iPad

[James S]

How much beer did it take to fill that tank.
Cool picture.

[Christian Van H]

DO NOT TRY THIS WITH AN iPAD!!!

[lawdawg]

Does anyone know if you can share charts on navionics between an ipad and iphone that are synced to the same computer or do you have to buy it for each?

[GPSNavX]

Navionics requires the charts be purchased for each platform whether you buy their apps (bundled with the charts for a specific region) or the updatable Navionics charts from X-Traverse for use in iNavX. That being said the charts are very affordable and X-Traverse offers the 1XG, 2XG and 3XG Navionics super regions and Fish'N'Chip bathymetric.

[endoftheroad]

I just purchased an iPad today and will be buying Navionics tomorrow.

This thing is awesome, how will I sleep?

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

This thing is awesome, how will I sleep?

Very well, knowing that it's charging and that you've made a wise purchase...

Navionics is a great way to go. Get the forum App and a good turn by turn land direction app too. Also, look into Zinio for getting all your sailing Mags electronically delivered... This is just the start...

[Chipg]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

I just purchased an iPad today and will be buying Navionics tomorrow.

This thing is awesome, how will I sleep?

I think I was on mine for 12 hours on my first day, its been 7 months now and I like it even more! I'll never use a board to promote anything but I liked it so much I started a development co for iPad apps, nothing sailing related btw.

Its an amazing tool if you understand everything it can do.

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by Chipg

Its an amazing tool if you understand everything it can do.

Here's an idea for an easy to program iPad app: include Bowditch, a full set of usable Pilot Charts, hurricane tracking charts, frequency charts and radio related stuff, and helpful formulas used in passage planning into one Passage Planning App. Most of the info is a free download from our Govt, but pulling it all up into one visually polished useable download might be nice... You can send the App store check to me now... :-)

[Factor]

Originally Posted by ActiveCaptain

There was another forum, which I won't mention, that provides iNavX support. I explained specific reasons why the product had problems - heck, I'm a developer too and I've written commercial chartplotter applications myself - even for phones! To be fair, a few of my suggestions were adopted but the major ones are still glaring holes in usability. The moderator said that I was being unfair and threatened removing me from the site, proving his point by showing the number of 5 star reviews iNavX had received. Today it has 114.

I pointed out that iNavX also had a substantial number of 1 star reviews too which is a very bad sign. Today it has 54 1 star reviews. This is just unacceptable for a $50 app where most others are less than half that price.

Soon after that posting, I was banned from the site.

The truth is sometimes too much to see in print.

Im a member of that forum as well, and thats not the way I recall that discussion running.

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by Factor

Im a member of that forum as well, and thats not the way I recall that discussion running.

Can we please not start that crap here.

[tartansail]

I've had an iPad since the day the 3G came out. I got iNavX last summer and used it as a backup last summer. I found it a little clunky to navigate, but it sounds like using the Navionics charts would be a big upgrade. So, for those who have used both, is there a noticeable difference between using the Navionics charts in iNavX vs. in the Navionics app?

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by tartansail

I've had an iPad since the day the 3G came out. I got iNavX last summer and used it as a backup last summer. I found it a little clunky to navigate

Tartan, if you could elaborate, the developer of iNavX frequents this thread and might like to know what your major dislikes might be. I too use iNavx, and overall I find it to be a damn good feature packed App with a few quirks...

[tartansail]

Originally Posted by Christian Van H

Tartan, if you could elaborate, the developer of iNavX frequents this thread and might like to know what your major dislikes might be. I too use iNavx, and overall I find it to be a damn good feature packed App with a few quirks...

First off, I was delighted to have iNavX as a resource, especially when away from the boat so, when I see "major dislikes", I probably came off more negative than intended. I'll acknowledge that I have not done a lot of routing yet so these comments (in no particular order) may be the kinds of things that improve with experience:

1. When I scan across multiple charts, the application doesn't seem to keep a history of recent charts pulled (like the history of recent pages in a browser). Moving back to an earlier chart seems to require either going back one at a time, pulling back to a broader view or going back to the overall index and finding the initial chart again.
2. I don't seem to be able to build routes in the chart view. Establishing a set of waypoints and then adding them in the route view is awkward unless I've done a good job naming the waypoints. I also like to be able to ensure that my route doesn't do dumb things like take me over rocks. I need to go back and forth between routing and the chart view to assess the track which is not optimal.
3. When I try to use a nav aid as a waypoint, sometimes the app notices, sometimes not. When I use a nav aid, it would be good to have the aid name as the default name.

To be clear, I like iNavX and am happy to use it. I have recommended it to several other sailors. I just don't yet find it as intuitive as I expect it will be and am trying to understand if the chart interface is a contributor. (i.e. better with Navionics)

An issue with all the iPad and smartphone apps is that many of us aren't as precise with our fingers on a touchscreen as we have become with a mouse. Therefore, some things will seem to be erratic when the problem is with how accurate our fingers are. That can slow down the learning curve since it can be hard to know whether something didn't happen because it wasn't a feature or we were ham-fingered as we touched the screen. An example of that is adding waypoints to a route. It took me a while to figure out the sequence of touches, because I wasn't giving correct commands. Not iNavX's fault, but a reality of the UI that means developers need to KISS.

[GPSNavX]

Thanks for all the feedback on iNavX. I use such feedback to continually improve iNavX.

There is a forum with tips for using iNavX here ..

Tips and Tricks (Topic list) - MacSailing.net - Powered by FusionBB

In that forum is a post about creating routes on the chart ..

Creating Routes on the Chart - MacSailing.net - Powered by FusionBB

Note: at the bottom of the above post is a video showing route creation.

[tartansail]

The great thing about this forum is that those who know are here and help. I've already gotten a PM showing me how to build a route in the chart view. Looks pretty easy.