I purchased the 1490T last year as a replacement for my Nuvi 350, which still performs well (minus a button issue) for my fiance.
The first few things I noticed that nearly caused me to send it back were:
1. Batterly life: The 350, which will dim while not plugged in, will auto-dim to a very low level. When I wanted an update, I'd tap the screen and the backlight would energize for a little while before dimming again. I routinely got 5+ hrs of battery life.
The screen brightness for the 1490 has to be manually changed, so you have to hit the power button, tap the + or - button for the desired brightness, and then hit the power button again to return to the map screen. Even with the brightness at the lowest setting that still provided visibility, I was barely able to eek out 2 hrs.
2. The Beeps: There is no way to turn off the touch tones on the 1490. Every time you press a button, it beeps, and there's nothing you can do about it. I know there are people who like the audio feedback, because I still hear certain older cell users punching every key stroke into their flip phones, one loud BOOP at a time, but I don't like it.
3. The speaker isn't really very good, and it distorts when the volume is turned up.
The traffic, for me at least, has been counter-productive. In the year that I've owned it, it has not once predicted the traffic correctly. In the beginning, I actually trusted it and was sent from an area where there was light traffic to an area where there was very heavy traffic. The "traffic ahead" prompt will also come up every so often, and I'll notice that it wants me to exit, take some local roads that would add 20 minutes to my drive, then get back onto the same highway. I've learned to ignore the rerouting prompts.
Aside from that, the 5" screen is nice and the bluetooth works well. I haven't used it in months, but it did work well the last time I did.
