Jay Honeck writes:

G1000..............IFR
496...................VFR

Why should this automatically translate into "the 496 can do more
that the G1000"??

It's not entirely automatic, but sensible if you think about it.
Software written for IFR GPSs needs to be certified, amongst other
requirements for the RTCA DO-178B standards. It's onerous - I
sometimes wish the software I write needed to be that reliable. On
the other hand, handhelds may have any old code in them because they
are deemed non-critical, so their manufacturer can easily experiment
with new features. (I expect an analogous conservatism occurs with
respect to their *hardware* too, which suggests that the computational
resources available within certified avionics are also smaller.)

- FChE