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| The new E-series HybridTouch |
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You yearn for the touch-screen interface on your boat, yet you know that hitting the right parts of the screen in rough seas can be challenging? Then you already know about the biggest problem with going touch, on a boat – without any sort of tactile trigger, you might plot when you want to point or lay in a waypoint when you’re trying to retrieve weather data. Marine units need button back-ups, period, and Raymarine’s new HybridTouch units deliver. The E90W (which has a 9” diagonal screen and a list cost of $3,995) the E120W (featuring a 12.1” diagonal and a list cost of $4,995) and the E140W (with a whopping 14.1” diagonal and a list of $6,495) all feature a touchy screen but they also have a good old keypad.
Like past E-series models, these new units are fully networkable and expandable, and come pre-loaded with a brain full of charts (you can order units with different levels of chartography built-in). The menu is similar to that of a Smart Phone, so most users should find it intuitive and easy to use. They have sunlight-viewable TFT LCD screens, and all have high resolution and excellent target separation. One bummer: these units are built to IPX6 standards for water resistance, which means they can survive being hit by jets of water from any direction. But many modern units rate IPX7, which means they’re submersible to 10’ for up to 30 seconds. IPX6 is certainly sufficient, but more water resistance is always better.
The E-Series HybridTouch has some other nifty new perks, like a digital bird-tracking mode to optimize returns from sea birds. Neat. 2-D to 3-D chart transitions are seamless, high-res satellite photos can be overlaid on 3-D views, and an anti-collision alarm keeps watch for obstructions whether they’re on the surface, or beneath the water. Check the HybridTouch out in more detail at www.hybridtouch.com.
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