Yup - it is WAY cool!!
I'm glad that the cat is finally out of the bag on this thing, as I have had the marvelous opportunity to be a Beta tester for the 696 for the past several months - and yes, it is WAY cool! When you add up all of the functions that it performs, th price is actually much lower than I was expecting it to be. Wen you look at what you have to pay for an Electronic Flight Bag, then add the features of a 496, you come out quite a bit ahead - and that is not even counting the new HUGE display and more feature-rich software.
The first thing you notice about it has got to be the size and brightness of the screen - this is (I think) an EFIS screen, repackaged as a portable. Bright under all conditions, including on-top sunshine in a bubble-canopy -8. The resolution and map detail are outstanding. Speaking of the map, it now has airways (hi and lo), and an IFR en route chart mode. The flight planning feature has probably one of the best features I have sen yet - you can "grab" the course line, and rubber band it to a new waypoint - so if you get a re-route, or decide to go around something, just pull the line to a new point and follow it - the new point is added to the Flight Plan.
The weather features are the same, but look much better on the big screen - you have more real estate to get a bigger picture of what is going on, and the resolution and color are excellent. There is a new, slightly smaller XM antenna/receiver (I am happy because I have an early unit that doesn't have "Garmin" printed on top, so I don't get a reflection in my windshield when it is on my glare shield - I doubt that is an option....), and it gets the same subscription services as the old one.
The database of the new unit seems to be much more complete than the 496 - I am guessing it is simply more memory. In fact, I have had to go in and turn off private heliports and the like - too much clutter! Our airpark is listed, whereas it was not in the old database.
The user interface is improved (over the older 496) with the joystick/knob. It will be familiar (I learned it in about 10 minutes without a manual) because the stick acts somewhat like the old four-way Garmin "rocker", but the knob can also be twisted to make selections and the like. The edge keys on the bottom make common inputs much simpler - although it still takes a couple of motions to mute the audio (I usually just use the "isolate" switch on my audio panel - it is quicker). The XM audio, by the way, is as good as ever, and even better - they have isolated the audio and power grounds, so you don't get the ground loop hum common on the 396/496! This is huge - and I was able to give my little isolation box to Louise for use in Mikey, so now both are hum free.
There is no doubt that this is a bigger box to manage in the cockpit - I have mine on a RAM mount on the right side of the Val where I mounted the older unit. It fits fine, but is noticeably bigger. However, since it displays my IFR charts, it serves sort of as a flight desk, and I don't really have a problem. I started wearing my knee board on my left leg to de-conflict the space, and was surprised at how quickly I adapted to it.
Speaking of IFR charts - yup - they are all there! Approach plates fit just fine, and are very readable. you can zoom in and out, which is nice when you get a "landscape" SID or STAR chart. You do NOT see the airplane in real time on the charts - this is a chart reader, not an interactive chart/map - but you can switch back and forth quickly between the chart and the map which does depict the approach if you have it selected, and the map shows where you are in real time. Since I navigate with my EFIS and GNS 430, I just put the approach plate on the 696, and leave it there. (And my old Sony "Reader" is going to be just for books from now on I guess....)
Yup, this thing is pretty dang cool! If you do a lot of cross-country flying around weather systems, I am pretty sure the extra cost will be justified by its features. if you are going IFR frequently, then yes, it is a GREAT deal. Now that the wraps are off, I can show it to folks that want to see it at fly-ins (I can stop using my Boonie Hat to cover it up now!) or fuel stops.
It will be interesting to see how it is adopted, and I bet folks will be incorporating it n their panels pretty soon. There are a lot of new features that I haven't even touched on - too much to remember at one sitting!
Paul