Review: nüvi 3790LMT

The nüvi 3790LMT GPS from Garmin is one thin GPS! It’s screen has a nice glossy finish compared to the slightly matte finish most GPSes have.

Housing
The back is covered with a brushed metal backing and a small segment with a plastic finishing. The housing for this GPS definitely feels solid but still allows it to be very light and thin.

Screen
The screen for the GPS is responsive and is bright enough to be comfortably read in bright daylight, which can be a problem for some GPSes. The screen cones in at 4.3″ which is the same size as many of the larger smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S II. There is enough real estate on the nüvi 3790LMT to make it comfortable to view maps and directions and is small and light enough to carry around in a pocket.

GPS Functions
The GPS is quite responsive and does connect to satellites quicker than what you would have seen on older units the market even if it’s just a two year old model that you’re comparing it with. It also tracks your turns accurately and responsively so if you miss a turn, or decide to turn earlier or later, it will adjust to your location and recalculate a new route all in about 4-7 seconds.

Other Features
The main features I’ll talk about here are those I found the most useful. There are other things you can tinker around with but I’ll let you play with that if you decide to get this GPS. The nüvi 3790LMT is Bluetooth enabled, so you can use it as a headset/speakerphone. You have the choice on the unit to either accept or decline the call unless you’ve already set your phone to take all incoming calls with a headset after a certain amount of time. If you have call display on your phone, the GPS also displays the name of the incoming call. The only gripe about the speakers on the nüvi 3790LMT is that if you have your music cranked up, you might not hear it unless you have the razor sharp hearing of a musician.

The GPS also has voice command, which is convenient for those times where you don’t have a free hand to use the GPS, although like any other voice recognition software, it will make mistakes.

Another nice feature that is added into the nüvi 3790LMT is the ecoRoute function, which tracks your fuel usage and trip cost among other things, which i find really neat.

Last, but not least, the nüvi 3790LMT has a feature called nüRoute technology (which includes trafficTrends and myTrends). What’s neat about it is if you have some locations that you frequent regularly, it will help calculate traffic based on the day and time to give you the best route to get there. Another thing that is great about this GPS is that it has a subscription free traffic alerts and has free lifetime updates so you can avoid where the traffic is the heaviest.

Overview
The nüvi 3790LMT is a great GPS if you’re on the market, although it’ll cost you a bit more than the budget $99 ones. The MSRP on this is $350, which I think a bit steep, considering you could get a PS3, an extra controller and a game for that price. The features along with the design of the system is top notch. If you are looking for something that’s good and will last you many years, the nüvi 3790LMT is a great choice.