And man, I really missed it. My crystal ball looks more like a bowling ball now. Certainly there are enhancements to the Striker and ECHOMAP units. But my prediction was that they would go back to shipping the GT transducers with them. Not happening. Instead they have gone double down on the CV ones. Looks like they are following Humminbird on this. Blended down image on entry level and mid range units. If you want a GT transducer, then buy one. I really thought this would be a point of differentiation between Garmin and the Hbird units. Oh well, can't win them all.
Then on the Navionics acquisition. Brian at BBG contacted Navionics. They said their maps would continue to be offered to industry partners. Sure glad I didn't make any bets about this. It would have made Christmas skimpy.
The new offerings of Striker and ECHOMAP Plus are not game changers, but it is progress and it is keeping things competitive on price, features and on performance. It sure clears the air for people undecided as to whether to purchase a discounted unit or wait to see what the new models will be. So now you know.