- 4.3-Inch LCD Screen
- Preloaded with street maps for the U.S., Canada & Mexico
- Lifetime map updates
- Lifetime traffic updates
- Lane assist with Junction View
- Bluetooth wireless technology
This is my second Garmin Nuvi GPS. My first was a Nuvi 360 and it still works after more than 4 years. I decided it was time to upgrade to a newer version after having my old one for so many years. Some of the features that caused me to choose the 3760LMT were the lifetime maps and traffic, Lane Assist, Junction View, trafficTrends, and myTrends. If you're looking for additional reviews for this unit, you can search for the 3760T, which is the same unit, minus the lifetime map updates.
Pros: The wide screen is a great improvement over the smaller screen I was used to on the 360. The color is much more vivid and the screen is much brighter. Even during a sunny day, I have the brightness turned down. I had my old 360 up to max brightness and it was difficult to see in bright sunlight. The sound is also much louder on the 3760. I had the sound on max for my 360. The 3760 has the volume at less than half and it is plenty loud enough to hear above the road noise.
Two functions I think should be a must for any unit are Lane Assist and Junction View. Lane Assist shows you which lanes you need to be in when approaching a junction on a freeway. So far, I have noticed that it is quite accurate as to the number of lanes and picking the right lanes to be in. Junction View shows you a rendered picture of what the junction signs you are approaching look like and an arrow is included showing with route to take. The junction signs shown in the 3760 are, for the most part, what you actually see on the highway. When the junction view is shown, it is up for only a few seconds and then the unit reverts back to the map display. When shopping for a unit, I highly recommend these options.
Another great function is the Trip Planner. With my old unit, I used to have to manually move to a starting point on the map, then select my destination to determine travel time for a proposed trip. Now, with the Trip Planner, the 3760 allows me to plan trips, including the entry of a desired arrival time, which shows a suggested departure time taking into account travel time for the trip. You can save the trips and then call them up when you're ready for them. This is another must-have option.
I was also really looking forward to the traffic information being delivered directly to the unit. With my 360, I had to use a smart phone to get traffic information, which was not very convenient while driving in traffic. I don't live in an area where traffic information is broadcast, but I do travel to Los Angeles frequently. My take so far on how well the traffic information works is that it is better than nothing. I've noticed that it is not always completely accurate. I've hit slowdowns that didn't show on the unit. I have also seen it be very accurate. I was traveling westbound on a stretch of freeway in an area where the eastbound traffic was moving very slow. The map showed the point where the eastbound slow traffic began, which corresponded closely to where the slowdown actually started. When traffic information is being received, a traffic icon shows up in the upper left of the screen. The icon turns yellow for slow traffic ahead and red if traffic is really jammed. The unit automatically re-routed me once when traffic on my route was report as red. The route it chose was the same one I would have chosen had I known about the traffic jam. If the traffic is reported as slow, you can ask for a suggested alternate route. The unit displays the travel time for the main route and the alternate route so that you can make a decision of whether the alternate route is worthy of consideration. If you have your estimated arrival time displayed, the traffic function updates your arrival time to include traffic slowdowns. When it is receiving traffic information, the displayed estimated arrival time is much more accurate.
Cons: Reception of traffic information is not flawless. The unit occasionally loses the traffic data connection. Powering the unit off and then back on restored the connection.
A major problem I have with this unit is that it stops drawing the map after it has been running continuously for about 3 hours. I noticed that another reviewer of the 3760T reported the same problem. My guess is this is caused by a software problem and, hopefully, it will be resolve in a future update. The only way I can avoid this problem is to turn the unit off and then power it back on every couple of hours during a long trip. This is rather annoying for a GPS that costs more than $400.
I can't say whether trafficTrends and myTrends are good options or not, because I've seen no evidence that either is doing anything. It's possible that I haven't driven in the same area enough where traffic data is available for this option to kick in. However, I would have thought there would be some indication of myTrends working. The way I understood myTrends was that the unit would watch where you like to drive and then start routing you that way. I have a route I travel frequently that has a shorter by-pass, which I always avoid since it's only a 2-lane highway. My 3760 has not realized that I don't take that by-pass, because it tries to get me to take it every time. My recommendation for these 2 options is to skip them and save some money. If you commute every day in a big city, maybe these might be useful.
When searching for a location in another city, the unit does not display the resulting city list in order of distance from your current location. I'm not sure what criteria it uses to order the list. At a point about 250 miles from Los Angeles, CA, when trying to select a location near Los Angeles, the resulting city list shows Los Angeles, CA as the 45th entry on the list. Paging down 5 at a time, 9 times, to get to the desired city is not very convenient.
In summary, knowing what I know now, I would probably have chosen the 1490LMT instead. It has all of the functions that I find useful in the 3760. But, at around $200, it's a much better value.
Buy Garmin nüvi 3760LMT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffi Now
I upgraded from my 765T, which I have been enjoying for couple of years, mainly due to:
1. One of the best designed windshield mount in the industry, my old Tomtom kept falling all the time.
2. Removing the unit from the cradle is a such joy!
3. Multiple routing planning.
However its touch screen is horrible, basically useless. And I thought its map is out of date.
I have high hope for this beauty, upon playing it for couple of days, I noticed that:
1. When traffic indicator turns red, it doesn't give estimated delayed time anymore! I can't believe they removed one of the most useful feature...
2. The mini USB cable has an awkward angle into the cradle, why can't they make it flush and straight?
3. The routing algorithm seems to give quite some odd suggestions.
4. Only two customizable data fields, such a waste of high resolution screen estate. Tomtom beats it hands down. Come on give us more choices!
5. I did a map update yesterday, and noticed that it doesn't include a big highway on/off ramp changes, which happened about a year ago, so i'm not sure how up to date / accurate they are, it somehow defeats the claimed "life time map update" feature, which is quite disappointing . I also noticed some express way have wrong number of lanes.
6. Still no speed-sensitive automatic volume adjustment, such a bummer.
I kinda regret my "upgrade", and think they are going backwards on some essential features.
Update on 6/14
1. The auto power off some times doesn't work, when ended up draining the battery.
2. Sometime the lane guidance is complete messed up. i.e. one a two lane road it shows a 6 lanes!
3. The POI seach is not intuitive at all, I have to use "go to", then choose "near start, on the route, near destination", why can't they simply show POIs on the map, then let user to pan/zoom? Almost every major online map software offer that feature...
Update on 7/1
I noticed the shining "chrome" top edge caused a lot of glare under California sun. So much so it blinds my eye, I think they should make the top edge more matt like. It won't be as cool, but more pratical and safer.
Update on 9/13
1. I upgraded the map/firmware to 2012.20, and noticed it shows a split screen of map/visual on exit, as opposed to visual only, which is quite nice.
2. I also noticed that exit view is very photo realistic, so much so upon close inspection I figured it's actually from REAL photos (judging from the shape of tree and lighting pole), which is quite amazing consider the amount of data to be squeezed in!
3. Quite often it crashed (auto powered off) for no apparent reason.
4. Quite often the arriving time is messed up badly, for example I arrived at 6pm, but on the GPS it says 9pm.
Read Best Reviews of Garmin nüvi 3760LMT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffi Here
I have read many reviews here and would like to address the negative ones:
When I first connected the 3760, I could not acquire satellites. Having read the nightmares about four hours of updating only to have failure to load, or failure to restart, I was nervous about trying to update the 3760. I figured I might have to return it.
I went to the Garmin update and downloaded the updates to my PC. I turned on the 3760 and plugged it into the pc, and then followed the update wizard. I updated the firmware and some voice updates. The process took about 5 minutes!! I have an Intel quad 7 processor, so an older PC might take a bit longer.
I then set up to take about an hour trip. The 3760 found satellites and calculated the route in less than 30 seconds. I love the screen clarity, and the external speaker gives sufficient volume. Then I intentionally went off route and the 3760 recalculated in less than 10 seconds!
I bought the 3760 because my TomTom took 5-10 minutes to startup and calculate routes, and it was hard to hear with any kind of cabin noise. It took a long time to recalculate as well.
Needless to say, I am completely satisfied with the 3760's performance and highly recommend it--just be careful to have the unit fully charged before updating--and follow the instructions.
Cheers
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Getting used to a GPS with traffic-sensitive routing takes some getting used to, but the more I use it, the more I like it.
I bought this unit, refurbished, for under $200 when starting a new job, and I needed fast route calculations (and re-calculations), larger display, free map updates, and an input method that could be used safely without having to pull over. I got all that with the 3790LMT.
I have a smart phone with Google maps, but felt that a dedicated GPS was better. Typing an address on a touch-QWERTY keyboard while driving is just too dangerous. A snap--in holder-standard with any GPS--is an expensive extra for a phone, and you will have to attach the power cord separately. Maps don't show up if you are in an area with no cell phone coverage. And running GPS on a smartphone makes it heat up quite a bit, and wears down the battery.
First off, I want to comment on the negatives that others have talked about: Ads, and unit running hot. I have not seen a single pop-up ad, and yes I use the live traffic feature. As far as running hot, it does, but seems to be built for it.
I work in and around Boston, and have to drive to client sites during rush hour almost daily. The routing around traffic quite helpful; I have learned more in three months than in years about how to get around some traffic chokepoints.
One feature I have come to depend on is the ability to find Parking near where I am, and the matching feature, to find where you Parked; if you remove the unit from the holder while the power is still applied, it auto-magically assumes you've parked the car. Then, after completing my service call, I just Find Last Parking, and I am guided back to my car. No buttons to push, no Apps to load and remember.
The voice commands work better than I expected. For my regular clients, I can call up Favorites, select one, and start Navigation without having to take my hands off the steering wheel. It doesn't work as well for an unknown address, so I use the touch screen for that, but with predictive typing for City, and Street, it's safe enough.
The screen's high resolution helps compensate for my older eyes, and I chose this over a larger screen but with lower resolution. A larger screen would have not fit in a pocket, and would have had a short (if any) battery life.
The 3790 does seem to adapt to 'learn' my common routes, and will often advise me of distance, and estimated time to a location even if I haven't told it where I am going. At first I questioned some of the routing choices, but either it has learned, or I have, and we are generally in agreement. If I chose a different route, it senses quickly, and will often recalculate in the time it takes to get to the bottom of an exit ramp.
I use the speakerphone feature, and it synced my work Blackberry contact list right up, easier to read on the nuvi than on the phone itself.
I just did my first quarterly map update, and the whole process took a little over an hour; slow but better (according to reviews) than it used to be.
In all, I got all that I expected and then some when I purchased this unit. Well worth the $170 (refurb).
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I go way back with Garmin, way before the Nuvi models came out. The thing about Garmin is they stand behind their products 100% I have dealt with their tech support and those people are excellent and very helpful. This new generation of Nuvi's blew me away. You get a lot of bang for your buck on the 3760LMT model I just purchased on Amazon. Since this is my 5th Garmin and like I mentioned I been with them from the beginning this model is outstanding. Free lifetime maps, Free Traffic and when your using it its intuitive to your traffic patterns. It looks ahead for you and tells you how long until you hit your next favorite destination. Like I tell all my friends you wont go wrong with a Garmin.
This is a great value for the three typical ways to charge your BB Torch. If you bought these at your smartphone dealer or blackberry you would pay 5 to 10 times as much. And they do the job nicely!
