Many of us have spent hours shopping for marine electronics, be it researching the latest networked system or comparing prices on a nifty hand held. But the truth is that one of the most powerful pieces of gear in your arsenal is hanging on your belt or sitting in your purse right now: your mobile phone.
While most people carry a mobile for business and emergencies – and perhaps have an idea that their phone is capable of far more – few of us equate them with the marine electronics on our dashboard. This series will attempt to change that perception and show how a mobile phone can become an integral piece of equipment.
KAREN AND JEFFREY SIEGELThe author uses her smartphone to navigate on a dinghy. Modern mobile phones like those made by Palm, Apple and Blackberry do far more than just send and receive calls. They can also transmit email; store information, such as lists of supplies and spares; call up data on weather, tides and currents; carry charts and help you navigate; and give you access to the Internet, where you can get still more information.
In the weeks ahead, we will explain how to properly configure a mobile phone on your boat, with an amplifier and antenna. We will look at the applications available for high-end mobile phones, including those specific to boating, and we will examine the platforms that mobile devices use, such as Palm, Apple iPhone, Windows Mobile and Blackberry.
As the series unfolds, we will be available to answer specific questions on Mad Mariner's new
It's not possible to cover every aspect and nuance of the fast-changing and ever-growing mobile industry (a search on "mobile phone technology" under books on Amazon.com turned up 2,572 entries). But you should learn enough to be able to analyze each of the technologies in light of your needs, discuss these needs intelligently with mobile phone providers, and select a device, software and plan that will best suit your situation.
Your phone really can be used for so much more than just ordering pizza. The key is to understand how you can use the technology rather than letting the technology use you.
REAL WORLD USE
Before we get to some crucial items, such as how to evaluate phones and mobile plans, let's look at how this works in the real world. Coming from a high-tech background, we have cruised our DeFever 53 trawler, aCappella, from Maine to the Bahamas and Key West with an array of high-end computerized gadgets. In recent years we have found that using a smartphone on our boat has changed our experience in many small but significant ways. It has made our trips safer, more convenient and more interesting.
Mad Mariner Goes Mobile
Mad Mariner's Nautical News feed can now be read on your mobile phone, part of an ongoing effort to make all of Mad Mariner's content available to readers via mobile devices.
To read it, simply point your phone's browser to the following address:
You will get a listing of the last 10 news stories we published, which can be read at full length on your phone.
The feed is updated daily and features marine news from the Associated Press and Mad Mariner's own staff. In coming weeks, we will add more content.
Here is a typical day onboard before our smartphone, a situation that might be familiar to many. We go to bed early hoping to move out in the morning as there seems to be a break in the weather coming. The alarm is set for 6 a.m. We get up, hastily pull on some clothes, head up to the helm and turn on the VHF. While coffee brews, we patiently listen, waiting for the portion of the report that actually pertains to us and hoping we don't miss it as we begin preparations. Finally it comes and we are disappointed to hear the winds will be increasing in the afternoon and turning to the southeast. It's now 6:30 a.m., we're wide awake and wondering what to do with the rest of our day.
That same day after the smartphone arrived is much different. We still go to bed early hoping to pull anchor in the morning. Our smartphone's alarm is set for 6 a.m. and it is set beside the berth. When the alarm goes off we reach over and connect to the NOAA website going directly to the text report for our area, the same text being broadcast on the VHF. It says the winds will be increasing and shifting to the southeast later in the day. It's now 6:05 a.m. We disconnect, try to retrieve some of the covers from the dogs, and sleep until the seagulls wake us 90 minutes later.
The use of our smartphone does not stop there. Over breakfast we send a quick email to our cruising buddies to tell them we will be staying put another day. Then we go online to look for a better anchorage. The one we're in was fine when the winds were from the north but leaves us wide open to the southeast. We quickly find a perfect cove a mile up river with a 4-star rating and protection in southeast winds. We make plans to weigh anchor in the afternoon but decide to run the dinghy to shore and explore a trail on the nearby island first.
We bring our smartphone with us on the dinghy, running a navigation program to direct us up the small creek to a landing. We hike to the top of a hill and sit to enjoy the view. Using our smartphone camera, we take a picture and post it to our cruising blog. Another quick check of NOAA weather shows us the winds should start building after lunch, so we decide to hustle back and move the boat to the new anchorage sooner. The trip is quick and uneventful and we use our anchorage program to mark the anchor position. While preparing and eating lunch, the smartphone is periodically checked to ensure we are holding firm.
An email arrives from our cruising buddies with the plan to meet tomorrow if the weather clears. We settle in for the rest of the day and when we turn in at night, the smartphone is beside us, monitoring the anchor, waiting to awake us again at 6 a.m. for another try, and ready to give us tomorrow's NOAA predictions.
