Reservations about Navionics

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by KetoNomad

So I was recently told about Navionics, looks like a decent program and I was going to download it for my android phone but then I noticed why it's so cheap...the terms you must accept if you want to download the app include giving access to pretty much everything on your phone: contacts, camera, search history etc. No bueno! Is there a more expensive version that DOESN'T involve datamining or am I just stuffed?

Also, before you download it says there are "in app purchases"...what for? And if you are using a Canadian cell phone down in the Caribbean will you get charged for using Navionics? I don't plan to use the phone for anything else but the warnings seemed to indicate there would be costs associated with this.

Haaaalp!

Most apps ask about accessing your data, unless you haven't installed anything on your device, you've already agreed to this!

Navionics app is cheap, they get you with the yearly subscription fees of $75 the thing I don't like it there is no Active Captain integration like there is for the Garmin app. Also note that Navionics has a reputation for being horribly inaccurate for the Bahamas area.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by pcmm

Most apps ask about accessing your data, unless you haven't installed anything on your device, you've already agreed to this!

(...)

It does not matter to what you agreed or not.

What matters is that collecting data that is not required in the process is data mining and unethical. Yes, very common these days too. We are living in times of marginal moral standards.

Cheers,
b.

[captainjim47]

I loaded Navionics USA & Canada about 10,000nm ago, it was $14.99. Just checked, still the same on the Google Apps Store. It saved my butt trying to get up the streams to eskimo villages Western Alaska. The Garmin on board was still using data from the 50's. Ha! Only downside to Navionics is that it uses 'device' memory to store the charts, it won't load into the micro SD card. My Galaxy S4 was full had to go get an S7e for the 32GB of device memory cause I'm going to have to load their Carib. charts for a trip thru the canal this spring.

[captainjim47]

sure am glad nobody gives a damn about me or anything on my phone. J

[macman4190]

Originally Posted by jkleins

INaxX- good raster charts (NOAA) great AIS integration if you have wireless. Poor implementation of zooming and panning. You have to manually select the chart. Not a deal breaker but a pain compared to Maxsea which does it all automagically.





Jim

If you use NOAA raster charts, you must go to each chart just as if you were using paper charts. It is not a program issue. It is a function of the charts you are using. For $9.99 you can purchase quilted NOAA raster charts, which makes them act like vector charts and fixes the chart selection issue mentioned above. You can also buy vector charts from Navionics and others and use them.

[SailFastTri]

Some of the posts above are making incorrect assumptions about price. Navionics has a lower price on phones than on tablets. It's SUPER cheap (including charts) on a phone. Yes on iOS you can turn off access individually.

As for the OP who is concerned about privacy -- you should read your Google terms of service that come with the Android "free" OS.
You think the phone is the product? YOU are the product.

https://www.google.com/policies/terms/


"When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps). Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services. Make sure you have the necessary rights to grant us this license for any content that you submit to our Services. Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored. "


PS -- more info about what they collect from your device:
https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/

[gbot]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Some of the posts above are making incorrect assumptions about price. Navionics has a lower price on phones than on tablets. It's SUPER cheap (including charts) on a phone. Yes on iOS you can turn off access individually.

This is actually an issue with how they advertise the product, specifically as related to Apple devices.

When I first discovered Navionics I did some research on their website. They say that you can share purchased charts between Apple devices. Because our family owns several Apple devices this sounded great.

However, this is not strictly true and hides a problem with the use case that may end up being a dealbreaker for many people who have multiple Apple devices.

The apps themselves are free, however the charts are not. But the charts you get for the ipad and the charts for the iphone are not the same and must be purchased separately.

So if you purchase HD charts for your ipad, then want to download them on your iphone as well, you CANNOT DO THIS. You must purchase the non-HD version separately as well. The only way to actually share charts between the iphone and ipad is to purchase the non-HD version on your iphone, and then use those inferior charts on the ipad using the iphone app.

Anyone who's used iphone-only apps on their ipad knows that this is not an optimal experience - it is simply the iphone-shaped screen 'zoomed in' and doesn't look great.

In my opinion this is misleading on the part of Navionics and has left a bad taste in my mouth as I would not have spent the money on the charts if the 'real world' charts sharing didn't actually work. It's quite disappointing as otherwise the product is excellent.

[Ostinato]

I've had the same problem. iPhone charts on useable but not ideal.