Review on Garmin nüvi 1390LMT 4.3-Inch Portable 🗺️ Bluetooth GPS Navigator: Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates by Grant Zeeb

I bought the 1390LMT to replace my old NUVI 350 which was stolen from my car. My 350 was over 4 years old, the maps were outdated, the speaker didn't work, but I paid $600 for it, a steal at the time. I used my NUVI instead of cards for several years and was looking for a replacement before the theft. This is what I was considering and found it on a lightning deal I couldn't refuse. I paid less than $200 for this unit and shipping was fast and hassle free. Unboxing the unit is easy but I thought there might be additional instructions to get the unit up and running although I was familiar with GPS features each GPS has a different way of finding features on their system. I signed up and downloaded the required software. You must have internet access for this device and broadband seems to be recommended. The entire process of setting up the device, downloading updates, and preparing the device for navigation took a good two hours, mainly the time it takes to download map files and updates since it doesn't take that long to connect the device to a computer. .I did not notice any problems with satellite reception, everything was fine even inside at the window. I've been using the Bluetooth feature on my phone for hands-free calls, which is good, but turning the feature on and off takes a few steps so I won't be using it on a daily basis. Routing was good although I thought it would be faster compared to my old device, it seemed to be determining routes at the same speed and seemed slower. I like the speed limit display but have found that not all speed limits are displayed and this is not a device fault but a display issue I suspect. A good concept for driving on country roads and in areas where speed cameras can be a problem. I haven't had a chance to use the traffic feature as it's not available in the areas I've travelled, so I can't comment on that, but since it's a lifetime subscription I'm sure I'll have it may use sometime in the future. I thought the price of the device was good, but the bonus was a lifetime card subscription. My old GPS hasn't been updated in at least 3 years and has become a big problem in the last year. You don't know how often roads change, but not being able to update your GPS because you don't want to pay a lot of money for it can really be a problem when using a GPS navigator. I've made lifetime maps a priority for my next GPS purchase. Within a week of the GPS update, I received an email reporting a problem with the downloaded maps and recommending downloading the corrected version. I found this to be a plus and I understand that I should receive an email every three months to download the latest version of the maps for my GPS. In summary, this is a great device with lifetime maps, but navigating the device and learning about its features can take a while. Be sure to take some time to become familiar with the operation of the device before taking it on a journey where you may go off track, as hastily pressing the wrong button can cost you significant time and money, if you drive in the wrong direction. Looking back I think I haven't used a paper map for many years and rarely use the internet for mapping as much as I used to.