There are dozens if not hundreds of quality smartphone apps for yacht owners and their crew – great marine specific applications including MyBoatShow app, iNavX Marine Navigation, or the Captain’s Tool Box among many, many others.
But here are 3 overlooked smartphone apps that offer a variety of applications to helping you get a better handle on the world around you – whether you’re on deck or on shore – and whether you’re at home or in some far-flung destination.
Remember, the purpose of using apps for your iPhone, Droid or Blackberry is so that you can access information quickly. There is other value – efficiency, insight and sharing capabilities, but accessing actionable data is still the key benefit and the main reason why so many people carry their phones with them wherever they go.
You’re probably already using many of the smartphone features available to you – email, texting, note taking and image capture. Those features are mainstays.
What are some other smartphone applications that will help make certain aspects of your boating life easier?
EVERNOTE: The Evernote system allows you to collect data – take notes, take photos, store web pages and links to pages. It’s all intuitive and simple.
Found a great 4-star resort and marina in the Caymans? Bookmark it and read more later. Taking notes about upcoming fuel price fluctuations? Save it here and share it with your crew by email or text.
The ability to collect information and then share it makes this application very valuable. And perhaps a better value? Your notes are available everywhere – on your phone, computer and the web, so you always have remote access – from anywhere at any time.
The application should work with iPhones, Droids and Blackberry as well as Kindles and iPads. Click here to see a video that gives a quick overview of how Evernote can work for you.
GOOGLE EARTH: You’ve probably used Google Earth before to look at your own home or potential travel destination. Once you get beyond the ‘cool’ aspects of it though, you realize that Google Earth offers a wide range of other informative options including search, search by voice, 3-D views and locational/directional help – all great options when you’re mobile and need information fast.
Want to see how close the golf course is to a marina? Get a visual and then map it. Want to get a visual sense of how far Aruba is from Venezuela? Google Earth will show you.
It can be a fascinating tool when reviewing coastlines, marinas, and locales you’d like to visit. Here is a 2009 article from Soundings.com that details more specific uses of Google Earth for those on the water. Google Earth works with iPhones, Droids, Blackberry and other phone operating systems.
WEATHER CHANNEL: The Weather Channel app lets you take the weather with you. Quite often, weather plays a key role in your yachting plans. While your crew will be on top of the weather, it’s great to get a broad overview on local and regional weather patterns, oncoming storms, and forecasts for travel dates and special events.
What will the weather be like during the Miami Boat Show? You can find out. Need to see visual depictions of developing weather patterns in the Mediterranean? Just pick up your phone or iPad.
The Weather Channel app lets you quickly see current and developing weather. The 10-day forecast option and the ability to learn about weather in all parts of the world offers tremendous value to your travel planning. This is also available for all phone systems and through all phone carriers.