With a reported 30 percent of electronic navigation occurring on smartphones and tablets, it’s no surprise that companies like Seapilot, a leading manufacturer of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), GPS compasses and app navigation continue to raise the bar with increasing functionality. Seapilot’s new premium subscription service for its Navigation app includes automatic updates of preferred chart data, social-boating functions, updated real-time weather forecasts and routing (GRIB), and NMEA connectivity for instrument data.
“We put navigation technologies, AIS boat tracking and up-to-date nautical charts on your mobile device in a user-friendly way,” says Anders Bergstrom, executive chairman for True Heading AB, the Swedish parent company of Seapilot. “The Seapilot Navigation app makes coastal areas safer through accurate readings of where you are and where you’re heading.”
In-App Weather Data
The social-boating Facebook integration allows users to see friends that have attached their accounts to an AIS target. Anglers can search for friends’ boats or find them through a menu where connected friends are displayed — a unique way to potentially track tournament partners or buddies.
Users can access AIS and GPS information from a GPS compass through NMEA over Wi-Fi. Depth data is also available for Android users. The app is capable of displaying current position, course and speed for AIS targets and in-app weather data. With autonomous navigation, charts are downloaded directly to a device; Internet access is not necessary while on the water. The app allows anglers to set routes and waypoints, mark objects and assess bearing and range between plotted points and the vessel.
The Seapilot Navigation app is a free download for Apple and Android. The premium service is available for an annual subscription for $39.99 (Apple iTunes) and $37.00 (Google Play).
