In article ,
Newps wrote:
I would agree... 2-3 years should lead to obselescence. Except that
Garmin really hit an aviation sweet spot with this one. Surely there
will be competitors (turn-key fully integrated GPS/Weather systems) with
advantages over the 396 but I'm guessing that the 396 will still be a
fine machine in 2 - 3 years. We'll see.

What will make it obsolete is having to pay for weather. Take away the
XM and you have a 296.


I'm not sure what ADS-B provides as far as weather, but the XM service
is pretty comprehensive--I doubt that ADS-B will provide all of the same
information.

In addition, ADS-B doesn't provide an entertainment services like XM
radio, for those who might use it.

I'm not sure how ADS-B is delivered, but my guess is that it won't be as
portable or versatile as the XM service.

The bottom line is that the 396 and XM weather service will probably
continue to be very useful even after ADS-B is fully deployed, whenever
that may be.



JKG