jet man
03-24-2010, 03:54 PM
898 is closer to my budget; other than screen size any important advantages to the 998?
Do they take the same lake chips?
Jason Halfen
03-24-2010, 04:10 PM
Same chips, same software, same hardware components. Smaller screen on the 898, but there's a ton of technology packed into those units! Hard to make a bad choice with either, but the 898's pricetag will let you add a RAM mount and a couple of map chips to the 898 for the same price as the 998.
The only wrinkle would be if you planned to view the unit from a long distance. If that were the case (for instance, viewing a console-mounted 898 from the bow or the transom), then I'd opt for the larger screen unit (998 or 1197). After running a 997 for most of last season, I moved into an 1197 for the fall, winter, and the 2010 season so that I could easily see the small details in Side Imaging while trolling with my tiller kicker.