Garmin nuvi 1690 GPS with nuLink!
Garmin’s nuvi 1690 is the company’s first GPS navigator to offer nuLink!, the Google-powered connected service. Included with nuLink! are real-time traffic updates with more coverage than the NAVTEQ updates included with less pricey Garmin GPS devices, Google local search, weather, local events and some other good stuff. With nuLink! also comes a bit of an excessive price tag, in my opinion (around $500). So, despite the fact that I haven’t had a chance to try the nuvi 1690 myself, I was definitely interested in a PCWorld review of the GPS device.
The verdict? Well, not surprisingly the usual features also found on other Garmin devices such as turn-by-turn, voice-guided traffic directions, an attractive UI, Reality View and Lane Assistant, work just fine. Strangely though, the Google-powered services offered through nuLink are completely separate from Garmin’s information. Therefore you end up with, for instance, one POI database from Garmin that isn’t integrated with Google POIs that pop up through using local search. That doesn’t make a heck of alot of sense and seems like a cheap integration for the money you’re paying. Furthermore, the bundled data subscription provided by AT&T expires after 2 years, doesn’t include map updates (meaning you’ll pay $119 for a lifetime subscription or various amounts for single updates), and you’ll have to see advertisements regardless of the amount of money you’re paying.
This latter point is another big problem for me. Why? Ads are a way for services to monetize and if a service uses advertising it usually doesn’t require another type of payment for use. With the nuvi 1690 you’re already paying up the yin-yang so why should you be forced to look at ads all the time?
According to PCWorld though, once you put the complaints aside the nuvi 1690 is like most other Garmin GPS devices. Just plain good. In this case though, you’ll require some spare cash to get from point A to point B.
Get Garmin’s nuvi 1690 from Amazon.
Garmin nuvi 1690 with nuLink! gets reviewed is a post from: GPS Obsessed
