POIs and the 1690

Good question, and one that will probably take some research to get a definitive answer. POI Loader says the internal setting takes precedence, but POI Loader would probably overwrite any proximity stored in a GPX with the entered value.

Short answer, no. It's in the Nuvi operating system.

The obvious fix here is don't set an alert. I have custom POI which alert and some that don't. You don't have to set alerts for every file you load. You can still load an icon and sound file, that way they will display and the alert play when you arrive if it is a destination.

There's a couple of things here. The most obvious being the amount of information and the layout.

CSV files are easy to create, but the ease means there are trade-offs as well. All CSV files have to contain the same three fields, Lat/Lon and name. The fourth field is 'Description' or 'Comment' and the limitation here is what you can stuff into somewhere around 250 characters.

GPX files can contain the same data, but they are structured in that there are specific fields for information. Street address is separate from city, which is separate from state or province, which is separate from postal code or zip. Each field is identified using HTML tags to control how it is displayed. Building a GPX file allows a phone number to be dialed across a bluetooth connection, something that can't be done with CSV.

Because GPX files are structured, they are more portable across product manufacturers and units within a manufacturer's product line. It's the HTML that makes this possible. GPX files are significantly larger when stored on your local computer because of the HTML code, but compiled and loaded into the unit there is very little difference in file size but they function differently.

It boils down to how you use your POI. If you want to dial a stop by pressing an icon on the Nuvi screen, then you need GPX. If you want comment and description information about a POI separated from the street address, then use a GPX. If it isn't important, then a CSV works.

Thanks for that detailed response Box Car. I need to take a look at how POILoader works and see where I have the option to enable/disable the alert.

The GPX vs CSV info was particularly helpful.

Box Car did an excellent job answering your questions. If you have any other questions on your 1690, don't hesitate to ask. I have had my 1690 almost since they came out.

I'm also a newbie and I have a question about updating the map. I bought the 1690 last year, and I updated the map last year. I'm considering the lifetime map deal on Amazon. I've read that you need a memory card for the Nuvi as the new map won't fit in the unit's memory. Is this true? What size memory card do I need? Thanks!

If you haven't done so, do a backup of the files on your unit.

If last year's update loaded, this years should as well. But you can make more room by deleting unneeded files such as voices, help files, and vehicles. All these can be recovered using web updater.

The base maps need to run from the main unit but you can put supplemental maps on a card. As you can't use the card for other things, a 2 gig should suffice.

This is stright from Garmin help page.

Question: How do I get more space on my nuvi for the map update?

Answer:
If you receive an error message stating, "There is not enough free space on your Garmin GPS, you need an additional XX MB on your Garmin GPS for the application to continue," please follow these steps to free up more space on your nuvi:

For PC

Connect the nuvi to the computer with a USB cable
Double-click My Computer or Computer on your desktop
Double-click on the GARMIN drive listed under devices with removable storage
Double-click on the Garmin folder
Double-click on the Voice folder
Delete any unused voice files (be sure to keep your preferred language)
Return to the Garmin folder
Repeat steps 5-7 with the Text and Help folders

For Mac

Connect the nuvi to the computer with a USB cable
It will mount to the desktop, double-click on Garmin or nuvi
Double-click on the Garmin folder
Double-click on the Voice folder
Delete any unused voice files (be sure to keep your preferred language)
Return to the Garmin folder
Repeat steps 4-6 with the Text and Help folders
Empty the trash
After the files are deleted, run the map update again. This should free up additional space for you to complete the download.

No worries updating the map. I also bought the lifetime map update and when 2011.20 came out, it fit just fine on my 2 gb USA 1690.

That being said, I previously backed up my 1690 to my PC and also deleted unused voices, vehicles, text, EULA, KB, and help files. I had about 290 mb free after the latest map update.

I have a microSD card installed, but don't really need it. I currently just store my POIs on it, but there's plenty of room for them on the 1690 itself.

Like everyone else said, delete all the files you don't use (back them up first). These include the voice and help files, vehicles, etc. Once I did that, all map updates fit on my 1690. I also have over 300,000 POI's that I put into memory. I still haven't had space problems and haven't touched the microSD card.