Navionics or Navimatics for iPhone ?

[off-the-grid]

Anyone using either? Obviously just as a back up, or for shorter trips.

Navionics seems to have the best reviews of all the chart software available.
On the other hand Navimatics has decent reviews and Active Captain integrated. Ooooo...AC on iPhone!

Trying to decide, so I can install one ASAP. Seeing how it runs will be the final determining factor on weather I get the new phone or not, considering my 3G isn't too happy with OS4.

On the other hand, doesn't iPhone 4 have a much better GPS antenna than the previous phones? That's probably enough reason to upgrade either way.

[Sandero]

I have both and frankly I think they are not worth it IF you have another option which I do.

I was quite happy to give them a try, but I find the Iphone way too slow and this makes the way I like to use a handheld plotter in the cockpit not workable with these devices.

I loved the garmin ique 3600 which I picked up years back and loaded blue charts on. Larger screen - quicker on the redraw. Head or north up and a course / heading line which extends to infinity for all practical purposes.

Here's how I use the hand held. When I want to make a buoy which is pretty much the marks I use... I can see the course / heading line in relationship to the desired mark. I don't bother with entering waypoints. If I am able to sail to the mark I turn the autopilot until the course / heading line crosses the mark. This is accounting for leeway and currents etc. I can zoom to any place on the line to check for thin water or rocks.

That's ALL I use this for with the exception of comparing what I see with my eyes to the chart..

The Ique has awesome resolution, infinite zoom scales - pans like a dream and displays the basic SOG, COG and keeps a track. Great at night or in sunlight. Great for anchor watch. Battery life sucks so I have it tethered to a 12v cig plug and park it under the dodger on a mount. Way way WAY faster than the ipod and it's WAAS and much more accurate.

Iphone apps are interest. Take a photo and it records where you were when you snapped the shutter. Big deal. The navionics had the annoyance of the iphone gyro and only worked north up if I recall. Navmatics didn't have a heading/course line but he says he's fixed that. This is a back up toy for me. The iQue is a real tool.

[phiggins]

grunzster,

I installed the INavx and it seems OK but my only complaint it didn't allow me to download my own charts that I have on my PC.

Where did you see the reviews?

Thanks

[ActiveCaptain]

I have every iPhone and iPad navigation app available for boating. I personally think that at $20, it's a good idea to have both Navionics and Navimatics. They use different chart databases and it's often nice to see the difference. It's not like the apps cost hundreds of dollars.

One thing you didn't mention about the Navimatics app is that it integrates NDBC weather data live from the various data buoys. If you do coastal cruising, it's really nice to have it all integrated together.

One thing you didn't mention about the Navionics app is that it includes links with Facebook and provides some amount of social networking support. I've tried it and can live without it but there are some people who must continually tell the world about their lives through Facebook and Navionics can help with that.

I detest the iNavX app. At $50, it is one of the most frustrating pieces of software I have ever used for navigation. Try to pan around the ICW going from chart to chart and you'll find yourself thinking about pitching the iPhone overboard. It has a poor user-interface and costs more than any other app. I also don't like that to get at any additional functionality with iNavX (route sharing, weather, etc) you have to pay a subscription fee. Additionally, iNavX has no tide support. You have to pay an additional $10 to have it launch AyeTides. That's ridiculous. You can get free tide apps (ShralpTide) - why pay extra for it? It's included and all integrated in Navionics and Navimatics.

If you really like raster charts, Memory-Map's app has a better user-interface and has gotten better reviews than iNavX in independent reviews (Practical Sailor).

Oh yeah, ActiveCaptain integration in Navimatics is really well done. I'm totally biased there. I've put about 500 nm on my iPhone and iPad with it and really like it. I honestly use it as my "go to" device underway even above my own web site that I created and wrote the code for. It's quite nice to have all of the data offline. Of course, in my mind, that puts it well above Navionics if you have to have just one.

Note too that Navimatics allows you to run their single app on both an iPhone and iPad at the same time - no extra cost. Navionics charges for their iPad app again even if you already have the iPhone one.

[Jetexas]

I use Navionics on my 3GS. It's a little slow/jumpy at giving me a constant speed reading, but it tracks my course just fine. The points of interest work very well. It has all the restaurants where you can dock to eat, places to get gas, and the hazards, platforms and areas to avoid.

I've never gone FAR offshore, so I don't know how it would perform when you have only the GPS signal and not the 3G signal.

The iPhone screen is hard to see on really sunny days, but I mostly rely on it at night. I dropped electronic markers on my navionics charts along the channel in and out of Kemah and the little channel to my marina in Clear Lake. I've had no trouble navigating back in with almost zero visibility at night.

For $9.99 Navionics is a hell of a good investment if you're staying coastal. It sure beats spending $300+ for a new chart plotter and GPS system.

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by phiggins

Where did you see the reviews?

Thanks

I'm referring to just the reviews in the iTunes store.

[off-the-grid]

Wow! Thanks for the info. I didn't realize it had weather integration. Good point, on using a few of them considering the price.

I'm running out in a few to do the upgrade. I'm reading a lot of post on different boards where people are claiming significantly faster and more accurate GPS even compared to the 3GS. Guess I'll just need to be careful how I hold it.

[ActiveCaptain]

The iPad and iPhone 4 use the same new GPS chipset. It's quite a lot better than the 3GS. Both chipsets will work offshore though - I've used the 3GS as much as 25 nm offshore where there was no cellular signal at all.

Get a case for the 4 that surrounds the antenna edge and you'll be OK.

[CaptnPete]

Did anyone use Marine US ? $5.99

[off-the-grid]

32GB not shipping for 2 weeks If I'm upgrading I want the storage too.

Funny thing is the ones in the store worked worse than my 3G that I've been complaining about since the upgrade. Guess they've been getting beat up for a few weeks, though. Or at least maps did.

I'll try the apps on my old phone first and then decide, if I really want to give Apple more money. Would be nice to fit my entire iTunes library on my iPod gain, though.

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by CaptnPete

Did anyone use Marine US ? $5.99

No, but I use the website all the time. Doesn't have the best reviews, but just to have the entire US charts on the phone for only $5 isn't bad.

[stevemac00]

Hey Captain, does the Navionics app have an anchor alarm? If not can you recommend an alarm with the iPad-3g? (iNavX has one.) I need an app that still works while iPad is asleep (like mail app) and that will be loud enough to wake me (like my cell phone chirping on a dead battery).

[Jetexas]

FYI, I got a bicycle cell phone mount very similar to this and put it on my binnacle guard. Holds the phone great.

Buy.com - ARKON Universal Bicycle Handlebar Mobile Phone Mount

Now I'm debating ordering something like this to keep the occasional spray off the phone. Waterproof Water Resistant Air Tight Crushproof Tough Rugged OtterBox Armor Case for iPhone 3G: ExtremePDA

[GeoPowers]

I really like the Navionics app. It is much faster on my 3GS than on my wife's 3G. it has tides/currents, route planning, waypoints, pics you can link to a lat/long, points of interest, and good charts (for PNW/BC anyway). Well worth the purchase...oh wait I think I got it free! I would buy it in a heartbeat, though. I most often use it for pre-trip planning, whether it be on the train before heading out or in the rack just before going to sleep. Navionics, Ship Finder AIS app, The Weather Channel app, and to a lesser extent Google Earth app and Tideapp are the boat-related apps I use on a regular basis.

[shipofools]

some others to consider for boating in general:
ideco
theodolite
radarscope
starwalk
aeroweather