Positioned near the top of Garmin's Nuvi Advance series, the Nuvi 2689 LMT is pretty close to as cutting-edge as portable navigation devices (PND) get. Portable standalone navigators, that is. Like many generations of Garmin Nuvi that came before the 2689 LMT, this PND faces stiff competition and ever increasing pressure from the smartphone market and its cornucopia of navigation apps.
Rather than march silently into obsolescence, the Nuvi Advanced series has recently learned to work with the smartphone in the driver's pocket, wirelessly linking the phone's Web connectivity for traffic, destination search and more to the Garmin PND upon the dashboard.
The PND hardware
The Nuvi 2689 LMT is a tablet-shaped devices that features a 6-inch glass capacitive touchscreen that supports swipe, tap and pinch gestures. At one corner, a small pinhole in the glass hints at the always-on microphone hiding behind. Along the lower edge of the device is a small microSD card slot for adding extra space for map data and more.
On the backside of the 2689 is the grille opening for the loudspeaker, a small power button, and the Mini-USB port that is used for power in the car and software updates at home. The rear end is also where I found the round socket where the suction-cup mount connects. Attached to the smooth glass of my car's windshield, the mount's ball and socket connection is the only point of articulation, allowing 360-degree rotation and just under 180 degrees of tilt in any direction.
The device feels a bit thicker in the middle than I thought it should be, thanks to a central bulge that is highlighted by its tapered edges. Though not at all a bulky device, the Nuvi does seem a bit chubby compared to my Nexus 7 tablet, which is about half as thick. On the other hand, my tablet doesn't have anywhere near as large a speaker or as robust a GPS receiver as the Nuvi packs, so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Also in the box are a 12-volt-to-Mini-USB power adapter and a short Mini-USB cable for connecting to a PC or Mac for software and map updates.
Smartphone Link software
One thing that Garmin has historically done well is interface design. The Nuvi 2689 is no exception. The main map and destinations interfaces are well organized with large buttons that are easy to tap when the PND is mounted at an arm's length. Fonts are large and easy to read at a glance, and the settings menus are fairly well organized with large icons and tap points.
As the Nuvi lineup gains more and more features (such as EcoRoute HD functionality, Bluetooth calling, voice command, smartphone integration, a host of routing and directions options and so much more), the settings menu has bloated a bit, so don't go futzing around with this part of the interface while cruising at 70 mph.
Meanwhile, despite gaining a bunch of new features of its own, the map screen has remained as simple as ever. When on the road, the driver is presented with just the information important that is relevant to the moment. Streets and street names are crisply rendered, and the screen's colors are vibrant and easy to see even in direct sunlight.
One of my favorite things about the Nuvi Advance 2689 LMT is that I didn't really need to spend a lot of time tapping around its interface. For many trips, I didn't need to tap at all. The Nuvi's excellent voice-command system is always listening for a trigger phrase -- in this case "Voice Command" -- that I could speak to wake it up. From there, I just had to speak prompts such as "Find Address, 1000 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco" and I'd be on my way. Many of the Nuvi's most commonly accessed functions, such as increasing volume, finding a category of POI, or accessing saved locations, can be accessed via voice. The Nuvi doesn't do so well with proper nouns -- it seems to prefer "nearest airport" to "San Francisco International Airport" or "SFO" -- but some well-known national brands, such as Starbucks or McDonald's, can be understood.
The Garmin Nuvi 2689 LMT is a strong performing navigator with loads of smart features that help reduce driver errors and distraction, but in a world
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