Ease of Use, Performance: 24/25, Look & Feel: 24/25,
Features 21/25, How much I enjoy 22/25
Total: 91/100
The Lowrance iWay 600c is a ready to use out of the box automotive and marine GPS unit with all kinds of handy and simple to use features. The iWay 600c unit comes complete and ready to go without any programming or loading maps from software. You can simply install in your car or boat and let the iWay 600c point the way.
The iWay 600c comes with the waterproof iWay 600c GPS unit, power adapter for automotive and marine use, home power adapter, suction cup windshield mount, adhesive dashboard mount, cleaning cloth, protective cover, USB cable for downloading firmware updates, music and pictures. The unit is ready to go out of the box, but may need a firmware update that is very easy to handle.
The Lowrance iWay 600c is a nice WAAS enable GPS unit with lots of nice features. It acts as a regular GPS unit by finding satellites and using the information they give to find out the exact location of the unit. It then adds in information like street maps to show you where you are and can also help you find addresses and locations with a data base that is stored on the hard drive.
The NAVTEQ data base includes streets and addresses that you can use to locate an address and get directions there by using the turn by turn feature of the GPS unit. You can also use the GPS unit to remember places and routes it has been on as well as those addresses and store them for later use. These addresses and all the data base will be updated regularly using your connection to the PC and internet.
All you have to do is download the update to your computer and using the installation program automatically install the update to the GPS unit. After it has downloaded you simply unplug and turn off the unit, then turn it back on and it will install the update which takes a few minutes. The update is some changes that enhance the readability of street names and a better illumination that is noticeable when you install the update.
The iWay 600c is a great turn by turn navigation aid that is easy to use for finding specific addresses. Simply go to the find section and enter an address by state or providence, and then city and street down to street number and the iWay 600c will guide you there turn by turn with voice.
The iWay 600c also has topographic map and satellite imagery of many areas and the function that combines them while you’re driving for a really well detailed view that really makes navigating easy. On topographic maps there are information and elevation markers but the imagery will and forests, buildings and other details that really help you when trying to find things.
The iWay 600c features and specifications:
Display
16-bit color TFT touch-screen display
640H x 480V pixel resolution
5″ (12.7 cm) diagonal display size
Super-bright, cold-cathode backlit screen
Sleek, blue LED backlit keypad
Superb readability even in bright sunlight
Navigation
Built-in, precision 12-parallel channel GPS+WAAS receiver
Simplified operation with 5 primary keys
Maps can be updated through the internal USB port with a PC Windows® XP, ME, 2000, or Macintosh OS X
Street Mode
Three selectable mapping displays: 2-D Track Up, 2-D North Up, and Elevated 3-D
Built-in, detailed and highly accurate NAVTEQ® turn-by-turn database for the continental U.S. and Canada
Turn-by-turn audio and visual cues, including auto-zooming and automatic recalculation of directions after a missed turn
Street address searching, plus auto-routing choices to choose or avoid Toll Roads and Interstates, and avoid Left-Hand Turns
Mega-memory storage for up to 1,000 addresses
Safety Passenger Mode allows a passenger to use the GPS features while the car is in motion
Marine Mode
MapCreate™ shoreline detail with over 3,000 Enhanced U.S. Lake Maps with depth contours for inland waters.
High Detail NauticPath™ charts for the Great Lakes and Costal U.S. waters with depth contours, navaids, port servies, tide/current data , and more.
100 savable and retraceable plot trails in a choice of colors.
Special marine graphic icons to mark favorite spots on the water.
Media Player
Full-featured stereo MP3 audio player
Full Spectrum FM modulator wirelessly streams music through an open FM radio channel
Full-featured picture viewer displays JPEG photos stored on the internal hard drive
Specs
30GB internal hard drive, with 25GB of storage dedicated to high-detail mapping and satellite imagery (10GB dedicated to mapping detail for Western Europe models)
5GB of storage reserved for MP3 audio files (20GB for Western Europe models)
6.1″W x 4.5″H x 2.15″D (15.5cm x 11.55 cm x 5.45 cm)
Completely sealed to prevent internal corrosion
Full one-year warranty
Accessories Included
Speaker/cigarette power adapter with volume control and 1/8″ stereo jack
Suction-cup mounting bracket for windshield applications*
USB to PC interface cable for transferring data files (MP3, JPEG, etc.)
110VAC to 12VDC power converter for in-home use (while transferring data files, etc.)
iWAY™ 600C protective cover
The iWay 600c comes with the necessary maps for the whole continental United States and Canada so you can go anywhere you want without having to download maps. The iWay 600c includes the NAVTEQ data base which is your turn by turn directions for finding out where you want to go. This data base is an accurate mapping of streets, highways and other roads that is updated regularly through the update process I described earlier.
The marine maps are also updated the same way and you get the full load with plenty of water depth contours. In Minnesota there are a lot of lakes and they give really accurate depth readings for many of them, even smaller ones. The marine use of the iWay 600C is great with plenty of detail around docks and shorelines. The unit is waterproof with a watertight power connection and covers for the antenna and USB connections, just in case.
The iWay 600c is really a very easy to use automobile and marine navigation device and those turn by turn directions work very well. While driving around you can switch between the overhead view and the 3D view that shows the road ahead where you’re driving to. This is very handy and a nice way to show what is coming up and how to keep the directions simple for navigating. You can also add in satellite imagery for many metropolitan areas on the overhead maps for added detail and for additional help finding out where you are and where you want to go.
The iWay 600c comes with music capabilities by letting you download and play music through your cars FM radio stations. The audio for the device like your turn by turn navigation is played through the FM radio or the speaker in the power adapter. All you have to do is tune your FM radio to an unused station and tune the iWay 600c to the same station to play music from the iWay as well as the turn by turn audio.
The iWay 600c has plenty of memory and can store 1,000 addresses in the address book as well as music and pictures in the 5GB of allocated space on the 30 GB hard drive. The hard drive lets you save up to 5 GB of information in addresses, songs, pictures and where you have been called trails, the other 25 GB of space is the detailed maps and the NAVTEQ database. There are all kinds of features of the iWay 600c just like a regular GPS unit like trails and points of interest along with some very useful ones like an odometer and trip calculator.
The iWay 600c is really a great GPS unit for the car or boat for long trips or a trip that unknown address in town. Just select your destination and let the iWay tell you how to get there.
