The Plan2Nav instances on our tablets and smartphones have begun displaying a new pop-up on start-up. The message is that "C-MAP recommends Embark."
??
So of course I went to see what an Embark is, why I might want one, how I'd use it, etc. And I've asked the
C-MAP customer
service people -- both P2N and Embark sides of their house -- a few questions.
Embark will run on iOS, Android, and PC systems. Users can enable up to 5 devices on a
single license. Paid users can download
C-MAP charts for off-line access. (I haven't paid yet, and still seem to already have a chart downloaded for off-line access. Maybe this is "trial period" stuff.)
C-MAP will discontinue new sales of P2N; Embark will be the only C-MAP app going forward. OTOH, they also say that happy P2N customers can just keep using it.
The chart display in Embark is much more pleasing (to me) than the P2N display. Especially land masses, no longer in jarring shades of yellow.
Embark seems to include the usual
route planning functions, common to many apps.
Embark includes a "cruising guide" -- not yet very much populated (i.e., hardly at all, I think, except for marina info), but with share functions (across one's own devices, including desktops/laptops, and across users) and review functions apparently similar to the way Yelp does
reviews. C-MAP
charts have long offered info on
marinas, so it looks like this "cruising guide" function is meant to be a huge extension of that with significant crowd-sourced commentary.
Embark somehow incorporates some
AIS info; haven't look at that yet.
P2N had a rudimentary
anchor watch function. Not present in Embark, at least for now. I've just asked if they intend to include that, but they haven't had time to respond yet.
A quick web search indicates Lowrance,
Simrad, and
Navico will be using Embark.
-Chris
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