Garmin nuvi 3790T Portable GPS Navigator Review

Garmin’s nuvi 3790T is an evolutionary jump in portable navigation systems design which has been recognized for its appeal with a 2010 Red Dot Product Design Award. It is truly pocket sized (8.7 mm thick) and weighted (4 ounces) for pedestrian navigation. The traditional plastic case is gone replaced with a brushed aluminum finish casing with smooth, stylish chrome edges. The metal casing along with the glass faced 4.3 inch display gives the Garmin nuvi 3790T a much sturdier feel than plastic. Overall the design and form factor can’t help but remind one of the latest iPhone 4.

Garmin nuvi 3790T GPS Navigator

The beauty of the nuvi 3790T is not simply skin deep with the resistive touch display having been replaced with a capacitive, touch, color display (WVGA - 800×480 pixels). Along with the much more responsive display comes naturally intuitive gesture controls of the interface. Those familiar with one of the many capacitive screen smart phones and PDA on the market now would be familiar with finger pinches (for scaling), double tapping, dragging and twisting (perspective change). Naturally there is a screen lock to prevent inadvertent touches causing havoc.

Multi-Touch Display - Garmin nuvi 3790T Video

Some other innovative features of the Garmin nüvi 3790T are

Voice activation and navigation of the on-screen menus
Garmin trafficTrends for improved routing recommendations
Garmin myTrends for entryless route prediction
Active suction cup mount - into which the power cord is plugged rather than the GPS unit itself
Secondary speaker on the powered mount for higher quality sound
Customizable wallpaper
Ability to view, crop and save images on the nuvi
Auto time zone allows nuvi to automatically adjust your time zone while navigating
Buildings and Terrain in 3-D which includes representative 3D views of significant buildings and the surrounding terrain

Voice Control Navigation

Starting voice-activated navigation begins with a customizable wake-up phrase. Using voice commands to navigate menus improves safety by allowing the driver to keep his/her eyes on the road ahead.

Voice Control Video nuvi 3790T

Garmin trafficTrends and myTrends

For those who have read our reviews discussing TomTom’s IQ Routes technology, Garmin’s trafficTrends will appear familiar. Garmin’s trafficTrends computes route recommendation utilizing historical traffic data and recurring trends for any given time or day. This feature could be expected to become more accurate as historical data accumulates from the data updates which piggyback software updates.

Garmin myTrends uses clues such as the time of day and location you turn on the GPS as well as the initial direction taken to guesstimate what the intended destination may be from stored frequent destinations. If you are a creature of habit this functionality could save a lot of time.

Navigating with the Garmin nuvi 3790T

There are many choices for selecting a destination with the 3790T in addition to voice commands and having the unit guess (myTrends). Most familiar and most commonly used is touchscreen keyboard address entry or browsing and double tapping a point on the map. For services, retail, ATM and other such locations, there is a searchable database of some 6 million Points of Interest (POI). For locations not in the database, one can create and append a customized POI. Geotagged photos of your own or downloaded from Garmin Connect Photos can be used to select a destination. One can also make use of a feature available with Google Maps and Mapquest which lets you to download a destination you have found (GPS coordinates and address) directly to your Garmin GPS navigator.

Maps can be displayed in either 2D or 3D perspective views depending on preference. The video shows how switching between them can be achieved with a simple finger gesture.

The 3790T has two useful features which assist drivers in staying on route through complicated multi-lane intersections; Lane Assist which indicates the correct lane to be in for and upcoming turn and Junction View which provides a larger, more detailed view of a junction.

If you are unlucky enough to have an emergency, the Where Am I? emergency locator can find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersections.

Video - Using the Garmin nuvi 3790T

Routing Calculation Options

The Garmin nuvi 3790T comes with numerous options for setting route calculation priorities including;

Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.)
Choice of route setup (shorter distance, faster time, off road and less fuel)
Auto sort multiple destinations (up to 10 destinations – ideal for delivery runs)
Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation)

ecoRoute

The ecoRoute routing function mentioned above is a relatively new feature with Garmin nuvi models. It’s function is to assist drivers ing saving fuel by determining suitably optimized routes when the Less Fuel routing option has been chosen. Route calculation takes into consideration; fuel consumption rates, estimated driving speeds and vehicle acceleration data. Feedback from ecoRoute’s Fuel Report and Mileage Report can help with the development of more fuel efficient driving skills.

Built-in Traffic Receiver with Lifetime Traffic Subscription

For those who travel the same routes often, traffic updates and the ability to plot a route around traffic jams are a primary use for a GPS navigator. The Garmin nuvi 3790T has a FM TMC (Traffic Message Channel) traffic receiver to deliver this service. TMC data provides quick, accurate notification of situations impacting traffic such as accidents, road construction, police and emergency services. Read our technical guide on FM Traffic for more detailed information. It might also be worth considering the advantages provided by Gamin’s new wireless 3G transmitter/receiver enabled nuLink! facility on the Garmin nüvi 1690 which delivers a number of live information services including: traffic, Google Local Search, White Pages, gas prices, Ciao!, weather, movie times and local events.

Pedestrian Navigation Mode

As the Garmin nuvi 3790T is ideal for pedestrian mode navigation, it’s well worth considering purchasing the compatible cityXplorer maps. They have enhanced pedestrian navigation features including; directions for where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation. In some cities, transit schedules, such as subway or bus times, are available. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe for a very reasonable price of about $10.
It is worth noting that the battery life is 4 hours so it needs to be managed when in pedestrian mode.

Read our technical guide to GPS III and discover how the soon to be launched next generation of GPS satellites will significantly enhance pedestrian navigation.

Hands-Free Calling - Bluetooth Wireless Technology

Garmin nuvi 3790T users can keep their eyes safely on the road by making hands-free cellular calls utilizing Bluetooth technology. Incoming phone calls are displayed and a tap of the screen accepts the call. As with other systems, any other audio is automatically muted during phone calls. Calls can be made using the nuvi’s touchscreen keypad. A handy convenience is being able to access phone numbers associated with a POI making it simple to call ahead. Numbers from your personalized phone book can be dialed and you can even tap into your cell phone’s call history log.

Powered mount and Garmin Locate

The Garmin nuvi 3790’s power lead attaches to the mount instead of the unit itself. If you have ever left the miniUSB unplugged and tried to reach around the back of the nuvi in the mount and plug it in blind, then you will appreciate this design feature. This mounting arrangement facilitates Garmin Locate which is a feature where the nüvi 3790T, when removed from its cradle, will remember where you parked your car by automatically saving its position as a favorite. There is still a miniUSB port on the nuvi 3790T for charging while away from the car.

Other Features

Included with the nuvi 3790T are travel tools such as JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter and calculator. The 3790T features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with Garmin Garage where you can download free vehicles and voices. It should be noted that the 3790T does not play audio files (MP3) or incorporate an audio book player. For loading photos and maps there is a microSD slot for which one might need an adapter for a standard size SD card from a digital camera.

Garmin Nuvi 3790T – In the Box

nuvi 3790T
Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S. , Canada and Mexico) (maps vary with country of purchase)
Vehicle suction cup active mount
FM Traffic Receiver with vehicle power cable
USB cable
Dashboard disc
Quick start manual

Summary

The Garmin 3790T is a feature packed, truly portable GPS navigator with a breakthrough form factor, and gorgeous, intuitive capacitive display which will also functions as and envy magnet.