iPhone vs. Android for nautical apps

Motorola

I just got a motorloa defy (water resistant and dust proof in strong rubber and metal case)
Seems very good, I would have got the large memory map but they don't have charts for Northern france yet.

It looks very useable, I'll have it in a waterproof case as well but it will be swinging round my neck or on my arm for 175 miles of cat racing in August. The only weakness I can see at the moment is I can't load multiple courses? If any one knows how it would be very useful otherwise I'll have to programme each days course during the event, which may be effected by Vin Rouge je pense?
 
Neil_Y said:
I just got a motorloa defy (water resistant and dust proof in strong rubber and metal case)
Seems very good, I would have got the large memory map but they don't have charts for Northern france yet.

It looks very useable, I'll have it in a waterproof case as well but it will be swinging round my neck or on my arm for 175 miles of cat racing in August. The only weakness I can see at the moment is I can't load multiple courses? If any one knows how it would be very useful otherwise I'll have to programme each days course during the event, which may be effected by Vin Rouge je pense?
Click to expand...

What software are you using? Is it biased towards racing?
 
Neil_Y said:
I just got a motorloa defy (water resistant and dust proof in strong rubber and metal case)
Seems very good, I would have got the large memory map but they don't have charts for Northern france yet.

It looks very useable, I'll have it in a waterproof case as well but it will be swinging round my neck or on my arm for 175 miles of cat racing in August. The only weakness I can see at the moment is I can't load multiple courses? If any one knows how it would be very useful otherwise I'll have to programme each days course during the event, which may be effected by Vin Rouge je pense?
Click to expand...

I have just got one of those recently. I am still learning how to use it. I have navionics on it. Battery seems to last for a bit over a day.
It has a built in GPS which seems a bit slow. It is on Android.
I have memory map on my netbook and always also have paper charts.
 
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I have found the charting app on my Iphone 4 works really well, I haven't had any problems with GPS reception or with location errors. I have also found the display bright enough to use on deck, unlike other phones and laptops I have tried to use.
When in the waterproof bag/case thingy the display can be a bit difficult to read, but not too bad.
Not too long ago I read a review of different displays, Android and Iphone amongst them, that was one area where the Iphone won out, with a brighter display and better auto-brightness control. I don't know whether it is still true but I can use mine in daylight, so I will stick with it.
 
Cappen Boidseye said:
Not too long ago I read a review of different displays, Android and Iphone amongst them, that was one area where the Iphone won out, with a brighter display and better auto-brightness control. I don't know whether it is still true but I can use mine in daylight, so I will stick with it.
Click to expand...

Everyone got very excited about the "retina" display when the iPhone came out but it's "merely" a very good screen already. Some of the Android phones are very basic indeed and only suitable for numbers and text in the shade, while others are the very best available. I have a 5" screen which perhaps to big to be called a phone, it's bordering on a tablet. Probably as good a quality screen as the iPhone 4 but significantly bigger. Even better than my Dell Streak are some of the 4"+ AMOLED and OLED displays on the top end Android phones. HTC Desire and Nexus S are good examples and work well in bright sun whilst offering stunning clarity.
 
I've just loaded Navionics and it seems very good, I've now worked out how to load multiple routes, so it will be ideal for the 5 day event which has about 20 marks for each day.

No pinch zoom, but double tap on screen zooms in quickly.

I've found the gps good and quick and battery life very good even when I have wifi and gps on. But I will take a battery pack for recharging, as there is no 12V supply on an F18!
 
Iphone 4 or if you can wait the new Iphone 5 should be out soon, other than that there are some very good tablets for sub £200 but Iphone/App store are streets ahead and constant development means lots of choice for upgrades
 
charging phones

following this thread with interest, just thought i'd add my thoughts on phone charging.
i've just bought a Power Monkey Extreme: it can carry enough charge for smart phone or ipad, hand held vhf and cameras and it is rechargable either by soar panel (included) or mains, or USB.
In my view, this equates to not having to worry either about depleting the boat's batteries or running out of charge when needed.
£120 well spent
 
Navionics Multiple Routes

Neil_Y said:
I've just loaded Navionics and it seems very good, I've now worked out how to load multiple routes, so it will be ideal for the 5 day event which has about 20 marks for each day.

No pinch zoom, but double tap on screen zooms in quickly.

I've found the gps good and quick and battery life very good even when I have wifi and gps on. But I will take a battery pack for recharging, as there is no 12V supply on an F18!
Click to expand...

Which device have you loaded the multiple routes on ?? And please give us a clue as to how you do it.. because all I get when I try and create a new route is a question asking me if I want to delete the old route ??
 
I have tried Navionics on an HTC Desire S on our last cruise and found it pretty good.

I can store multiple routes but the menus are not particularly intuitive. Stored routes are accessed through Search and Favorites (sic) and not the Waypoints menu where they are created.

The main disappointment for me is that the routes are very limited. You can define a chain of waypoints and then you can get the total distance and time and fuel based on your own estimate of cruising speed and fuel consumption. However, when you are following a route it just shows your present course as a line ahead of your vessel which you have to line up with the current leg of the route. The is no course to steer nor any estimate of the time or distance to the next waypoint or, more importantly, the end of the route.

I have previously used an old Garmin GPS III+ and used the ETA to check progress when heading for a marina with a tight tidal window. Unfortunately, Navionics does not provide anything like this.

However, Navionics is a big improvement of my old GPS as it does provide a miniature chartplotter.

We are based on the River Thames so every tidal cruise involves a passage through London. I found a significant bug in Navionics in that all of the tidal data above London Bridge is completely wrong. Tides and currents for anywhere West of Greenwich is displayed on the charts as East of Greenwich and the tidal curves have abrupt changes which cannot be right. For example, the tide at Richmond Lock is show as rising 0.5 metres instantaneously.
 
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