The Garmin Nuvi 1690 was released in 2009 and remains a popular GPS unit that comes with many benefits and new innovations that make it great not only for navigating through streets, but also to find movie times and social hotspots. This GPS can also integrate with Google to find some of the best places around, but there are pop-ups that occur during these searches. Many customers cite Bluetooth capabilities as an advantage, but there are some problems that keep this from really achieving its full potential.
The Nuvi 1690 device itself is a good 4.3 inches, which makes the screen very clear, which is needed when navigating in unknown territory. On the GPS side, the Nuvi 1690 does all the common functions, but there are a few benefits that really push this as a premium GPS. For one, there is a text-to-speech feature that allows the GPS to say street names, which is incredibly useful if there are several possible turns coming up.
Lane assist goes beyond the common GPS, as the Garmin Nuvi 1690 will tell you what lane to be in. Not only that, but due to its constant Internet connection, the Nuvi 1690 will be able to tell you if any delays or traffic problems are coming up, so you can plan accordingly. Route generation, while nothing entirely special or unexpected, does generate clear and fast routes that will help you get to your intended destination.
One of the most innovate benefits provided by the Nuvi 1690 is the NuLink technology. This allows you to find many hotspots, and also it provides many other useful features. For example, there are flight and movie times, white pages, reverse phone lookup, and the Garmin Nuvi 1690 can pair with a Bluetooth phone to make calls. Google Local can also be accessed, which provides you with nearby interesting locations, so you can always find something to do.
For all the benefits to this GPS, there are a few drawbacks. With the Bluetooth connection, while you can make calls from the Nuvi 1690, you cannot lookup your contacts, nor will the GPS show your contact’s name if someone you know is calling. If you don’t know someone’s number by heart, this can be a little inconvenient.
While the searching and Google Local features are very good, a few problems may keep you from using them. When you search spots of interest, pop-up advertisements will keep coming up, which can making searching difficult. Also, you can only lookup interesting places either on your route, or by the city or town, but not both at once.
Some people have also noticed that if you try looking up gas prices or movie times, the GPS has a tendency to not connect with the Internet, even if you are near a hotspot. This is usually not a constant issue, but it can be annoying in stressful situations.
The price of the Nuvi 1690, when first released, was around $500. Today, you can order one for around $100 to $270. While there are some problems holding this unit back, it is a very functional GPS with a lot of extra features that can help you find interesting spots and can make your trips very easy to navigate.