videorov
Last I heard was that HB was not planning on bringing out a new 1100 series SI unit. Just read a post that the only change to the 1197c is that the basemap will be updated from unimap to ContourXD. Not sure if this is just for NVB units or all of them. Any units available today will not have the updates.
I purchased mine from Poor_fish a dealer on EBay, most people would recommend purchasing from another source. I purchased a 1197c NVB unit new in the box for $2450 (currently Poor_fish has it for $2550 without NVB it is $2350 both are with free shipping). Please note I am not saying you should purchase from Poor_fish only that I did and I would do it again. Any time you purchase from EBay you do take a chance. With the money I saved I purchased a trolling motor transducer, and other goodies.
As far as service HB is the only one that services the unit, dealer has know impact on the service side. Also, make sure to register your unit when you receive it, HB's customer service has been great.
You should also purchase a Sandisk Extreme III HDSC card with a USB card reader to plug into your computer and download your recordings. Expect to spend the first day on the lake just playing and learning the system.
George