Navionics Android App?

[Paul H (admin)]

High-tech alert

Has anyone used the Navionics Android app?  

I now have a HTC Wildfire smartphone and it can download the Navionics thingy (£17) which will give me navigation maps for the whole of the UK linked to the GPS inside the phone, including tides, wind data for the next 72 hours, geotagging of photos and more.

http://www.navionics.com/MobileMarineFeatures.asp?MobileType=Android

It can also upload google map tracks like our great oarsman does on his blog:
http://rowingforpleasure.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html


Totally confused? Don't worry I'll do my best to explain it at the next meet over a pint.

cheers
Paul

[Randonneur]

adminHBBR wrote

High-tech alert

Has anyone used the Navionics Android app?  

Yes, i have it.
Firstly it's actually closer to £25 when google add the VAT on!

I only just used it yesterday to share this coastal passage on one of the other groups I frequent. This is a route not a track but the same thing applies.

I'm not so sure that I'll ever use the charts "on board" but it make planning in the pub or on the train/bus more interesting!

I also have Bluecharts on both my Garmin and Netbook which cover the same area.
Nice thing about the garmin is the batteries last ages as opposed to the android phone which eats them for breakfast.

Also maybe worth considering is Visit My Harbour which give you Admiralty charts for the whole of the UK for £25/year subscription. These run in a web browser if you have Android 2.2 (Froyo).

Whilst on the Android theme some other useful stuff is (all free):
Google maps
Google navigator (car and pedestrian satnav with voice instructions)
Google tracks (saves track and upload to web with loads of stats)
OS Atlas (free OS mapping of UK)
Saildroid (Position, log, speed, compass)
GPSTraker (instamapper.com) real time online tracking (as long as you're within cell coverage).

and many more......

[gmatkin]

I've got an Android phone too, and have considered buying this navigation product. What's stopped me from doing so is that using the gps feature can flatten the battery quickly - and I think that's a safety issue. I've now got a mobile phone charger that's worth a couple of days' charges, but it hasn't eliminated my concern.

Gavin

On Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:32 BST adminHBBR [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

>
>
>High-tech alert
>
>Has anyone used the Navionics Android app?  
>
>I now have a HTC Wildfire smartphone and it can download the Navionics
>thingy (£17) which will give me navigation maps for the whole of the UK
>linked to the GPS inside the phone, including tides, wind data for the next
>72 hours.
>
>http://www.navionics.com/MobileMarineFeatures.asp?MobileType=Android
>
>It can also upload google map tracks like our great oarsman does on his
>blog:
>http://rowingforpleasure.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
>
>
>Totally confused? Don't worry I'll do my best to explain it at the next meet
>over a pint.
>
>cheers
>Paul
>
>-----
>Illustrious Administrator
>
>http://tales-of-illusion.blogspot.com
>http://www.millibee.com
>_______________________________________________
>If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below:
>http://uk-hbbr-forum.967333.n3.nabble.com/Navionics-Android-App-tp2782360p2782360.html
>
>To unsubscribe from UK HBBR Forum, visit

[gmatkin]

A beautiful place to sail.

I haven't used my HTC Desire for navigating much and don't expect to do - I find smart phones like this tend to need charging each night, and that any app that uses GPS soaks up so much battery juice that it would threaten my ability to use the phone, which seems to me to be particularly useful from a safety perspective. I've got a battery-based pocket phone charger, but I'm still concerned about this.

When second-hand Android phones become cheap, I guess that will be the time to consider making good use of this stuff. I say that, but your list of Android goodies has me drooling - I want to play with them all!

Gav

--- On Wed, 6/4/11, Randonneur [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

From: Randonneur [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: Navionics Android App?
To: "gmatkin" <[hidden email]>
Date: Wednesday, 6 April, 2011, 1:00

adminHBBR wrote:

High-tech alert

Has anyone used the Navionics Android app?  

Yes, i have it.
Firstly it's actually closer to £25 when google add the VAT on!

I only just used it yesterday to share this coastal passage on one of the other groups I frequent. This is a route not a track but the same thing applies.

I'm not so sure that I'll ever use the charts "on board" but it make planning in the pub or on the train/bus more interesting!

I also have Bluecharts on both my Garmin and Netbook which cover the same area.
Nice thing about the garmin is the batteries last ages as opposed to the android phone which eats them for breakfast.

Also maybe worth considering is Visit My Harbour which give you Admiralty charts for the whole of the UK for £25/year subscription. These run in a web browser if you have Android 2.2 (Froyo).

Whilst on the Android theme some other useful stuff is (all free):
Google maps
Google navigator (car and pedestrian satnav with voice instructions)
Google tracks (saves track and upload to web with loads of stats)
OS Atlas (free OS mapping of UK)
Saildroid (Position, log, speed, compass)
GPSTraker (instamapper.com) real time online tracking (as long as you're within cell coverage).

and many more......

---

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[alopenboat]

On 5 Apr 2011 at 23:12, gmatkin [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

>
>
> I've got an Android phone too, and have considered buying this
> navigation product. What's stopped me from doing so is that using the
> gps feature can flatten the battery quickly - and I think that's a
> safety issue. I've now got a mobile phone charger that's worth a
> couple of days' charges, but it hasn't eliminated my concern.

Will these things run off an external power supply? When I first got
a gps it claimed a battery life of 20 hours. In practice the
batteries lasted all year as it spent most of the time connected to
the boat or car battery.

--
Hoping for calm nights

Alastair Law,      
Yeovil, England.
<http://www.little.jim.freeuk.com>          

[paulh_boats]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Paul H (admin)]

Randonneur wrote

Yes, i have it.
Firstly it's actually closer to £25 when google add the VAT on!

Nice thing about the garmin is the batteries last ages as opposed to the android phone which eats them for breakfast.

Also maybe worth considering is Visit My Harbour which give you Admiralty charts for the whole of the UK for £25/year subscription. These run in a web browser if you have Android 2.2 (Froyo).

Thanks Pete - I successfully viewed your route on my HTC phone so that's another box ticked!

The HTC Wildfire has Android 2.1...Virgin have not yet released the 2.2 upgrade yet so Visit My Harbour might not work (which also means I can't use IPlayer grrr.).

RE: the GPS eating through the battery - here is my solution for Illusion:



..a 17Ah sealed gel battery and one or two 6 Watt solar panels. I'll defo use the smartphone on the Thames Raid as an experiment - I think 2 panels will be enough for GPS and an LED mast light.

For a bit of fun we can upload pictures along the route for family and friends to view.

cheers
Paul

PS The picture was taken on the HTC and tweaked in Picasa.

[Paul H (admin)]

gmatkin wrote

I haven't used my HTC Desire for navigating much and don't expect to do - I find smart phones like this tend to need charging each night, and that any app that uses GPS soaks up so much battery juice that it would threaten my ability to use the phone, which seems to me to be particularly useful from a safety perspective. I've got a battery-based pocket phone charger, but I'm still concerned about this.

Gav,

You can buy a basic phone for £12 from Tesco and use it as an emergency backup for the HTC:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.208-1479.aspx

I bought a simple unlocked phone for £14 from ASDA last year - it will take any SIM but they will sell you one for 50p!

-Paul

[gmatkin]

That's certainly one way. Using a GPS and a chart is another...

G 

--- On Thu, 7/4/11, adminHBBR [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

From: adminHBBR [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: Navionics Android App?
To: "gmatkin" <[hidden email]>
Date: Thursday, 7 April, 2011, 9:36

gmatkin wrote:

I haven't used my HTC Desire for navigating much and don't expect to do - I find smart phones like this tend to need charging each night, and that any app that uses GPS soaks up so much battery juice that it would threaten my ability to use the phone, which seems to me to be particularly useful from a safety perspective. I've got a battery-based pocket phone charger, but I'm still concerned about this.

Gav,

You can buy a basic phone for £12 from Tesco and use it as an emergency backup for the HTC:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.208-1479.aspx

I bought a simple unlocked phone for £14 from ASDA last year - it will take any SIM but they will sell you one for 50p!

-Paul

---

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