Today's trend in consumer electronics is products that make the most of the little leisure time we have. From televisions and DVD players in the car, to wireless phones with built-in cameras, we want products that are simple, convenient and functional.
GPS receivers, which were introduced to boating consumers only 15 years ago, have undergone tremendous improvements: Each year new models are introduced which contain features which were only dreamt of a few years earlier. Looking at the current batch of GPS receivers, we see the following trends:
Color, color, color. In the world of laptop computers, color displays pushed monochrome displays out of the market a few years ago, and it's happening with GPS models right now. Virtually all color models over 5" are "daylight readable" which allows these new generation chartplotters to be mounted (and seen) virtually anywhere.
Smaller color displays are also taking over, with models available down to a 2" diagonal size. Many of the smaller displays are "transflective color," meaning that they utilize the ambient light to make them visible rather than a bright backlight. This allows them to run on battery power, and they have a lower intensity backlight to help when there's less ambient light. On a recent informal test of GPS receivers during Miami's boat show, the display that was dramatically the most legible on our test boat was a 4" model from Raymarine. Using a transflective display, the little RC400 at $599.99, had the most opaque, paper-like appearance and the widest viewing angle.
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Displays are getting larger. We find models in the 7"-8" range offer more real estate to show a map without taking up so much space that you have to upgrade your boat accordingly.
Finally, integrated instruments are very common. All of the major GPS manufacturers offer combination products that combine GPS with radar or sonar or instrument repeaters. Imagine for a second that you're heading out on a fishing trip with a Raymarine C Series installation, including radar, sonar and chartplotter capabilities. You head out of the foggy harbor with the radar on full-screen to avoid collisions and to spot the approach buoy a mile offshore. As you get into open waters, you select a split screen with the radar on the top half, and a chartplotter with an offshore waypoint on the bottom half. When the fog clears up, use half the screen for the sonar, to detect any bait balls or schools of fish as you head out. Finally, when you're near your favorite fishing area, use the sonar full-screen to find your prey.
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