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What to do with an I-Pad?

4K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  NewportNewbie 
#1 ·
I have a US Yacht 25 on the Columbia River. Wife has a 4 yr old IPAD in good condition, wants to donate to the boat.

I'm wondering what others would do. I'm kind of landlocked. Getting to know the river pretty well. A few shallow spots. Chinook is rewired completely. Has VHF,
a depth sounder, and mechanical windvane. No other electronics. No knotmeter.

Would this be a reasonable way to get gps or river chart setup? I'm kind of a minimalist anyway. Halfway through Andrew Evan's book (single handed sailing). Like his
philosophy regarding simplicity. I wouldn't need this. Don't want t spend hundreds or more on something I wouldn't use. However, if I could get a basic GPS, or boat speed,
or water depth without too much effort, that would be very nice. Or would it be better to have her get credit for a return to Apple, or donate to the women's shelter?

Thanks!
Chris
Kennewick, Wa.
 
#14 ·
It's one of the reasons why I stay away from Apple products. My girlfriend is on her second I Pad and may have to buy another not because they stop working but, because they can't be upgraded. While I'm not a follower of nerd Jesus (Steve Jobs) IMO Bill Gates should also spend some time in purgatory equal to the time people have wasted in those unexpected Microsoft updates!:grin

 
#5 ·
I have a US Yacht 25 on the Columbia River. Wife has a 4 yr old IPAD in good condition, wants to donate to the boat.

I'm wondering what others would do. I'm kind of landlocked. Getting to know the river pretty well. A few shallow spots. Chinook is rewired completely. Has VHF,
a depth sounder, and mechanical windvane. No other electronics. No knotmeter.

Would this be a reasonable way to get gps or river chart setup? I'm kind of a minimalist anyway. Halfway through Andrew Evan's book (single handed sailing). Like his
philosophy regarding simplicity. I wouldn't need this. Don't want t spend hundreds or more on something I wouldn't use. However, if I could get a basic GPS, or boat speed,
or water depth without too much effort, that would be very nice. Or would it be better to have her get credit for a return to Apple, or donate to the women's shelter?

Thanks!
Chris
Kennewick, Wa.
Real Racing 3 is pretty good.
 
#9 ·
I have a US Yacht 25 on the Columbia River. Wife has a 4 yr old IPAD in good condition, wants to donate to the boat.

I'm wondering what others would do. I'm kind of landlocked. Getting to know the river pretty well. A few shallow spots. Chinook is rewired completely. Has VHF,
a depth sounder, and mechanical windvane. No other electronics. No knotmeter.
What I'd do?? Load some games on it - perhaps there's some already - to keep the kids (or friend's kids) stuck down below out of the way from getting bored whilst the adults enjoy a nice day out on the water. :grin
 
#11 ·
Makes for a relaxing way to plan a trip. I use INAVX. I also have Navionics, looks prettier but I don't like it as much. I also use Active Captain to look for good anchorages, town docks, and mooring fields you might not find other places.

I used to use the ipad to watch movies but I confiscated a small flat screen when I bought my Mom a new TV. I now use my phone with unlimited 3G to play the movies on the TV through the Apple - HDMI adapter.
 
#12 ·
Generally the ipads that have a cellular capability (ie can install a sim card) also have GPS. The one's that don't have cellular would proably not have a built in GPS.

I use my ipad for route planning plus use it whilst I am sailing. Plus itts also handy for keeping the kids amused :)

A waterproof cover would probably be a good idea.

Ilenart
 
#13 ·
Generally the ipads that have a cellular capability (ie can install a sim card) also have GPS. The one's that don't have cellular would proably not have a built in GPS.
You are right. The internal GPS receiver was sold as a package along with the cellular data capability. This is not to be confused with the GPS receiver requiring cellular reception or even an activated plan, it does not. The two antennas just come in the same bundle.

However, if you have a non-GPS ipad, they make relatively inexpensive accessory receivers. One that plugs into the power port and another than connects via bluetooth. They work just as well as the internal model.
 
#15 ·
I'd say download one of the electronic charting apps. I use Navionics and really like the different map options with the paid version -- I think for the iPad, it will run you about $50 but you can get just the NOAA charts for free. Even if your iPad doesn't have the GPS feature, it's still great to use the electronic charts like paper charts for spotting landmarks or marinas, etc on the chart.
 
#19 ·
Lol battery life. It's the best in the industry on Apple devices. Don't believe the advertising lol. There's a reason the company has more cash than the govt. that original iPad can do EVERYTHING it did the day it was purchased. Do you want to upgrade the operating system? Sorry the processor can't run it. This wasn't a secret. Apple clearly announced that iOS 7 or newer wouldn't run on the original iPad. iPad 2nd gen or newer can be updated to latest software. Oh I still have an iPod mini circa 2005 on my boat running music and it still connects and loads like the day I bought it. To each their own. I find Apple products above average when it comes to quality, reliability and usability. They do have the best consumer satisfaction rating of ANY electronics company. Oh and when something doesn't work they have hundreds of places you can walk into for FREE tech support. That's something no other tech company has. I'm waiting for my wife's 3rd gen iPad to die so we can get a new one...just keeps ticking.
 
#20 ·
There's a lot of great free literature available on the iBooks site. Just glancing at my free stuff I see Tarzan of the Apes, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest, War & Peace, The Three Musketeers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Count of Monte Christo, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, MacBeth, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, White Fang, Huckleberry Finn, Heart of Darkness, Around the World in 80 Days, Gulliver's Travels, Call of the Wild, MOBY DICK, TREASURE ISLAND, United States Constitution; various biography/technical histories: Leonardo da Vinci, Steven Spielberg, Spanish & French primers; philosophy: Plato, Locke, DuBois, Thomas Jefferson... We used to longline off an old wooden halibut schooner out of La Push & would be stuck in port about 3 weeks out of 4 from October to April. We'd all read the same paperbacks, and got a lot of entertainment & education telling each other about our books while baiting or snapping on hooks.
 
#23 ·
maybe it's the hardware in the original iPad that doesn't support the newer features of the operating system. If it was planned obselescence why haven't they dropped the 2nd or 3rd gen iPad from the current OS? They are only 1 or 2 years newer yet they are still able to be upgraded to the current OS? Technically it's because the first iPads main processor and graphics processor are not capable. I live the anti Apple crowd. Take an android tablet from that same era. When was the last time you could upgrade it to the current specs? Oh you can't. In fact many android tablets COULDNT be upgraded to a new Operating system AT ALL. The iPad 1 was able to go all the way from iOS 1 to iOS 6. That's not that bad. It's still can run all the apps and do all the things it could do when it was bought. Just not the things current iPads can do. Sorry computers is my gig so I'm passionate about people hearing the facts not just throwing statements out there. This is a sailing forum right? Let's talk about sailing!!!
 
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