GPSrChive Discussion Forum

Garmin have today announced the new GPSMAP 79 marine handheld series as the successor to the GPSMAP 78.

The GPSMAP 79 series introduces an all-new design with modern display features and optional built-in BlueChart g3 coastal charts to enhance navigation and peace of mind for boaters as they explore open waters. Packed securely in a rugged, floating design, the GPSMAP 79 series is purpose-built to suit a variety of on-water lifestyles.

See the full GPSMAP 79 press release here!

No mention of screen size, be interesting to see one in real life.
I see some similarities with the 700 series actually.
On the right hand unit in the pic that the Menu along the bottom of the map screen can hopefully be hidden, otherwise there's about a third of the screen real estate wasted.
And I do hope they haven't made the same mistake as the 700 series & others by making the backlighting white instead of how it is in previous devices, white backlighting seems to give very poor quality night mode display.

It looks like, that this is the first Handset by Garmin, which supports all GPS network variants: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS und SBAS. But only Multi-GNMS, not Multi-Band.

LostAgain wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:04 am No mention of screen size, be interesting to see one in real life.

3 Inch with 240 x 400.
Full specs: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/775910

What I still do not understand, why Garmin does not finally switch to USB-C.

LostAgain wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:04 am I see some similarities with the 700 series actually.

I would bet, that is based on the same software core, as Montana 7x0 and GPSMap 66.
The favorite menu really looks like used from Montana 7x0 and adopted to a small screen.

LostAgain wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:04 am And I do hope they haven't made the same mistake as the 700 series & others by making the backlighting white instead of how it is in previous devices, white backlighting seems to give very poor quality night mode display.

Hm, I don't have any problems with that in night mode. Which one was used in previous models?

Not sure what the different types are called with regards to screen backlighting between the models but the 600 series Montana's and the 276CX screens in night mode are far better with regards to clarity and colouring, they both appear very close to the actual colours.
The 700 in night mode with a map that has a black background/ground colour appears a washed out grey colour, the brighter one makes the backlight % the worse this gets.
Other map feature colours are similarly washed out whereas they are as expected and a lot clearer on the 600 series and especially the 276CX.
I'll see if I can find some comparison pics & start a thread in the right section as it's going off topic here.

Thank you LostAgain. Looking forward to seeing your new thread!