Ok I have been setting aside money with the whole purpose of getting myself a better Depth/fishfinder and maybe even a GPS with mapping... In looking at different units both in store and online I am just not sure what I should be focusing on. I would think that Lowrance or Hummingbird are the top two right? then what about Display Resolution? Sonar Frequency? Sonar Output? Dual or signal sonar? etc. What is most important? then in a GPS what do I want to make sure a unit has? thanks..!

I'd be looking at an HD unit if it were me. That is the new generation and regular sonar is going to be a thing of the past before long.

As far as the gps it is going to be fine. You just need to decide which map card will best suit you. Either a Low or a Bird that is up to you. I chose Low and my best friend went with a Bird.

For me the size of the screen is a big factor. It is like a trolling motor (bigger is better and more expensive). I rat holed money for 2 years to be able to get mine.

Dual Beam Sonar provides additional coverage area to make it easier to find fish. What's really awesome is Humminbird's QuadraBeam Transducer - Simple and Economical Side Finding technology that not only looks down but to each side so you can tell where the fish are. With the Humminbird you get faster refresh rates of 4 times per second as standard equipment on 700,800,900 and 1100 Series units. Navionics is the most accurate mapping choice for either brand. Other thing Humminbird is the last American made fish finders built on the banks of Lake Eufuala in Eufuala, Alabama - Service and Support is located right there at the factory for fast turn around if you ever need it. Dollar for Dollar and Feature for Feature Humminbird has more features and higher specs for the dollar.

Look at the 778c, 788c and 798c has the Induustries highest Pixel Count Screen of 640 by 640 in a 5" screen...Guess it's super HD?

Thank you to you both and Doug I did go and look at some of the ones you said. First I am scared of the side view things.... I can hardly read a graph (why I want a better one) and in looking at these pictures of the side views I can't anything other then I can see trees and stuff but I could not tell you where it would be under the water. also I have heard they are a bear to set up right and use. I have a old eagle fishmark 320 and I can'r even set it up right so I know I need to stay pretty basic. more of a plug and play type unit.

So with that said ets just really get basic here. Dual beam should be better as in most cases two of anything is better then one.. So I will try and stay with a dual beam sonar. BUT So I get a 5" or even 8" screen and I don't have high
Display Resolution or high Sonar Output or maybe some other feature then I might can see a big picture but it will not show me much detail... What I would like to know is what feature I need to pay the most attention too? Oh and what advantage is color? just so I can see a red fish and not a black?

Here is something else I found today. Lowrance is suppse to be coming out with a new unit. the Mark-5 DSI or DownScan Imaging..! anyone know anything about this? the video I saw said it will start at $299.00 is this something like the sidescan from Humminbird except for it is straight down? here is the link to the video I found.....
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/icast10.html?ccode=LEMG10

yep

Very interesting They just may force the compitition to get their product down to where everybody can afford them.

Not sure it's going to bring the price down because you only get one Dimension - Down Scan view with this no side coverage or 2D. Down Scan is straight down narrow coverage area. Versus the complete package GPS w/Mapping, 2D Sonar, Down Imaging and Side Imaging when you buy the full package models from either brand. Yes the price is less than full featured models if you only one a single feature for a 1/3 of the price.