Garmin nüLink 1695 Review

If you are looking for a GPS device for your automobile, it is best to get one that has a widescreen. Typical handheld GPS devices have rather small displays that are not really a problem if you take it out and glance at it. But it is a different story when you are driving making larger displays more important. Having a widescreen display is great when using the 3-D view so you have a perspective on which direction you are heading. Garmin is one of the top manufacturers of GPS devices in this category. Their devices are known as Garmin nuvi devices but one of the high-end models of the family is strangely called Garmin nuLink 1695. It is one of the priciest automotive GPS devices by Garmin so it is important to see what exactly you are getting out of this nuLink device.

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Garmin nuLink 1695
Garmin nuLink 1695 GPS Navigator

Design

The Garmin nuLink 1695 has a 5-inch touchscreen display that provides a wider view of the surroundings when zoomed out and more detail when zoomed in or when using the device's 3-D mode. The colors look great and the larger surface area means that operating the interface is much easier. Other than that, it looks like the typical Garmin nuvi device.

Features & Performance

nuLink 1695 weather services

Accurate real-time online information is
delivered wirelessly to the nuLink 1695

The nuLink 1695 shares many features with the other hand end devices. The closest that you can compare this too is the smaller Garmin nuvi 1690 because both of these devices have support for Garmin nuLink! services which is how the Garmin nuLink device got its name. This is one of the primary features of this GPS device because other similarly priced high-end units like the Garmin nuvi 775T and 3790T lack this feature. Garmin nuLink is all about giving the most updated information to your device. You can receive traffic alerts, road construction notices, and fuel price updates in your location. This ensures that you always take the fastest route based on the day's conditions. It also gives you access to a number of other services like Ciao!, myGarmin, and White Pages. Garmin offers a free year subscription for you to try and you can continue using this by paying $60 a year.

The difference between the 1695 and 1690 is not only the touchscreen. It also features the nuRoute technology which focuses more on creating more advanced routes. It utilizes a feature known as trafficTrends to analyze the current traffic conditions so it can create a better route and a better estimate on when you will arrive to your destination. The myTrends is more of a suggestions feature which keeps track of what destinations enter your "Favorites". As you continue to use your GPS device, the feature will assume your next destination even if you do not set it. While this may not work for everyone, it takes away some of the hassle if its predictions are accurate. It is also capable creating up to 100 routes which is far more than 10 route limitation that both the nuvi 775T and 1690 have. Unlike the nuLink feature, these technologies are free and you can use them as long as you like so there are no subscriptions to worry about.

The ecoRoute feature contributes to making even better routes if you are not in a hurry and just want to conserve fuel. The feature works well because it uses the vehicle acceleration and speed data as a basis for coming to these conclusions. A feature called Lane Assist with Junction View can also save time and fuel by making sure that you stay on the right lane before you need to make an exit to follow your route. Missing this exit means that you waste time and fuel recalculating the route..

Extras

The Garmin nuLink 1695 also keeps you more focused on the road by using text-to-speech voices to guide you and it even goes as far as saying the street name out loud. Even cellphone interruptions won't be an issue as long as your phone has Bluetooth support. If it does, you can connect your phone to the GPS device so you can dial numbers or answer calls through the GPS's touchscreen.

The nuLink 1695 costs around $450 which is the exact same price as the Garmin nuvi 3790T and 775T. It is important to remember that the nuLink 1695 is more focused on different routing possibilities rather than extra features and enhancements. For instance, you won't see any 3-D buildings and you will find that some of the small applications are missing such as the MP3 and audio book player. Overall, it is still a good buy because it puts the most significant navigation features in a 5-inch display.

.Actual user review:
• I ordered this unit about a month ago and it has worked flawlessly. I do like the way my nuvi 660 routes me a little better however. There is no option on this unit to state the type of vehicle you are in, car, bus, truck. It doesn't seem to like major highways that much. In my opinion it works much better with Traffic Trends and My Trends turned off. I love the weather and traffic updates. Its nice seeing and active weather radar while traveling. Overall, its a very nice unit. If they would just tweak the algorithm they use for routing, they would have a great unit and I would give it five stars. - S.White (GA,USA)

Product Features

  • 5-inch backlit TFT color touchscreen display with 480 x 272 WQVGA pixel resolution
  • Preloaded with City Navigator NT North America maps for the U.S, Canada and Mexico
  • One-year subscription to Garmin nuLink services: Google search, fuel prices, weather, white pages, and more
  • Advanced navigation features include turn-by-turn directions, lane assist with junction view, fuel-saving ecoRoute
  • Smart features like trafficTrends historical traffic and myTrends predictive routing help you get there on time

Technical Details

  • Faceplate Color: Piano Black
  • Dimensions: 5.5"(W) x 3.4"(H) x 0.7"(D) inches
  • Display size : 5.0" Widescreen (Diagonal)
  • Display Resolution: 480 x 272 pixels
  • Weight: 8.2 ounces (231.6g)
  • Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
  • High-sensitivity receiver: Yes
  • Battery Life: Up to 3 hours
  • Bluetooth : Yes
  • Additional Storage: microSD card slot
  • Voice prompts : Yes
  • Text-To-Speech : Yes
  • Lane assist : Yes
  • Junction View : Yes
  • Garmin nüLink! Services : Yes
  • trafficTrends™ (calculates routes based on predicted traffic flow): Yes
  • myTrends™ (predicts routes based on user's navigation behavior): Yes
  • ecoRoute: Yes
  • Photo navigation (navigate to geotagged photos): Yes
  • Picture viewer: Yes
  • MP3 player: No
More user comments:

• I have had several Garmin's and a couple of TomTom's over the years and this one I am very happy with. I really like all the neat features, and all seems to work really well. The only negative I would have is when scrolling the maps seem to have a mind of it's own but buy a small stylus with a rubber tip and this problem is solved, also it is a bit pricey but I bought so should not complain about that and I am happy with it. Also a word about Amazon, I bought 2 others before I settled on this one. Amazon took them back and made the exchange with ease. Amazon is 5 STAR in my book all the way! I think this will be a top rated GPS. Hope this review helps.
-
D.Butler (OH,USA)

Average User Rating :

List Price: $449.99

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