Lowrance Marine GPS
Best High Definition Systems

With all of these dedicated navigation devices on the market today, it is only fair that boaters have a reliable solution and Lowrance delivers with its own Lowrance marine GPS units.

GPS technologies are slowly becoming a part of the average individuals' lives as they see significant drops in prices of these products and they are still outfitted with some impressive features. In previous years, GPS devices for hikers and other people on the trail were the most popular and were still quite expensive averaging around $200 to $300.

Now there are mobile phones that have built-in GPS functions as well as car GPS devices that are mounted on car windshields and have preloaded maps with the latest points of interest.

Company History

Lowrance started off strong by releasing a series of full size chartplotters. The series was called GlobalMap and all had high-resolution displays to get a better picture of the surroundings even if the user is out on the open sea. These early models had built-in radar functions and wireless sharing capabilities so sonar data and other useful information can be shared with other devices.

The success of these early Lowrance marine GPS led to the Mark & Elite series which ended up replacing the entire family of GlobalMap devices. These devices had significant improvements such as higher position accuracy and better portability allowing the handhelds to be used with one hand. The interfaces of these handhelds were further enhanced when the high-definition models were launched.

Available Models

As of July 2010, Lowrance offers an extensive lineup of Lowrance marine GPS devices targeted at people with any budget. Value products start with the various compact fishfinder models such as the Lowrance X50 DS Dual-Search Fishfinder.

This model falls in the handheld category and sports a monochrome display which explains why the price is low at $120. The most affordable fishfinder with a colored screen costs around twice as much while the high-end M68C compact fishfinder costs around $450.

There are also full-size fishfinders like the Lowrance X96 Sonar Fishfinder which is priced at around $200. This price is comparable to a basic car GPS device. All of the current models do not have any colored-screen versions, but the high-end models sport a large 480 x 480 pixel display.

The above mentioned fishfinders all lack chartplotting functionality. In order to enjoy those features, you will need to get at least the Mark and Elite series. All of the models available sport large 5-inch displays in monochrome and colored variations. The menus are friendly enough for one-thumb operation and the added screen pixels make it a lot easier to see the fish and surrounding structures. Prices range from $150 dollars to $750 so people can choose the best device that fits their needs and budgets.

If these devices do not meet the needs, there are Lowrance marine GPS devices are much larger and carry advanced features. These devices fall in the HDS High-Def System family and their sizes range from 5 inches all the way to up 10.4 inches. The HDS devices are well-rounded with features and can be mounted in boats for convenience.

Some of these models have the letter ‘m' at the end which means that they both have fishfinding and chartplotting capabilities like the Mark and Elite series. These units are basically advanced versions of the Mark and Elite ones because of their larger displays. The Lowrance marine GPS HDS devices that lack the letter "m" have built-in sonar functions instead.

If you are contented with a 5-inch display, you can check out the unique HDS-5x which is labeled as a multifunction echosounder with fishfinding functions. Lowrance currently does not have any larger versions of this GPS device.

Many Lowrance models have a clear display so it is easy to see shallow water and other fine elements. Targets can also be seen without making noise so broadband fishfinding is possible. Other nice extras include a LWX-1 Radio Smart Antenna which adds real-time weather functions.

The Lowrance marine GPS high definition systems are the best offerings and still remain easy to use. Other more affordable models perform equally well for their price points, but deserve a closer look to see if the features match your needs.

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