Garmin nüvi 1450LMT vs. TomTom VIA 1505TM

Garmin and TomTom have been going at it in the portable GPS navigator market. Here we present two of their best selling products, the nüvi 1450LMT and VIA 1505TM. Looking for a helpful guide while driving to your destination? We will help choose which one is right for you.

Hardware

Each device features a 5” inch touchscreen display with good resolution. The 1450LMT is thinner and the same time lighter (7.7 oz while the VIA is at 1 lb.). The 1505TM is a windshield-mount device while the 1450LMT is friction-mount. There are available dashboard mounts for both navigators here.

TomTom VIA 1505TM

Both the 1450LMT and VIA 1505TM are listed as having highly sensitive receivers, but it took shorter time to lock to satellites with the nüvi than the VIA in our tests. The nüvi also lasted longer, one hour more, than the two-hour battery life of the 1505TM. The nüvi 1450LMT’s memory can be expanded via a microSD card. No such option is available for the VIA 1505TM although you have a 4 GB of internal flash memory.

Garmin nüvi 1450LMT

A box of Garmin nüvi 1450LMT comes with an FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable, vehicle suction cup mount; USB cable; dashboard disc and quick start manual. The TomTom VIA 1505TM is accompanied with a USB Cable, Traffic CLA, adhesive disk, user guide, LTM voucher and car charger.

Software

Garmin Nüvi 1450LMT

The LMT on the model number of the device tells you that it has lifetime traffic and map updates. The 1450LMT features multi-destination routing and lane-assist with junction view. The junction view is not new but the one on the 1450LMT is the most realistic out of all GPS navigators. Check out how it looks below.

Lane assist view, as it name suggests, help you which lane should you be in. The coverage for this feature has increased significantly over the last few years as it now displays surface streets besides freeways. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the junction view feature.

The data field is found on the lower left side of the screen which you can customize by pressing on it. When not navigating, the field displays the direction of travel, elevation and time of the day. If you are navigating, distance to your destination, estimated time to destination and estimated time of arrival are added.

Another good feature is speed limit. When you are at the prescribed speed limit of the road you are currently at, the speed display turns to red.

TomTom VIA 1505TM

If you have a TomTom GPS navigator before then you will not have a hard time with this one. Similar to the 1450LMT, it too offers free lifetime traffic and map updates. Although the interface has been revamped, the features are still the same, except for the multi-destination routing. This means only one via point is allowed by this device.

You can enable a Favorite shortcut screen at startup to hasten things a bit. To enable it, go to Settings then Startup settings then choose Ask for destination. You can also have a route details screen which would close itself after ten seconds. This screen is shown below.

The VIA series use IQ Routes, TomTom’s historic road speed database, to determine the fastest roads based upon the time of day and day of the week.

The 1505TM and other TomTom VIA navigators utilize a road speed database known as IQ Routes. This helps you choose which roads allows you to drive to your destination at the least amount of time. The device will also notify you when the route has unpaved roads and will ask you if you want to include those roads on the route or not.

Like the Garmin nüvi 1450LMT, the speed field turns to red when you are exceeding the speed limit for a particular road. If visuals is less convenient in this case then you can use audible warnings instead. Also, the device would tell you if your destination is on the left or on the right.

Prices

Merchant		Product	Price	Buy Now
		Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates	Too Low to Display used from: 116.86	Go to Store

Merchant		Product	Price	Buy Now
		TomTom VIA 1505TM 5-Inch GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic & Maps	Too Low to Display used from: 116.99	Go to Store

Verdict

The Nüvi 1450LMT and the VIA 1505TM have their own unique features. The 1450LMT has multi-destination routing and lane assist view with junction view. These features are among the most realistic out of all GPS navigators in the market. We also found that its speed limit database covers more area than the TomTom.

For some, the advertisements that come with the traffic alerts on the 1450LMT are annoying.  The device is also too simple when compared to the VIA. It would have been nice if the screen would indicate which street you are currently in.

The VIA 1505TM has several useful features. The most interesting is the IQ Routes database which helps you arrive at your destination in the least amount of time. The unpaved roads notification is also great and could save lives.

While the features of the VIA 1505TM are good, its hardware was not able to keep up. Locking on a satellite takes time and the interface is sluggish. The screen is also sub par when compare to the 1450LMT as it easily gets washed up under the sun. The voice command feature also has a hard time understanding words.

Prices for both navigators are about the same so choice would not depend on this factor. If only the TomTom 1450LMT has the hardware to handle all its cool features properly then I would choose it. Both devices would bring you to your destination, but the Nüvi 1450LMT allows you to do so with less headaches.

Credits: gpstracklog, techie tambay

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