Garmin International told its dealers this week that the GNS480 GPS navigator will be discontinued due to declining sales, a development many owners had feared. Compared to Garmin’s mega-selling GNS430 and 530 series navigators, the 480 sold in fractional numbers. But according to our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, the product had a small but loyal following due to its unique flight management system-like capabilities, including a database with airways as a route option. Garmin acquired what was then the CNX80 when it bought UPSAT in 2003. UPSAT developed the technology for the first WAAS-capable navigators for light-aircraft GA and the CNX80 was WAAS ready long before Garmin’s bigger selling boxes were. However, once the WAAS-capable GNS430W and 530W became available, CNS480 sales tanked. Garmin’s Jessica Myers told AVweb that Garmin will continue to support both the CNX80 and GNS480 for “years and years,” but that no new units will be sold once existing stock is gone, which is likely to be in 2008.
Garmin’s GNS480 Becomes An Orphan
Key Takeaways:
- Garmin is discontinuing the GNS480 GPS navigator due to declining sales.
- The GNS480, originally the UPSAT CNX80, had a loyal following for its unique flight management capabilities and was an early WAAS-capable navigator.
- Sales plummeted once Garmin introduced its own WAAS-capable GNS430W and 530W units.
- Garmin will continue to support existing GNS480 units for "years and years," but no new units will be sold once current stock is depleted.
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