Maybe I've missed something while out cruising, but it looks to me like Icom's VHF lineup has not changed in the last 18-24 months. Not a single new VHF?
I'm also somewhat mystified how a 3 year old VHF, the 604, can be the "2009 NMEA Communication Product of the Year". Is the industry really so stagnant that a 3 year old product is the best thing out there? These awards remind me of the wind industry where 200 wines can collect a total of 200 awards.
Sign of a well developed and mature product line. What's to update? They have DSC, they have AIS, they make best of breed marine VHF sets, they are the most ergonomic, proven build quality, etc. Why change a winning formula?
Russ, the NMEA awards -- aside from the new Technology Award -- are "best in category", not "best new in category".
I think ICOM makes excellent radios; Standard Horizon too. And probably others like Raymarine and Simrad. But I hope they're all taking a good look at Garmin's VHF 200.
I agree that Icom makes good radios, I own four of them. Icom is the leader and for that reason I look to them to also lead in innovation.
What I'm saying is that when a 3 year old product is the "Communication Product of the Year", there is very little innovation taking place.
Round peg, square hole, Russ. The NMEA product awards seem much more about quality and reliability than innovation. (Not a bad thing.)
And why would the market leader also be the expected innovation leader? Doesn't it often work the other way around?
Hi Russ, I suppose marine VHF is rather an old technology and hasn't changed really since DSC was added and more recently dual AIS sets. There is not much to innovate about as VHF is a very old analog technology.