Navigation App

[Coffeeking]

Can anyone recommend a low cost Navigation/charting app that will work on smart phone

[AnsleyS]

OpenCPN for android

[GreenWave]

Navionics

[requiem]

Android or iPhone?

Inland US waters (smaller lakes/rivers) or purely coastal/open water (i.e. NOAA charts are sufficient)? Visiting other countries?

[Ferrity]

I use both Aquamap and Navionics. Each has a unique feature or two that I like. Since I see that you are in the US, Aquamap has an option to include USACE surveys as an overlay.

[Coffeeking]

Originally Posted by requiem

Android or iPhone?

Inland US waters (smaller lakes/rivers) or purely coastal/open water (i.e. NOAA charts are sufficient)? Visiting other countries?

Android coastal/open waters

[argosail]

BoatBeacon, Navionics

[requiem]

OpenCPN (Dave Register version, not the Maison Automatique) is probably best in terms of cost/functionality. Charts are free from NOAA, meaning no recurring subscription costs. Especially useful when integrated with boat instruments (e.g. AIS). UI for what should be basic functions may be a bit... circuitous.

Navionics: May be more user-friendly for newcomers (especially around plotting routes). I dislike the microscopic fonts and symbols, and there's a recurring subscription cost.

Aqua Map: The UI didn't really work for me, but the weather and ACE surveys might be useful to some.

[Kim Morley]

I use Navionics and it seems ok for me.

[ranger58sb]

I think AquaMap and Embark (C-Map) both have Android/iThing versions.

MX Mariner on Android, not sure if there's an iThing version.

TimeZero (or maybe it's TZ iBoat) if intended for an iThing.

-Chris

[Mike OReilly]

I went through the same process recently. After listening to advice and trying what I could I put my money down on TZ iboat fo iThings. I liked the interface and functionality, but once I was able to access the available charts for my area, I was turned off.

TZ uses C-map charts, and the clearly only licence the largest-scale (lowest detail) for my part of Canada. The difference is night-and-day when compared to Navionic’s offerings.

So I ended up buying Navionics, and have been very pleased with it’s functionality, and especially the chart quality.

[sv_pelagia]

I use Android OpenCPN (Dave Register version only) and love it.

Navionics: have it; rarely use it; don't like it (Canada charts are not up-to-date, relative to official CHS updates); routes, waypoints, etc too rudimentry).

Comment: a smartphone (by itself) really is too small for navigation (unless you have the fancy Samsung foldable). Combination of laptop&smartphone (best combo) or tablet&smartphone (large tablet) really needed for planning, etc.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

TZ uses C-map charts, and the clearly only licence the largest-scale (lowest detail) for my part of Canada. The difference is night-and-day when compared to Navionic’s offerings.

That seems kinda odd, to me. I only have experience with (a very old) TimeZero on a laptop (and "matching" Furuno plotters), and only within the U.S....

But I'd have thought TZ optimized for use in other countries, including the iBoat version, would have offered official charts for that region too. I guess CHS charts, in your case.

Much like the standard TZ (and Furuno) offering here is NOAA charts... with C-Map charts being optional at extra cost. (Navionics charts were previously available optionally too, but apparently Garmin has put the kibosh on that.)

-Chris

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by ranger58sb

That seems kinda odd, to me. I only have experience with (a very old) TimeZero on a laptop (and "matching" Furuno plotters), and only within the U.S....

But I'd have thought TZ optimized for use in other countries, including the iBoat version, would have offered official charts for that region too. I guess CHS charts, in your case.

Much like the standard TZ (and Furuno) offering here is NOAA charts... with C-Map charts being optional at extra cost. (Navionics charts were previously available optionally too, but apparently Garmin has put the kibosh on that.)

-Chris

That's what I thought to when I put my money down. But I can assure you, for my area (mid-north Newfoundland), it ain't the case. It really looks like TZ (or C-map, or whomever it is who supplies the charts), have only licenced the very large-scale views. And it also looks like they are quite old (not that that matters as much).

I've done a number of head-to-head comparisons of current Navionics vs TZ to illustrate the situation. I talked to TZ, and I think C-map. They both acknowledged the fact, and promised to rectify. But they refused to say when, so I had to go with Navionics.

Too bad, because I prefer TZ iBoat app. But the level of detail on their charts for my area are woefully inadequate.

This may be a localized situation. Maybe they figured it wasn't worth paying CHS for all the chart data; I'm sure it's not cheap.