Future of 480

Roy Smith wrote:
Ron Natalie wrote:
Do you think the 430 has any better life expectancy. The thing
is already nearing obsolescence.

I work in a software development group. My employer is a large corporation
which has a history of acquiring other software companies. The group I'm
in has people and code from several different acquired companies. Our goal
is to take the best from all of them and end up with something which is
better than any of the ingredients.
...
480: WAAS, airway database
430: Easier UI to learn

I work in the industry as well (I show up in the patent database now
with more to come, it only takes 5-10 years of gov't processing). I
would agree that Garmin will keep the 430 interface and suck the
required technologies out of the 480. You gotta go to market with your
best foot. As much as us techy pilots like the features of the 480,
Garmin's bread and butter is its interface. The softkeys on the 480
just add a layer of complexity. Even simple com changes require the use
of softkeys. As a CFI I can tell you there is a HUGE population of
older pilots out there that look at you with confusion when they see
it. I already know of several avionics shops that ask "are you a techy
type guy" when you ask for a 480 quote (because I have).
However, I would add one more thing to the 480's attributes. Holding.
The holding functionality in the 480 is just awesome powerful. If
Garmin would put that in the 430 software I'd be pretty happy. The fact
that the G1000 takes nothing from the 480 and everything from the 430
tells you something. If you can drive a 430 you can drive the nav
portion of the G1000.

-Robert, CFII, MBA, BS CS