GPSProfile.Com Handheld GPS Navigators

I have gotten the above answer asked about a million times and have answered it about a million times. “What is the difference between the GPSMAP 496 and the GPSMAP 396?” Just today I thought that hey maybe its a good idea to write up the differences on the site to clear up any confusion anyone may have. I consider both GPS units as top notch aviation units. You really cant go wrong with either one.

Below i will in detail try to explain the main differences between the Garmin GPSMAP 496 and the Garmin GPSMAP 396, but before I go and further I would like to again make something very clear. If you are a pilot, professional or recreational, you can not go wrong with either unit. They both provide unbelievable situational and tactical awareness that just a few years ago would not have been thought possible! Now that I have that off my chest on to the technical differences!

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1. The Garmin GPSMAP 496 comes with the City Navigator Auto Information preloaded from the factory.
   • *The GPSMAP 496 out of the box gives you as much or even more information than a dedicated Automotive GPS. It gives you audible turn by turn directions, points of interest, and every road/highway in between.
   • *The Garmin GPSMAP 396 does have the ability to do automotive functions but from the factory it only includes the basemap highways and major roads. Do not trust the 396’s stock automotive routing when your planning your next cross country trip.
2. The Garmin GPSMAP 496 comes with the Safe Taxi tm taxiway information preloaded. With the GPSMAP 496 now when you zoom into a airport you not only see the runways but you see all the taxiways, buildings, and points of interest. Plus they are all labeled accordingly. With the GPSMAP 396 when you zoom in you just get a layout of the actual runways and are not label. Now with the 496 no one will have a good execuse to land on the taxiway instead of the runway. You think im kidding, I actually know a person who on a beautiful VFR day landed on a taxiway because he got confused as to where he was!!
3. The Garmin GPSMAP 496 has the AOPA Airport Directory built into it! This means 7,400 airports worth of data including names and phones of FBO’s, ATC data, rental facilities, etc are available at a moments notice at a push of a button. With this information you can land and look up the local FBO, call them for fuel while taxing their, and have the fuel truck waiting for you! The GPSMAP 396 on the other hand still gives you a wealth of information but only the actual navigational and communication information such as com frequencies and available approaches.
4. Although the GPSMAP 396 and 496 both have terrain functionality, the GPSMAP 496’s terrain database is much more detailed. The topography on the 396 is accurate but shows a much more block presentation. With the enhanced 496 database the topographic is depicted at a much higher resolution.
5. The GPS receiver found in the 496 is faster than the 396. This allows for much more mealtime operation on virtual glass panel page gauges. Again the 396 has the glass panel also but the 496’s version works better.
6. Lastly, probably the most unknown new feature the 496 has that the GPSMAP 396 does not at all have, private airports and heliports. This information is extremely important in emergency situations allowing you to see all your options. At Oshkosh at Airventure 2007 I put the 496 to the test in this aspect. Everyone who lived near or knew of a local private strip, I ask if they would search for the strip. Over 95 percent of the time the land strip they searched for was there!

Overall, both units do there job and do there job very well. I would recommend either unit to any pilot looking for a fantastic aviation gps. With the rather large difference in price you do get a substantial difference in features but again you really cant loose with either one.  Happy Flying!!
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