Lowrance Unveils New Software, MFDs at Miami Show

Lowrance took advantage of this week’s Miami International Boat Show to unveil a number of new products for 2017, highlighted by an new software update for its HDS Gen3, Elite-5 Ti and 7 Ti displays that provides significant sonar enhancements and new Navionics functionality.

New Surface Clarity functionality has been significantly enhanced to remove clutter without affecting target definition, allowing anglers to reveal fish near the surface without filtering out all sonar returns. In addition, the new update helps anglers more easily distinguish between different levels of Surface Clarity, so the best possible view can be selected for current fishing conditions.

The update also includes Live Network Sonar, which allows HDS Gen3 users to view and control two independent, live sonar sources (such as at the front and the back of the boat) from a single display. A new SonarChart Live feature allows users to create 1-foot HD bathymetric maps in real time on HDS Gen3 and Elite-Ti series displays, while a new Plotter Sync function allows anglers to easily download the latest Navionics chart data and transfer waypoints and routes between the Navionics app and a mapping card via the wireless connectivity of HDS Gen3 and Elite-Ti displays.

The company showed a range of new hardware at the show as well, including its new mid-level Elite 12 Ti and Elite 9 Ti touchscreen fishfinder/chartplotters, as well as its new top-of-the-line HDS Carbon fishfinder/chartplotter series with 7, 9, 12 and new 16-inch touchscreens. The HDS Carbon – the fourth generation of the company’s HDS series – adds a high-performance dual core processor, multi-touch SolarMAX HD screen, dual channel CHIRP and Network Dual Sounder as standard features.