i have the humminbird 1197si and it is awsome. and i looked at the pics of the lowrance side scan and they are both the same thing. im sure lowrance is a good unit and it is ones preference. mine is humminbird becouse i have only had good things from them. and i know people who have had lowrance and have had alot of proublems with the unit and the customer service. i dont care wich one someone buys but i like the humminbird and the customer service they have and how easy it is to download new updates to you unit. just my two cents.