Garmin Marine Italy is going strong, very strong indeed. The opportunity to take stock came at the FLIBS off-site show in Milan, during which, in conjunction with the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, the company presented its latest innovations, which we will tell you about in a moment.
“From January to September, Garmin Italy grew by 18 percent, while the Marine division increased its sales by 20 percent,” said Garmin Italy CEO Stefano Viganò. “Within Garmin Italy, Marine has seen its weight increase and now occupies a good 17 percent of the company’s total business; the goal is to reach 25 percent in three years.” The Italian team has achieved really important results, to the point of being considered a model by divisions in other countries.
ALL THE SECRETS OF THE LATEST GARMIN NEWS
ECHOMAP UHD
Let’s start with what’s new for fishing enthusiasts: ECHOMAP UHD, the new combined chartplotters with Ultra High-Definition technology, traditional CHIRP, CHIRP ClearVü, and CHIRP SideVü equipped with bright 6-inch, 7-inch, and 9-inch color displays (replacing the Echomap Plus range, which will remain in production with only the 4-inch model).
The 6-inch ECHOMAP UHD features an integrated ergonomic keyboard, while the 7- and 9-inch versions enjoy keyed-assist touchscreen technology, an innovative keyboard-assisted touchscreen system.
The new series integrates UHD – Ultra High-Definition echosounder technology, for ultra-high definition images, and is compatible with the Panoptix transducer series, including the new LiveScope.
The new 3 chartplotters are compatible with the optional BlueChart g3 and BlueChart g3 Vision cartography, which integrates BlueChart data with Navionics data to provide the best cartography ever.
Thanks to this new cartography, it is possible to take advantage of extra features such as: high-resolution satellite imagery, aerial photographs that provide better orientation while navigating, and Auto Guidance 3.0 technology, which automatically calculates the best route to the desired destination.
The new chartplotters have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity that provides access to ActiveCaptain, a new world of content that allows you to: browse, purchase, update and synchronize BlueChart g3 and g3 Vision cartography, quickly update on-board devices to the latest available software version, receive Smart Notifications, calls and SMS directly on the chartplotter display, connect with the ActiveCaptain community, quickly download and share bathymetrics from the QuickDraw Community, and much more.
The new ECHOMAP UHD series is also available bundled with new all-in-one ultra-high-definition transducers, which provide highly defined images with stunning sharpness.
The new ECHOMAP UHD chartplotters enable full management of the new Force™ electric motors, the quietest, most powerful and efficient electric motor available on the market.
In the 7″ and 9″ versions, they are also compatible with the Panoptix transducer series, including the new LiveScope™, which provides extremely sharp and detailed real-time images of everything in front of or below the boat, even while the boat is stationary, ensuring exact and extremely realistic perception. In addition, the new ECHOMAP UHDs integrate seamlessly with the NMEA 2000 network for full control of autopilot, on-board entertainment and engine data.
The new ECHOMAP UHD series will be available by the fourth quarter of 2019 with prices ranging from €599 to €1,449 including VAT.
GPSMAP PLUS
GPSMap multifunctionals also evolve, moving to the Plus version, with 7.9- and 12-inch screens, also available with an integrated echo sounder module.
The xs models are precisely equipped with a built-in 1 kW CHIRP echosounder module and CHIRP ClearVü function, the high-frequency technology that returns extremely sharp and detailed images of objects, structures, and fish below the boat. In contrast, with the 1222xsv Touch, you can also take advantage of SideVü technology to discover structures and fish on the sides of the boat.
The new GPSMAP PLUS touchscreens feature wireless connectivity to use Garmin apps and a high-sensitivity 10-Hz GPS/GLONASS receiver, which updates direction and position 10 times per second, allowing smooth visualization of the vessel’s movements.
With full compatibility with the Garmin Marine Network you will be able to share echosounder images, maps, user data, radar images, recordings from cameras, and images from the innovative Panoptix transducers with the various connected units.
All new chartplotters are compatible with BlueChart g3 and g3 Vision cartography, which integrates BlueChart data with Navionics data to provide the best cartography ever.
The new GPSMAP PLUSs feature unlimited connectivity. In fact, they have the J1939 port for easy integration with the engines and the HTML5 platform, which integrates Empirbus technology, to control and manage on-board home automation such as the lighting system, air conditioning, navigation lights, on-board entertainment, security systems, bilge pumps, and more from the comfort of your own display. The new chartplotters are compatible with the Onehelm platform, a single screen where you can view and control all the systems provided by our partners.
Finally, NMEA 2000 and NMEA 0183 connectivity allow interfacing with multiple systems, such as autopilot, VHF or AIS, quickly and easily.
These new Garmin chartplotters integrate within them an ANT+ connection to communicate with the quatix 5 nautical smartwatch, the gWind Wireless 2 wind transducer, and the GNX Wind display.
In addition, all models with a built-in echo sounder module have the totally free Quickdraw™ Contours feature, which allows users to plot their own HD bathymetry in full autonomy, with detail every 30 cm.
The new GPSMAP PLUS are available from the fourth quarter of 2019 with prices ranging from €999 to €2,999 including VAT.
