Garmin nuvi 1490T

Even if you don't have bad eyesight or a huge vehicle, reviewers say the Garmin nuvi 1490T's big 5-inch screen is refreshingly easy to see. Like other recent Garmin nuvi models -- the 1200, 1300 and 1600 series -- the nuvi 1490T can also calculate walking and public-transit routes for major cities worldwide, if you download special maps (*Est. $10 to $18). Because it's very thin and light, testers say the nuvi 1490T is portable enough for pedestrian use in spite of its big screen. It includes many of the Garmin features testers find most helpful, such as multidestination routing (which automatically calculates the best route to hit several stops), lane assist and free traffic information for the life of the unit -- although those last two features are only available in certain metropolitan areas. Still, some owners complain that the nuvi 1490T and other newer-model Garmins -- including the top-rated Garmin nuLink 1695 (*Est. $320) -- don't create the best routes as quickly and reliably as older, simpler models that Garmin has recently discontinued.

GPSMagazine.com's exhaustive testing is unbeatable, but GPSTracklog.com and the U.K.'s TrustedReviews.com also conduct very good tests of the Garmin nuvi 1490T. User reviews at Amazon.com report problems that don't show up in professional tests.