Wow, I was in Staples yesterday and they have the Garmin 1490 for $179.00. That thing is very large at 5 inches. How does that size work for you guys?? Do you like it better then the 4.3 inch. Jim
Yes. But it's only 3/4 of an inch, so it's not exactly huge..... It does make a difference tho, especially for someone with tired eyes like me! The only thing I don't like about it are the "coupons"
On any Garmin that you have plugged into the DC power supply with the FM traffic feature (any model with a "T"in it) Garmin has sold advertising that shows up as little electronic "coupons". Red Lobster and Best Western seem to be the ones I mostly see As far as the size difference I agree with MiniDave that the 3/4" makes it much easier to see details on the screen
You can turn off the coupons, but then you lose the live traffic feature - which frankly I'm not sure is a big loss. Usually I get the "traffic ahead" warning about the time I'm jamming on the brakes to stop for it.....not a lot of help there. It might be better used in an unfamiliar place rather than on the roads I drive every day, but so far I'm not convinced. But those coupons really piss me off. Bad enough that I paid for the unit, but now I have to watch "commercials" too? This is the 4th Garmin unit I've bought, and countless others have bought them based on my recommendations, but next time I may buy a Tom Tom......:mad5:
With Garmin the only way to not have the coupons is to get a pay traffic service. They make it free by having those ads. All the "free lifetime traffic" options get them. Bogus! On of the reasons I went with the factory Nav. Free traffic.
I was just checking out the price on the HD unit and ran across another one that says it is "new" and allows for topo maps to downloaded to the GPS. Anyone know anything about this thing? [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Ecoroute-Diagnostic-Accurate-Consumption/dp/B0045AGQYK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1288356649&sr=8-6"]Amazon.com: New Garmin High Quality Ecoroute Hd Reads Diagnostic Trouble Codes Accurate Fuel Consumption: Kitchen & Dining@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21ebTGm8NnL.@@AMEPARAM@@21ebTGm8NnL[/ame] Jim
The capability to program routes via their software is available in many of their models (my 1490T as a example) Some do and some don't. That said I had some real problems getting this software to work. I suspect it was a Mac thing as that was what I was trying to use. I meant to try my work PC but reluctant to use it for personal stuff I ended up plugging custom routes directly into the GPS which does work My Eco Route HD musta got fried somehow. I've had it about 6 weeks and it stopped syncing with the GPS. Gotta send it back....:mad5: Not to mention they bumped the price, I paid like $85 for it
And based on the Garmin web site both the Ecoroute and the Ecoroute HD each work with their own specific units. So here's a question for you...... When you fry your unit, can that have any negative feedback through the OBDII and cause problems for the very expensive CAN or ECU on the MINI?
So far no problems other than the Garmin dongle loosing it's sync with the GPS. I got it to re-sync a couple times but it would drop it again. Finally yesterday it would not even sync
Got me on what the diff is, seems all the functionality they talk about is already contained in the GPS units they reference Get the less expensive one
We were having issues with both our 1490T and the HD. They were not on good speaking terms, the GPS got a lisp when talking, the touch-screen was not behaving. Called Garmin support, got a software up-grade, and it works fine again. Make sure you save your favorites before you load it, we lost ours:rolleyes5: Mark
Ahh I did not, it mentioned my model which has that function so I deduced that it was not a diff eco route
Thanks, that was the next step, chk for a software update and if that didn't do it try to reset the Garmin which as you point out erases everything. Already have a Ret Auth from Amazon in the bullpen....
I don't follow you MM. :confused5: In regard to the thing messing up the ECU I don't think it would. Scan Gauge plugs in and draws power from the OBDII port. Jim
Now, please understand....... I'm sitting here having room temperature brie cheese on water crackers, sliced organic Gala apples and a chilled bottle of Riesling with my lovely wife, so I'm a little fogged out but truly mellow and happy.... So here goes...... According to the Garmin site; Eco-Route HD is only compatible with; 1695 1260T 1370T 1390LMT 1390T 1490LMT 1490T Eco-route is only compatible with 205 series 705 series 1200 series 1300 series 1400 series 1600 series 3700 series My comment about messing up the ECU...... All things BMW/MINI seem to be on the expensive side of the wallet. I know that OBDII receptacle is connected to and probably goes to the heart of one of the more costly boxes that has that german marque stamped on it. I'm always a little concerned about an item that might short out the connections or send 12 volts back to a delicate piece of equipment and do some irrevocable damage. But that's just me, playing it safe.... Anyway, I've been away from my glass of wine for too long a time thinking about this and my wife's wine glass is empty and I'm neglecting my duties..... Sooooo..... see ya