The Garmin nuvi 1690 Global positioning system navigator–with Bluetooth and integrated 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 offered for select tourist destinations in North America and Europe and can be downloaded very easily right to the nüvi. The device’s superior user interface features better visuals and a slide control for menu functioning, while ecoRoute shows fuel-efficient routes to save drivers money and gas. Also, Garmin’s public transit mode helps you to get around using buses, tramway, metro, and suburban rail systems. Pre-loaded with City Navigator North America NT.

The 1690 allows calling using a compatible phone, allowing you a totally hands-free mobile phone experience by broadcasting navigation and cellphone calls via your car stereo. With nüvi 1690′s widescreen display, you’ll constantly obtain 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. One of Garmin’s core beliefs is to constantly enhance the ease-of-use of the user experience. The nüvi on-screen menus are practically arranged, with clearly labeled, multi-colored icons, which makes it easy to enter data and obtain the information you want quickly.

nüvi 1690 comes completely ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator North America NT street maps and millions of points of interest (POIs) which include hotels, restaurants, fuel stations, ATMs and others, with map data offered by NAVTEQ, a global leader in premium-quality mapping. Type in a destination on the touch screen, and nüvi brings 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 locations 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 alert you of upcoming POIs.

No more guessing which lane you require 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 simple to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route together with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation. Junction View carries it one step further, providing you a photo-realistic screen that will show you both the road detail as well as the signs as you will see them on the road. The 1690 also automatically types various destinations to offer an efficient route for errands or deliveries. 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. Keep track of yourself and your car with nüvi 1690. Just tap “Where Am I?” to find the closest hospitals, police stations, petrol stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates. nüvi 1690 even takes note of where you parked. It immediately marks your location when you remove it from the windshield mount, so you can navigate with nüvi on foot and find your way back again to your vehicle. Excellent for unfamiliar spots and crowded lots such as amusement parks, stadiums and malls.

Garmin’s HotFix capability immediately computes 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 power it down, and computes their movements in order to predict where they should be the next time you turn it on. HotFix can predict satellite positions for approximately 3 days after the device was last switched off.

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 includes a free 2-year Garmin nüLink! Subscription, which include services that can help to make every single day more enjoyable.

The Recommended Retail Price of the Garmin Nuvi 1690 is $449.99. For a higher end of the Garmin Nuvi GPS lineup, you might want to consider the Garmin nuvi 3790T and the Garmin nuvi 3760T

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