3490 and traffic
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 10:14pm
 16 years
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I was recently into Bestbuy intent on purchasing a 2595. However, on display next to the 2595 was a 3490. The 3490, although smaller had a much more brillaiant and sharper screen. So, now I'm studying the 3490 instead.
From what I read, HD traffic reporting on the 3490 is more current, but very limited in scope in comparison to other formats.
So, I'd appreciate opinions from current 3490 owners.
There are tons of forum post
There are tons of forum post on the 3490 on this website. Just do a search on the 3490.
I own both the 3790 and the 3490 and I can honestly say that the 3490 is the BEST PND with traffic that Garmin makes. I have used the 3490 in Phoenix, all over Chicago, Denver, and I just drove from Chicago to Miami. The traffic is spectacular. It alerts you of traffic incidents by name; whether its construction, accident, stop and go traffic or anything related to a slow down. I love the 30 second updates and the fact that it alerts you of traffic even on major roads not just expressways. Don't think twice and buy it. I have been using PND's for over 10 years and finally Garmin has built a good PND.
I have never experience lack of coverage for the HD stations so the traffic has always acquired a signal.
HD Radio Coverage Sparse in Washington DC
The HD radio coverage for Washington barely reaches outside the beltway without running into major coverage holes. I had to subscribe to the SmartLink traffic service for my 3490LMT to make sure I had traffic service since I would have to travel inside the beltway (about a 35 minute trip to the beltway) before I would get my first traffic update via HD radio.
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From what I read, HD traffic reporting on the 3490 is more current, but very limited in scope in comparison to other formats.
So, I'd appreciate opinions from current 3490 owners.
You can always add a Clear Channel RDS traffic subscription to the GTM 60 that comes with the 3490.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=268
The unit will auto-select which subscription to use based on reception and available channels in your area. I have done so but the reception seems worse on the 3490/GTM 60 than on my 3790/GTM 35...the unit does a great deal of scanning/searching the already scanned & available FM table for channels and seems to take a long time to lock onto an available channel.
nuvi 760, nuvi 765T, nuvi 855, nuvi 3790LMT, nuvi 3490LMT - SoCal area