PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Garmin GPS comparison GPSMAP 495 vs. Area500
Old 2nd October 2010 | 10:52
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paco
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: White Waltham, Prestwick & Calgary
I had the opportunity to play with the area on behalf of a magazine, with the intention of doing a review, and in the end I had to send it back, because I just couldn't justify anyone ever buying one over my old 296 (no experience of the 4xx series), especially the later model with the sharper screen. The Bendix AV8OR is a better product (much more information on screen) , but even that has its problems - the road database reboots the machine if you type in certain destinations.

The battery life was awful (the av8or use standard nokia batteries so you can at least buy higher capacity ones).

The car kit is also nowhere near as good as that of the 296, and the suction pads do not take into account the fact that most aircraft windscreens are curved!

The 296 was also way more configurable.

Phil
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