Garmin Nüvi 1490 satellite navigation system

First, a disclaimer. The following is in no way intended as a criticism of my previous motoring navigation system (my wife) which was infallible, with any wrong turnings, u-turns, delayed arrivals etc entirely due to driver error.

Second, a confession. I have undoubtedly been a slow and reluctant convert to the use of satellite navigation systems.

This reluctance was in no small part due to the excellence of my aforementioned terrestrial navigation system. But it was also the result of an unsuccessful encounter with a satnav when they first began to gain popularity.

I am by no means an "early adopter", one of those blokes who just has to have the latest brand name gadget. My preference is to wait until others have ironed out the teething problems of anything new and until its usefulness has been proved by its ubiquity before I am tempted to try it. To give you an idea of my techno-resistance, I have bought my first iPod in the past 12 months.

However, when the satnav was still the preserve of a cutting edge few, I was persuaded to try one. The experiment was not a success. Before relying on the device to guide me on a long drive to an unfamiliar destination, I thought I would try it on my way home. The journey takes an hour and by the time I pulled up on to my drive, the satnav was still trying to connect to its friends in the sky. It quickly found its way back to its owner.

My Luddite determination to stick with the tried and tested has subsequently been weakened, however, by the (generally) successful use of in-built satnavs in various cars I have tested. It has become clear both that the technology has improved and that my wife would prefer a voice with a little emotional distance to try and keep me on the straight and narrow.

So, with a French holiday looming, I decided it was time to try a standalone satnav again.

I chose a Garmin, first, because I drive a Volvo and the company supplies systems to the Swedish carmaker and, second, because Garmin sponsors a team in the Tour de France so I figured they should know their way round the country.

My golden rule for all things technological is that if one has to consult any instructions beyond the "Quick set-up" guide it has already failed. However, my first challenge with the Nüvi 1490 was to find that guide - the English version was the 11th of the 11 supplied. This, I decided, simply reflected the multinational nature of the satnav, a reassuring thought as I prepared to set off fo the Continent.

Assembly of the Nüvi's holder took less time than it did to decide where on the windscreen to site the device. This, in turn, took less time than it did for the satnav to connect to its guiding satellites. But, after a brief hesitition, the Nüvi sprang to life, banishing unhappy memories of that early satnav failure.

Thereafter, the Nüvi competently met every requirement. It has a large, but not overpowering, screen and perfectly attuned touch screen controls. Destination input is straightforward and intuitive with the exception of a requirement to enter a street name as part of the address. This means that if you just want to find your way to a town, you have to guess at a street name before it will begin route guidance. Having been irritated by this on a few occasions, I noticed that there was the option to simply enter '1' at this point, with the system then taking you to the centre of the town.

Once under way, the guidance is clear and timely with a good feature being the graphical illustration of junctions, particularly useful in navigating complex routes on and off France's ring roads and motorways.

The Nüvi did have a habit of shutting down at random, as if suffering a loss of power, requiring a reboot. This is quick but frustrating, particularly if it happens at a critical moment en route.

The Nüvi also shares a trait with most other satnavs that I have always found surprising - it does not give a route overview at the beginning of the journey. This had always irritated me, until I enjoyed a Nuvi-inspired epiphany. My irritation, I realised, reflected the fact that I did not trust the device. I wanted to see the planned route, to test it against my own interpretation of the best way forward.

This defeats the point. If you already know the best route to the place you are going, you do not need a satnav. And if you do not know the way, or all the traffic conditions en route, or where all the speed cameras are, you must put your faith in the satnav.

This realisation dawned on me on the way home from my holiday when, with the motorways heading north choc-a-bloc, the Nüvi calmy and flawlessly guided me along hundreds of miles of French Route Nationales so that I arrived at the Eurotunnel on time and back in England in time to be greeted by a cloudburst.

Having no choice but to deliver myself into its hands, as I, obviously, had no idea where I was, my trust was rewarded as the Nüvi delivered me to my destination. My wife could have worked out an alternative route, but why should she be working on the last day of the holiday when, for our friend, Nüvi , the whole thing was effortless.

Garmin Nüvi 1490

Say goodbye to: tension between driver and put-upon navigator

Say hello to: blaming a machine instead

How fast? Slow starter but very rapid once up and running

How thirsty? Runs off 12V socket, which charges internal battery so Nuvi can be used as pedestrian/cycling guide

How green? Excellent at avoiding carbon-spuming traffic jams, also offers ecoroute function

How much? £199.99