Besides the VHF radios with Gps and maps, Garmin already had one or two
models of cellular having gps receiver and maps, some time
ago, and yet has the Rino, both systems designed to send user position

to other similar equipment an receive others position and plotting on
the map. Thus, Garmin recognized for long time the need and advantage

of this type of communication, this in a simple consumer market
equipment, imagine now that AIS is official and being accepted
worldwide at an incredible fast path?
And Garmin already has demonstrated equipment for the similar AIS
function for general aviation (ADS-B see it in the link below) l
which is much more complex. Besides this, Garmin has excellent
gps/plotters, good cartography, a new fast 100 MB/s network arquiteture
(Garmin Network), which interfaces with the recently announced Garmin
radar, etc.
http://www.garmin.com/aviation=AC/adsb.htm
I have no doubt that Garmin will enter the AIS very soon; I believe
that it has not yet released the support for AIS in the actual Chart
Plotters (Garmin Network at last) only because they want to support
their own AIS receiver and transponder. My doubt is only with regard
the AIS in the lower end of plotters like my GpsMap 276C, but I hope it

will have AIS, soon or later.
I am focused here in the HOW this will be done, not in the IF,
as my initial question assumed that Garmin will unveil soon a
comprehensive solution on AIS, probably launching new "sensors": an
AIS transponder Class B, which specification as not yet finished by
IMO/ITU, and a more simple receiver, that would be supported on its
line of Gps Chart Plotters, or perhaps, others AIS standalone units.
Regarding the "timing" of the release of the several pieces of
the Garmin AIS "solution", I think that it should unveil very soon
an AIS Receiver, as the first step, since this does not depends of
IMO/ITU standards and approval, and which would be target to the small
commercial and the leisure crafts market.

Why? Because I believe there is an avid market full of anxious prospect
buyers for AIS, as have been proved by the success of the NASA AIS
black Box and AIS radar, and other relatively low price products. Today
there are already many PC and at last a Mac software that already have
AIS support, including one freeware (Sea Clear), another shareware
(ShipPlotter) and today, practically all of the first line navigation
software (Nobeltec, MaxSea, SeaPro, Tsunami etc) now have AIS support.

And finally, there is at last one large maker of marine equipment
(Si-Tex) supporting AIS on its new line of color chart plotters, which
includes several units with 5.5 inches to 11 inches diagonal color TFT
screens, Cmap-Max cartography based, 18 channel gps receiver and
network radar, using the NASA black box product, and reselling the
stand alone NASA AIS Radar under their own logo.

If somebody call this type of solution as a toy, I would say that
several Garmin handhelds gps/plotters like the Map 76C and Map 60C have
several games included, but the gps and chart plotter functions
continues to be very useful. And anyway, what really are our
leisure fiberglass sailboats, not a kind of toy too?

So am asking that we return to the HOW side of the question now,
thanks.