"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:K_DSa.107706$ye4.80571@sccrnsc01...
I've been leaning towards a Garmin 196 to replace our ailing Lowrance
Airmap
300. However, now that Garmin has announced they are no longer going to
support the Garmin 90, it appears that they are no better at support than
Lowrance -- who recently "orphaned" my Airmap from all technical support.
(This occurred right before it started acting flaky, naturally.)


Jay,

You may be a bit harsh on them. They haven't "orphaned" the 90, just
stopped providing database updates. They still provide tech support and
repair service for almost everything they've made over the years. Their
service is outstanding. And the units are very reliable. HP/Compaq can't
compare in either service or reliability.

I'll admit their decision isn't the swiftest move, but it was likely an
economic decision based on how many updates they were selling (an indicator
of demand) and the expense to work around some really ancient (in GPS
chronology) technology. The 90 was one of the last 8-channel units and had
only about 1/2 the memory of the 92. If they get enough complaints, maybe
they'll reconsider.

As for your options: I bought the 196 last year and love it. Battery life
is decent, even though I normally use the power adapter in the Cheetah. The
display is excellent and highly readable in almost any light. It's easy to
use and I've never had a problem. I don't think you'd be disappointed.

I also got the auto kit. It includes the portable dash mount, City Select
CD, and a 64 Meg datacard for the City Select data. It does a great job of
auto routing. Considering my wife's navigational skills (almost nil), it's
a godsend for her in the car. It doesn't do voice prompts like the SP III,
but it does chime with a pop-up prompt screen.

I looked at the CV solution. It just seemed like too much hassle for too
little benefit. The Garmin is simple, reliable, and does everything I need.

Gerry