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Phones Apps

5K views 48 replies 19 participants last post by  Donna_F 
#1 ·
Well if you have been following my thread on looking for boats I put a deposit on a C22 today after a 2hr lake trial. It's plenty enough boat for me as I'll be in a large inland lake, and being a single handed, brand new sailor.

I'm doing this to gain experience and become proficient at sailing with the goal of buying a SoCal boat in the next two years and using it as an escape from the blistering hot Arizona summers.

My question is, I need a new cell phone, which system Apple or Andriod offer the best free or inexpensive sailing apps :confused:

I want to become familiar with them even though I don't need them a for a lake so when I start chartering in SoCal next summer I'm proficient at reading what are they are telling me and there's no learning curve.

Or should I bite the bullet and get an IPad and load the apps on that. I'd like charts, weather, maybe instant alerts, GPS, etc...
 
#38 ·
SVA - have you tested that {GPS turned off with airplane mode}? I ask because it seems Google Maps could find me in Airplane mode but I haven't tested it otherwise.
I have. There is no question.

Apple will tell you the same thing. See the Apple discussion of airplane mode.

If you're in airplane mode Google maps will use the last recorded position.
 
#42 ·
"GPS doesn't use data."
Well...If you have a phone or tablet that has a cellular account enabled, the odds are overwhelming that it does not use GPS alone, it has at least three modes of "A-GPS" (assisted GPS) and in fact it will use data when in the A-GPS modes, because it is reaching out to an assistance server on the internet in order to get faster and better GPS positions.
Each mode works differently and the implementations also vary with each device maker and carrier. The geniuses at Samsung shipped the first Galaxy phones (i.e. AT&T's "Captivate") with GPS software that was coded to use a development server, which was shut down before the phones ever shipped. Resulting in a mess. So then they released an update--which still tried to reach the server that no longer existed. Futilely burning data.

Some devices can be set to enable/disable the A-GPS modes, others can't.

DR-
There is no way in hell that any device you own can reach out and "use" the GPS which is part of a commercial aircraft's avionics. Those devices are hardwired, they don't offer any wireless access, so there's no way you used it. If you got a GPS track, your GPS was on. "Airplane mode" is supposed to shut down all the radios and the GPS on a phone, but these days if anything (you or any app) turns them back on again, THEY GET TURNED ON AND USED even if the phone says it is still in airplane mode. That should be a major safety issue, but it only goes to prove how big a crock of (ahem) the whole cellphone-vs-airliner show is.

In theory a GPS won't work inside a faraday cage and an airplane fuselage makes a good faraday cage. But if you flew on one with a composite body instead of metal, or your phone could see the sky through the cabin window, you might have gotten GPS data from the system anyhow.

My phone keeps telling me "This application requires GPS for...please enable..." and I have no idea which application is causing that. Could be a shopping application, could be a news application...these days everyone is trying to track you and localize you, and pretty much ANYTHING could actually be reaching out and turning on your GPS, without your knowledge or consent.
 
#43 ·
DR-
There is no way in hell that any device you own can reach out and "use" the GPS which is part of a commercial aircraft's avionics. Those devices are hardwired, they don't offer any wireless access, so there's no way you used it. If you got a GPS track, your GPS was on. ...
OK. But we've already decided that wifi-only iPad does not have GPS. I didn't own the Dual XGPS at that point. I used the one on the boat as a test before buying and it stayed with its owner back in Florida.
 
#46 ·
Or should I bite the bullet and get an IPad and load the apps on that. I'd like charts, weather, maybe instant alerts, GPS, etc...
I would opt for an iPad for a few reasons:
  • Superior build quality
  • Damage resistant
  • Easier on the eyes
  • More forgiving UI
  • Solid user/refurbished market
  • AppleCare Plus

I had an iPad that flung into the air out of my bicycle pannier and hit the asphalt from a height of about six feet. The whole thing took about two seconds to transpire, but I swear my brain slowed time down. It landed on the pavement, bounced, and was fine. A few scratched corners but otherwise no worse for the wear.

Battery life, and OS-specific features to enhance battery life, are also good. You can turn the screen off and put it in airplane mode to disable all networking and blast your music out of it.

The iPad architecture has been pretty solid - if I recall correctly the last three iOS updates have been available for all iPad models released.

Finally, the larger screen is much more forgiving to use. In a moving environment, like on a sailboat, it's much easier to hit the buttons when they and the screen is larger.

I would look at a used iPad Mini or a refurbished iPad from Apple.

Finally, AppleCare Plus has a provision for Accidental Damage from Handling. For $50 they will give you a new replacement device.
 
#47 ·
We have the 3rd generation iPad with wireless capability. My son bought it for us because he knew we'd want the GPS capability for the boat, even though we don't want to pay monthly fees for wireless. So we've used it on WiFi at home and other hotspots, and I've tethered it to my phone a couple of times when I needed some data while underway. I can confirm, with certainty, that the GPS works without wireless, since we never signed up for wireless. Obviously you need to cache your charts, ActiveCaptain data, etc. locally if using it without wireless.

If you, like me, don't want to pay for data, you should consider T-mobile, who just announced 200 MB/month of free wireless data for tablets. You need to get a microSIM card from them (99 cents online), and there may be a one-time $10 activation fee (I've heard mixed reports about this). But after that, it's free forever as long as you stay under 200 MB. I just got the microSIM in the mail, and I'll be activating tonight or tomorrow, so I'll let you know if there's an activation fee.
 
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