Customer Reviews
not a good unit 
2007-08-03
Our unit died just before the warranty was up, I sent it back ($50 because of weight and insurance). They sent me a refurbished one, didn't work. I sent it back (on their dime). They sent me another refurbished one; it stopped working after two hours. I sent it back; they sent me a new 600C. This one works for now, but I don't expect it to last the full year. I thought Lowrance made quality products, but after this experience, I believe there quality has suffered a devastating blow. I would not recommend there products anymore.
YUCK!! 2007-07-25
!!SUCKS!! (1) All parts are proprietary. Which means you are at their mercy if you need to buy replacement parts(2) Speaker is built into car lighter module. UGH! (3) AC/DC in home adapter needs car lighter plug to work. UGH! (4) Re-routing is slow. Very slow. (5) Weighs one bazillion pounds! (6) Don't be fooled. This is not a touch screen. It's a "mash your finger really hard into the screen" touch screen. It's technically a "pressure sensing screen". UGH! (7) The software that comes with it is 3 years out of date but not horrid. Just not that good either. Night mode is cool though. But hardly a purchasing merit. It can be updated though. Not sure if you can swap it out for different software (8) Don't like being told something more than once? Well, get used to being a baby all over again. "EVERY TIME" you turn this thing on, you will get a message that says "WARNIING! Do not attempt to configure or input data into GPS while driving!" And there is no turning it off. Hi Lowrance tech, I am your retarded consumer. How can you piss me off today? >!< *<:o( (9) Everything other than the unit seems cheap. Like the lighter parts you see only at road side travel plazas like Pilot and Flying J's. Cheap trucker stuff you wouldn't dare buy. Well, it seems like this unit was boxed with that kind of material! I am getting my money back!
Good until they improved it 
2007-06-15
This is a fairly substantial model thats been around a while. It's heavy and solid, which could be a liability in an accident.
I'm surprised to see people are still choosing this in 2007; although I suppose it might be a good choice to replace a built-in.
I bought mine about two years ago. It arrived with a mis-wired external speaker which I never bothered to return. I handwired in an fm modulator.
The unit seemed to do fair job with navigation until I upgraded the software a few times. After that, it started flipping through map perspectives like crazy (periodically). In fact, the latter version of the software never seemed as intuitive as it was when I first bought it.
Mine finally quit working a few weeks ago and I didn't have the heart to send it back. I can't justify the repair price when Garmin and TomTom are are making smaller units than can also be carried with you. This can help prevent theft or allow you to use them for hiking purposes.
The ideal model should have built in fm modulator, but those are regretably still quite expensive.
It's my first and last Lowrance, I will remember the name.
U LIKE IT. U BUY IT. 2007-05-20
POOR CUST. SUPPORT. TAKE AT LEAST 5MINS TO LOAD THE PROGRAM COMPLETE. THE PRODUCT IS HEAVY.
Run away from this junk!!! 2007-04-07
If you are looking for a GPS that works well for a week, gets shipped back because of an overheating problem, and will require you to stay on perpetual hold with a horrible tech support this is the unit for you. Of course you could choose email support if you like to type without response. I just hope one day to hear from Lowrance. The good thing is the display is large, in just doesn't work if the sun is out. Probably good for winters in Nome.
Great GPS System - Amazing Accuracy 
2008-06-09
A friend let me borrow his last fall for a trip through Vermont and New Hampshire. I was amazed at the roads this baby picked up. I mean, out of the way, top of the mountain, dirt roads. And with a touch of a button, you tell it to take you back to the main highway and you're off. I recommend this GPS system 1000%
Good but not great 
2008-06-09
I have owned the Iway 500c for over 2 years. The positives are that 1. If you connect the Iway to your car's stereo you will have fantastic audio! 2. If you will use it frequently it will lock on to its sattelites within seconds. 3. Overall it gives accurate directions, with a list of text directions, which you should check first in an unknown area. 4. The updates are free and the map updates are only $75.00! The negatives are 1. Its big and bulky and not really portable. 2. It is a little out of date now since it doesn't have bluetooth. Overall you should not get this unit since it is very heavy and the newer, lighter GPS's in the market can do just as much and more.
Lowrance iWAY 500c - Extreme Dissapointment 2008-04-09
I purchased the Lowrance iWAY 500c as a birthday present for my directionally challenged wife. Her mother has a Garmin Nuvi that my wife had been using and loving while on vacation in Florida. I purchased the Lowrance after looking at reviews on CNET, which rated the unit as the second best on the market and above the Garmin.
After receiving the unit, I have been extremely dissapointed. While the screen is very easy to read, the touch screen user interface is not nearly as intuitive as the Garmin. What is even more disspointing is that the unit often struggles to find our location. It takes between 45 seconds up to 3 minutes to find itself after being turned on. The Points of Interest catalog is very dissapointing and largely inferior to that of the Garmin. Additionally, the unit often instructs us to make turns that do not make sense. For example, in route towards our home via a major thoroughfare, the Lowrance instructs us to turn onto a side street that is full of stop signs and ultimately loops back to the main thoroughfare. The only thing that CNET sited as less than ideal was the massive size of the unit. I was willing to deal with that to take advantage of the many reported positives. I now regret that decision since there do not appear to be any positives about this device.
In fairness, I haven't contacted Lowrance yet to discuss the problems. My recommendation to others would be to head toward Garmin or another device over this unit. What a dissapointment
SUCKS 2007-12-07
I hate this GPS. It got me lost in the boonies more than once, it takes forever to get satellite signal, maps are extremely hard to read while driving, having to use the stylus is really inconvenient. My suggestion is get a more user-friendly GPS that you can easily navigate at red-lights or short stops. I have a Mio c310 it was really cheap and easy to use...literally take it out of the box and get going. This thing is something else.
This GPS is a mixed blessing 2007-10-05
I have used my iWay 500C for the last two years and believe that I have gotten pretty good use out of it, but there have been some serious issues:
1. I bought this unit because it was waterproof and rugged (I mounted it on my motorcycle as well as used it in my car). However, the iWay overheats on a regular basis. During the summer in the car, it frequently warns of shut down, even though the temperature in the car is not excessive (air-conditioned).
2. The navigation database has some peculiar route anomalies and often chooses a less than optimum path. For example, I live about 15 miles from a main highway in rural Missouri and the iWay insists on a route to said highway that is over 3 miles longer. Even though secondary roads are paved and in good condition, their database appears to be treating some of these roads as no better than dirt tracks.
3. The software update process from 1.3 to 1.4 took over two hours and the unit worked worse and had more database issues after I performed the update.
I have decided to sell the iWay and have bought a Tom Tom One, which costs less than a third and works a whole lot better.
