496 garmin

Im thinking about up grading from a 196 to the 496. Now that they have been out for a while, I was wondering if those who have them like them. Im curious about the clarity , ease of use, weather option ect...

The 496 rocks. I love mine. It was purchased at Oshkosh. Up until that time my -6 has a 250XL and i was using an ipaq w/anywhere map. Although the features of the Anywhere Map where very nice, the only thing i miss are the cones of safety. The 496 screen is very readable (way better than the iPaq). The terrain resolution is outstanding. As far as the weather goes, it is on the pricey side (50/mo) but is worth it in my opinion. Dodging T-storms is a lot easier as you can see behind them! I love being able to get metars while flying. As you travel, the closest altimeter setting and surface winds are displayed on any page you want. The taxi diagrams are cool also. It is very easy to learn and use and the updates are no hassle from your pc. I bought it to put in my -8A which is under under construction, but use it in my -6. Expensive but worth it IMHO. I can't say enough nice things about this box.

Gar,
If you can get your hands on the November issue of AOPA Pilot, there's a decent article on the 496. It includes a side-by-side comparison of the 496's terrain/topography display versus that of the 396. Quite a difference.

If only they had a bigger screen, or, an output to an accessory screen.

You listening out there, Garmin???

Mike

Mike S said:

If only they had a bigger screen, or, an output to an accessory screen.

You listening out there, Garmin???

Mike

Click to expand...

My wish list for the (5?)96 is same physical size as the 3/496 but touchscreen and no buttons. That would be bigger screen AND touchscreen in the same form factor --and oh yeah, Bluetooth for that accessory device. In the car, I have the touch screen Nuvi and button pushing is so yesterday. Touch screen rocks!

My wish is a "pay as you use it" weather option. I only make a few long x-countries per year, so paying $50 per month isn't really feasable. However, I'd sure like to have the weather option on the few long trips that I do take. Too bad they don't sell prepaid weather minute cards, similar to the Sirius Radio or iTunes gift cards.