Garmin nuvi 40LM Review

Garmin is one of the top brands of GPS devices worldwide and many car owners are becoming more familiar with the brand because Garmin offers different kinds of models that cater to different audiences. You can buy an automotive GPS device for under $200 these days and still enjoy the most essential features in driving safer and reaching your destination faster without getting lost. While Garmin is doing a good job in satisfying customers, Garmin's competitors are still active in trying to get a portion of the market.

More people are also getting interested with GPS devices but really do not wish to spend so much on the technology. Garmin is finally targeting that segment by introducing the essential series of the Garmin nuvi family. The Garmin nuvi 40LM is the 4.3-inch version and while it doesn't really bring anything new to the table, it manages to combine some of the best features for an attractive price.

Garmin nuvi 40LM GPS Navigator

Design

The Garmin nuvi 40LM has a standard design with a black frame around the 4.3-inch display. The design may not be so fancy but it doesn't have to be. This is a budget device and it should look fine to any person who wants something inexpensive.

Features

The nuvi 40LM hopes to provide the bare essentials to anyone that wants to navigate around their local neighborhood as well as other towns and cities within the US and Canada. However, there are other Garmin nuvi devices like the nuvi 2300LM that hope to accomplish this as well but the price is a bit higher. Some of the existing cheaper devices like the nuvi 2200 have smaller screens and do not have lifetime map updates.

While the existing value Garmin nuvi devices are still being sold for certain crowds, the nuvi 40LM introduces value at a different angle. It is one of the first GPS devices with lifetime map updates that are priced under $200. Lifetime map updates is a great feature to have because your maps will always be up-to-date. This basically means that you can still use this GPS device a decade from now and beyond just because all of the map information will stay up-to-date. You can download map updates 4 times a year which should be enough to have the latest points of interests and other navigation information. No subscription is ever required and the feature never expires. The moment you purchase this GPS device, you already get more than 6 million points of interest just like other Garmin nuvi devices.

You can expect the Garmin nuvi 40LM to be a stripped device but it presents the same simple interface that other Garmin nuvi users are familiar with. If you never used a Garmin device before, navigating through the menu is as easy as choosing the "Where to?" or "View Map" icons. "Where to?" quickly guides you in planning a route while "View Map" shows your current position and lets you plan a route from there.

When the route is active, the text-to-speech functionality does the work from there. You don't have to keep paying attention to the GPS device because it has a built-in speaker that can speak out the street names whenever you need to make a turn.

The main thing that makes this budget Garmin nuvi device so unique is the inclusion of the lane assist with junction view feature. This feature is normally found in those inexpensive midrange devices but it looks like Garmin realized that this feature is in greater demand since many people travel on highways and frequently forget to be on the right lane before taking an exit. Lane assist works by highlighting the lane ahead of time to ensure that you stay on that lane so you will never miss the exit. It also serves as a road sign detector so you are well aware of the speed limit.

It is important to note that the fuel conserving ecoRoute feature is missing from this device in order to keep the device below $200. Devices like the Garmin nuvi 2300LM provide this so it shouldn't really be seen as a drawback considering the price. The nuvi 40LM is really there to provide more options to people that are on a tight budget and that is a good thing considering the fact that the existing Garmin devices are working just fine for people. The simple nature of the Garmin nuvi 40LM is also good for people that don't want to deal with too many options.

List Price: $159.99

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