Nuvi 1490t purchase

You should be able to use it on any one Nuvi if it is just the regular nuMaps card that you can purchase separately from Garmin or other places.

These cards have a Product Key on the back, under the scratch off area, and that code can be attached to any ONE Nuvi.

If the nuMaps card that comes with the 'bundle' is different than the normal one, then it may well be somehow attached to the Nuvi it came with. I'm not sure as I've never seen the bundled product.

It is just a regular NuMap card that comes with the bundle. When you register the card, you can attach it to any Nuvi you like.

You should really think your plan through....an older unit means the battery or anything can go wrong with it and there goes your free lifetime maps! It is not transferrable to another unit. The lifespan on these things can vary...and the battery is non user replaceable. A newer unit will last longer than one thats already been in use for a few years, theoretically!

Just food for thought.

Jakas, that's what I was hoping. Gives me another option, since, correct me if I'm wrong, the new gps comes with a free map upgrade to start with. Rhythm, good thought, I'll keep it in mind. Thanks all for your replies and advice.

I'll correct you about the free map update. It's only available if the map on your new 1490 is older than the currently released version

or

if the maps on your 1490 are the most current you will be able to get one free upgrade if a new version of maps becomes available within 60 days of your new GPS obtaining its first satellite lock.

So if your new purchase has the most current maps and the next update doesn't come out until after your 60 day period has expired, then you will be eligible for ZERO free updates.

When Garmin bundles Lifetime Map updates with a new nuvi, does the nuMaps guarantee still apply? The nuMaps guarantee would be redundant and completely unnecessary with a nuMaps Lifetime subscription. My bet is that if Garmin hasn't clarified this they soon will.

My experience, although not a bundle purchase, may shed some light on how Garmin handles lifetime subscriptions and nuMaps guarantee.

I purchased the Lifetime card a few months ago when it was on sale from Amazon. I never activated it as I was waiting for a successor to my 1490 to be announced.

Subsequently I purchased and registered a 3790T and attempted to activated the Lifetime card to that device. I could not activate the Lifetime card at that time because there was no map update available for the device.

Once 2020.20 was released, and the problems with the download for the 3790 corrected, I then could activate the Lifetime card. At that point I could download EITHER the update available under the nuMap guarantee or the one from my Lifetime subscription. In other words, I received access to 2 product keys, one for each of the available update methods.

Since both downloads were tied to the same 3790T, it's not like I could update 2 devices just because I had 2 product keys but 2 separate download options were available.

I agree that it does seem pretty redundant and I'd be surprised if it remains like this, although if all they are doing is giving you the normal card in the box with the GPS, who knows???

Bundled aspect aside, I (as we all have), updated to my free map when I got my unit. I then bought the LT updates 6 weeks or so later. There was no conflicts, as I believe they are separate from each other.

I bought a 765T with lifetime maps (the card with the product key#)

Since I was allowed 1 free upgrade on the 765T (it came with 2010.10 I think) I used my 1 free upgrade to upgrade the 765T to 2011.20 and activated the life time card for my 255W (which had a 2009 map).

This way, I have both units upgraded to current 2011.20 (and lifetime on the 255W) By the time I get to another 2 or 3 map upgrades in the future the lifetime maps may be considerably cheaper than it is now (since the price continues to drop) and I can then buy the lifetime maps for the 765T.

I think we all know that the nuMaps Lifetime subscription and the nuMaps guarantee are separate when a retailer bundles a legacy model nuvi with a nuMaps lifetime card (like Amazon sometimes does). The question I raised which I don't think has been answered is with the new Garmin branded nuvi LMT or LM models, if you don't use the nuMaps Lifetime subscription that comes with the unit, will Garmin still allow you the one free map update according to the nuMaps Guarantee. I think it will take someone buying one of these models and trying it to know for sure.

The website under My Garmin said there was an update available but under downloads it said there was not. I contacted Garmin because it would not allow me to download the one free Numap update. I wanted to do this because the retailer said I had 30 days to evaluate the GPS but if I activated the Lifetime Maps I would not be able to return it. The Garmin tech initially opened a problem ticket but then a couple of days later responded that it is not available for my unit because it came bundled with the Lifetime Map card.

gaferris, thanks for your post that confirms the policy with Garmin on nuMaps Guarantee and the nuvi LMT models. I am not surprised that Garmin has put this restriction on the LMT models.

i just bought a 1490t and paid for the lifetime maps upgrade. lol i bought this unit to replace a dead tom-tom go920 that i had for under 3 years. it just bit the dust. They don't last forever.
Roger

my Nuvi 760 battery barely lasts 20 minutes on a full charge these days. that means i must keep it plugged in all the time, which also means i can't use the cigarette lighter to charge my phone on long trips.

Such as this one.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=391756...

Stop by an auto parts store, Target or Walmart and pick up a double socket plug in for your cig lighter. Then you can charge your phone and garmin at same time.