Garmin adds DVB-T to navigation

Garmin has announced it will bring the Nuvi 1490TV, a personal navigation device coupled with a DVB-T tuner, to the European market this April. The device will be sold across Europe and offer reception of free-to-air DVB-T broadcasts such as Freeview in the UK, TNT in France and Ueberall Fernsehen in Germany.

The 1490TV has built-in stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone output, a 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. Retail price is set around €299.00.

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 is not the first time Garmin adds television reception to one of their devices: in 2008 the company developed the Nuvi 900TV for the Italian market with a built-in DVB-H receiver, sold exclusively via 3Italia (see picture above).