Note: Portions of this section are taken directly from the Garmin nuvi 3790T Review, as in the two units are functionally identical in terms of traffic features.
Figure 74: Traffic Alert Displayed on the Map
The nuvi 2250 LMT includes free traffic service for the life of the device, as indicated by the "T" in the nuvi model number. The only catch? It's ad-supported, which means advertisements will periodically appear while using the GPS.
Real time traffic data allows the nuvi 2250 to evaluate current traffic conditions and automatically optimizes the route for the shortest time. If a severe traffic delay occurs on your route while driving to the destination, the nuvi 2250 automatically calculates a new route to avoid the problem.
Figure 75: Garmin GTM 35 Vehicle Power Cable with Integrated FM Traffic Receiver
The traffic receiver is built into the included GTM 35 vehicle power adapter. The power cable needs to be connected in order for the 2350 LMT to receive real-time traffic alerts.
Figure 76: Traffic Alerts
Traffic Alerts are color coded to indicate the severity of the delay, as shown above.
Tapping the traffic icon on the Map brings up the Traffic page, shown below.
Figure 77: Traffic Page
The Traffic page allows you to view traffic conditions the following ways:
Notice the ad that appears in the lower-right portion of the screen.
Figure 78: Traffic Details
Traffic alerts along your planned route are highlighted on the map, and the estimated time delay is displayed.
Figure 79: Traffic Search
Touching Traffic Search displays a list of all traffic alerts that have been received, listed in order of closeness to your location. More details can be viewed for each incident by tapping on the alert.
Figure 80: Saved Time
When the nuvi adjusts the planned route, either to avoid a traffic problem or as a result of saved trafficTrends data, the estimated amount of time saved is displayed on the map, as shown above.
Figure 81: Traffic Ahead
Traffic is indicated on the map and drawn in the color that matches the severity of the delay. For example, in the screenshot above, notice that a portion of upcoming highway is highlighted in yellow, indicating a moderate delay.
Figure 82: Traffic Nearby
Here you can see that there is moderate to heavy traffic on the nearby highway (as indicated by the yellow and red highlighting), so I have chosen to drive on a parallel road instead.
Figure 83: Ads
Ads seemed to appear when coming to a stop, or idling at a stop sign/traffic signal, and would automatically disappear once I started driving again.
The frequency of ads displayed varied by location, but in general I almost always saw at least one ad per trip, and sometimes many more.
Ultimately you'll have to decide for yourself how annoying the ads are. I personally didn't find them too intrusive, and could easily ignore them. However, I'm well aware that for many users the prospect of being bombarded with ads in the sanctity of their car is a terrifying thought.