The Garmin 1690 GPS navigator--with Bluetooth and included Traffic Receiver--features an enhanced user interface, ecoRoute, public transit mode, and text-to-speech. Plus, pedestrian navigation capability is enabled through optional CityXplorer maps, which are available for select tourist destinations in North America and Europe and can be downloaded easily directly to the nüvi. The device's enhanced user interface features improved graphics and a slide control for menu operation, while ecoRoute suggests fuel-efficient routes to save drivers money and fuel. Also, Garmin's public transit mode allows you to navigate using buses, tramway, metro, and suburban rail systems. Pre-loaded with City Navigator North America NT.
An ultra-thin GPS navigator with great Garmin features like CityXplorer and ecoRoute. Click here for an interactive demo
Bluetooth Wireless Technology The 1690 enables calling with a compatible phone, giving you a completely hands-free mobile phone experience by broadcasting navigation and phone calls through your car stereo.
See More With nüvi 1690's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3-inch display is easy to read--from any direction.
Easy-to-Use Touchscreen Interface One of Garmin's core beliefs is to continually enhance the simplicity of the user experience. The nüvi on-screen menus are logically arranged, with clearly labeled, colorful icons, making it easy to enter data and get to the information you need quickly.
Navigate with Ease nüvi 1690 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator North America NT street maps and millions of points of interest (POIs) such as hotels, restaurants, fuel stations, ATMs and more, with map data provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Enter a destination on the touch screen, and nüvi takes you there with 2-D or 3-D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Text to speech enhances standard sat-nav voice guidance by speaking the names of places and roads. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nüvi 1690 accepts custom points of interest, such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs.
Announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. Click to enlarge.
Lane assist guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. Click to enlarge.
Junction View gives you a photo-realistic screen that shows you both the road detail as well as the signs as you will see them on the road. Click to enlarge.
Enjoy access to Garmin's nüLink! services like weather forecasts, flight status, white pages, and more. Click to enlarge.
Travel North America With nearly 6 million points of interest and detailed road coverage for the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, City Navigator North America NT delivers all the data you need to navigate North America.
Displays nearly 6 million points of interest--hotels, restaurants, parking, entertainment, fuel, shopping and more. Includes highways, interstates, business and residential roads in metropolitan and rural areas. Includes detailed information such as turn restrictions, roundabout guidance, speed categories and other navigation features. Gives turn-by-turn directions on your compatible Garmin device. Includes postal code support for Canada. Enhances pronunciation data for compatible Garmin devices that speak street names (example: "Turn right on Main Street").Know the Lane Before It's Too Late No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.
Junction View takes it a step further, giving you a photo-realistic screen that shows you both the road detail as well as the signs as you will see them on the road.
Multi-Point Routing The 1690 automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands or deliveries.
Pedestrian Navigation New to the nüvi series is Public Transit--navigate using buses, tramway, metro and suburban rail systems with optional CityXplorer content. Downloadable CityXplorer data and city guides are available for purchase and download from garmin.com for many cities.
Where Am I? Keep track of yourself and your car with nüvi 1690. Just tap "Where Am I?" to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates. nüvi 1690 even remembers where you parked. It automatically marks your position when you remove it from the windshield mount, so you can navigate with nüvi on foot and find your way back to your vehicle. Perfect for unfamiliar spots and crowded lots such as amusement parks, stadiums and malls.
HotFix Satellite Prediciton Garmin's HotFix capability automatically calculates and stores satellite locations, greatly reducing satellite acquisition time so that you can turn the unit on and get going. With HotFix, your nüvi remembers the position of all satellites it is tracking when you turn it off, and calculates their movements in order to predict where they should be the next time you turn it on. HotFix can predict satellite positions for up to 3 days after the device was last turned off.
Garmin nüLink!
With Garmin nüLink! Services you know the local area, even if you’re from out of town. Accurate real-time information about the area you’re traveling in is delivered directly to nüvi 1690 via a built-in wireless module. The 1690 currently comes with a free 2-year Garmin nüLink! Subscription, which include services that can make every day more enjoyable.
Google™Local Search Access up-to-date information for the local area using the power of Internet-enabled local search and navigate directly from the search results. Real-time Traffic Garmin nüLink! services provide current traffic data for your route so your nüvi 1690 can automatically optimize a route for the shortest time. Just drive and let nüvi 1690 do all the work.Gas Prices Is your fuel tank getting a little low? Garmin nüLink! services show you where you can find the best prices for any grade of fuel in your area. Just tap the screen and go to your chosen station.
Ciao!™ What are your friends up to? Ciao! integrates multiple third party location-centric social network applications, such as GyPSii, with more networks expected to be added in the future.
Local Events What’s going on in town? Search for local events, concerts, theater performances, sports, art and navigate there with ease. myGarmin™ Your nüvi 1690 will receive alerts for available updates automatically. Converter Quickly and conveniently convert up-to-date currency evaluations, measurements, distances, speed and temperature. Flight Status Quick access to flight departure/arrival times and gate information from airports around the world with the closest major airports displayed first. White Pages Forget someone's address? Find it using White Pages and navigate there. Search by name or phone number — faster and more convenient than a phone book. Send to GPS Build a list of destinations online then send them wirelessly to your nüvi 1690. Movie Times Wanna catch a flick? Just tap Movie Times and you can find an area movie theater quickly and easily. Weather What’s the weather forecast? Tap the Weather icon to get current and 5-day forecasts tailored for major cities around the world.Navigate by Photo with Garmin Connect Photos.
ecoRoute With this feature, drivers can view suggestions for fuel-efficient navigation, conserving both money and fuel:
Save Gas and MoneyNow more than ever, we're all looking for ways to conserve both money and fuel. Whether we're taking fewer trips or carpooling with family and friends, saving resources is a top priority. It was that thinking that led to the creation of ecoRoute--our free software update for compatible nüvi products that allows users to find more fuel efficient routes when navigating and even track their fuel usage. With ecoRoute, you may be able to save gas and money by adopting smarter driving habits and finding more fuel-efficient routes. Select Fuel-efficient RoutesWith ecoRoute, users will have a "less fuel" option as a routing preference. When selected, nüvi will determine if more fuel efficient routes exist based upon road speed data and vehicle acceleration data for a given route. Get Fuel and Mileage ReportsThrough ecoRoute's Fuel Report and Mileage Report, drivers can focus on their habits even when they're not behind the wheel. Fuel Report tracks fuel usage over time, and Mileage Report monitors mileage and fuel usage on a per-trip basis. In addition, Mileage Report makes it easy for business travelers to keep track of distance traveled for company reimbursements. You'll have a detailed report for each trip and the miles driven. You can also customize your nüvi by entering your car's fuel economy and the current price of gas.Search for locations on Google Maps or Mapquest, then transfer the addresses directly to your Garmin GPS navigator.
Navigate by Photo with Garmin Connect Photos Using Garmin's Connect Photos Web site, you can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google's Panoramio photo sharing community and download them to the nüvi for a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide.
Choose from Panoramio's collection of photos from around the world. Easy to use interface displays photos on Google Maps. Search for photos by location name or map area boundary. Transfer photos directly from Garmin Connect to device with the Garmin Communicator. View photos in Google Earth. Supports Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+ on Windows and Mac.Take It With You The nüvi 1690 sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot.
Additional Features
Speed limit indicator--unit displays speed limits for most major roads DEM maps show you shaded terrain contours at zoom levels of five miles and above Auto time zone--nüvi will automatically adjust your time zone while navigating Trip computer records mileage, max speed, total time and more Built-in travel kit includes features such as picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters and calculator microSD memory card expansion slot for optional mapping and data storage Includes Garmin Lock anti-theft feature Configurable vehicle icons--allows users to select fun, customized car-shaped icons; download additional choices from www.garmingarage.com Offers a 3-D mapping perspective, or 2-D overhead view Built-in lithium-ion battery--lasts up to three hours depending on usage Includes sturdy suction cup mount that allows for easy adjustment and quick release Simplified PC connectivity, using USB mass storage, access either the microSD card slot or the unit's internal memory directly from your PC desktop POI loader program--set up proximity alerts for school zones, create custom POIs and moreWhat's in the Box nüvi 1690 preloaded with City Navigator North America NT, Vehicle suction cup mount, FM traffic receiver/vehicle power cable, Dashboard disc, Quick start manual
Which nüvi is Best for You? Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.Device Screen Size inches (W x H) Included Maps Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names) Traffic Bluetooth Media FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system) Multi-Point Routing Battery life (hours) Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico AK and Canada Europe nüvi 205 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 205w 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 255 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 255w 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 260w 3.81 x 2.25 Photos up to 5 nüvi 265T 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 265WT 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 275T 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 285WT 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); Photos up to 4 nüvi 465T 3.81 x 2.25 FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 755T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 760 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 5 nüvi 765T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 775T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 780 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 5 nüvi 785T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 850 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 855 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 885T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) Photos, MP3s up to 4 nüvi 1200 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1250 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1260T 2.8 x 2.1 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1300 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1350 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1350T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1370T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1390T 3.81 x 2.25 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1490T 4.4 x 2.5 MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) Photos up to 4 nüvi 1690 3.81 x 2.25 NAVTEQ Traffic, 2 years free (Garmin nüLink! service) Photos up to 3
- Widescreen ultra-slim GPS design with 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen display and EDGE network connectivity
- Pre-loaded with City Navigtor NT maps for North America, including more than 6 million name-searchable points of interest
- Bluetooth wireless technology enables hands-free calling with a compatible phone; included traffic receiver provides North America traffic information
- Pedestrian navigation capability enabled through optional CityXplorer maps
- Enjoy 2 years of free access to Garmin's nüLink! Services like weather forecasts, flight status, white pages, and more
Current latest in GPS Technology, Glitchy
Let me start off by saying that I must be Garmins dream customer. I am always purchasing the latest and greatest in Garmin GPS. Back in 2005 I actually paid $600 to be first on the block with Nuvi 350. I have also purchased a Nuvi 270w, and i3. As a traveling salesperson I have had a lot of use with these units over the past 5 years. While traveling on the road, a client of mine had a Nuvi 1370T with the FM traffic feature. I was travelling around Houston and had ample opportunity to run it through its paces, I knew I had to upgrade to traffic! When I started reading about the nulink service, it was clear it was really time for a new GPS. I went off to Car Toys and purchased the unit for $400 tax. Ouch! Garmin got me again! NULINK - For those who don't know, the nulink service is a basically a GPS unit enabled with an AT&T cell phone chip with the EDGE data network. This service paid for by ads that occasionally appear when the vehicle is completely stopped. Some people really hate these ads, but they don't bother me at all. Who cares. They are small and out of the way. They are irrelevant IMO. The next few items are new features of the nulink service: SEND TO GPS - I am always going to Google maps and finding locations while I am at work. In google, you can go to "Send to" and actually send the location wirelessly to your GPS. Or if my wife has the unit, I can find the location online and automatically send it to her while she is driving. It works really well, and coordinates arrive in a matter of seconds. Previously I had to write it on piece of paper, or try and remember the address. REALLY COOL! LOCATE OTHERS - If two people have these units, you can link them so you know where the other person is. Pretty cool! You can invite them to certain locations through the network, and it makes meeting up really easy. GAS PRICES - I have used this feature, and it seems to be relatively up to date. I would not put too much faith in it. GOOGLE SEARCH - It honestly seems fairly limited, but it's nice to have a second source of information besides the Garmin database. I say its good. CHECK FLIGHTS - I travel a lot, and this feature is really nice! If you are late, its really nice to have the ability to check on your departure time. It is very up to date, and flights are easy to find. WEATHER/MOVIE TIMES - Basic info, but handy. You can't order movie tickets, but you can check times. Weather is a basic forecast. I WISH THEY WOULD INCORPORATE WEATHER INTO YOUR TRAVEL PLAN. But alas they don't. TRAFFIC - I live in Denver Colorado, and have used this unit all over the front range. Overall I am happy with the EDGE Network traffic. I feel the EDGE updates much faster than FM. When you start the unit up you get the traffic map within a minute. You can search the entire traffic grid and look for issues. When you lock in a location, it will route you THROUGH the traffic which I thought was strange. It actually sent me through what it knew was "red traffic" and it could have easily routed me around it. I thought it would route me around the traffic automatically, but apparently I should have read the manual. I guess it routes you the standard way, and then just tells you there is traffic in the way. You can then manually opt to avoid it. Since the traffic may be an hour a away, it could be gone by the time you get there. I guess it makes sense that they allow you to decide what you want to do at any time. The accuracy of traffic seems to be pretty good. For some reason there are a few highways that ALWAYS show yellow even when there is no traffic. I just have learned to ignore those roads. -end nulink explanation- SIDE NOTE - This new unit shows what it believes the speed limit to be. I assume it uses this data to decide what the fastest route would be. However I have learned that this unit is wrong 50% of the time on speed. There are times it thinks the speed limit is 35 when its really 60. It can be really bad. And because of that I would assume all Garmins could drastically improve their routing if they can update this data. MY GARMIN - You can go online and easily update your firmware and maps. I recommend buying the lifetime maps for $119. You can update your GPS up to 4 times per year for life. GPS FIRMWARE - At time of writing, this is really a problem. This unit has totally new technology, and the firmware has bugs. I chalk it up to the price you pay to be an early adopter of new technology. I have had the unit hard lock up multiple times. It seems to be buggy. The volume settings revert back to stock for no reason. I changed my car logo on the maps, and it just randomly changed to some other logo. When you arrive at a location, it won't say you arrived like it use to. Now every time you set a new location you have to cancel off your last trip. Another minor annoyance. Fortunately this is something can and will be improved on. Hopefully Garmin is working hard to fix all these silly issues. SHUTDOWN SCREEN - When you shut it down the Nuvi gives you a recap of your trip. How many miles you traveled, your estimated MPG, and fuel cost. It is pretty handy to see a recap of your trip. You have to tell the GPS your average MPG, and it figures out the rest. BLUETOOTH - I have the unit linked to my iPhone. Its annoying because I will answer the call with my iPhone, and then it automatically reverts to the speaker phone on the Nuvi. I don't know if I am missing a setting, but I have looked and can't find it. The speaker quality is acceptable, but its not something you would use to call your wife or something. Only in an emergency. Its also nice that the unit shows when you have a call coming in. If my phone is in my pocket I often miss the call. ACCESSORIES - It is pretty light on accessories. I had to buy a genuine leather Garmin case for it. Another $25. All it comes with is a mount, power cable, and usb cable. PHSYICALLY EXAMINED - The unit is a lot lighter than you would imagine. It doesn't feel cheap, just light. The power button is TERRIBLE. It is very hard to press and it's the only button on the unit. This was not an issue in previous Nuvi's I have used. The mount is really nice. You can unclip the unit without having to unplug the unit. Top notch! CONCLUSION - I have used other manufacturers, and I strongly feel that ANY Garmin Nuvi is superior to comparable units from other manufacturers. It is definitely the GPS to have, and within a year or two all GPS units will have the features listed here. If you don't want to wait years for the price to come down, you don't care about software glitches, and you want the newest technology then I recommend this unit.
NUVI 1690
So far I am very happy with my purchase. If you are looking for MP3 player, external GPS antenna, headphone jack, look elsewhere because this unit does not have these. I like the touchscreen much better than my NUVI 755 touchscreen, it is much more accurate. The traffic information is a little bit better than MSN direct.Current GPS are NUVI 755,750 Street Pilot, GPS V, iQue 3600.
Outstanding Product
We purchased this unit just before a trip to Disney World and was very impressed at the Traffic warning system (althougth I didn't listen to it the first time and paid dearly!) and the NuLink system worked just as advertised. (This came into play when looking at gas prices ahead BEFORE exiting!) This will be a keeper!
lack of map detail is the dealbreaker
I decided to upgrade from my beloved nuvi 660 for better traffic information and extra features. My major disappointment is the decrease of detail in the navigation maps. The detail has decreased to such a degree, that there are insufficient landmarks shown to facilitate navigation. For example, when driving to my gym in the Boston area, I needed to avoid a road due to a power-line being down. My old 660 nuvi would have given me enough detail of surrounding streets and/or parks to navigate around this blockage, but the new 1690 did not, and did not offer any alternative routes. Garmin has not fixed this issue despite many customer complaints. This disturbs me. The other CONS are not deal-breakers for me: decreased touchscreen sensitivity, annoying pop-up ads (don't obstruct the view when moving), inconsistent traffic coverage (reasonable in Boston area; less so in New York/Conn). The new features which I consider to be PROS: sharp graphics, google search/internet access, lane assist, speed limit and speed displays, and integrated traffic. Although the new features are handy, I'm returning this unit, since the navigation functions are the most important to me.
Works Great!
I have owned several Garmin Automotive GPS Units; 2610, 2620, 350, 680 and now the 1690. I received the Nuvi 1690 on January 18th and immediately went to the Garmin website and performed all necessary firmware and software updates. I also updated the map (only to have them release a newer version a few days later--oh well). There has been an additional firmware update since then, and I have applied it to my 1690. Everything has worked flawlessly. I drive throughout Southern California, primarily in the San Diego region. The 1690 has not let me down. I plug in an address, and it takes me there. The traffic warnings work fine. The little pop-up ads I could care less about considering I get two years of free service! I would not hesitate to recommend the Nuvi 1690 to anyone! I am very pleased with its performance and quality. As with any newly released item, it appears Garmin is coming out with frequent firmware updates / patches to correct issues. I'll probably check for updates every couple weeks for now.
