Gadget Carnival

Garmin announced the nuvi 1490TV personal GPS navigation device that comes with integrated DVB-T digital terrestrial TV and radio tuner.  The nuvi 1490TV comes pre-programmed with highly detailed road maps of Europe, free premium traffic updates3, safety camera warnings3, a database with over two million Points of Interest (POI’s) featuring hotels, attractions, fuel stations and more, Garmin’s ‘Where am I’ safety feature showing your precise location, nearest junction, hospital, police station and breakdown service contact details. Also turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions guiding drivers to their destination, announcing streets by name along the way. If they miss a turn, the nuvi automatically recalculates a route and gets them back on track.

The Garmin Nuvi 1490TV has a 5-inch display screen, built-in stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone output, a long life Lithium-ion battery, Composite video input for external reversing camera (not supplied), a built-in aerial for high DVB-T signal strength areas and two magnetic dipole aerials for low signal areas.

Any worries that the driver might keep the TV on while driving have been safeguarded against by Garmin engineers building in a safety feature that switches off the TV on the nuvi 1490TV and only allows the navigation when the car is moving.

It will be available in Europe in early April 2010 for Euro 299