iPad with Navionics

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I know there is an app for Navionics maps on the iPhone, but will it run on the iPad? Does the iPad have GPS?

[bobbymalone]

i thought iphone apps would run on the ipad, they might just look like carp. A quick google search leads to some confusing info on GPS in the thing.

if you are planning on bringing a $500 non water resistant, non rugged toy out in the boat with you good luck with that. keep it at the starbucks in uptown where it belongs.

[mrklean]

i heard the same i thought you could run all the same apps together but do you really wanna bring that bad boy out on the water?

[g_anoka]

"if you are planning on bringing a $500 non water resistant, non rugged toy out in the boat with you good luck with that. keep it at the starbucks in uptown where it belongs."

I could not agree more.

[Nick Kuhn]

Under the assumption you want to use this as a lake map with the Navionics North card: I have no idea what this App is, but without an SD card reader I would think it to be very difficult to use it in that manner. Plus only the 3G model (not yet available) has GPS. The HP Slate (also not yet available) would be able to run any Navionics software you have just as a PC would, and would cost quite a bit less than the 3G iPad.

Either way the iPad has been shown to be very environment sensitive, and I would guess the Slate won't be a whole lot better. You'd be much better off buying a dedicated GPS device built for that environment.

For reference though:

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

No, I'm not interested in bringing one out on the lake, I don't even own one. This post is to gather info, which I thrive on

[JimBuck]

I can see why someone would want to run this on the water. If it's used for primarily GPS you would be paying much more to get a screen of the same size on a GPS fishing unit. It's only a matter of time that they introduce touch screen capability to sonar/gps units. Throw in 3G connectivity and this would be a sweet machine for the boat. It's unfortunate they aren't more durable and tolerant of climate changes/moisture.

[Nick Kuhn]

I actually work in Reliability Engineering and getting these things to work across the spectrum of environments is a challenge. Everyone starts out their design assuming 25c (77f) 50% r/h and they work with that the whole time. And yes the devices work great at those conditions, but throw high heat/humidity at them or thermal cycling and suddenly the life expectancy plummets. Other considerations for a vehicle mount device would be vibration (and with a boat bouncing big waves it will be intense vibration), and for handheld devices is drop/shock testing.

Those considerations are usually afterthoughts. When managers want to make a device cheaper (or in Apple's case prettier), those considerations are the first to get cut. You'd be surprised how often we can make a device much more robust by increasing the BoM by about 1%. If you cut warranty claims by just a few percentage points it more than pays for itself.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I think a great product would be one that holds up on the water and has the multi-use features of a computer.

I have a hard time justifying a single use device that has to stay in the boat. It would be a much easier sell to the spouse.

[whitebassman]

It will run on the iPad, but only the 3G has "assisted-GPS", whereas the WIFI model needs to be connected to a wifi network and then will give your location. So for being on the lake, you need 3G model. There are some waterproof cases (ie bags) that you can put your iPad in. But I agree, why bring it out when you can get it on your graph unit?

Where it is wonderful though, is in planning your trip ahead of time by looking on your iPad rather than the graph.

[Chode2235]

The future is to have your own unit head, think of a more rugged iPad a networked boat with transducers, and let it run all the software you want. Lowrance and Humminbird compete on software, not commodity hardware.

I am sure it scares them a bit. But thats where we are going.

I think a slick application for the iPad app is to use it for preplanning your trips. There really arent that many good ways to get digital lake maps in your home. You can set and export waypoints from the app. I love the app on my iphone, but dont have the ipad so I cant tell you how it works on that.

Where is Lakemaster in all of this? They're missing the boat (pun intended).

[fishwater]

The latest Navionics v4 update has google satellite overlays, wish my graph could do that...

[SkitterPopper]

Quote:

Where is Lakemaster in all of this? They're missing the boat (pun intended).

They are not missing the boat at all. They have Contour Pro and have had it for years. You download the program off of a CD onto any PC and you have all the maps for that area. I loaded it on my laptop so I can bring it along on trips to scout out new areas when not fishing.

You are correct, it is a great preplanning tool.

[hydro]

Try this direction:

1. Panasonic Toughbook PC- They are water and shock resistant and run any PC app including the Lakemaster software. Some even have touchscreen capability. Get an inverter to run it off your boat or truck's 12V power.

2. Install Microsoft's "Streets and Trips" for mapping and get the GPS puck with the package. You can find any road in the US, and get to the lake easily.

3. Install Lakemaster PC software and connect the Microsoft GPS receiver puck with the lake mapping software. You can then track your position on the map on the computer screen. (I have this working on this PC)

4. One more step would be get internet access to the PC, then you can go right to the DNR HSOforum and get water clarity to establish weedline, and turn on the correct depth contour in the Lakemaster software and presto the weedline is marked for the entire lake!

Now this only makes sense if you have the platform (the Toughbook PC - $$$) to run everything on but the idea works in principle

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

So here is an idea: why doesn't somebody invent a combo sonar/GPS package to adapt a laptop (Toughbook)?

That would be a true multi purpose unit that you could use for tons of other stuff too. Could have a USB transducer.

[Nick Kuhn]

So here is an idea: why doesn't somebody invent a combo sonar/GPS package to adapt a laptop (Toughbook)?

That would be a true multi purpose unit that you could use for tons of other stuff too. Could have a USB transducer.

It would be more difficult than that. USB provides about enough power to see what's 1 inch from the transducer.

[SpecialK]

Actually some (if not all) of the toughbooks have GPS's built in to them. You could effectively use it the way you are thinking.

[Acemac]

navonics for my Iphone was the best 9.99 I have ever spent. I would not trade it for anything for ice fishing! I pad IMO is not very practical for taking anyplace other then the coffee shop. I also noticed there is a slight lag on the Iphone with navonics so it is not ideal in a moving boat. If you have a iphone and you dont have the navonics app your missing out! surprisingly the Iphone turned out to be one of the best gadgets that I purchased for my ice fishing outfit this winter obviously dont drop it down the hole but i was very suprised at how well it holds up in the conditions.

Can your gps do this.....

thats what i thought!

[uzbucket]

navonics for my Iphone was the best 9.99 I have ever spent. I would not trade it for anything for ice fishing! I pad IMO is not very practical for taking anyplace other then the coffee shop. I also noticed there is a slight lag on the Iphone with navonics so it is not ideal in a moving boat. If you have a iphone and you dont have the navonics app your missing out! surprisingly the Iphone turned out to be one of the best gadgets that I purchased for my ice fishing outfit this winter obviously dont drop it down the hole but i was very suprised at how well it holds up in the conditions.

Can your gps do this.....

thats what i thought!

Which Navionics app is that?

[Chode2235]

Its the iPhone app. I have the "North" version, which is most of the midwest. $9.99 from the apps store.

The best ice fishing money I have spent since buying a beaver dam tip up.

[CJH]

Seems like a pretty good package, especially if you already own the device!!!

[SkunkedAgain]

It is sweet. I use it on Vermilion and Minnetonka especially. If I'm trying to get to a different spot on Minnetonka, I can set the way point and it points out the direction that I'm heading. It makes it much easier to find those channels.

When I bought my new boat last year, I just got the cheapest Lowrance graph so that I know the depth, bottom structure, and water temp. My Navionics chip on the iPhone does the rest.