The lite version allows you to download only the cartography of a specific quadrant of the map.Īfter the maps have been imported, users can touch and hold objects on the vector map, triggering an “object query” that helps identify, for example, buoys or beacons. Users can choose between 'light' and 'professional' versions, the latter of which allows download of maps for a variety of areas. These tasks are simple with i-Boating: Marine Charts and GPS (for iOS devices) and i-Boating: Marine Navigation Maps & Nautical Charts (Android compatible) by developer Bist. When it comes to working with on-screen maps, it is important to be able to easily create routes and set waypoints, as well as determine the distance and position of the vessel. Here's an overview of the best navigation and yachting apps available today, as well as their most important features: Moreover, if you take a friend's boat or go on vacation on a charter yacht, you can have your already tried and tested programs in your pocket - which is damn convenient. Featuring touchscreens, the proliferation of cellular and Wi-Fi, GPS receivers, solid-state sensors and on-board memory, smartphones quickly revolutionized navigation.Ī growing number of applications provide skippers with access to information that rivals the ship's hardware. When Steve Jobs presented Apple iPhone in January 2007, sailors may not have fully grasped the dawn of a new era.

David Schmidt, Gadget Editor at Cruising World, reviews the latest software for boaters.

Using a smartphone or tablet, the skipper can keep all - or nearly all - of his usual navigation and weather apps close at hand.

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