Best Marine Navigation App For Mac
Navionics plays hard in the app universe, with constant updates and comprehensive offerings — and they claim Mobile is now the world's best-selling marine and lakes nav-app. It won the 2010 Innovation and Design award at the Marine Electronics and Trade Show, and was voted the Best Boating App by Laptop World magazine.
In recent years it has become more feasible than ever to navigate using a smartphone or tablet. Apps have improved to the point where they rival paper charts and chartplotters.
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With so many good navigation apps available, the question is: which is best for you? There are free apps with basic chartplotting capabilities; reasonably priced apps with advanced waypoint and route management features; and apps with community-authored databases that include points of interest (POI). Ultimately, choosing an app comes down to evaluating which features are important to you and what you’re willing to pay for them. In researching, consider some differentiating factors. Most important is the chart availability and type of chart used. In the United States, the most commonly supported charts are NOAA raster charts, which are scanned images of traditional paper charts.
Raster charts are larger in size with more complex chart management and display features. NOAA vector charts, on the other hand, span larger areas, offer seamless display between chart areas and allow the user to pan and zoom. They also support multiple layers, each with different levels of detail. Garmin, Navionics and Transas also provide worldwide chart regions. Also be sure to check the chart management functions. When using an app, managing the charts should be as simple as selecting, downloading and installing chart tiles or regions. An app should allow you to store charts on the device so they can be used while underway and offline.
Check for the added features of a street map, satellite or topo/terrain map overlays. All nav apps display a ship’s location in a similar manner. What works differently is panning or zooming around the chart, chart quilting and displaying chart layers. Look for an app with usability that makes sense to you, one that has an uncluttered display, transparent overlays, intuitive menus and easy-to-use zoom buttons.
All apps support waypoints, routes and tracks to a varying degree. The more established apps allow you to manage waypoints and create routes using selected waypoints from a predetermined list.
Newer apps manage routes by connecting marks on the chart, so actual waypoints become less important. I prefer apps that allow you to manage waypoints and routes, and import them via GPX, a data format that allows you to share GPS information across multiple devices. Sharing tracks via email or social media sites is also becoming popular. This is a great way to communicate with friends and family during a cruise or race debrief. Likewise, apps that allow you to geotag photos to waypoints are useful, as you can record photographic reminders of various locations. Integration with community guidebooks is another new feature that is useful for route planning.
Several apps support ActiveCaptain, a community-generated interactive cruising guidebook with markers for marinas, hazards, anchorages and local knowledge. Similarly, the Navionics Community provides marine POI and guides. In both, the added information is invaluable for planning a route. Finally, cost is important when picking your nav app and prices range from free to $50. Check if the app includes NOAA charts—if it doesn’t, chart regions will cost between $20 and $100. The current trend is to charge an annual subscription fee that includes chart updates.
Here are my top 10 Apple picks to get you started. Garmin BlueChart Mobile uses high-quality charts 1. Garmin BlueChart Mobile Free (charts from $29.99), iPhone/iPad, This is one of my favorite navigation apps, because it is based on Garmin’s excellent BlueChart marine charts and is so easy to use. Do i need antivirus for my desktop mac computer windows 7. The radial menu, waypoints and route management are extremely intuitive. While underway, your position and selected route display clearly. The app has a complete set of features, including tides and currents, sun and moon phases, wind speed and direction, and a distance-measuring tool.