Garmin Nuvi 3450

Garmin Nuvi 3450 GPS receiver

Garmin's Nuvi 3490 LMT features an interface that is similar to that of the recently reviewed Garmin Nuvi 2495 LMT and hardware that is similar to the Nuvi 3790T. Where applicable, portions of each of those reviews have been used in this evaluation. At an MSRP of $399.99, the Garmin Nuvi 3490 LMT is easily the most expensive Garmin Nuvi that money can buy. Sitting firmly at the top of Garmin 2012 Prestige lineup of GPS navigators, it is also the most advanced Nuvi that money can buy and the thinnest GPS navigator on the market. Besides being thinner, the Nuvi 3490 LMT attempts to justify its $150 price premium over the recently reviewed Nuvi 2495 LMT with snappier overall performance, traffic updates that are more frequently updated, and a capacitive glass touch screen that's faster for typing and enables pinching and zooming of the map screen. Garmin started by making things thin. At 4.8 inches wide and 2.9 inches tall, it doesn't look much smaller than your average PND while in its packaging, but unbox it and lay it side by side with any automotive portable navigator, and the svelte nature of the 3490 LMT's chassis becomes evident. At 0.35 inch thick, this Nuvi is about half the thickness of any other Garmin, thinner even than the iPhone 4.