Lowrance's decision to completely abandon the aviation community is totally unacceptable and I will not ever have one of their products again - not for my boat, not for anything!

Now, for a replacement, here are my thoughts. This is a list of portable aviation GPS units that I put together as a quick reference guide. It's not a complete comparison by any means. It is meant to let you know what is available and where to get more information about them. Please note that I place a very high emphasis on being American Made as this country is in dire need of jobs right now - I hope you'll take that into consideration when making your next purchase.

1. Garmin is a great company and the leader in aviation avionics but they have priced themselves out of the portable aviation GPS market so they are not considered. To get a Garmin unit that is roughly comparable to the following units, you would have to spend in the area of $1800 to $3700 unless you would be happy with their 196 black and white outdated unit at $600. Garmin's automotive GPS units are cheap but for some reason, Garmin prices their aviation GPS's way out of line. It's a shame but it also has opened the flood gate for other companies to come in and fill the void Garmin has left.

2. AvMap GEO Pilot II is really nice and it's fairly reasonable in price ($599 or less) but it's a foreign company (Italy) and updates are a pain to accomplish (by E-mail and ZIP files). The AvMap EKP series at $1399 to $1799 is not in my price range. At that price, I'd opt for a Garmin instead at $2000 plus. At least then I wouldn't have to worry about getting caught up in another "Lowrance" situation.

3. AV8OR by Bendix/King has more features, is also fairly reasonably priced at $599 or less, the company is American (Kansas) and they are big time into aviation. The AV80R has a slightly smaller screen (4.3 inches) than the GEO Pilot II (5 inches) but I can deal with that. You can also add WX and/or Traffic display to it if you wish.

4. Anywhere map has a unit that is very competitive in features and price. It's called the Quadra and comes in 'Basic, Max, and EFB' versions starting at $395. Control Vision has been in business since 1981. They have been developing and marketing aviation based products since 1999. They are located in Pittsburg, Kansas.

5. The iFly 700™ by Adventure Pilot™ offers a large 7 inch touch screen, low cost annual updates, and many unique features for a fairly reasonable price. Standard price includes STAR, Approach and Departure and other FAA charts (never buy Sectionals again!), airport diagrams, big buttons that fade out when not needed, zoom levels from 2 to 100 NM per inch, multileg flight plans, and much, much more.

6. Finally, are you looking for a Android/Apple phone or iPad solution? Try WingX for under $99. If FREE is more to your liking then give Navzilla a try.

Note that all of the above GPS units are magnitudes of order better than the Lowrance 2000c or any Lowrance product ever made in my opinion.

Here are some url's to help make a decision:
Garmin: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=156
AvMap: http://www.avmap.us/index.php?swt=1203&ipr=309
AV80R: https://www.bkav8or.com/AV8OR/specs.html
Quadra: http://www.anywheremap.com/anywheremap-quadra.aspx
iFly 700: http://ifly.adventurepilot.com
WingX: http://www.hiltonsoftware.com/
Navzilla: http://www.navzilla.com/

iFly 700 screen showing Sectional Image and buttons, etc. (Couresy of EAA Chapter 663.)

WingX for your phone or iPad.

Navzilla on an Android Phone. Also works on a Pocket PC.