Over the last 10 months I have been looking for a chart plotter for my new boat. Something top quality with a crystal clear display, rugged and designed to catch fish is what I needed and after looking at several manufacturers and models, I finally settled for one of the new Garmin 5000 series touch-screen chart plotters.

Without going into too much detail (saving that for a full review when I’ve got to grips with my new unit) Garmin has outdone itself with this new technology. Garmin’s touch screen system makes GPS use for the boat angler simple and quick. No longer do you have small rubber buttons with mass menus to fumble with – these have been replaced by large on-screen icons which, when touched, offer easy navigation around the 5000 series functions. And does it have some functions too! Both 2d and 3d chart plotting plus both standard and 3d fish finding! Although 3d is in its infancy, especially with anglers, it is the future of chart-plotting and fish-finding, as it gives the boat angler a realistic picture of the ground he is fishing over which can only aid when searching for fish.

3D Cartography

If you’re looking for marine electronics, one of the best ways to check out what’s out there and try before you buy, is to get yourself along to boat shows and events. One of the biggest things to sway a sale with me is customer service, and at a Garmin show just this last week, I have to say I was impressed with Garmin’s excitement about their new touch-screen series - not what it meant to them, but what it means for their customers. Whereas a part of the Garmin show was turned over to their products and their functionality, a large proportion of the show was spent showcasing the ‘My Garmin’ facility available for all Garmin customers from the Garmin website www.garmin.com

Garmin's Nigel Craine discusses "My Garmin"

To the user, the new Garmin 5000 series may have easy to use touch-screen buttons, simple menus and fast loading pages, but the fact these units lack buttons and the whole system is software driven is an advantage. Via Software Upgrades, it gives Garmin complete control over the 5000 series after-sale, and this is where ‘My Garmin’ comes into a world of its own.

For Garmin, My Garmin offers complete control over customer service and satisfaction. Because the 5000 series is mainly built around software, Garmin can issue updates, corrections and modifications to its customers at light speed via the My Garmin website. From now on, if you purchase a Garmin chart plotter, or for that matter any of their GPS – in-car, handheld, aviation or marine, all you have to do is go online, sign up, insert an SD card into your computer, download any updates and then transfer them direct to your Garmin GPS.

Garmin Menu System

With technology moving so fast, by using the internet to give Garmin customers access to regular updates, it not only provides Garmin users with the latest software but also product longevity. Whereas many GPS systems with buttons can outdate all too quickly, the Garmin user will always have the latest GPS software - buttons ‘n’ all - available free of charge.

The key to the success of Garmin’s ‘My Garmin’ website and software updates are Garmin’s customers themselves. As customers contact Garmin direct with technical problems, feedback and product ideas, the Garmin team prioritise them and then get straight to work to find solutions and make modifications. A recent example of this was when Plymouth charter boat “Sea Angler II” skipper, Malcolm Jones, contacted Garmin saying that he thought that the MARK button (the boat anglers most important button!) would be very handy if it was accessible from the main chart-plotter/fish finder screen. Within days, the Garmin tech gurus made software alterations and Garmin GPS users could download an upgrade, which included a Mark icon that can now be found in the top left hand corner of all the 5000 series screens.

The rate at which marine electronics and their software is changing is hard to keep up with, but ‘My Garmin’ is certainly the way forward. To have control like this over their products after sale, gives Garmin possibly the best after-sale service available in the marine electronics industry.

I can’t wait until they develop software that can automatically plot my fishing marks on my chart plotters screen at the touch of a button – probably a touch-screen one! I’m sure it’s not that far away from being downloadable.

Garmin's new touchscreen models