit at this price point - there is no option to route the voice via your in-car stereo since there is no FM transmitter built into this unit (another omission that is present on previous high end units in the 7xx and 8xx series). Voices are generally clear although as usual, Text to Speech (TTS) voices used when you want the unit to read out street names are recorded in a lower quality than non-TTS voices, and you can hear the difference. There are fewer 'novelty' voices for Garmin units compared to TomTom but Garmin have just released a free voice recorder application for download from their web site that enables you to record your own non-TTS voices to put on your unit - so you can create a voice with your partner, kids, dog(?!) etc! Screen refresh seems relatively fast but there are some signs that this unit could have done with a faster processor - when you really push it to the max the on-screen position of your vehicle does lag behind the actual position a little bit, even when the on-screen detail is not set to max - disappointing.
SUCTION MOUNT
The supplied suction mount does the job, and this is a powered mount system so power is delivered from your car lighter socket via a cable direct to the mount, rather than direct to the unit - a more convenient solution than previous models although it makes it more fiddly to use a non-suction based friction mount (I still use the latter though).
NO PRINTED MANUAL...AGAIN
As usual, Garmin skimps and doesn't provide a paper manual, instead relying on a PDF - at this price this is a bit of a cheek, but it is becoming the norm in consumer electronics.
STABILITY ISSUES & SOFTWARE GLITCHES - have more or less been nailed in the latest firmware from Garmin so ensure you register your device on Garmin's web site and update the device software - this should mean that some previous reports of re-boots and other odd behaviour will not affect your unit (fingers crossed).
Regarding glitches - I have sometimes had my unit behave strangeely - for example, it sometimes displays wildly inaccurate speeds or the current speed display freezes for up to 5 minutes. I have also experienced one or two lock-ups requiring a re-boot.
QUALITY CONTROL ISSUES? - there have been some internet forum posts, mostly, but not exclusively, by US owners, indictaing that at least some batches of 1690s have been faulty, displaying screen flicker, for example, or with faulty on/off switches. Watch out for these issues and if you discover them make sure you return to the place you bought the unit from for a swap or refund, ideally within 28 days, the period when consumer law in the UK protects you the most.
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