Review Navionics iPhone Application – Mobile Navigation

Clear skies and a pleasant breeze, a great day to review the marine navigation capabilities of the Navionics iPhone application. Will it help us find our way between the marinas of two typical Dutch towns? We use the high quality vector-based charts to navigate between the Monnickendam and Volendam marinas.



The interface
Before we set sail we take a short look at the interface. Tapping and holding your finger on the chart brings up a menu that lists all the various chart objects in that area. The search option suggests interesting objects. There is an impressive amount of information at our fingertips. Besides routes, tracks, towns, harbors and waypoints the application allows you to search for photographs, tides, currents, and contact information of marine (repair) shops, boat dealers and restaurants. Most points of interest even include a phone number that can be dialed with the press of a button on the iPhone.



Perfect for calling a nearby shop or making reservations in your favourite restaurant. There is also an option that allows you to look for locations using latitude/longitude coordinates.


Finding locations
Using the search menu we enter the location that we want to travel from; Monnickendam. There are numerous options for the city, even for the marina. For a while we are confused on which one to select. A luxury problem since they are so close together that it doesn't really matter that much which one we select. After that we select our destination; Volendam.

The current position of the ship, together with heading and distance is displayed on the main map.

Safety depth options
We set the safety depth option to 1.4 meters to make sure the navigation software guides us through safe waters while taking the minimum depth required for the ship into account. We can view depths in feet, meters and fathoms with user-selectable safety contours.

Tides and Currents
We take a short look at the tides and currents menu using the search button. The closest tides and currents appear at the top of the search menu. We can predict them using an intuitive date interface. If there are strong tidal currents on your route you can pick your departure times to benefit from favorable currents and shorten your traveling time considerably. However, there are no current or tides in these waters so we don't use this option for this trip.



Fuel settings
Fuel settings allow you to estimate how much diesel you need. After setting the cruising speed the duration of the trip is calculated. Both features work perfectly.

Waypoints
You can select your waypoints by pressing on the screen. This method is not very accurate as you tend to miss the intended position, due to the fact the iPhone has a small screen and our fingers tend to be too big for accurate positioning. But the “Undo” option works well. There is also a useful distance function for measuring the bearing and distance between two points. You can save the route to use it at a later time. You can also view the route information and share it by e-mail or on Facebook to share it at a later time.



GPS Accuracy
To test the accuracy of the GPS we sailed alongside a navigation buoy and compared the indicated distance to the buoy with the actual distance. The iPhone GPS is accurate within 10 meters. Acceptable, although less accurate than other GPS systems.



Photography with GPS
The photo option on the top left of the screen allows you to take snapshots with the iPhone's built-in camera. The photos appear on the map and include the GPS position so you can see exactly when and where you took them. Basic information such as a title and description can easily be added and edited. Once we’ve entered our Facebook account details in the application’s settings, we upload routes, tracks and photos to Facebook with the press of a button. We take some quick snapshots and were pleasantly surprised by the natural integration of the photographs on the charts and Facebook. Track our trip on the Watersportinfo page on Facebook.



Pricing
So what do you get for your money? Navionics charts are sold via the Apple iTunes App Store as a single package including the iPhone application and the cartography for a specific region. We tested the Navionics Marine: UK Holland package which costs 19.99 euro. The cartography itself appears to be based on the high quality and much higher priced Navionics Gold charts. Huge areas are covered in detail, zooming in and out and panning from side to side is fast and icons such as buoys are scaled right. Some regions are even available for just 7.99 euro. In short you get an incredible amount of value for your money.



Verdict
The Navionics iPhone application leaves a pleasant feeling and helped us get from Monnickendam to Volendam and back with great ease. The fun factor sets it apart from other Navigation systems. You can easily share your adventures, take photos and combine them with track information to share beautiful multimedia travel logs in full detail with your friends on Facebook or by e-mail. A big plus is that you tend to always keep your iPhone with you. With Navionics, the iPhone proves once again to be a versatile device that has great applications for everyone's needs. There are other GPS systems that are more accurate and have a longer operating time without recharging but they tend to be more expensive, less versatile and certainly less enjoyable.

Navionics has done an excellent job at producing what is the best value marine charting application on any mobile device. The quality of chart rendering is excellent and the full feature set really sets it apart. Navionics has also released a great number of updates since the launch of their application with lots of improvements and new features. Furthermore the navigation blends in beautifully with the iPhone, creating an intuitive, pleasant experience. We'll give the Navionics iPhone application an 8 out of 10 which entitles it to the first Watersportinfo.com Silver Award.



Pros
++ Detailed charts
++ Intuitive navigation
++ Versatility and rich feature set
++ Fun factor (Facebook integration)
++ Low price

Cons
- Limitations of the iPhone such as GPS Accuracy, battery life and fingertip accuracy