“The nüvi 1490T is designed to give drivers a big picture of the route ahead, while offering every-day conveniences customers want and need to take the worry out of traveling,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities and ultra-thin design, it’s also a perfect companion for travelers in unfamiliar territory who want to explore the city on foot or with public transportation.”

The nüvi 1490T gives clear guidance on the 5-inch touchscreen that details upcoming turns and specific driving directions, including road sign detail and arrows indicating the proper lane for navigation. With the nüvi 1490T, route planning is straightforward because the device will save 10 routes. The multiple-point routing feature makes running errands more efficient because the nüvi will calculate the most efficient route between multiple stops. For trips across the country, drivers will benefit from the automatic time zone transition feature that automatically sets the unit to the correct time zone. In addition, a speed limit indicator displays speed limits for most major roads.

An integrated traffic receiver comes standard with the nüvi 1490T and gives free, lifetime traffic alerts without a subscription fee. The free lifetime traffic alerts are from NAVTEQ Traffic and are available in select coverage areas. Lifetime traffic alerts extend for the useful life of the nüvi unit or as long as Garmin receives traffic data from its traffic supplier.

Also, the nüvi 1490T comes standard with ecoRoute that suggests fuel-efficient navigation. In addition, the nüvi 1490T also has Bluetooth Wireless Technology that makes it possible to receive and place phone calls directly from the nüvi. The nüvi supports over 200 Bluetooth enabled phones, and drivers can retrieve and dial numbers using a supported phone’s contact list, the phone’s call history log, or the nüvi’s preloaded points of interest database.

The ultra-thin nüvi 1490T also offers enhanced pedestrian navigation capability with optional CityXplorer maps. Available for select tourist destinations in both North America and Europe, CityXplorer maps can be downloaded directly to the nüvi. Content from CityXplorer varies in cost from $9.99 - $14.99, depending on the city.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the nüvi 1490T is $499.99, and it is expected to be available in July of 2009.