Garmin Nuvi 3790LMT, Comments On

 

For anyone who may be searching for some user comments, I thought I'd add mine.

I bought my unit about three weeks ago and used it daily, for 15 days, on a trip from Washington, DC to Spokane, WA., and back to WDC.

ACQUIRING SATELLITES: As others have observed, it can sometimes be painfully slow. The worst case for us was almost three full minutes, despite having a clear shot at the sky on a sunny day. It seems considerably slower than my Garmin 650.

VOLUME: When the unit is attached to the holder AND the cord is plugged into the vehicle's outlet, the voice is very loud, clear, and easy to hear and understand.

HEAT ISSUES: Amazon.com has not a few user concerned about excessively hot units. Plugged in, with the sun not directly striking the unit (e.g., in the mornings when headed west) the unit is not at all hot. When the sun shines directly on the unit, it does indeed get very hot indeed, but won't that be the case with anything in direct sunlight on a dash?

JUNCTION VIEW: When approaching highway intersections Junction View realistically displays road signs and junctions on the route. Well, yes, but Junction View appeared for us in the WDC metro area and we never saw it again, and then only once, in Spokane, WA. Despite going around Indianapolis, Omaha, the Quad Cities, etc., Junction View never once appeared. Not much of a feature if it only worked for us in two cities.

LANE ASSIST: A terrific feature. As you approach upcoming turns, if there is more than one lane to be in, Lane Assist highlights which lanes you should be in and grays out the others.

3D VIEW: Basically eye candy, but nice eye candy.

Voice Command (VC): I guess you can't blame Garmin for the fact that the unit is sensitive to ambient noise. If you are using VC, better have the radio off, and speak loudly and clearly for the unit to understand you. Even so, it's a barely-ready-for-prime-time feature; but so is the equivalent of voice command on the Apple iPhone and so, again, you can't blame Garmin. Curiously, when we tried to adjust the volume on the unit using VC, it would recognize every number save 80; we could get every volume setting from 10% to 100%, but no matter how loud and clear we said it, it would not recognize 80%. It would also not recognize stores with initials, like R.E.I. The unit locked up once on VC and we had to shut it off and restart it to get it functioning again. Finally, half a dozen times a day, as we listened to books on tape, VC would turn on, unbidden. When we exited VM, backed up the book for 30" and played the same passage over, VM did not turn on again. We think it is sensitive to the "S" sound, but aren't sure about that.

TRAFFIC FEATURE: On just about all the reviews we saw of this feature, the comments were negative. We would agree. This "feature", since it is unreliable, is just about useless.

Other comments:

Lord but we wish Garmin had configured its software so that warnings of upcoming turns were given earlier. Out West, where you can bang along at 85mph (ten miles over the limit, I know), the unit barely alerts you in time to make some turns when they come hard one after the other. If it's just one turn, that's no problem, but sometimes it's one after another after another and the only way to deal with them is to keep your eyes glued to the Lane Assist display.

Sometimes the unit remains silent when you would expect and appreciate some reassurance. E.g., arriving at the Quad Cities area from the south, on I-74, you reach an intersection where I-80 comes in from the east and then turns directly North, and I-74, on which you are driving, turns due west and becomes both i-74 and I-280. Just a simple, "Continue north on I-80" would have been nice; we were waiting for it, but it never came. We sailed through an intersection on which were listed three Interstates with nary a peep from the unit.

Also on the Amazon.com site were comments that the software updates of maps from Garmin did not play nice with Macs. We updated the maps as soon as we got the unit and while we had to do it twice before it took, and it took an exceedingly long time to download the new maps despite having a blindingly fast download speeds over FiOS, but we were successful. (I am using a two-year old iMac running OS 10.6.8 and the latest Garmin software.

Finally, for totally inexplicable reasons, banging along an Interstate out West with no traffic and no construction, for some bizarre reason the unit suggested we exit the Interstate, go north, take a local state road paralleling the Interstate, then turn south rejoining the Interstate some thirty or forty miles later. It only happened once. We have no idea why. We of course ignored the suggestion.

Bottom line: despite the above-mentioned hiccups, we are VERY pleased with the unit and will definitely keep it.

Hope folks find this useful.

--
Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

My experience running 2012.1 maps and software ver.4.20

ACQUIRING SATELLITES: Very fast as in blink of an eye.

VOLUME: Loud enough, no problems there.

HEAT ISSUES: Worked fine in 95f and 98f weather without any glitches. Hot to the touch, yes but no problems.

JUNCTION VIEW: Much more jv’s then ever before and software version 4.20 fixes the multiple jv’s and turn signal nicely.

LANE ASSIST: A true must have.

Voice Command (VC): Not a must have for but its ok. Nothing I’m impressed with.

TRAFFIC FEATURE: As good as when it first came out. Its touch and go but I can live without it. Heck, that’s what the radio is for lol.

Bottom line: I love this unit. The 3790t is the sexiest gps on the market.

--
nüvi 3590LMT "always backup your files"

3790LMT -- My kind of GPS

bandaid wrote:

--- snip ---

Bottom line: I love this unit. The 3790t is the sexiest gps on the market.

I will echo all of Bandaid's comments. My 3790LMT operates beyond my expectations. I am quite pleased. On the dash in almost 100 degree outside temperatures it does get hot -- but I use a 'keffiyeh' made out of a microfiber cloth which I keep on the dash -- and then all is cool enough. [See my article w/pictures - LOWRANCE? NO! GARMIN OF ARABIA
- Sun Shielding Your Nüvi on page 8 of my Garmin Tricks and Tips website -- http://bit.ly/garmin_gps_tricks

As far as traffic goes, it works excellently in my Washington DC area where there is good and fairly instant coverage.

The screen is great. Most, who haven't seen the unit up close, would be surprised at the much better resolution than they are used to. Things are quite clear.

Satellite fixs are very rapid, especially if you keep it in the default 'sleep mode'. Apparently it has three to five day predictor built in which can find the satellites much quicker.

One thing I don't like is that it won't 'Set Location' in most off road areas. [See my article COORDINATES ENCORE -- In Case You Missed All The Others, on page 17]

Another thing (but I can deal with it via work arounds) it only allows a three mile route distance in Pedestrian mode for directions.

I don't miss not having .mp3 as I usually transport the Washington Philharmonic Orchestra (with instruments) in my back seat. They practice a lot.

Voice recognition does work for me -- one has to learn to wait till the green speaker lights before talking. There are more things you can say besides what is listed. One has to play around with it to discover what they are. On trips I use the 'Recently Found' quite a bit. I load the area before my trip and my Favorites, Custom POIs, Important Garmin POIs etc can be easily found there via voice.

Oh, I also love the instant on from sleep mode and you are ready to go. This is great when using it as a hand held device in Pedestrian mode where you can turn it on and off quickly to REALLY extend battery life.

Gary Hayman
Garmin Tricks & Tips website

--
Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Prev.GPSs: Drive61 LM, nuvi 3790LMT, 755T & 650, GPSIII+, SP 2610, 250W; Magellan 2200T; Originator of GARMIN NUVI TRICKS, TIPS, WORKAROUNDS, HINTS, SECRETS & IDEAS http://bit.ly/GARMIN-TNT

My Experience Running 2012.1 Maps And Software Ver.4.20

Hi Bandaid,

You stated: JUNCTION VIEW: Much more jv’s then ever before and software version 4.20 fixes the multiple jv’s and turn signal nicely.

In what cities have you found JV to work? As I mentioned in my original post, as I came up to and went around numerous major metropolitan areas as I drove cross-country, I found that JV never appeared on my screen except for Washington, DC, and Spokane, WA.

I checked the manual and this is supposed to be automatic.

I will try this next time I am out and about with the unit in the WDC area, but let me ask for now: is the display of JV dependent on whether you have set a destination vice are simply using the Nuvi as a map to assist you in identifying upcoming roads?

Thanks.

--
Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

You

You need to have a destination inputted and the route calculated for the Junction Views to appear.

The idea around Junction Views and Lane Assist is to help you be in the proper lanes in order to make your next turn or maneuver. That wouldn't be possible if the Nuvi didn't know where your destination was.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

3790LMT -- My Kind Of GPS

Hi ghayman -

See we are both in the WDC area, neighbor.

You noted: As far as traffic goes, it works excellently in my Washington DC area where there is good and fairly instant coverage.

Thanks for that, with the construction for the Lexus Lanes on the Beltway having reached the Tyson's corner area, I find I have to check traffic all the time when I pass through that area. I'll take the Nuvi to work and check it each time before I head home and see how it does.

Acting on your post, I found the Sleep instructions in the Manual:
• Press and quickly release the power key to lock the screen and put the device in sleep mode.

A further question: have you made a backup of your 3790 on your computer? I recall asking this question here when I got my Nuvi 650 and if memory serves, no one had actually ever tried restoring their unit from a backup, even though some folks had made backups of their units.

And, lastly, seeing how comprehensive your GPS web site is: any advice on where to search for programs/applications that will enable me to make changes to my 3790 using a Macintosh computer? I changed the RECALCULATING to NO, NO, NO! using a PC, but I no longer have access to it.

Many thanks for your input and for the terrific GPS web site you have set up.

--
Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

3790LMT

Hey, thanks t923347!

Now I know. So, since we did input a destination into our 3790 every single day we drove across the US, if JV were available, we should have seen it displayed in places like Indianapolis, Columbus, Omaha, etc., and we did not.

I have to conclude that for now JV only offers coverage in the very largest major metropolitan area. It puzzles me, however, why someplace considerably smaller than Columbus (i.e., Spokane, WA) would offer JV.

Strange.

--
Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

Backup and Mac

Speed3 wrote:

Hi ghayman -

See we are both in the WDC area, neighbor.

You noted: As far as traffic goes, it works excellently in my Washington DC area where there is good and fairly instant coverage.

-- snip --

A further question: have you made a backup of your 3790 on your computer? I recall asking this question here when I got my Nuvi 650 and if memory serves, no one had actually ever tried restoring their unit from a backup, even though some folks had made backups of their units.

And, lastly, seeing how comprehensive your GPS web site is: any advice on where to search for programs/applications that will enable me to make changes to my 3790 using a Macintosh computer? I changed the RECALCULATING to NO, NO, NO! using a PC, but I no longer have access to it.

Many thanks for your input and for the terrific GPS web site you have set up.

I've always made back-ups of my Garmin nuvi's -- but I have never had the need to use them.

I am an old Apple man (Apple II+, Apple IIGS '86) starting in 1979 -- but since 1984 I have been 'Mac-less'. I switched to a PC in the early nineties, so I don't have any Mac knowledge. Doesn't the modern Mac (the FOA Schwarz model) have a Windows simulation program. Perhaps you could use that.

My nuvi sez, "Gary, Dear, I'll fix it for you now." Instead of "Recalculating."

Gary Hayman

--
Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Prev.GPSs: Drive61 LM, nuvi 3790LMT, 755T & 650, GPSIII+, SP 2610, 250W; Magellan 2200T; Originator of GARMIN NUVI TRICKS, TIPS, WORKAROUNDS, HINTS, SECRETS & IDEAS http://bit.ly/GARMIN-TNT

Unless you

Speed3 wrote:

Hey, thanks t923347!

Now I know. So, since we did input a destination into our 3790 every single day we drove across the US, if JV were available, we should have seen it displayed in places like Indianapolis, Columbus, Omaha, etc., and we did not.

I have to conclude that for now JV only offers coverage in the very largest major metropolitan area. It puzzles me, however, why someplace considerably smaller than Columbus (i.e., Spokane, WA) would offer JV.

Strange.

Unless you had version 4.20 of the firmware installed on the 3790 you would only see the first available JV between your starting location and your destination, for each route you entered. Since 4.20 was only released last Thursday (June 23rd) I can only assume that you didn't have it installed on your trip. This was one of the reasons you didn't see many JV's.

I don't think there are any published list of where JV pics but I believe I read that Navteq/Garmin have in 2012.10, actually decreased the number available in some places (Midwest mainly) as they switch to more PhotoReal views from the original ones. This could be another reason you didn't see a lot.

There really doesn't seem to be any logic as to where these views show up. Just because a certain place is larger than another doesn't mean that you will see more views in the larger community. It really seems to depend more on where Navteq has done these views and were they haven't completed them yet. How complicated a certain interchange is may also have an affect on whether there is a JV in that location or not.

The one thing I think we can be sure of is that with each release of new maps we well see more views. In Canada we now have over 3000 of them, all Photo realistic pictures.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

Junction Views

Thanks, making more sense now.

I checked my unit; it has firmware version 2.60, not 4.20.

I'll check into downloading and installing the latest firmware.

--
Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

If you

If you had firmware that old you probably saw all the JV's that there were to display. The problem with the 3790 only showing the first view of a route started with a later release, 4.10 I think, but are all fixed now with the 4.20 release.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

Try to backup your current software Speed3

Speed3 wrote:

Thanks, making more sense now.

I checked my unit; it has firmware version 2.60, not 4.20.

I'll check into downloading and installing the latest firmware.

Try to backup the software you have. Look at your system folder in your Garmin. If you come across a “gupdate.gcd” (without the quotes) then back it up. That is your most recent version 2.60 which has not been offered from Garmin’s website. http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=5063

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nüvi 3590LMT "always backup your files"

Junction View

Roger that.

I just ran Garmin's WebUpdater.

BTW, the Firmware is the same version: 2.60.

It's the software version that changed from 4.10 to 4.20, and the update noted that:
Changes from version 4.10 to version 4.20:
Fixed an error that caused Junction View to show up only once during a route.
Fixed an error that caused the device to crash at random times.

How does one know that updates, either to software, firmware, or maps are available? Do you just check the Garmin site at fixed intervals?

Thanks.

--
Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

Where have all the JVs gone

I don't think missing JVs is a problem with your 3790. Since the 2012.10 map update I don't have the few JVs I use to have in my area or the ones that use to exist on some trips that I saw in the past, they are gone. This applies to the zumo 660 & the nuvi 765Ts.

I drove a couple of times since the update from north of Pittsburgh to the Columbia, MD. and LaPlata, MD. I drove down I-270 and around the DC beltway the one time and the other time I continued on I-70 to Columbia area (RT 29 to Rt 100).

I do have the full file according to the file sizes being posted at the time the update came out.

I've been on a few other trips and I've only seen 2 or 3 JVs, total, since doing the update. I would guess that there is something wrong with JV since the update but as long as I have LA I'm happy.

--
Harley BOOM GTS, Zumo 665, (2) Nuvi 765Ts, 1450LMT, 1350LM & others | 2019 Harley Ultra Limited Shrine - Peace Officer Dark Blue

Thanks for the Review

It's always nice to hear what others say about some of the newer products.

--
Larry - Nuvi 680, Nuvi 1690, Nuvi 2797LMT

Nuvi 3790LMT

That's why I posted my observations/comments on the unit.

I have learned so much from the comments and observations of others on this site that I felt obliged to (and was happy to do so) "pay back" for all I had learned from other members who had taken the time and effort post.

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Nuvi 3790T w. Lifetime Maps/Macintosh OS Lion/iPhone 4/iPad 1

That;s it

Check every couple of months or here every day grin

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

Kudos

Speed3 wrote:

That's why I posted my observations/comments on the unit.

I have learned so much from the comments and observations of others on this site that I felt obliged to (and was happy to do so) "pay back" for all I had learned from other members who had taken the time and effort post.

I agree with you.

--
nüvi 3590LMT "always backup your files"

Right

Speed3 wrote:

Roger that.

I just ran Garmin's WebUpdater.

BTW, the Firmware is the same version: 2.60.

It's the software version that changed from 4.10 to 4.20, and the update noted that:
Changes from version 4.10 to version 4.20:
Fixed an error that caused Junction View to show up only once during a route.
Fixed an error that caused the device to crash at random times.

How does one know that updates, either to software, firmware, or maps are available? Do you just check the Garmin site at fixed intervals?

Thanks.

You are absolutely correct. I've mentioned this before, somehow its gone on deaf ears. We are updating software NOT firmware. All our 3790's have firmware version 2.60. We are now on software version 4.20 if we updated.

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2 DriveSmart 65's - We do not live in Igloo's and do not all ride to work on snow mobiles.