Most Of What We Loved In The 496, But At A Lower Price

When it comes to offering big things in small packages, little else compares to Garmin's know-it-all, do-it-all GPSMAP 496... designed to offer (well, almost) everything a pilot could possibly want and need in a portable GPS.

For some pilots, however, the 496 is TOO much of a good thing... and has a pricetag to match. Recognizing a segment of the pilot community who wants the functionality and reliability of the GPS 496 -- but not necessarily ALL the bells and whistles -- Garmin unveiled its GPSMAP 495 portable aviation device this past spring.

Garmin says the new GPS 495 is designed for pilots who want many of the same features as the popular 496, at a fraction of the cost. The GPSMAP 495 includes Garmin's SafeTaxi airport diagrams, Garmin's Smart Airspace, AOPA's Airport Directory data, enhanced high-resolution terrain database, aviation database with private airports and heliports, accelerated GPS update rate, and European VFR reporting waypoints.

The GPSMAP 495 incorporates the same, higher resolution terrain database found on the GPSMAP 496. The land graphics have over 10 times as much data as other Garmin handhelds and vividly display proximity hazards. In aviation mode, pilots have the benefit of terrain and obstacle alerting, pop-up alerts, and customizable minimum clearance limits that give audible terrain alerts at specified altitudes.

Pilots will also appreciate Garmin's Smart Airspace feature that automatically highlights airspace close to the pilot's current altitude and de-emphasizes airspace away from the current altitude. Like the GPSMAP 496, the GPSMAP 495 has an increased GPS update rate that is five times faster than other handheld GPS devices. This impressive speed gives fluid updates of GPS derived data including the aircraft's flight indicators, such as the HSI and turn rate indicator.

The GPSMAP 495's SafeTaxi diagrams and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Airport Directory data help reduce the headaches associated with navigating unfamiliar taxiways and airports. With over 850 US airport diagrams preloaded, SafeTaxi lets pilots see the aircraft's exact location on the field in relation to charts that identify runways, taxiways and hangars.

The GPSMAP 495 does not include the GXM 30A smart antenna with XM WX Satellite Weather, and it is not compatible with the GXM 30A smart antenna. The GPSMAP 495 has a street price of $1,595.00. The GPSMAP 495 package includes a yoke mount, cigarette-lighter adapter, AC adapter cable, USB-to-PC interface cable, low-profile remote GPS antenna, carrying case, free Jeppesen update certificate, owner's manual and quick-reference guide.

Aero-TV Checks Out The Powerful and Affordable Garmin GPSMAP 495

About Aero-TV: It's DEFINITELY Show Time!!!!

OK, folks, so far, so good... earlier this year we initiated the first feature programming series for Aero-TV... we decided to take it slow, but we also tried a steady approach to building the aviation world's most innovative news and information service. We hope you understand that this is the most complex media program we've ever undertaken and what you're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg... but from here on out, we will be doing our best to educate, inform, and entertain YOU about all aspects of the exciting worlds of aviation and aerospace. 

And yes, there is MUCH MORE to come... and soon.

If you've been an observer of the media and associated media industries over the last few years, it's not hard to mistake the fact that a massive revolution is taking place. Old sources for news and information are falling by the wayside, having to change their modus operandi or risk obsolescence (or extinction). Electronic media and print media are both under the assault of progress, and the online world has been a cornerstone for revolutionary change.

Part of this amazing process is the fact that we're been building and planning a massive new organization within ANN. That said, we're hiring talented new people as fast as we can find them (a far more difficult task than we had imagined -- REALLY good people are hard to find), and we're brainstorming at speeds that would make a deorbiting Space Shuttle feel like a slug. Suffice it to say that we wanted to do this right, rather than right-now, and that the development of this program has been the most carefully pursued undertaking we've ever undertaken. 

E-I-C Note: The complete feature shown above is embedded in this story, with most of the slick and useful functionality otherwise available on the main Aero-TV site (which will be upgraded aggressively over the next few weeks). The ability to embed a video on another web page is but one of the hundreds of amazing little features that we've worked hard on, for many months now, to implement in different phases of the initial release of Aero-TV. It is, BY NO MEANS, the only way to enjoy unaltered Aero-TV programming on other parts of the web... as we have extensive plans for future functionality, but this feature allows those with an interest in a specific Aero-TV News or Feature program to embed it on a different web site, though we must note that we reserve the right to forbid such use for those sites or purposes that we do not feel fit in with the proper mission of the Aero-News Network, Inc.  

Webmasters or Administrators of well-trafficked aviation or aerospace related sites, are welcome to contact the Publisher to start conversations on how they may be able to leverage some of the immense power of Aero-TV programming for their sites and constituency by clicking the I Want Aero-TV For MY Website! link.

Coming Soon!

Aero-TV Sees What It Takes to "Compete" As An AMT, Looks At The FAA FAASTeam Program, Updates On The Garmin 495, Flying The Piper Matrix, Gets Some GREAT Rotax Lessons, Gets Updated On ALL Things Lopresti, Has A FUN Chat With Corkey Fornof, Checks Out The Latest in Life-Raft Technologies, Checks Out More "HIGH" Tech at I/ITSEC 2007, Hears From AOPA On Critical Aviation Issues, Spills Some Juicy (and HIGHLY Detailed) Cirrus G3 Info, Scores A BUNCH of LSA Reports, and SO MUCH MORE!!!!! Do NOT Miss Them!

FMI:  www.garmin.com, I Want Aero-TV For MY Website!, I'd Like To Join The ANN/Aero-TV Team!!!, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork